Daily Journal

The Journal: Steinbeck

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Today’s post again * Steinbeck * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Ah, the prayers of the millions, how they must fight and destroy each other on their way to the throne of God.” John Steinbeck in Tortilla Flat “It is astounding to find that the belly of every black and evil thing is as white as snow. And it is saddening to discover how the concealed parts of angels are leprous.” John Steinbeck in Tortilla Flat Today’s post again is mostly to pass along the first item in “Of Interest.” … Read more

The Journal: Even While on Hiatus

In today’s Journal * Even While on Hiatus * Of Interest Even While on Hiatus I stay with my early morning routine, checking various websites for items I think might be of interest to you. I’m popping in today to share some of those with you. The first two items in “Of Interest” are VIP(ost)s that have to do with personal safety. Note: Regarding those items, PLEASE do as John Gilstrap recommends and check your state laws. Don’t take anything for granted. It’s as easy as typing into a search engine “Does [Your State] have a castle law?” If I … Read more

The Journal: Maybe a Hiatus, and Archives

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Dean Wesley Smith * Maybe a Hiatus, and Archives * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.” William Faulkner Dean Wesley Smith’s having another Kickstarter campaign. It runs through the end of March. For as little as a five dollar ($5) donation you get all kinds of rewards and stretch … Read more

The Journal: Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide?

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide? * Of Interest Quote of the Day “[I]t amuses me that people sometimes accuse me of writing the YA books to ‘cash in.’ Um, no, my friends. I earn less on those. Not significantly less, but still. I write them because they are stories I want to tell.” Brandon Sanderson Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide? Over at KillZone blog, Garry Rodgers asked, “Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide?” I suggest you read the post and the comments. They are enlightening. Then go whichever way … Read more

The Journal: Talking Kickstarter Again

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Talking Kickstarter Again * * * * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “There is money in publishing. A lot of it. It just doesn’t flow to the writers. Because, frankly, writers are stupid.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Dean and Loren offer a free class on crowdfunding on Teachable.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol Topic: Talking Kickstarter Again This will be brief. See “Brandon’s Kickstarter” at https://kriswrites.com/2022/03/09/business-musings-brandons-kickstarter/. Amusing excerpts “[From] the company town newspaper (The New York … Read more

The Journal: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining…

In today’s Journal * Topic: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining… * Of Interest Topic: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining… A few days ago I discontinued my mentorships. This topic sprang from one part of my former Becoming A Writer mentorship. I hope it helps. Actually, this could be titled “Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining and Other Prewriting Structures” like separate world-building, character sketches, etc. But that title is far too long. Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll also discuss briefly why I don’t recommend rewriting. So why don’t I recommend outlining and the rest? The short answer is “Because … Read more

The Journal: Audio Courses

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Audio Courses * Of Interest Quote of the Day In Saudi Arabia, “The religious police’s official Arabic name dates back hundreds of years, but still sounds Orwellian in English: the Committee for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.” from an article in The Atlantic on the Saudi crown prince (Nothing to do with writing, but a really cool quote anyway.) Audio Courses Yesterday, to my delight, a young woman named Monica Arac de Nyeko ordered several of my audio courses. I’m naturally curious, so I keyed Monica’s name into … Read more

The Journal: Here Come the Fatalists

In today’s Journal * Here Come the Fatalists * Of Interest Here Come the Fatalists Fatalists? Do I have the term right? Isn’t that what you call people who focus on telling you what you will surely never be able to do so you shouldn’t even try? Whatever you call them, I don’t like them. People have called me negative before, but I’ve never told writers a bunch of things they can’t do: I’ve always focused on what they CAN do, on how much they CAN achieve, on their positive capabilities. Believe in yourself and you can do anything. Trust … Read more

The Journal: More Brandon Sanderson

In today’s Journal * More Brandon Sanderson * Mentorships Discontinued * Of Interest More Brandon Sanderson Another very short but important post today, primarily to mention two things: First, I took the time to look around and find Brandon Sanderson’s “318-R” course, the course on writing that he teaches at BYU. It’s free online (with his blessing) in a series of YouTube videos. I encourage you to watch at least the Course Overview (58 minutes) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8&list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL. If you go to that particular URL, you’ll see not only the Course Overview video, but the list of the other videos on … Read more

The Journal: A 20-Million Dollar Kickstarter Campaign

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A 20-Million Dollar Kickstarter Campaign—in Fiction * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Kickstarter for all sizes has now officially become a great place to start the sales of your new book. Even if you get just a few hundred, or five hundred, or a thousand, it is still money and readers you didn’t have before.” Dean Wesley Smith A 20-Million Dollar Kickstarter Campaign—in Fiction A very short post today to pass along what is, to me, very exciting news. According to DWS, Brandon Sanderson’s second kickstarter is about to surpass … Read more