Month: February 2022

The Journal: Plotting Revisited

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Plotting (AKA Writers Boring Themselves) Revisited * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Go to bed early, get up early—this is wise. Some authorities say get up with the sun; some say get up with one thing, others with another. But a lark is really the best thing to get up with. It gives you a splendid reputation with everybody to know that you get up with the lark; and if you get the right kind of lark, and work at him right, you can easily train him to get … Read more

The Journal: Virtual 5-Week Serial Killer Course

In today’s Journal * Virtual 5-Week Serial Killer Course * Of Interest Hey folks, I hadn’t planned to post anything today, but this is relatively short notice of what I expect will be an extremely interesting online course, so I wanted to get it out to you. Be forewarned, I’m suggesting that you can learn something about writing from any very accomplished professional writer even if she doesn’t write in your genre. Don’t be genre-phobic. This online course is delivered by Zoom and presented by true-crime writer Sue Coletta. I can’t imagine a better instructor for this topic or in … Read more

The Journal: Two Mentors and a Little History

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Two Mentors and a Little History * Of Interest Quote of the Day “I spend a lot of time indoors blending with the furniture and scaring my cousin.” from “10 Fun Facts About Me” by Tari Philip Note: More on the unique voice. I love finding sentences that I suspect never have been said before. This is one of the most interesting sentences I’ve ever read. Thank you, Tari. Topic: Two Mentors and a Little History Today is the eighth anniversary of the day I rediscovered Dean Wesley Smith and … Read more

The Journal: Your Unique Voice, Part 3

In today’s Journal * Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 3 * Of Interest Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 3 Thanks for your patience. Here are my final thoughts (for now) on “Your Unique Voice.” You can click these links to read Your Unique Voice: Part 1 and Your Unique Voice: Part 2. I recommend reading the posts in sequence. Finally, understand the difference between “your” story and your characters’ story. Your story is the life you’re living. In your story you’re currently reading a blog about writing. You can revise your story at will. You can choose to do one … Read more

The Journal: Your Unique Voice, Part 2

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 2 * AI For Audiobooks? * D2D Acquired Smashwords! * Of Interest Quote of the Day “I’m only the author. I don’t know anything. And I mean that honestly when it comes to my own work.” Dean Wesley Smith Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 2 In my previous post I mentioned that to take advantage of your unique, original, authorial voice—to relax and let it flow—you must trust yourself. That’s the simple truth. In this post I’m going to break that truth down to help you … Read more

The Journal: Your Unique Voice

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 1 * Of Interest Quote of the Day “There’s a certain slice of writer who bristles at any suggestion that their beautiful art won’t carry the day on its own.” Nathan Bransford Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 1 Yesterday in my post on critiques and critiquers, I briefly mentioned that there’s much to be said for maintaining your unique, original authorial voice. Difficult as you might find this to believe, any reader is much more likely to enjoy your work and buy more of your books … Read more

The Journal: Be True to the Story

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Be True to the Story * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I never consciously place symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act. Better to let the subconscious do the work for you, and get out of the way. The best symbolism is always unsuspected and natural.” Ray Bradbury “Symbolism? Symbolism is what critics search for and readers sometimes believe they discover. But it has nothing to do with me. I just write the stories.” Gervasio Arrancado, writer of … Read more

The Journal: Discipline, Study, Keep Coming Back

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Discipline, Study, Keep Coming Back * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill “Not everything warrants description—only details that matter to the character.” Joe Ponepinto “There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life.” Tom Brady, in his retirement message Topic: Discipline, Study, Keep Coming Back Some writing lessons today from James Scott Bell over at the Kill Zone blog, taken from how the now-retired quarterback Tom Brady lived … Read more

The Journal: Writers Are the Worst

In today’s Journal * Topic: Writers Are the Worst * Of Interest Topic: Writers Are the Worst Well, the worst judges of their own work. (grin) We’ve all heard that a zillion times, and most of us have said it at one time or another, usually to another writer. It’s one of those truisms we bat around to show our contemporaries how smart we are. I’ve written on this topic recently, but it reared its head again yesterday in an email from a writer, Matt, who often inadvertently provides me with topics for this Journal with his emails. (Thanks, Matt.) … Read more

The Journal: Always Be Learning

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Always Be Learning * Of Interest Quote of the Day “There is nothing like the death of a moneyed member of the family to show persons as they really are, virtuous or conniving, generous or grasping.” Jesse Dukeminier and Stanley M. Johanson, estate planning attorneys. (Possible story idea?) Topic: Always Be Learning The old salesman’s mantra, the ABC of selling, is Always Be Closing. For the serious fiction writer, the mantra is Always Be Learning. Over at Kill Zone today, Garry Rodgers discussed Dieter Rams’ ten design principles and theorized … Read more