The Passive Voice

The Journal: Aliens Among Us

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Aliens Among Us * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Lessons here? Sure. Show up every day, every minute. When you make a promise to write and you don’t do it you are letting yourself down, not to mention whoever would have benefited in however many ways by reading your efforts. You’re never too old to start until it’s too late. It’s not too late today.” Joe Hartlaub (see the second item in “Of Interest”) Aliens Among Us Outside of a workshop, I’ve never seen Dean Wesley Smith put out a … Read more

The Journal: Ten Tips for Healthy Writing

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Ten Tips for Healthy Writing * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.” Benjamin Brewster Wow, does THAT ever pertain to writing! “‘To write’ is an active verb. Thinking is not writing. Writing is putting words on paper.” Roberta Jean Bryant’s first law of Writing from her book Anybody Can Write In writing, “practice” also is putting words on paper. Topic: Ten Tips for Healthy Writing In the first item in “Of Interest” today, Debbie Burke … Read more

The Journal: Turn the Fear Around

In today’s Journal * February’s Gone Already * Topic: Turn the Fear Around * Of Interest February’s Gone Already Wow. February was like a streaker at an old folks’ home. It flashed by, I hardly noticed it, and I didn’t really care. Also it dawned on me that I’m keeping my hand in writing (fingers and keyboard limber, etc.) with this little Journal. Of course, that doesn’t add to my fiction output, but with every passing day, that day is drawing closer. Anyway, with today’s Journal, I’ve written 42143 publishable words on the year, though most of that is nonfiction. … Read more

The Journal: Trademark Stuff

In today’s Journal * Topic: Trademark Stuff * Who’s the Projectionist? * Of Interest Topic: Trademark Stuff Not much in today’s post. It’s all pretty much an expanded “Of Interest” section. According to Dean Wesley Smith (awhile back in one class or another), registering a trademark for practically anything is a waste of time and money for a writer. Primarily that’s because if you have a trademark, you are required to defend it, and defending it can get costly. Especially in addition to the original cost of filing for trademark in the first place. Besides, in any trademark dispute, first … Read more

The Journal: The Inappropriate Use of “Gave”

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: The Inappropriate Use of “Gave” * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “[T]he old Hollywood wisdom still applies: Just tell the story. If you want to send a message, go to Western Union.” James Scott Bell on writers who inject their political opinion into their fiction “‘Said’ is not a dirty word: But ‘argued,’ ‘whined,’ and other dialogue descriptives usually are. A typical rookie mistake.” Marilynn Byerly Topic: The Inappropriate Use of “Gave” A few days ago, the topic here was “Glitches in Writing.” That was based on James Scott … Read more

The Journal: Glitches in Writing

In today’s Journal * A Bit of Fun * Topic: Glitches in Writing * A Storyteller * Of Interest A Bit of Fun For a bit of fun, check how well you really observe. See “The Changing Room Illusion” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXk-Oc35oN4. It’s a very short video. Topic: Glitches in Writing This topic is based on James Scott Bell’s post (see “Of Interest”) and his question: “What little things bug you when you see them in a book?” I’ve talked before about studying the language and the craft and using both to convey the story to the best of your current … Read more

The Journal: Challenges on the MidWinter Sale

In today’s Journal * Challenges on the MidWinter Sale * Speaking of good deals * Of Interest Challenges on the MidWinter Sale I wasn’t going to post today, but I was interested in getting Dean’s post out to you. It’s about the MidWinter sale again, but this time he talks about the challenges he’s offering on Teachable. His challenges usually cost $600, but during the sale they’re only $300. Best of all, they’re completely win-win. They cost you $300 right now, but if you complete any entire challenge, you get your choice of a lifetime subscription. If you FAIL to … Read more

The Journal: Know What Stuff Is

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Know What Stuff Is * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.” Marcel Proust I like that quote. I’ve often told others that memoir is closer to fiction than to nonfiction because it’s a writer remembering what happened at a point in time. Fiction is a writer remembering something that could have happened at a point in time. “If you’re a good writer and want to write literary magazine material, start a blog, tell all your friends … Read more

The Journal: Responsibility, Some Don’ts, More King

In today’s Journal * Today’s post * The Fiction Writer’s Responsibility * Don’t Be Critical * Studying King * Of Interest Today’s post, as my posts so often do, started as a response to a post on the Kill Zone blog. At the end of the post, the author asked a series of questions. The first was, “Are you a ‘rules were made to be broken’ sort of writer, or do you prefer to stick with convention?” That question deserves a separate answer: Writers who have learned that fiction writing is all about Story (not grammar or syntax or punctuation) … Read more

The Journal: The Snowflake Guy and Stephen King

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Snowflake Guy * Topic: Stephen King * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “If you like to know approximately where you’re going before you start writing, then the Snowflake Method is designed for you. If you don’t, then it’s not for you.” Randy Ingermanson, AKA The Snowflake Guy “The Three Rings of Power [for marketing] are useless unless you also master the One Ring that Rule Them All. That One Ring is copywriting. The ability to write good headlines, strong sales copy, and a compelling call-to-action, all without smelling like … Read more