Month: July 2017

The Journal, Tuesday, 7/11

Hey Folks, I started the day a little after 3 with a soft rain falling. Very nice. As I posted on FB, I was sitting under the carport on a folding chair between my Tacoma and my wife’s Avalon. I had a lapboard on my lap, my ‘puter on it, a mug of coffee on the hood of the pickup, and a passably good cigar. And I listened to the rain pattering on the tin (these days, aluminum) roof. I was in hebben. Great start to the day. The landlord (and friend) is supposed to come over sometime this morning … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 7/10

Hey Folks, This is important, so it goes up front. Just in case you happen across “How To Easily Proofread And Edit Your Own eBook” (by The Digital Reader), IMHO there’s only one piece of valid advice in the whole article: Read Your Work Aloud. Everything else there either lets someone else into your work or won’t work. Topic: What a Writer Needs, Post-Story You need a good first reader. By “good” I mean someone who enjoys your work, but someone who will also point out four things: misspellings, wrong words, inconsistencies, and any place where he or she feels … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 7/9

Hey Folks, Doing very little thus far this morning but relaxing my way into the day. And did very little the rest of the day so far too. Puttered around outside, a little yard work, a little more on the Hovel, some automotive stuff. The highlight was a trip to the store for tea and locking gas caps. (Hey. There’s a title for you. “Tea and Locking Gas Caps.) Today, and Writing Nothing today. Unless a plane lands on my house tonight and I’m in it (plane or house) I’ll be writing fiction tomorrow. Probably all day. See you then. … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, 7/8

Hey Folks, Basically just a placeholder post today. The Hovel’s back in shape. I’ll be moving out there to write pretty soon, though probably not today. It’s Saturday, so…. Maybe I’ll do some cleaning out there, get it ready. Be glad when this dam breaks. In the meantime, I have a couple other personal adjustments to make too. I won’t bore you with details on those. Just habits to break and habits to assume. Oh, about yesterday’s topic. Hey, if you prefer reading books in the paper edition, good. Enjoy. I was only trying to dispel some longstanding misconceptions. Today, … Read more

The Journal, Friday, 7/7

Hey Folks, Long post today. Sorry about that. But I think you’ll like most of it. I’ve been a bit remiss in not mentioning another bundle that contains one of DWS’ SF books. The Sci-Fi July Fever Fun bundle is on sale at https://bundlerabbit.com/b/sci-fi-july/. I’m not in this one, but if you enjoy great SF, it’s bound to please. Topic: “Real” Books vs. Ebooks On my Facebook pages, I recently announced the BundleRabbit bundle (Guns of the West) that includes two of my books, two of DWS’ books, and one each by five other writers. (You can see it at … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 7/6

Hey Folks, Topic: On Original Thought Know what? Anyone who wants to be a writer should strive, every day, to have at least one original thought. On politics, religion, social hot buttons, or whatever. To become a successful writer — by which I mean a writer who turns out work regularly and that work is regularly sold and read — the writer should strive ALL day every day to have original thoughts. If you’re mimicking the sound bites that pass for news and social repartéé — well, good for you. But chances are, you won’t be successful, or not as … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, 7/5

Hey Folks, If you like good westerns, two of my books are currently in the Guns of the West Bundle. Dean Wesley Smith also has two books in this bundle, plus there are books by 5 other writers. This is an excellent opportunity to get 9 amazing tales of the wild west for one low price. Visit https://bundlerabbit.com/b/guns-west/. Okay, I’ve mentioned a time or two a couple of other writers who currently have ongoing “writing in public” challenges. To watch their challenges unfold and support their efforts, visit these websites: Linda Maye Adams at http://lindamayeadams.com/. Christopher Ridge at https://creaturecritter.blogspot.com/. Topic: … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 7/4

Hey Folks, In addition to being Independence Day, today is the birth date of the most important person in the world to me. My wife, Mona Gay Griffith Stanbrough (who much prefers to remain anonymous), was born on this date roughly 39 years ago. (grin) Happy birthday, sweetheart. Wow. Yesterday, not five minutes after I posted this Journal, I ran across this quote from The Passive Voice: “Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 7/3

Hey Folks, Happy July 4th tomorrow. More importantly, happy Independence Day. Well, I’m officially in a slump right now. (I know. Duh!) I wrote four openings today, and I wasn’t excited about any of them from the first word to the last. Every one of them dwindled and died, and what’s worse, I didn’t care. I’m not counting the words. I know better than to think I don’t want to write anymore or I don’t have anymore stories to tell or any silliness like that. But I am definitely in a slump. Maybe this is the “writer’s crash” Dean talks … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 7/2

Hey Folks, I always hate registering a zero for fiction writing for the first day of the month. But it is what it is. I didn’t clear the decks quite well enough to approach my much-touted WIP challenge in July. My wife’s birthday and vacation are both this month, and my son recently moved to Arizona, so visits will ensue. I’ll get back to the challenge sometime in the future. No rush. For now I’m going to not think about challenges other than the ongoing novel-a-month thing and just get back to writing. Yesterday, ideas were lining up outside my … Read more