Daily Journal

The Journal, Saturday, October 27

Hey Folks, Wow. Who knew last night’s ball game would become the longest game in the history of post-season baseball? It finally ended (for me) around 12:30 a.m. my time. (groan) I gave up and went to bed halfway through the 18th inning. And the Dodgers won it moments later, 3-2. It was Boston’s first road-trip loss in this post season. And I actually saw Mary Hart (of TV entertainment show fame) making fun of and trying to distract a Boston pitcher who has a unique “look-in” to his catcher. Sigh. Some peope are surprisingly crass. *** A minor publishing-process … Read more

The Journal, Friday, October 26

Hey Folks, I’m actually writing this on Thursday afternoon (yesterday). Wow. I figured it would take at least a full day just to find the appropriate cover pics for the five publications I want to put out soon. Or longer. Didn’t happen that way. I got lucky. And I can’t say enough good things about Unsplash, a place where you can download high-resolution images FREE and use them for any purpose you like. Unsplash even tags each photo with the photographer’s name, so it’s easy to give them appropriate credit for their work. Anyway, I started searching for photos yesterday … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, October 25

Hey Folks, Writing fiction is my escape. It’s fun, and I love nothing more than being shoulder-deep in a story, racing along with my characters, almost breathlessly anticipating what will happen next. It’s so enjoyable for me that I occasionally use writing as a carrot. It dangles from a string, hanging from a stick that’s tied to my balding old head. It’s the only way I can think of to get my muley old butt to pay attention to Heinlein’s Rule 4 and move forward. That will be the case today. No more fiction writing for me until I create … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, October 24

Hey Folks, Over the past two days, I’ve written lengthy topics as part of my Journal posts. I’ve included another one today on The Reverse Outline. And I probably will include another one tomorrow on A Different Kind of Outline (for those who would like a safety net). These posts are mostly for new folks who have subscribed to the Journal or who follow along on Facebook. But I enourage those of you who’ve been with me awhile to read over them too. Even if it’s a topic you’ve seen before, you might pick up something you can use. It … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, October 23

Hey Folks, On this day in 1983, two suicide bombers in truck bombs attacked the Marine barracks near the airport in Beirut, Lebanon. The attack killed 220 Marines and 21 other service personnel. This was the deadliest attack against US Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945. At the same time, another truck bomb attacked a building housing French paratroopers, killing 58. We will not forget. *** Now to writing…. First, a thought to ponder: When we look back at something we’ve written and think it’s good, our first thought is usually “But writers are the worst … Read more

The Journal, Monday, October 22

Hey Folks, Long post today, but a good one, I think. I’m in the Hovel as I write this. I got out here around 7 this morning, played a game or two of Spider Solitaire, then decided to write this stuff before moving back to the novel. I’ll probably finish the novel today, but as I’ve mentioned, I’m in no big rush. After I write the stuff below, I’ll probably delay writing on the novel for a little longer. I have to update my reverse outline. For those who don’t know yet what a “reverse outline” is, I’ll explain it … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, October 21

Hey Folks, Well, given the time and a little attention to the WIP, the story will end today. I’m not looking forward to it. In my endeavor to write fiction every day (and it always has to be “honest” fiction, meaning I intend to publish it), I already have a vague story idea for a short story or novella. A wise guy on a camping trip.Eh? Eh? Or something like that. How would a guy born and raised into a very different lifestyle in Brooklyn react to wide-open spaces, and overnight no less? If you’ve ever been way out in … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, October 20

Hey Folks, Well, I didn’t roll out as early as I wanted to today. I’ll get some fiction done, but I have no idea how much time I’ll have. Depends. I started the day with a couple of free critiques. I’m not complaining. Hey, I offered, am I right? (grin) I hope even more folks will take advantage of it. To see what I’m talking about, look at http://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/new-services-offered/. This is a great opportunity to cut your learning curve. If your openings don’t immmediately grab the reader and ground him in your story, I urge you to take advantage of … Read more

The Journal, Friday, October 19

Hey Folks, Today’s post at the Kill Zone blog is a Reader Friday thing. I don’t often mention them, but today’s post is about cartoons and comics. It was fun looking back. See “Of Interest.” And regarding Lee Lofland’s posts… they’re full of great information for writers, but each post most often is a story of sorts in its own right. Just as writers can learn hard, cold facts from the posts, they can also learn descriptive techniques (writing setting). Today’s post is particularly interesting. Lee writes a great hook (in this case, the first paragraph), then not only mentions … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, October 18

Hey Folks, Watched an excellent baseball game last night and stayed up late (for me) to do so. I seldom watch baseball on TV through the season, but I almost always watch the division and league series and then the world series. I’m of the generation that remembers games being played only in the daytime, teachers allowing us to listen to the radio broadcast during class, etc. (grin) I’m old enough to remember men asking other men (as a test of their manhood) whether they knew who won the previous world series. I’m glad the custom didn’t persist; my memory … Read more