In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Writing: Trust the Creative Subconscious * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It got me thinking that recurring elements aren’t annoying; they’re linguistic fingerprints.” Johnny B. Truant (See Of Interest) “[P]utting recurring elements in a story or art can provide a sense of familiarity to your audience. It gives them something to latch onto, making your work memorable.” Johnny B. Truant “Today a massive rain storm hit Massachusetts hard, resulting in over 200,000 areas without power, including my neighborhood. … I did managed to squeeze in 1, … Read more

In today’s Journal * Welcome * Correction * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * The Writing * The Kris and Dean Show * Of Interest * The Numbers Welcome Welcome to Alex and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the Archives and other free downloads at the Journal website. Just click the links and a PDF will download in a new page. I also recommend reading the posts “I Believe in You” and “Fear”. Can’t hurt, and it might help. Oh, and check out this half-hour video where bestselling … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Failure, and Goals * Reminder * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If you set your goal ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” James Cameron Failure, and Goals I love the Cameron quote above. But also remember the only valid comparison is what you did today vs. what you did yesterday. If you want to succeed, you have to try. And if you aren’t failing occasionally, you aren’t tryng hard enough. I never advise anyone to set their … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * A New Story * POV, SF, Magazines, and More * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Fact and fiction carry the same intrinsic weight in the marketplace of ideas. Fortunately, reality has no advertising budget.” Daniel Suarez “AI-generated news anchors to be part of new national news channel premiering next year” Title of an article online. (See Of Interest) Good for the new national news channel. Their anchos will be even easier to program than the human news anchors are now. Welcome Welcome … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Short Stories from Novels * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” Robert Frost Short Stories from Novels Seems a little topsy-turvy doesn’t it? Everyone talks about writing a short story and then that story turning into a novel. Perfectly acceptable. As almost everyone here knows, a simple 6,000 word short story titled “Adobe Walls” gave birth to the character Wes Crowley, who later told me his complete life story over … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Critical Mind Seeped In * Yesterday, and the Writing * Stanbrough Writing In Public * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “When comparing two things, one thing is different FROM the other, whereas when comparing two actions, one action is different THAN the other.. An elephant is different from a mouse, while hunting an elephant is different than hunting a mouse.” In a note from my excellent first reader “I have said over and over again that I write by instinct and that there is nothing … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Copyright Infringement * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Concerning time … I read a bit about a new quantum mechanics theory stating that not only do we change the future with every breath we take, every move we make, every cake we bake, we also at that same instantly change our past.” Dan Baldwin in a comment on yesterday’s post “It does not get easier with time, does it? Everyone tells us that nonsense, but every joyful memory is shadowed with raw … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * Time-Travel Notes * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Since I turned off the ‘I must publish’ button in my mind, I can write freely, without any reader or editor in mind. I can focus on the story and the characters and how their story really happens.” Jámbor Balázs Welcome Welcome Welcome to William, and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the Archives and other free downloads at the Journal website. Just … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Since I turned off the ‘I must publish’ button in my mind, I can write freely, without any reader or editor in mind. I can focus on the story and the characters and how their story really happens.” Jámbor Balázs Welcome Welcome to Amelia, Sophia, and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the Archives and other free downloads at the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * If You’re Still Struggling to Write * Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[P]utting the pressure of life and death on every word you are writing crushes the life out of the words, completely negating what you are trying to do….” Tiffanie Gray If You’re Still Struggling to Write Please read Tiffanie Gray’s comment on yesterday’s post. I almost didn’t include the link to the article on improvisation in yesterday’s post. Now I’m very glad I did. Thanks, Tiffanie. Reminder If you are participating in the … Read more