Daily Journal

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One Final Bit of Writing Advice * Recommendations for Reference and Craft Resources * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.” Philip K. Dick (Be sure to see “Of Interest” today.) “Certainly it constitutes bad news if the people who agree with you are buggier than batshit.” Philip K. Dick “It makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing … Read more

In today’s Journal * My Best Advice for Fiction Writers, Part 4 * Of Interest My Best Advice for Fiction Writers, Part 4 See Part 1 at https://hestanbrough.com/my-best-advice-for-fiction-writers-part-1/. See Part 2 at https://hestanbrough.com/my-best-advice-for-fiction-writers-part-2/. See Part 3 at https://hestanbrough.com/my-best-advice-for-fiction-writers-part-3/. 11. Keep Coming Back. As most of you know, I recommend having a daily word-count goal, something that 1) drives you to the writing ‘puter but 2) isn’t difficult to reach if you stretch just a little. I also recommend taking a break every hour or so. You can train your mind to call for a break at regular intervals, or you … Read more

In today’s Journal * SnakeBeGone * My Best Advice for Fiction Writers, Part 3 * Of Interest SnakeBeGone Here at the GoodHovel SnakeBeGone the snake is, um gone. My wife and I moved things around, shifted desks, etc. and found 2 very likely and 3 plausible avenues of approach by which rodents or reptiles might relocate themselves to Inside the Hovel from Outside the Hovel. We assume our visiting snake poured himself back through one of those avenues while I was out. We went to our friendly Ace Hardware store where we purchased moth balls and coarse steel wool. We … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One Subscriber * Another slightly shortened day * My Best Advice for Fiction Writers: Part 2 * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I don’t know how you perceive my mission as a writer, but for me it is not a responsibility to reaffirm your concretized myths and provincial prejudices. It is not my job to lull you with a false sense of the rightness of the universe.” Harlan Ellison “This wonderful and terrible occupation of recreating the world in a different way, each time fresh and strange, is an act … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Dwindling Numbers * Yesterday I got a late start * My Best Advice for Fiction Writers: Part 1 * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “History is dramatic license, covertly-financed with a sprinkling of gold dust from the newly-enthroned.” Stewart Stafford “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell Dwindling Numbers Fewer and fewer writers are looking at this Journal, at least the version that I send out via email. Recently the view rate is moving between 15% and … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Novel * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Maybe I am wrong, but I tend to the think of the back of book blurb as an advertisement. The only one we will get free forever!” Dan LaBash “She is so odd a blend of Little Nell and Lady Macbeth.” Alexander Woollcott, of Dorothy Parker “The English have an extraordinary ability for flying into a great calm.” Alexander Woollcott “The scenery in the play was beautiful, but the actors got in front of it.” Alexander Woollcott The Novel The novel is … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * An Interesting Exchange * Absurdities Abound * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “He had the look of one who had drunk the cup of life and found a dead beetle at the bottom.” P.G. Wodehouse “I know I was writing stories when I was five. I don’t remember what I did before that. Just loafed, I suppose.” P. G. Wodehouse “It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.” P.G. … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Who’s In Charge Here? (Guest Post) * Correction * Because This Directly Feeds * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “What If You’re New to Writing and Don’t Know How to Fix Things?” title of an article by Tiffany Yates Martin in Jane Friedman’s weekly blog digest Lucky you. You’re as pure as your characters. Now you only need to push down the myth that things need to be ‘fixed.’ Run a spell check, have a first reader check for wrong words and inconsistencies, then publish and start the next story. … Read more