Month: May 2022

The Journal: I Enjoy a Good Chunk of Irony

In today’s Journal * Irony of the Day * I’m on Best Deals * Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” * Alternatives to Google Earth? * * * * Of Interest I do so enjoy a good chunk of irony, especially when it has to do with the Constitution or its amendments, and especially (because I’m a writer) the first amendment. So here’s the Irony of the Day “We need to have a grownup conversation about how to deal with threats to our national security and that’s not what happened here. I’m not going to be silenced.” Nina Jankowicz, former director of … Read more

The Journal: Reader Pet Peeves: Thin Stories

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Also from Kris Rusch * Topic: Reader Pet Peeves: Thin Stories * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The hardest thing … are the writers whose work just stops. Not because Dean or I got tired of reading them or the writer veered into territory we weren’t interested in. But because something got in the way of the writing.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch (see “Of Interest”) “[Writers] who have long careers constantly work on their craft. They might be afraid — hell, they might be terrified — but they step beyond it.” … Read more

The Journal: Reader Pet Peeves

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * An Important and Informative Post * Topic: Reader Pet Peeves: Preconceived or Contrived Stories * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting.” Robert Frost “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” Robert Frost The first item in “Of Interest” links to a very important and informative post. If you currently use video (Zoom, etc.) or audio … Read more

The Journal: Be Careful How You Present Yourself

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Affinity Product Sale * Topic: Be Careful How You Present Yourself * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Engineers have developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors.” Jennifer Chu, MIT News Online (see “Of Interest”) via 1440 Daily Digest “I adore revisiting the characters I came to love in the first book. Sometimes, it’s like they’ve become my friends, welcoming me back to their worlds with open arms. At times, I can’t believe they aren’t real.” Melodie Campbell in “The Scoop on Writing Series” (see “Of … Read more

The Journal: A Few Changes to the Journal

In today’s Journal * A Few Changes to the Journal * Of Interest A Few Changes to the Journal Mostly I’m posting this to get the “Of Interest” items out to you.(grin) A reader accidentally unsubscribed yesterday and asked me to add him back to the list. I tried to add the subscriber again, but MailChimp wouldn’t allow it. Since he unsubscribed, he has to resubscribe himself. (I’m not sure why they made me click a box that said I had his permission to add him if they weren’t going to believe me.) So I was going to email him … Read more

The Journal: Writer Resources

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writer Resources * The Big Book Giveaway * Of Interest Quote of the Day “You just never know and [you] can’t let their reaction hinder or help your writing in any way.” Author Alison Holt (https://alisonholtbooks.com/) on readers’ reactions to your stories You can read the comment from which this quote was taken (and the other comments) at https://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-learning-the-craft-revisited/#comments. Writer Resources This Journal is a valid writer-information resource, meaning it’s written by a guy who’s practiced what he preaches and vouches that it works. I recommend using the Search box in … Read more

The Journal: An Experience Shared

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * An Experience Shared * Ask Yourself — Are You a Writer? * An Afterthought * Of Interest Quote of the Day “[W]orking in the arts requires a very specific sort of attitude. … It’s a combination of optimism and pragmatism, with a bit of cynicism mixed in.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch An Experience Shared Hey, folks, if you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and read Anitha’s comment on yesterday’s post at https://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-learning-the-craft-revisited/#comments. UPDATE: Anitha commented a second time before I could finish writing today’s Journal entry (grin). So be sure to … Read more

The Journal: Learning the Craft Revisited

In today’s Journal * FLASH! * Topic: Learning the Craft Revisited * Of Interest FLASH! See “Tami Hoag Giveaway – Two Free Registrations to the 2022 Writers’ Police Academy!” at https://leelofland.com/tami-hoag-giveaway-two-free-registrations-to-the-2022-writers-police-academy/. I’m not entering the drawing. If you do, good luck. If you win, please let them know you heard about the drawing through the Journal. (grin) Topic: Learning the Craft Revisited Matt’s keeping me in topics for the Journal. (grin) As a followup to the email that became “On Learning the Craft” in yesterday’s Journal, he asked two more questions. I thought I should share those with you. I’ve … Read more

The Journal: On Learning the Craft

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: On Learning the Craft * A Study in Suffering? * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.” Doug Larson “Making English grammar conform to Latin rules is like asking people to play baseball using the rules of football.” Bill Bryson Topic: On Learning the Craft My friend Matt emailed me this morning and asked this question: “[D]o you think it’s possible one could learn about Craft solely by reading novels, short stories, screenplays … Read more

The Journal: Only a Few Things

In today’s Journal * Great Writing ‘Puter for Sale * Flash Sale on Teachable * Big Book Giveaway * Of Interest Great Writing ‘Puter for Sale I’ve long advocated the use of a writing computer, meaning a separate machine dedicated to nothing but writing fiction — so no internet, no games, no business stuff — just Word or Word Pad or some other word-processor. The theory is (and I’ve proved it for myself) that sitting down at that dedicated writing computer triggers your creative subconscious that it’s time to play and have fun telling stories. I have a flawless, extremely … Read more