The Journal: Halloween, CovID-19 and a Great Writing Day

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy Halloween! * Another Perspective of CovID-19 * A great writing day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I feel shy of saying this, because to non-writers it sounds so lazy—but if, seven days a week, you can cut out two hours for yourself, when you are undistracted and on-song, you will soon have a book.” Hilary Mantel “Writing is a long game and you have to be patient with yourself and your material. A great deal happens in the dark, as it were; work goes on … Read more

The Journal: Quanta Magazine

In today’s Journal * Quanta Magazine * Of Interest * The Numbers Not a lot to talk about today, but I wanted to get the “Of Interest” items out to you. But before I do that, I strongly recommend a free subscription to Quanta Magazine’s free newsletter. Did I mention it’s free? To find the subscription form, click the link to the first article in “Of Interest.” Then click the small menu icon to the right of the search icon in the upper right corner. When the new page loads, enter your email address under Newsletter on the right and … Read more

The Journal: A Writing Secret

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Writing Secret * The Link Between Poetry and Novels * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Less is more. My first drafts [sic] went into phenomenal detail about absolutely everything. … A sense of place is good. Overwhelming readers is not. I had to keep reminding myself to make sure everything related to the plot and characters.” Terry Odell (See my vehement disagreement in the Topic below.) “As a writing instructor, I find that most of the time when writers teach classes, we focus on teaching people … Read more

The Journal: A Writing Tip

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Writing Tip * The writing has slowed a bit * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “For reasons of high aesthetic principle, I do not write on a computer. Writing on a computer makes saving what’s been written too easy. Pretentious lead sentences are kept, not tossed. Instead of sitting surrounded by crumpled paper, the computerized writer has his mistakes neatly stored in digital memory. P.J. O’Rourke (via The Passive Voice) A Writing Tip If one or more of your characters in your novels or short stories … Read more

The Journal: A Free Boot Camp for Writers

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Ralphie May’s Boot Camp * The novel is coming along * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Having a dedicated space is a signal to yourself that writing is not an idle hobby that you peck away at between household chores or doom-scrolling Twitter sessions. Ideally, there should be no Twitter allowed in this space. It is a place you go to work.” Kim Bullock That “no Twitter allowed” recommendation is why I also advocate a dedicated writing computer. This is kind of a special edition of the … Read more

The Journal: Quotes of the Day Expanded

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day (Expanded) * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day (Expanded) Quote 1: “What does it mean to write awesomely? At the very least, it means giving your readers more than a by-the-numbers story.” James Scott Bell “More than a by-the-numbers story.” I like that. it’s a great analogy. No great painting was ever created on a by-the-numbers canvas. Of course, Mr. Bell stopped too soon. So how do you give your readers more than a by-the-numbers story? Easy. “By the numbers” comes from the conscious mind. If you trust what … Read more

The Journal: I Guess I’m Smug

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I love a writing challenge * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Maybe you can be smug when you can actually write 50,000 words of fiction in a month again. When was the last time you did that?” A guy named Steve in a comment on my October 23 post I was going to write a whole thing about what it’s like to be challenged with a personal affront by a person for whom you’re trying to do a favor, but I spent enough time on that in … Read more

The Journal: NaNoWriMo Approacheth

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: NaNoWriMo Approacheth, Slouching… * I’m writing again * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It is the writer that creates a story that will sell … if the writer allows himself to be in the story with the character.” Dean Wesley Smith Topic: NaNoWriMo Approacheth, Slouching Toward Keyboards Everywhere Forgive me the following. I’m going to get a little snarky. In an article in Kobo Writing Life yesterday, the author advised writers to “prepare” for NaNoWriMo. The article suggests writers 1. Plot their outline 2. Do a … Read more

The Journal: Heinlein’s Rule 2

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I’ve updated the mentorships * Topic: Heinlein’s Rule 2 — You Must Finish What You Write * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “At some point in the next 1,000 years, nuclear war or environmental calamity will ‘cripple Earth.’ However, by then, ‘our ingenious race will have found a way to slip the surly bonds of Earth and will therefore survive the disaster.’ The Earth’s other species probably won’t make it, though.” Max de Haldevang, quoting Stephen Hawking in Quartz magazine “In fiction, emotional release is boring. Drama … Read more

The Journal: “Turnaround” and Links

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * “Turnaround” Finished * My friend Robert S. * Not a lot, but links * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The most regretful people on earth are those… who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.” Mary Oliver As advertised, I played a little yesterday and finished “Turnaround.” I wasn’t sure of the title when I started (it was just what occurred to me) but the reason for the title became clear as the story wrapped up. (grin) I … Read more