Harvey

In today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Two Reminders * Advice from an Old Guy * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “Pancho & Lefty: An Alternate Ending” went live yesterday on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. See if you can spot the fatal omission. As I wrote in yesterday’s edition of TNDJ, some of the better hooks I’ve ever written are in that story. It also illustrates one way to divide a short story into “chapters.” If you enjoy it, tell Everyone. If you don’t, shhh! (grin) Two Reminders The Challenge—You … Read more

In today’s Journal * Storytelling at Depth 7: Notes on Process * Of Interest * The Numbers Note: I decided to share this one with everybody. Most of my subscribers are already good with it. Storytelling at Depth 7: Notes on Process This will be only a refresher or reminder for many of you. So you know where I’m coming from, I’m an adherent of Heinlien’s Rules: I write. I finish what I write. I don’t rewrite in any case. I publish what I write. I leave the work up so readers can buy it. But neither do I worry … Read more

In today’s Journal * Bob Beckley * Let’s Take a Breath * Of Interest * The Numbers Bob Beckley Writer, reader, and TNDJ subscriber Bob Beckley just paid for a one-year subscription for “whomever Harvey chooses.” What a great gift this is! And like most gifts, it came from completely out of the blue. I was thinking about running a contest or something, but I decided for now I’ll just use it to pay for one of the comped subscriptions. Thanks again, Bob! Let’s Take a Breath before we plunge into the final two posts in the Storytelling at Depth … Read more

In today’s Journal * The Revised Stages of a Fiction Writer * A New Short Story * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * I Get Comments * Training Wheels? * A Note to Donors and Paid Subscribers * A Note to Free Subscribers * The Numbers The Revised Stages of a Fiction Writer is now available in a single, downloadable PDF document. I added a little more to it. If you’d like a free copy, visit the Gifts & Archives page at the Journal website. Then click the link at the bottom of the left column under Gifts. The document … Read more

In today’s Journal * Writers Ask * Stage 4 Writers * My Own Experience with the Stages * And Dean’s Take * Of Interest * The Numbers Writers Ask Just yesterday, a writer emailed me with a cool question: “Why in the hell were/are the pulp writers (and I suppose, those of us today who seek to emulate them) seen as ‘less than’ or people who write ‘disposable’ fiction? To me it just seems like a bunch of snobbery, but perhaps I’m still too young to truly understand it.” My Response “No sir, in my opinion you understand it perfectly … Read more

In today’s Journal * Stages of a Fiction Writer: Intro * Stage 1 Writers * Stage 2 Writers * Stage 3 Writers * The Novel Wrapped * The Numbers Stages of a Fiction Writer: Introduction I was going to present this in one post, but it was far too long so I split it into two parts. This post and the next are for private self-evaluation only. This is not intended to sound harsh, only honest. Note: I will never make a judgment regarding which “stage” you’re in as a fiction writer, so please don’t ask. That’s up to you … Read more