Daily Journal

The Journal: What the Journal Is Not

In today’s Journal * What the Journal is not * Why I didn’t post yesterday * The Numbers This Journal is not a political blog and it will never become a political blog. Nor will I ever ambush you with political commentary here. You come here expecting to read my ramblings about writing fiction and, to a lesser degree, nonfiction and poetry and my personal life as a writer. And that’s what you should find when you get here. Why I didn’t post yesterday Some will notice I didn’t post at all yesterday. There are two reasons for that: One, … Read more

The Journal: What We Keep

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * There are links to several * Topic: What We Keep * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Hahahahahaha!! What??? Me and you grumpy?” anonymous, a friend responding to yesterday’s Journal post “I have no trouble accepting my own flaws. It’s other people who have a problem with that.” Wes Crowley There are links to several very good articles in today’s “Of Interest” section. I hope you’ll take the time to click through and visit some of them. Topic: What We Keep For close to a year after I learned the technique … Read more

The Journal: Feedback and Thinking Out Loud

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One astute reader noticed * Feedback on my negativity * I didn’t have as good a day * Just thinking out loud * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I think some aspects of writing can be taught. Obviously, you can’t teach vision or talent. But you can help with comfort.” Toni Morrison (via The Passive Voice) One astute reader mentioned she noticed that although I finished the recast of Book 4 of the FOH series earlier this month, my novel total for 2021 still indicates 0. That’s true, but it … Read more

The Journal: Dialogue Tag vs. Brief Descriptive Narrative

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * An extremely good post link * I lost a subscriber on the 12th * The purpose behind the Journal * Trigger Alert (joking) * I expect a good day * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Be ruthless about protecting writing days…. Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance.” J.K. Rowling (via The Passive Voice) “Jenny told me that the eye passes over ‘said’ and ‘asked’ and … Read more

The Journal: An Opportunity to Learn

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * An Opportunity to Learn * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[A]void using an abundance of clunky “ly” words.” Lee Lofland “The best crime stories are not about how cops work on cases. They’re about how cases work on cops.” Joseph Wambaugh An Opportunity to Learn See “Five Tips For Writing to a Large Audience (48 minute video)” at https://mystorydoctor.com/get-the-five-tips-for-writing-to-a-large-audience/. I suggest listening to this free video by David Farland. For one thing, it will help with good ways to think about your IP, not only the stories themselves but parts … Read more

The Journal: Gripes of the Day

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Gripes of the Day * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[I]f an artist of any kind sits around waiting for inspiration, he’ll have a very small body of work. Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” Madeline L’Engle Gripes of the Day Gripe 1 “Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said and done, comes down to dollars.” Nicholas Sparks Okay, first, duh. Do people never grow weary of stating an obvious fact as if no one’s ever said it before? Second and more importantly, does … Read more

The Journal: Writer Seeks Actual Publisher

In today’s Journal * Topic: Writer Seeks Actual Publisher * Wimped out a little * The Numbers Topic: Writer Seeks Actual Publisher A couple days ago I posted about numbers, and yesterday I posted about priorities. Who knew I was building up to posting about Heinlein’s Rule 4: “You must publish” (in today’s parlance)? I just read another post about organizing, or rather the consequences of the lack of organization. And I was moved to leave a brief comment. I wrote “For me, at least, that’s why Heinlein’s Rule 4 is so easy to fall off of.” (Yeah, I know. … Read more

The Journal: A Thought on Priorities and Writing

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: A Thought on Priorities and Writing * Another Note on Numbers * A decent day yesterday * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You don’t need more time, you need more focus.” FS Blog Topic: A Thought on Priorities and Writing When I was a child in New Mexico, I heard a Realtor’s spot on the local radio station: “There will always be more people, but there will never be more land.” The Realtor in question most often dealt in large tracts of land: farms, ranches and the like. And … Read more

The Journal: Writing “Fast”

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Writing “Fast” * A dismal day * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Professional writers think of stories or novels as just one continuous thing they write, never making one or another more important.” Dean Wesley Smith “I usually write a play in six days. A novel takes a month.” William Saroyan Topic: Writing “Fast” Again today I saw a writer trying to define “fast,” as in “Are you a ‘fast’ writer?” To me, this is like defining heat and cold or light and dark. Really, there is no such … Read more

The Journal: Yes, That’s What Happens

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I’m writing this * Yes. That’s what happens * On an oddly related note * Today I’ll finish cycling and write * The Numbers Quote of the Day “My story began to develop and grow in unexpected ways, much like a baby who resembles neither parent at first but occasionally, even eerily, flashes a crooked smile or gives you that soulful gaze that makes you know you are staring at your spiritual twin.” Sunday Taylor I’m writing this on Thursday morning. I finished the recast of Book 4 by around 7 … Read more