Harvey

The Journal, Sunday, November 12

Hey Folks, Well, the last day of the visit of two of my sons, their wives, and five grandchildren (3 knights-in-training, 2 warrior princesses). It’s been something akin to exhausting, but also great fun watching the cousins run and romp and play together. On the adult side, we’ve all shared good visits, mixing and matching and drifting among each other. Today will be a day of final visits and hasta-la-laters, then laundry etc. to move back toward a semblance of normalcy. For what’s left of the day, I’ll watch Casablanca for the billionth time (and enjoy it). Tomorrow, my life … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, November 11

Hey Folks, To all the veterans out there and the spouses who support them, I hope you have an enjoyable and thoughtful Veterans Day. Or as we in the Marine Corps call it, Hangover Day. (grin) I’ll be back with regular, longer posts beginning on Monday, so thanks for hanging in there with me. It’s been something around 3 years since I started this, and most of you have been here from the beginning. Then I broke the streak (not sure how long it even was) and started again almost two years ago. In 16 more days, this blog will … Read more

The Journal, Friday, November 10

Hey Folks, This is mostly a placeholder post, but with some good stuff in “Of Interest.” It’s early morning and cold (well, chilly at 40°). Let the ladies outside for awhile since they’ll spend most of my sons’ visit hiding under the bed. Anyway, posts for today, tomorrow and Sunday probably will be pretty sparse. Thanks for hanging in there. Back tomorrow. Of Interest I’ve been remiss recently in posting items of interest from James Scott Bell. See “Be Productive, Persistent, and Professional” at https://killzoneblog.com/2017/11/be-productive-persistent-and-professional.html. I also recommend “What is Originality?” at https://killzoneblog.com/2017/10/what-is-originality.html. See “Adventures Around The Web November 4-10, … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, November 9

Hey Folks, Tomorrow marks the 242nd birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Happy Birthday and Semper Fi to any Marines out there. Sometime tomorrow, I’ll get off by myself and drink a toast (probably a shot of Beam Devil’s Cut) to those brothers and sisters who are no longer with us. To those who are still around, May your days be vibrant, your evenings calm, your heart safe and warm at home. Semper Fi *** The air is damp and chilly this morning. Probably around 40-some degrees, but damp so it feels colder. We got 3/10ths of an inch … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, November 8

Hey Folks, Well, I believe (knock on wood) the worst of the cigar madness is behind me. Something in my mind sort of snapped late yesterday, leading to a lot more clarity than I’ve enjoyed in a while. I hope it stays that way. *** I wrote for a little while, just some dialogue between two wise guys over a poker hand, something to get my hand in. One wise guy is complaining that his associates think he doesn’t understand the concept of LOL all that well. The other asks him for an example. The first one says, “Oh. Well, … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, November 7

Hey Folks, A mild morning for a change, at the cusp of 50°. If I took a photo straight up at the moon in the high mist, it would make a great horror or romance cover. Funny how those two genres can be so closley related in the images they invoke. Or maybe it isn’t. *** Well, self-publishing platform and distributor Pronoun is shutting down. See “Epilogue” at https://pronoun.com/. I never got around to using them because of the extremely condescending language on their interface. However, in other news, my preferred distributor, Draft2Digital, now distributes to Amazon. I am in … Read more

The Journal, Monday, November 6

Hey Folks, I am annoyed to no end when some machine or program thinks it knows better than I what I want. Of course, the machine can’t be held to fault. Nor, these days, can the humans behind the machines because there’s no way to contact or, ahem, engage the humans directly. Of course, if I were regularly screwing up people’s lives that much just as if it were a pleasurable past time, I wouldn’t want anyone to be able to get hold of me either. Increasingly, “updates” (ostensibly “improvements”) are foisted upon us whether or not we want them. … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, November 5

Hey Folks, Well, it’s Sunday. Not much here in the Journal today. Around here we’re breaking out our winter clothes, putting away summer stuff, etc. Generally taking the day off to do little things we don’t have to do more than a couple times a year. Doing some cleaning, some cooking, some redecorating of one wall in my office. Revisiting and adjusting the bedroom closet, stuff like that. I hope to break out tomorrow and write some fiction. But I guess we’ll see. Back tomorrow. Of Interest Not directly about writing but hilarious, see https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/d/2001-jeep-wrangler-sport-and/6351701604.html. For some reason this Journal … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, November 4

Hey Folks, In “Of Interest” below, I mention a Smashwords podcast. It’s all about how to work with beta readers. As such, it extolls the virtues of letting readers into your work and (I’ll bet) mentions none of the downsides. You all know that I often employ a first reader. That’s one avid reader who knows exactly what to look for (specific places where confusion ensues, inconsistencies, and OBVIOUS wrong-word issues IF they pop out at him) and what to leave alone (literally everything else). Sometimes, with some stories, I ask Kenneth to look for certain overall things: Is there … Read more

The Journal, Friday, November 3

Hey Folks, Yesterday after I posted the Journal, I noticed it looked as if it read “Thursday, One and One-Half.” So I’ll try to remember to spell out the month from now on. More on writing… In my ongoing mental-morphosis, I’m coming to understand more of what’s going on. Nothing. Nothing’s going on. (grin) Well, nothing sinister. Maybe. I got so used to a daily word count and then other goals that it feels odd not to be writing constantly. That’s all. I’ve become comfortable with storytelling, and comfortable with knowing stories will come. At least that’s what I think … Read more