Daily Journal

The Journal: Just for Fun

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Just for Fun * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I can find motivation in my sleep. I write for me, to handle the challenge or to tell a particular story. I would write if civilization vanished and I had to scrounge up the last few pens and notepads to do so.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Faulkner or Hemingway … struggled like crazy to get recognition. But we, the young writers who studied their work, don’t know about those struggles. We only see how they’re treated after death.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “[W]riting … Read more

The Journal: How to Indicate Unspoken Thoughts

In today’s Journal * Topic: How to Indicate Unspoken Thoughts * Of Interest Topic: How to Indicate Unspoken Thoughts There are generally two major ways to indicate the direct, unspoken thoughts (or internal monologue) of the POV character. Either is acceptable, depending on whom you ask and your personal preference as a writer: 1. Put the POV character’s direct unspoken thoughts in italics to visually differentiate them from narration. (I used to recommend doing this.) 2. Leave the direct thoughts in regular font like the narration. (I now recommend doing this.) Consistency Is Key — whichever way you choose to … Read more

The Journal: A Lengthy Preface and a Reiteration

In today’s Journal * A Lengthy Preface and a Reiteration * Of Interest A Lengthy Preface and a Reiteration Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt is a writer who suffers from a rare disease, an affliction that precludes her from being able to access her creative subconscious or to write from it. (Alicia, my apologies, but I can’t remember the specific name of the disease.) In a comment on “Another Brief Note on Critiques,” Alicia mentioned a few points to which I will respond here. But first a pair of disclaimers — 1. If you are unable to either access your creative subconscious … Read more

The Journal: Another Brief Note on Critiques

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Another Brief Note on Critiques * And Then There’s This * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Here’s a revelation for some people: the age of the audience is not a genre.” R.S. Mellette “PG has never read a book because he wants to impress anyone either positively or negatively and doesn’t think he would enjoy associating with someone who does.” The Passive Guy Topic: Another Brief Note on Critiques K.C.’s comment on yesterday’s post drew my attention, especially when I received a similar response to a comment I posted … Read more

The Journal: Reviews and Critiques

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Reviews and Critiques * Speaking of Which * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “As we all know, a reader’s opinion of a book is enormously subjective. The way [readers] approach a story can vary at different points in their lives, or even their day. They read things into it that you might never have intended—and they’re all going to have vastly different opinions about what worked and what didn’t.” Joe Moore, whom I believe is a founding member of The KillZone blog, on why he recommends not reading reviews. … Read more

The Journal: I Enjoy a Good Chunk of Irony

In today’s Journal * Irony of the Day * I’m on Best Deals * Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” * Alternatives to Google Earth? * * * * Of Interest I do so enjoy a good chunk of irony, especially when it has to do with the Constitution or its amendments, and especially (because I’m a writer) the first amendment. So here’s the Irony of the Day “We need to have a grownup conversation about how to deal with threats to our national security and that’s not what happened here. I’m not going to be silenced.” Nina Jankowicz, former director of … Read more

The Journal: Reader Pet Peeves: Thin Stories

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Also from Kris Rusch * Topic: Reader Pet Peeves: Thin Stories * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The hardest thing … are the writers whose work just stops. Not because Dean or I got tired of reading them or the writer veered into territory we weren’t interested in. But because something got in the way of the writing.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch (see “Of Interest”) “[Writers] who have long careers constantly work on their craft. They might be afraid — hell, they might be terrified — but they step beyond it.” … Read more

The Journal: Reader Pet Peeves

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * An Important and Informative Post * Topic: Reader Pet Peeves: Preconceived or Contrived Stories * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting.” Robert Frost “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” Robert Frost The first item in “Of Interest” links to a very important and informative post. If you currently use video (Zoom, etc.) or audio … Read more

The Journal: Be Careful How You Present Yourself

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Affinity Product Sale * Topic: Be Careful How You Present Yourself * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Engineers have developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors.” Jennifer Chu, MIT News Online (see “Of Interest”) via 1440 Daily Digest “I adore revisiting the characters I came to love in the first book. Sometimes, it’s like they’ve become my friends, welcoming me back to their worlds with open arms. At times, I can’t believe they aren’t real.” Melodie Campbell in “The Scoop on Writing Series” (see “Of … Read more

The Journal: A Few Changes to the Journal

In today’s Journal * A Few Changes to the Journal * Of Interest A Few Changes to the Journal Mostly I’m posting this to get the “Of Interest” items out to you.(grin) A reader accidentally unsubscribed yesterday and asked me to add him back to the list. I tried to add the subscriber again, but MailChimp wouldn’t allow it. Since he unsubscribed, he has to resubscribe himself. (I’m not sure why they made me click a box that said I had his permission to add him if they weren’t going to believe me.) So I was going to email him … Read more