Daily Journal

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Marketing and Advertising * YouTube and Plots * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Cormac McCarthy, maybe the greatest American novelist of my time, has passed away at 89. He was full of years and created a fine body of work, but I still mourn his passing.” Stephen King (Thanks, Gary V.) “Marketing, y’gotta have a plan. Advertising, y’gotta have money.” Vincent Zandri “Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately, it kills all its students.” Hector Berlioz Marketing and Advertising First, welcome to Ken and any others who … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Time to Give Back * Of Interest * The Numbers Time to Give Back I know this is much later than usual, but I dedided I didn’t want to hold it until tomorrow. First, please watch and listen to bestselling writer Vin Zandri’s short video, “Production.” You will find it at https://www.youtube[dot]com/watch?v=IvcJjRVo9Gw. I plan to email Vin to ask whether he might write up a guest post for the Journal on marketing or advertising, lending us his expertise on the topic. (Vin, if you’re reading this, save me the email and … Read more

In today’s Journal * Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Support Each Other * Of Interest * The Numbers Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting You can still join in the challenge at any time. There’s no cost of course, and it’s a great way to have some fun, increase your inventory, and jumpstart your writing. It’s also a great way to get more practice pushing down the critical voice. During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported their progress: Erin Donoho “The Choice” 1500 words HIstorical Fiction Balázs Jámbor “A Knight’s Tale” 2200 words … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A New Page * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[Gesturing] is about thinking and communication, and is a sophisticated aid to both.” staff writer for The Economist in a review of Susan Goldin-Meadow’s book Thinking With Your Hands “I tend to take a really long time to write. My last book took 14 years, not because I wanted it to, that’s just what happened.” Daniel Mason, author of four novels Sorry, but why bother? A New Page My youngest son visited yesterday and part of today. As … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Different Types of Characters… or Writers * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” Judy Garland “I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.” Stephen King The Different Types of Characters… or Writers Actually the title is a little misleading. I’m not … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Not Much to Report * A Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Hardcovers, considered permanent and as a result difficult to afford, were for upper class and/or educated readers. … Paperbacks were considered disposable, though, like the pulp magazines before them. So anything that was in cheap paper was considered cheap fiction, and not worthy of all the things we used to measure ‘good literature’.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Algorithms, not creativity” Anthony Leung in Lexology “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The First Quote of the Day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Stephen King “Pace is the speed at which your narrative unfolds. There is a kind of unspoken (hence undefended and unexamined) belief in publishing circles that the most commercially successful stories and novels are fast-paced. Like so many unexamined beliefs in the publishing business, this idea is largely bullshit. … I believe each … Read more

In today’s Journal * Fair Winds and Following Seas * Of Interest * The Numbers Fair Winds and Following Seas That’s the blessing Marines give each other when one of our own passes. I wasn’t going to post an edition of the Journal today, but yesterday I learned that one of my oldest, dearest friends, Edward Lee Courtney, passed away on June 4. Still, to bend this toward writing I thought I’d offer up a few anecdotes. These are all real, but please feel free to use any of them as the seed of a story. “Corky” and I served … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Turns Out I Was Wrong * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure.” Stephen King “I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.” Stephen King “The job boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you behave and then telling … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * A New Short Story * A Success Story * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Speed [in writing fiction] does not kill. But I always keep this in mind: the writing has got to be top notch.” Vincent Zandri “If you have a number of serial readers who read everything you put out, you can’t write fast enough for them.” Vincent Zandri Welcome to NYT and USA Today bestselling author Vincent Zandri and any others who have recently subscribed to the Journal. I hope you will … Read more