copyright

Spreading the Word, and Memes

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Spreading the Word * Memes * Of Interest Quote of the Day (maybe even the year) “You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” Carrie Fisher What excellent advice! Spreading the Word In reply to my comment on Garry Rodgers’ TKZ post yesterday, Garry wrote, “I checked your math and it works. BTW, WTF do you do in your spare time?” I couldn’t pass up an invitation like that: “In my spare time I do things I enjoy, of course. Like writing. … Read more

Qualifying “Just Write the Next Sentence”

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Qualifying “Just Write the Next Sentence” * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “You know, everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” Will Rogers “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill Topic: Qualifying “Just Write the Next Sentence” Surprise! This is not a repeat. As a test, I wasn’t going to post today, but I had a question, and I felt it was too important to put off (and maybe forget). So I’ll plan to not post anything tomorrow as a test. A … Read more

The Journal: Readers Like to Fill-in the Blanks (Uh, No)

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * PQ Topic: Readers Like to Fill-in the Blanks * This morning I left a comment * Of Interest * The Numbers PQ Topic: Readers Like to Fill-in the Blanks Actually this isn’t a Persistent Question so much as a Persistent Misbelief. A myth. Something even writers sometimes pass along to other writers. And it’s male bovine excrement. My immediate response to “Readers like to fill in the blanks” is a pair of arched eyebrows, a head shaking slightly side to side, and “So?” As a writer, do you really care what … Read more

The Journal: Copyright: It Isn’t Rocket Science

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Copyright: It Isn’t Rocket Science * No bites * Great day * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I am a writer, a writer whose work has been published widely, so I have figured out a thing or two about how copyright does and does not work.” Emily Harstone Copyright: It Isn’t Rocket Science Sorry, but the quote of the day is just a really stupid statement. Being a writer, even a widely published writer, doesn’t mean you know copyright any more than being an experienced driver means you know the … Read more

The Journal: My (Our) Beginning-Writer Anti-Scam Efforts

In today’s Journal * My (Our) Beginning-Writer Anti-Scam Efforts * Of Interest * The Numbers I dropped in on my Facebook account this morning just to see what was going on. In a writing group (Arizona Writers) several days ago, I’d responded to a question from a new author who’d just finished her book. Other apparently beginning writers and-or writers who have bought into all the most prevalent myths were telling her how much it costs to self-publish and talking about traditional publishers. I wrote “Self publish. ALWAYS keep control of your intellectual property (IP) copyright and it will pay … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, August 6

In today’s Journal * Topic: I’ve Been Pushing an Idea Too Hard * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Topic: I’ve Been Pushing an Idea Too Hard The idea is writing into the dark. As everyone who’s followed this Journal for longer than a few days knows, I write into the dark. All lengths. Believe it or not, long novels and series are the easiest, followed by novels, novellas, novelettes, and then short stories. Writing the shortest of all complete short story forms, flash fiction, is the most difficult (for me) to write into the dark. That’s because … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, August 5

In today’s Journal * Topic: Which Brass Ring to Grab? * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Topic: Which Brass Ring to Grab? An Allegory When you decide to learn the craft of writing (or any other craft, really), it’s like being set at the edge of a wilderness that’s steeped in a forbidding haze. To either side are a million other aspirants, all wanting the same thing, all eager to become Real Writers. From either side, you hear a million advisers say to their charges, “The journey might take years. But if you want to excel at … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, August 4

In today’s Journal * If you want to read in graphic detail * Show of hands * Topic: On Critique (and Other) Groups and the Stages of Writing * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers If you want to read in graphic detail why the myths of writing don’t work and why most writers who cling to those myths eventually fade away, see “When Writers Hit The Wall” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/08/when-writers-hit-the-wall.html. For my take, see my comment on that post. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. (grin) *** Show of Hands How many of you are licensing photos … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, July 31

In today’s Journal * Wow * I might have mentioned * Topic: Update—Keep Abreast of Your IP * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Wow. Already July 31. How’d that happen? We accomplished a lot at StoneThread Publishing in July with learning about licensing (and a ton of other things). Personally, as a fiction writer, not so much. I wrote upward of 40,000 words this month, but only around 7,000 of those were fiction. (A very far cry from my 110,000-word fiction months, eh?) We at STPublishing also made huge strides on getting my IP inventory under control … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, May 29

In today’s Journal * Before I get started * Quote of the Day * Topic: On Licensing * On a side note * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Before I really get started today, I want to welcome a new subscriber, Andrea, to the Journal. Glad you could join us. If you’d like to see the entire book I’m writing on how to quiet the critical voice, scroll down a couple of posts and you’ll see a list of links to all those posts. *** Quote of the Day “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. … Read more