Harvey

The Journal: Take Two on Writing Sloppy

In today’s Journal * OMG Alert * Topic: Take Two on Writing Sloppy * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Every now and then Dean mentions The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman from NOLO. It’s an essential investment for a writer. At the moment, NOLO is having a 50% off sale on everything they offer, including The Copyright Handbook. Visit https://store.nolo.com/products/the-copyright-handbook-coha.html. Use the promo code BF50 when you order. Plus, at the moment the handbook is on sale for only $39.99. Which means if you use the code, you can get the book for only twenty bucks. Topic: Take … Read more

The Journal: Write Sloppy?

In today’s Journal * Yesterday * Topic: Write Sloppy? Umm, No. * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday, I wrote a few hundred words, then took a break. I meant to come back and write more, but I didn’t. I also read Dan Baldwin’s bloggette, “Advice Worth Ignoring, in which he related a tale about a successful author who advised beginning writers to “Just write a bad book. Start with something that’s subpar, and learn. It’s extremely fulfilling….” Honestly, that infuriated me. And it quickly gave rise to today’s topic. Topic: Write Sloppy? Umm, No. As a successful … Read more

The Journal: Writing Sales Copy

In today’s Journal * An excellent example * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers If you’d like to see an excellent example for now NOT to write sales copy (your book description), take a look at what the publisher did to describe Steven Pressfield’s latest novel, 36 Righteous Men. I saw an ad for the novel in CrimeReads, and I clicked through. What the hey? It’s Steven Pressfield, right? So I might as well at least read the blurb. And I did. And I won’t buy the book. Rather than enticing me to buy the book (that’s the job … Read more

The Journal: Some Thoughts on Structure

In today’s Journal * Getting back in the habit * Topic: Some Thoughts on Structure * A side note * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers I’m trying to get back in the habit of building this Journal through the day, writing fiction, and then posting everything at once in the afternoon. To that end, I’ve added the daily update for my WIP back into the numbers below. Hard as it may be to believe, I started Blackwell Ops 7 way back on August 7. Yet in all that time, yesterday was only the 17th writing day for that … Read more

The Journal: Story Gestation

In today’s Journal * Dean Wesley Smith * I actually wrote * Topic: Story Gestation * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Dean Wesley Smith has announced he’s going to shut down sign-ups for both the Licensing Transition learn-along and the Shared Worlds class on December 8. Just sayin’. I actually wrote 1700 words on the Blackwell Ops 7 novel yesterday. I keep thinking I could just set it aside and forget it, but the story’s too good to ignore. So I’m back at it again. I was going to share a comment I left on a post (see … Read more

The Journal: The Internet

In today’s Journal * This is me, griping. * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers This is me, griping. You might want to skip it and goe straight to “Of Interest.” Apparently, an al-Quaeda operative (or other bad guy) deep in a cave in Afganistan can talk clearly on demand by cell phone to a contact on the planet Jupiter. Yet if a gnat passes gas in Mississippi, my internet doesn’t work in Arizona. For the past two days, the internet’s been down in the Hovel. It’s hard-wired with a cable that isn’t supposed to be affected by moisture … Read more

The Journal: Complying with Consumer Laws and Stuff

In today’s Journal * Topic: Complying with Consumer Laws and Stuff * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Complying with Consumer Laws and Stuff California, I suppose in an attempt to keep up with Europe, has recently enacted the “California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)…, a new data privacy law that applies to certain businesses which collect personal information from California residents. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2020.” Now no less an authority figure than Google itself tells me I have to “prepare for CCPA,” ostensibly by enabling some form of restricted data processing. Which, … Read more

The Journal: Writing Boards and Other Silliness

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Writing Boards and Other Silliness * From the Wow, That Didn’t Take Long Department * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Does anyone else feel imposter syndrome because they’ve had happy and stable childhoods and relationships?” Anonymous writer on a reddit writing board. For the record, I’ve never met any professional fiction writer, many more advanced than I, who does not succumb regularly to a sense of “impostor syndrome.” That’s just one more silliness the critical mind throws at us to keep us from writing. … Read more

The Journal: A Great Quote and a Lot in “Of Interest”

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I’m not much of a fan of starting a novel off with unanchored dialogue. It’s hard to start investing before we know where we are, who the characters are, and how we should be contextualizing the conversation.” Nathan Branford, former literary agent Yes. In the opening of every chapter and every major scene, remember to ground your reader (pull him into the setting) Today will be similar to Saturday for me, with a necessary trip to Sierra Vista and much … Read more

The Journal: Getting Organized, Rights Grabs, and Learning

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Preparation Saves Time and Prevents Typos * Topic: Another Rights Grab * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Thomas’s poetry is so narrow — just a straight conduit between birth & death, I suppose—with not much space for living along the way.” Poet Elizabeth Bishop in a letter to a friend after hearing of Dylan Thomas’s death Can you get a story or title idea from this quote? As a side note, my own favorite Dylan Thomas poem is “The Force That Through the Green … Read more