Month: March 2021

The Journal: Post 3 in the Heinlein’s Rules Series

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Post 3 in the Heinlein’s Rules Series * It’s no secret * For an update * The Numbers Quote of the Day Fun quote of the day: “After I saw a bumper sticker that read I’m a veterinarian so I drive like an animal, I realized how many proctologists I see on the roads.” Anonymous meme Topic: Post 3 in the Heinlein’s Rules Series Today the topic is mostly about Rule 4: You must put it on the market. Q: I want to dive right in to some of my … Read more

The Journal: Post 2 in the Heinlein’s Rules Series

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Post 2 in the Heinlein’s Rules Series * For an update * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[B]y pushing productivity, we may actually be creating a generation of better storytellers.” David Farland Topic: Post 2 in the Heinlein’s Rules Series Actually, more introductory stuff today, with some specifics on Heinlein’s Rules mixed in. Q: To provide context, how long have you been using this process, how many books/stories have you been able to write, and what kind of success have you achieved? Harvey: I first discovered Heinlein’s Rules and … Read more

The Journal: Awhile Back: An Introduction

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Awhile Back: An Introduction to a Series on Heinlein’s Rules * For an update * The Numbers Topic: Awhile Back: An Introduction to a Series on Heinlein’s Rules Awhile back, I received a note from a writer who wanted to interview me about my adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. The purpose was so the writer could put up a blog post on the topic. Later, the writer decided the post would be too long for their format. I agreed. But the questions the writer asked, and the indicental comments the writer … Read more

The Journal: The upcoming topics and a short tale

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * That third quote * The upcoming topics and a short tale * The Journey Home: Part 8 * The second quote * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The common denominator of success — the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.” Albert E. N. Gray “The courage to take the first step. The discipline to take the next one.” FarnamStreetblog.com “It is hard to believe that a … Read more

The Journal: Great Topics Coming

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Great Topics Coming * Another good day * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If there ain’t a rock in my boots when I pull ’em on in the morning, I know it’s gonna be a good day. ‘Course I make a point of dumping my boots before I pull ’em on.” Wes Crowley” Great Topics Coming Again today, I almost didn’t post an entry to the Journal. Today it was for a different reason. I altered my schedule a bit and moved over to the writing computer a little earlier. … Read more

The Journal: Why I won’t write…

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Why I won’t write… * A pretty good day * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan….” The business that preserves the author’s (Dr. Seuss) legacy, as reported by CNN (there’s a shock) Note: Doesn’t sound like “preservation” to me. Cancel culture can bite me. Bunch of disgusting brave fighters of blind kittens….. “PG predicts that, in the long-standing tradition of human nature, one hundred years in the future, someone, somewhere will be loudly condemning the … Read more

The Journal: Mad Genius Club

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Thanks to a relatively obscure post * I started * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[I]n the [traditional publishing[ industry, it’s never about publishing what people want to read. It’s about ‘educating’ the public. Which has taken them from 100K plus printruns for midlist to 10k printruns for high list. The problem is it’s not a business plan. It’s a virtue signaling plan.” Mad Genius Club Thanks to a relatively obscure post at The Passive Voice and a little digging, I stumbled across what might be a treasure trove at … Read more

The Journal: The Journey Home: Part 7 Is Finished

In today’s Journal * Just a reminder * Wow. I almost screwed up * I was thinking * Today, and as I was reading * The Numbers Just as a reminder, the half-price sale on WMG Publishing (DWS) workshops ends on Thursday at 5 p.m. You can use the code AGAIN to get anything on Teachable at half price. (Note: I am not an affiliate. I pass this along only because I beleive it’s a great value.) Wow. I almost screwed up big time. So here’s another cautionary tale direct from the experience of a prolific writer. Yesterday, I was … Read more

The Journal: I almost didn’t post

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I almost didn’t post * Yesterday I mentioned * I’ve always shared * The Numbers I almost didn’t post a Journal entry today. Nothing even in “Of Interest” except Dean’s post. I included it only because he finally revealed his progress on his new novel, which he’s writing as part of a new non-fiction project. I’m getting more and more frustrated as I visit my regular stops on writing blogs. One this morning was promising. An author wrote “When you’re stuck in your writing, take a step.” Then she went on … Read more

The Journal: Reminiscing

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Reminiscing * In response to my comment * A good month * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You are a jigsaw puzzle piece of a certain shape. You could change your shape to fit an existing hole in the world. That was the traditional plan. But there’s another way that can often be better for you and for the world: to grow a new puzzle around you.” Jessica Livingston “My grandmother was the most important female role model in my life. … She did what she wanted, and she didn’t … Read more