Daily Journal

The Journal: A Little More on Goals and Myths and My Goal

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Going Back * A Little More on Goals and Myths * My Writing Goal for 2022 * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[C]ritical voice is non-existent for me. I just do the very best I can every time and release and move on.” Dean Wesley Smith Going back to the earlier delivery time. I enjoy writing this in the morning and then reporting fiction the next day. Reporting the same day adds pressure, and nobody needs that. (grin) I should have known better than to mess with … Read more

The Journal: Goals and Challenges

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Note * Goals and Challenges and Getting Ready * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself.” Andrew Carnegie (via The Passive Voice) “Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.” Joseph Stalin “Perfectionism isn’t about being perfect; it’s about the fear of appearing imperfect.” Heather Campbell “You only need to know the direction, not the destination. The direction is … Read more

The Journal: Links to Share

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Nothing to talk about * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.” Willa Cather, My Ántonia “Writers … brag about the years they worked on something or the number of drafts they’ve done. It’s as if they aren’t making art but operating a plastic pellet factory.” Lincoln Michael I have nothing to talk about really, only a thought on goals and a few links to share. We’re a third of the way through … Read more

The Journal: A Few Brief Notes

In today’s Journal * A Few Brief Notes * Of Interest * The Numbers A Few Brief Notes Pearl Harbor Day—For those of you who are interested, may you experience a thoughtful and reflective Pearl Harbor Day. To commemorate one of the worst days in this nation’s collective memory, I recommend this article: “Rare photos capture the attack on Pearl Harbor from the Japanese perspective, 75 years ago” at https://mashable.com/feature/attacking-pearl-harbor#JMtgRVkmfkqZ. On Challenges—I also recommend reading the comments on Dean’s post from yesterday. You can find those at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/more-on-challenges-for-2022/#comments. Then see “Getting Ready for a New Year Or Challenge: Tracking Time” … Read more

The Journal: More on Challenges and Writing

In today’s Journal * Topic: More on Challenges and Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: More on Challenges and Writing Ironically, one of the big problems with being a prolific writer is publishing. You can’t make money on what you write unless you (or someone) publishes it. That’s why Heinlein’s Rule 4 exists, and that’s the one I almost constantly fall off of. Not that I care, but more on that later. Maggie King mentioned in a comment that a prolific writer might have a problem finding enough proofreaders (or first readers) to keep up. She suspects that’s … Read more

The Journal: Learning and Challenges

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Nothing about my nonsense * Topic: On the Process of Learning * Topic: On the Value of Challenges * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The halt on the road before the journey serves an important dramatic function of signaling the audience that the adventure is risky. It’s not a frivolous undertaking but a danger-filled, high-stakes gamble in which the hero might lose fortune or life.” Chris Vogler “[T]he difference between amateurism and professionalism is you have people looking after you and holding your hand as an amateur. … Read more

The Journal: Flip-Flop?

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A good article * Topic: Flip-Flop? * How About You? * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The first thing that I seek in a great story is originality.” David Farland (I had to laugh, given that Farland is one who advocates outlining, revising, editing and rewriting, all of which quickly obliterate any chance of originality. Here’s my recent post on originality.) There’s a good article today at The Passive Voice about who owns the copyright of derivative works in what amounts to shared worlds. Take a look … Read more

The Journal: Back to the Future

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * First, a quick welcome * Topic: Back to the Future (sigh) * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering that they are not God.” Thomas Sowell (via The Passive Voice) First, a quick welcome to Leanna L, Philip, and anyone else who’s joined us recently. Very glad to have you aboard. (grin) Now on to the topic. Topic: Back to the Future (sigh) Sorry for the seemingly hokey title (grin), but as you will … Read more

The Journal: Going Wide vs. Exclusivity

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * StreetLib * A Slow Start * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Writing is a lot easier than getting up onstage and singing and dancing, I’ll tell you that.” Mel Brooks A Long Quote on Wide Distribution vs. Exclusivity In a comment, a reader recently asked Dean Wesley Smith, “[Can you explain] why authors should go wide instead of Amazon exclusive? I always click on the links of authors who comment here and noticed so many of us are devotees of most of your methods [but] we still … Read more

The Journal: WITD and Writing Again

In today’s Journal * Holiday Sale * Writing Into the Dark * Writing Again * Of Interest * The Numbers Holiday Sale With the holidays coming up quickly, I thought I’d remind you of the half-price sale over at WMG Publishing’s Teachable account (https://wmg-publishing-workshops-and-lectures.teachable.com/). Workshops and lectures and classes make excellent gifts for writers, even if the writer is yourself. For details, see “3 Days Left in the Holiday Sale” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/3-days-left-in-the-holiday-sale/. Of the lectures, the knowledge you’ll glean from Heinlein’s Rules (Lecture 1 if I remember right) is absolutely priceless. That lecture is literally what started me on this … Read more