In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Story * What I’ve Learned * Adios, “Of Interest” * Adios, “Numbers”? * Support the Journal * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.” Dame Anna Wintour A New Story “Avoidance” came out yesterday on the Stanbrough Writes substack. By the way, if you wonder about every word of the story coming through the POV character even when you write in third-person, it’s a good one to look at. If you would like to subscribe, click the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I Left a Comment * Peggy K * Questions * Number Watch * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I suspect authors … don’t give a hoot about belief in themselves, trust in their characters, or authentic stories. They [sho use generative AI] will be marketing a product. Consumers will decide.” elliot01 in response to my comment Maybe he’s right. Maybe as an old guy who remembers Craft and is still in possession of a moral compass, I’ve simply been barking up the wrong tree. I Left a … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Let the Characters Speak * Update on the Laptop Drama * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “‘I get pleasure out of it,’ says the pugnacious Harlan Ellison about typing on his Olympia SG3. This toylike aspect, the fun of using the machine itself, is indistinguishable from its utility as a writer’s tool.” Jeff Ward (see Of Interest) “And therefore education at the University mostly worked by the age-old method of putting a lot of young people in the vicinity of a lot of books and … Read more

In today’s Journal * You Don’t Need Thought Tags * Death of a PC * Of Interest * The Numbers You Don’t Need Thought Tags Level-up your game as a writer. You don’t need “thought” or “was thinking” or any of that in your stories. You just don’t. A recent line in my current novel prompted this topic. A little old man had just approached the POV character’s driver’s side window as she considered the house beyond the curb where she had just parked. He ran his index finger in a small circle, indicating he wanted her to power-down the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * Quiet the Critical Voice Book Offer * I Love Teaching and I Love Helping * Don’t Buy the Lies * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You can’t be scared. You have to just do what you think is right.” Vincent Zandri (see Of Interest) Quiet the Critical Voice Book Offer If anyone reading this has not yet read Quiet the Critical Voice (and Write Fiction) it’s still available free of charge directly from me. All you have to do is email me. Let me know … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * Session Three Posted * A New Short Story, Novella, Novel Template * Tumbleweed (Russian Thistle) Flowers * On Being Unstuck in Time in a Novel * Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I became my own shrink and asked myself, ‘What is your ultimate fear in writing?’ Answer is no one will read my work. Well, no one is reading it when it sits unfinished and/or unpublished, so it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Philip “Big Philly” Smith Welcome Welcome to Kimberly S, … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * The Fear is Pervasive * From Dr. Mardy Groethe’s Quotes of the Week * Map of the Known Universe * Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Vince Lombardi The Fear is Pervasive As I shared yesterday’s substack post to my Twitter account, I noticed a post just below. I try not to notice because the fear of getting it “wrong” and the myths of writing are so pervasive. The author wrote, “If your … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * A New Story * Blackwell Ops 13: Jenna Crowley * Writing in the Other Voice * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Bringing good news is imparting hope to one’s fellow man. The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times.” Patti Smith Good news? See today’s topic on Writing in the Other Voice. (grin) A New Story “By His Own Bad Mind” published yesterday on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. If you would like to subscribe, click the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * No Joy on “The Hell Minder” * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” Theodore Levitt Welcome Welcome to Irene M, Bella G, 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. And I don’t do the ambush thing requiring an email address. Just click the links and a PDF will download in a new … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome * Finished the Novel * In Case You Missed It * A Bit of Self-Promotion * Suspending Guest Posts * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s a rare and wonderful thing to watch a successful writer build something right in front of you. Lean into this opportunity, it’s a good one!” J. Kevin Tumlinson (repeating this to fit with the info below) Welcome Welcome to Alexander N and any other new subscribers or readers of the Journal. I hope you will find it useful. Get the … Read more