Smashwords

The Journal: If It’s That Easy…

In today’s Journal * A quick roundup * The Coming Year * Topic: If It’s That Easy… * How I Came to Writing Into the Dark * Yesterday and Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Well, first a quick roundup since I was reporting fiction numbers a day late: Total fiction words for December……… 55128 Total fiction words for 2019………………… 452693 Total nonfiction words for December… 21570 Total nonfiction words for 2019………… 324830 Total words for 2019 (fiction and this blog)…… 777523 Calendar Year 2019 Novels…………………… 10 Calendar Year 2019 Novellas……………… 1 Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories… 4 Novels … Read more

The Journal: Kris Rusch, A New WIP, and Today

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Kris Rusch’s Patreon Page * Smashwords is patening new technology * Today * I’ve also had a few questions * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day Via my friend Bob Calverley, “Bad books on writing tell you to ‘WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW’, a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.” Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War and Vietnam vet Topic: Kris Rusch’s Patreon Page Because of the way the world is today, I’ll … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, July 12

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The second quote of the day * Update: My publisher and I * European ebook aggregators * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Quotes of the Day “PG says there is nothing like a collection of first-world complaints to make you realize that life in modern America is a totally hellish experience. Lovecraftian to the max.” The Passive Guy “Left to myself, I’d be like you. I have a horror story and a gritty urban general fiction in me right now. BUT. I spent 15 years trying to be … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, February 28

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the Day ▪ Topic: Words ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Via the Passive Guy, the quote of the day: “Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” ~ Neil Gaiman Topic: Words Words are our friends, writers. There have been many bits of advice handed down over the years, sometimes from “on high” by writers who have Made It. Like Stephen King famously writing “The path to hell is paved with adverbs” or Samuel Clemens’ admonition to hunt … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, January 6

Hey Folks, Well, I’ve decided I’m going to write another Blackwell Ops story. Not because I’m not interested in Nick and Marie anymore, or in Stern Talbot, or in the other ideas I listed yesterday. I want to start the challenge with another Blackwell Ops book because I don’t want to take the time to read over the last Nick Spalding book to refresh my memory about the main characters. (grin) I’m just that lazy. And if I start with another Stern Talbot book, I’ll have to include a new technique I re-learned recently. I’m not sure I want to … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, January 1

Hey Folks, Be patient. There’s a LOT in today’s Journal and in the “Of Interest” section. I hope you will find most of it entertaining and/or useful. Happy new year, everybody! May we all have a year filled with peace and good health. I don’t mention prosperity because, after all, we really can’t take it with us. My strongest personal urge is to live as long as I can and leave a legacy of sorts. As they say down south, can I get a big “Hell yeah!”? Like so many, I’m personally glad 2018 is behind us. Without belaboring the … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, November 10

Hey Folks, A Toast on the Birthdate of the US Marine Corps May your days be vibrant, your evenings calm, your heart safe and warm at home. Semper Fi *** Given the length of the other books in this series (this is Book 4), I thought this novel might wrap today. That would mean I’d written a novel in 10 days. That would be one-half the shortest time it’s taken before. With this one, the ten writing days also happen to be 10 calendar days. That feels really good. Those are false goals, of course. What’s the difference in whether … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, May 9

Hey Folks, I got up much closer to my normal time this morning, but frittered away much of the morning. I did do a little cycling and enjoyed that. I also enjoyed wondering what I might write later today. Even made a couple of starts, but nothing stuck. It wasn’t time yet. For whatever reason, today I’m just not feeling it. So day off today. I’ll check out my window later to see whether the world ended (grin). My little cat’s been sneezing a lot lately, and she’s listless. She’s usually a tightly wound ball of pure energy, so I’m … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, March 22

Hey Folks, Well, the doc appointment was rescheduled by the office for next Tuesday. And I shed myself of the problem I’ve had for the past few days. So today I get to write. I also have a few chores to do, so this will be one of those Keep Coming Back days. We’ll see how it goes. *** According to my friend Dan Baldwin, “The Writer has an article on ‘How To Write A Book In 90 Days’ in eight simple steps. First step – take a month to prepare.” (grin) Thanks for the tip, Dan. *** Spent the … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, January 28

Hey Folks, I think we’re nearly over being ill. Other than this tiny bit of writing, I’ll spend the rest of the day doing nothing. The plan for tomorrow is to write and to work on the copyedit I received recently. Awhile back I mentioned that I wish Mark Coker over at Smashwords would publish a print version of his podcasts for those of us who would rather read than listen. Finally this morning I found he’s been doing that all along. You can find the Smart Author Podcast homepage at https://www.smashwords.com/podcast. Once you’re there, you’ll see all the episodes … Read more