Daily Journal

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Update on Ingram Spark * Some Thoughts on Fantasy * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab.” George RR Martin A New Short Story “Keep Calm & Carry On” went live on Saturday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. This is an intense short story, one of my … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Humorous Quote of the Day * Read. The. Comments. * Writing During a Vacation… * About Draft2Digital * Guest Posts Welcome * The Numbers Humorous Quote of the Day “God please give me patience. Because if you give me strength, I’m going to need bail money.” Senator John Kennedy, Louisiana Read. The. Comments. If you care either way about writing and the future of publishing at Amazon and elsewhere, I recommend you read the comments on yesterday’s post. They constitute a whole other post. Thanks to everyone for commenting. To read them, click here, then scroll … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Regarding Amazon’s Latest Creep-Show Move * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Instead of helping you look something up, the system is giving you its version of what that thing means. It decides what matters, what doesn’t, what’s central, and what can be glossed over. … Authors didn’t opt into this.” Kevin J. Duncan, Head of Content at Kindlepreneur (see the first item in Of Interest) Regarding Amazon’s Latest Creep-Show Move Ah, Amazon has provided me with one more chance to look within myself and ascertain my core … Read more

In Today’s Journal * NB2.8—The AI Flu * Of Interest * The Numbers Note: The following was presented to me as a short story-ish article on how one writer views the influence of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Enjoy. NB2.8 The AI Flu a guest post by K.C. Riggs I’ve never been paranoid about getting sick. Granted, I’m essentially healthy and I take normal precautions—normal like hand washing and using hand sanitizer when I’m out in public touching door handles and shopping carts—and I make sure I’m eating well and taking immune supporting supplements in the winter. But other than that, … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday’s Post * On Using Challenges for Growth * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Find out who you are and do it on purpose. And do it with purpose.” Dolly Parton Yesterday’s Post In case you missed it, the article I published in yesterday’s post is a must read for pretty much any fiction writer, but especially for those who are locked down or frozen by unreasoning fear. For those reasons, I’ve added it permanently as a separate article to the Journal website. You can read the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * In Writing, the Critical Mind… * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Write your own books, trust them, find the typos, and publish it. Then write the next one and keep learning how to be a better crafts person and storyteller as you go along.” Dean Wesley Smith “Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” Edgar Allan Poe in “Elenora” In Writing, the Critical Mind Is Not Your Friend So Don’t Bargain With It Granted, your conscious … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The TNDJ Challenges Report * On Writing Fiction, and Stereotypes * What’s in 1440? * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King, Jr. #metoo The TNDJ Challenges Report Participating in any challenge is a great way to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost. Feel free to … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “How Hard the Ground” will go live today at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. As far as I can remember this is the only short story for which I got the title from a friend. Dan Baldwin said something profound (see the epigram for the story) that contained the phrase ‘how hard the ground.’ It stuck with me and eventually became the title of this story. If you enjoy the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * If You Want It Enough * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Unless you learn how to be in your head, you’ll never learn how to create.” Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda If You Want It Enough An accomplished writer friend recently posted a Substack in which he posited that DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs are stopping some ‘white males’ from publishing. In a nod to Scott Adams’ Reframe Your Brain, a book about ‘reframing’ your choices and decisions, I want to peel back one layer here to … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Just a Thought * The Basics * Of Interest * The Numbers Just a Thought Since long before I started writing fiction in earnest, I’ve been compiling my own satirical dictionary. My dictionary is kind of a mix between those of Samuel Johnson and Ambrose Bierce, irreverent and highly opinionated. Here’s my most recent entry: unalived, adj. [Frown. What?] Um, killed. Usage note: If you regularly use non-words like ‘unalived’ in any way other than in satire or comedy, you’ve been in school too long. Your brain’s filled beyond capacity. You’re overqualified for life in a … Read more