Boring Stuff Re the Ongoing Drama

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Reminder * Boring Stuff Re the Ongoing Drama… * Copyediting * The Numbers A New Short Story “Dave” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. As always, if you enjoy this strange story, please tell Everyone. If you don’t, shh! (grin) Reminder Today is Saturday. Remember to get your Bradbury Challenge story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday. Also, if you’re in the November or Stephen King Challenge of 1000 words per day, tomorrow is the last day … Read more

The Myths of Fiction Writing

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Myths of Fiction Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday, after the first 8 hours, I decided around 10 a.m. to take the rest of the day off. So no writing, checking emails only occasionally, and spending time with my bride. I hope you all had a similarly great Thanksgiving Day. Quote of the Day “Anyone who stops learning is old, at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Henry Ford The Myths of Fiction Writing Yesterday I wrote “Not knowing the authentic story scares me more … Read more

A Request, and Black Friday ‘Deals’?

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy Thanksgiving! * A Personal Request * Black Friday Deals? * The Writing * Attaining New Heights * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “A good editor knows which changes will solve a problem or two. The majority just know ‘It should have been rewritten.’ Meanwhile, a good editor could help, and teach a lot. But to find a good editor is not necessary to write a good story, and everything starts with a good story.” Balázs Jámbor “I’ve been tracking my words like a hawk, and wring … Read more

Rewriting to Oblivion (guest post)

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Special Offer from Cover Designer Tiffanie Gray * Rewriting to Oblivion (guest post) * A Special Kind of Self-Challenge * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Personally, I think you learn more from finishing things, from seeing them in print, wincing, and then figuring out what you did wrong, than you could ever do from eternally rewriting the same thing.” Emily Temple Note: I blatantly stole the above quote from Dan Baldwin’s Quote of the Week. A Special Offer from Cover Designer Tiffanie Gray … Read more

Writing Fiction Is A Journey

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Good Question * Writing Fiction Is A Journey * The Writing * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that’s no reason not to give it.” Agatha Christie I agree. Give what you have to give as often and as long as you can and let others decide whether to use it. A Good Question I had a good question from a subscriber and writer. Excerpted and partially paraphrased, the question was, “So I have stories, and probably a book or two. … Read more

Bradbury, and Great Testimonials

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * A Pair of Great Testimonials * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Today’s issue of TNDJ is a little late, but I have a lot of great news to report. Please read on. (grin) The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting The whole point of ANY Challenge is to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost for any challenge I offer. The only requirement for Bradbury is to write at least one short story per week. The only requirement for the others is to write a … Read more

An Apt Analogy, and Part 2

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * This Should Be a Guest Post, Part 2 * An Apt Analogy * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[Of writing, publishing, reading, and learning,] Writing is the most important. Regular writing, putting new words to a page and creating stories and finishing stories that you start. Without that, you are just an author who talks a good game. Writers are people who write. Authors are people who have written.” Dean Wesley Smith This Should Be a Guest Post, Part 2 First, if you haven’t, … Read more

This Should Be a Guest Post

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Reminder * This Should Be a Guest Post * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Whenever I am asked what kind of writing is the most lucrative, I have to say, a ransom note.” H.N. Swanson (literary agent) Note that this quote is also often attributed to character Harry Zimm in the film adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1990 novel, Get Shorty. A New Short Story “A Curious Warmth” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go … Read more

Hitting a Million?

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Hitting a Million? * Two Interesting Comments on Publishing to Paper * The Numbers Quote of the Day “A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.” Billie Jean King Hitting a Million? You all know I’m trying to hit 1,000,000 words of published fiction for the year on or before December 31. After yesterday’s writing session, I didn’t like my chances, so I did some quick math. 1,000,000 (goal) – 898447 (yesterday’s annual total) = 101,553. Initially, I thought there was no way. I’d basically have to … Read more

It’s Time to Publish to Paper

In Today’s Journal * It’s Time to Publish to Paper * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers It’s Time to Publish to Paper Of the 98 novels, 10 novellas, 29 short story collections, and 10 major nonfiction books I’ve published, all are available as ebooks. But only several of my novels (maybe 20), maybe 3 novellas, and several of my short story collections are available in paper editions. Of my nonfiction books, I believe only Writing Realistic Dialogue and Punctuation for Writers, 2nd edition, are available in paper. Yet readers I meet increasingly ask me what I have … Read more