Daily Journal

The Journal: Characterization: Just Don’t

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Some Quick Math * Topic: Characterization: Just Don’t * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s not a race. This writing business is one event where everybody who crosses the finish line wins. And then we get to start all over again. You just can’t beat that.” Dan Baldwin Wow. I did some quick math yesterday just out of curiosity. Remember I offered to send you the rough Journal archives in PDF documents from 2014 through 2021? I went back and added those up. Granted, they’re the rough … Read more

The Journal: To Achieve Success

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * To Achieve Success * A Minor Change to the Journal * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If I were to tell you today that your project is a waste of time, would you abandon it? If so, perhaps it’s best that you did. … [T]o achieve results that spell success … requires enjoyment of the writing process in and of itself—to see that as the reward.” Jane Friedman To Achieve Success Jane’s take (see “Of Interest”) is spot on: To Achieve Success Requires Enjoyment of the Writing … Read more

A Slightly Belated Happy New Year

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Happy New Year * If any of you enjoy history * I Hoped to Post Links * My Only Real Escape * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “My subconscious mind always knows how to get from A to Z.” Novelist Robert J. Sadler Happy New Year More than one person has reminded me that even though I posted a Journal entry on New Year’s Day, I failed to say happy new year. I’d like to say I thought maybe that was implied, but maybe that isn’t true. … Read more

The Journal: And So It Begins

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Einstein’s quote * And So It Begins * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Albert Einstein “[A]t 2,500 words I knew it would be a novel, but managed to go back and wrap it up into a short story. But no doubt this will be a start of my next Mary Jo Assassin novel. I will just remove the … Read more

The Journal: Writing Fiction

In today’s Journal * I Fibbed * Topic: Writing Fiction * A Quick Look Back * Of Interest * The Numbers Welp, I fibbed. I said I wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, but here I am. I wanted to do a self-motivating recap of 2021, and I wanted to announce my first writing project for the new year. And it seemed silly to wait until tomorrow to do either of those. Also, it seemed wrong not to post on the first day of a new year. So here I am, wishing you the best year of writing you’ve ever had. … Read more

The Journal: On Daily Word-Count Goals

In today’s Journal * Sympathy * Thanks, I needed that * Topic: On Daily Word-Count Goals * A Final Word on Goals for This Year * The Journal Archives * Of Interest * The Numbers First, my heartfelt sympathy for the family, friends and fans of Coach John Madden, who passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning at the age of 85. I was fortunate that I got to witness much of his career as a coach and then as a coach in the broadcast booth. Coach Madden will be sorely missed. My sincere thanks to reader Larry P who emailed me … Read more

The Journal: Reader Taste—The Final Take

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Reader Taste—The Final Take * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[T]he big money, I think, for long term is probably in self publishing.” New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin “I think after Christmas would be better for publication: I am hardly a Christmas present.” Oscar Wilde Topic: Reader Taste—The Final Take (and a question for you) In an email regarding my recent post on reader taste vs. writer skill, my young friend wrote, “… what if one reader doesn’t like a book but another reader … Read more

The Journal: Reader Taste?

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Posts about Christmas * Topic: Reader Taste? I Don’t Think So * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It’s very important to know what you don’t like. A big part of innovation is saying, ‘You know what I’m really sick of?’ … ‘What am I really sick of?’ is where innovation begins.” Jerry Seinfeld “You don’t question your standards based on what anyone else is doing. You don’t look over at someone else’s race and think, I’m doing a bad job because you’re going faster. You just focus … Read more

The Journal: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

In today’s Journal * Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays * Another WMG Workshop Sale * A Note from Mona * Of Interest * The Numbers Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Good morning! Sorry it’s been awhile. I just haven’t had much to say. Anyway, I wish all of you a happy Christmas Eve and a merry Christmas, even if you personally don’t celebrate the actual holiday. I understand that not everyone does. If you celebrated Hannukah, I hope that was a rewarding time for you. The same for those who will celebrate Kwanzaa or any other holidays at this general … Read more

The Journal: Reflections

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Reflections 1-5 * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “To move past obstacles, you need to move.” Lost Attribution “The author is having such a good time in telling his tale that he gives us necessarily a good time in reading it.” Clayton Meeker Hamilton in A Manual of the Art of Fiction (1919) about Treasure Island “The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.” Joan Didion Reflection 1—On My Silly Goal Reflecting on my own goal of writing at … Read more