In Today’s Journal * Faux Interview, Part 4 * Of Interest Faux Interview, Part 4 Why teach writing publicly after spending decades learning it privately? I learned it “privately” even as many of my students learn it privately, but I learned it from various sources outside of myself just as they do: other fiction writers and poets, books and seminars on writing, and most importantly from my own process as I practice. Why teach it publicly? Because I enjoy helping other writers cut their learning curve. Teaching forces a writer to articulate instincts that may otherwise remain subconscious. Has teaching … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Faux Interview, Part 3 * Of Interest Faux Interview, Part 3 What if revision is sometimes the problem rather than the solution? Any conscious-mind revision, including rewriting, is ALWAYS a problem because every instance at least risks taking you further from the character’s authentic story. And it almost always does. But at what point does revision stop improving a story and begin removing the instinctive qualities that made the original draft work? See my previous response. Also, that’s why I “cycle”—a kind of revision that’s a function of the creative subconscious—instead of revising, which is a … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Some Fun * Faux Interview, Part 2 Some Fun I had a little fun revising my welcome page and bio yesterday on my author site. Check it out at HarveyStanbrough.com. Faux Interview, Part 2 Your approach also creates an interesting relationship between speed and quality. Writing 120 novels in just over nine years is a level of output that most writers would find difficult to imagine. Yeah, that whole speed vs. quality argument is also based in the myths, and the myths themselves are why some other writers find that level of output difficult to imagine. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Intro * Faux Interview, Part 1 * Of Interest Intro Late in September, I received a scam email from a guy who purported to host a podcast in Dallas. Of course he gushed about my work, my websites and newsletters and so on, and he invited me to participate as a guest on his podcast. The entire email was obviously generated by AI. But the boatload of proposed questions in the email comprised a great interview. So I copied and pasted most of the proposed questions into a Word document, deleted any duplicates, then wrote my … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Why Do They Keep Sending This Crap? * Of Interest Why Do They Keep Sending This Crap? A few weeks ago, I received an effusive email from none other than Lee Child, praising my work and proclaiming how glad he was that I was writing in Blackwell Ops in a manner similar to his Jack Reacher series. Of course, it was a scam. Had I responded, eventually “Mr. Child” would have recommended this or that book-promotion service because they do such a wonderful job with his series, etc. I know that would’ve happened because I received … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge Report * Writing or Processing? * Of Interest Quote of the Day “I’m Looking for People Who Can’t Write Good, like Stephen King’s On Writing, is a must-have for authors serious about their profession.” Duke Southard, author of the award winning Fallacy of Closure, Tainted Justice, and the Detective Parker Havenot series (See Of Interest) The Bradbury Challenge Report Participating in any challenge is a great way to have fun and grow as a writer. The requirement is to write at least one short story per week, then … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On Simile and Metaphor * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Life is like a dog-sled team. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” Lewis Grizzard (from Dr. Mardy Grothe’s Quotes of the Week. See Of Interest.) On Simile and Metaphor I’m pleased Dr. Mardy Grothe posted this particular essay today (see Of Interest) because in doing so he handed me a topic to play with. In turn, that enables me to pass along his post today instead of waiting until tomorrow in concert with the Bradbury Report, … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A Lovely Day * Transition * Of Interest A Lovely Day Today is a lovely day in southeast Arizona, the skies filled with rainclouds from a topical storm that hit along the coast of Mexico. The air is cool and damp. In days gone by this is the sort of day when I would’ve slipped into my running togs and gone for a long run. Those days are long since past, but I still love this kind of morning. This is the payoff we get for living where we do. It’s the time of year when … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * Adios to Chopped Livah * Of Interest My Quote of the Day “The story—any story—isn’t about an event. The story is about how the characters react to an event.” Adios to Chopped Livah Just a heads-up: Be sure to catch the final issue of Chopped Livah on Sunday, October 11, at 8 a.m. The topic is a 4,000 word deep dive on “How to Show (Enable the Reader to Experience) the POV Character’s Anxiety,” complete with a detailed example. I opened the post up so everyone could read it. Chopped … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Stephen King * Quotes of the Day * A WITD Experience * Of Interest Stephen King In my previous post, I kind of featured crime writer Michael Connelly and got some great writing advice from him. Today, I’m doing the same thing on steroids with Stephen King from the Quotes of the Day to Of Interest. I’ll also outline “A WITD Experience,” especially for those who haven’t yet been able to pull the trigger on trying it yet. Quotes of the Day “I’m a total child about this. The only thing I really want is for … Read more