Daily Journal

The Journal: Rethinking, Rethinking

In today’s Journal * Rethinking ways to rethink the future * I’m also rethinking * Some days are downers * Of Interest * The Numbers Part of the creative person’s ongoing task is to experiment, plan, rethink, and adjust. Regrettably, I’m rethinking a couple of things today. The first is rethinking ways to rethink the future of our business. Only yesterday, I was certain I wanted to attend the Master Business Class in Vegas next October. Today, not so much. It would be an invaluable investment in our business. What we could learn there — if the instructors and students … Read more

The Journal: On Efficiency and Establishing Habits

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: On Efficiency and Establishing Habits (and a Bit on Today) * Yesterday I picked up * Toward the end of the day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I’m not a young man. I’m old, tired and full of no coffee.” Raymond Chandler, in Playback I can totally relate. (grin) Topic: On Efficiency and Establishing Habits (and a Bit on Today) Yesterday, Mona noted that the recurrent theme in my personal notes over the years has been scheduling. She’s right, and that was an epiphany for … Read more

The Journal: It’s All About Learning

In today’s Journal * Notice the new format * Quote of the Day * Lee Child * Topic: Investing in Your Own Future * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Notice the new format. The date of each post is already automatically added to the post (duh). So from now on I’ll endeavor to give each new edition of the Journal a title that indicates what you’ll find inside. Enjoy! Quote of the Day “Yeah. Importance is the worst thing you can put on any kind of creativity. As soon as you think it’s important, you’re dead.” Jerry Seinfeld … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, November 2

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * After slacking off * Topic: A Few Thoughts on Publishing * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.” Raymond Chandler *** After slacking off for a couple of hours yesterday, I decided to go ahead and publish “Seven Minutes in Belfast.” This is a fast-paced thriller in a tight package. If you want to study tight pacing and how to delve deep into your protagonist’s psyche all in a small package, … Read more

The Journal, Friday, November 1

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Finished * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The more you reason the less you create.” Raymond Chandler (wise words from another Stage 5 master) Finished the short story. I’ll call it “Seven Minutes in Belfast.” It’s a fast-paced story in the Blackwell Ops world. I wrote only a little over 500 words (the opening) yesterday, then had my doctor appointment and basically lost interest for the rest of the day. I can’t remember the last time a short story spilled over from one day to the next. … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, October 31

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Genres and Audiences * I’m writing again! * Yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Don’t ever write anything you don’t like yourself and if you do like it, don’t take anyone’s advice about changing it. They just don’t know.” Raymond Chandler For a great series of descriptions of the commercial genres and appropriate audiences by age, download my free Genres and Audiences at https://harveystanbrough.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Genres-and-Audiences.pdf. Note: this was derived from “Genre: A Novel’s Flavor” ©2019 Modupeh Duncan for AuthorsPublish.com *** I’m writing again! This morning I started … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, October 29

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Learning Revisited * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Everything that happens is destined for the past tense, and the way we render it into human comprehensibility is storytelling.” John M. Williams I’ve never read a better or more concise definition. Topic: Learning Revisited Everyone learns in different ways and at a different pace. Remember the stages of a fiction writer? If not, check out my take in the topic at https://hestanbrough.com/the-daily-journal-tuesday-july-/. I recommend you read it before continuing to read this topic. (You can … Read more

The Journal, Monday, October 28

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I wasn’t going to * Topic: In My Personal Restructuring… * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” Robert Collier I wasn’t going to post today. Need to give my left hand a few more days of healing time. But today’s “Of Interest” is important. Topic: In My Personal Restructuring… yesterday I figured out a few things: 1. How to Climb Back on Heinlein’s Rules Daily word count goal = 2500 wpd (on average). This is … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, October 26

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Always believe in courage, virtue and honor, that good always triumphs over evil, that true love never dies — because those are things worth believing in.” Hub in the film, Secondhand Lions *** Yesterday, despite my best intentions, I didn’t even return to my WIP to figure out what to do with it. I let too many other things get in the way. I did take a good 2-mile hike, so there’s that. Today and for the next … Read more

The Journal, Friday, October 25

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Humility and Epiphany * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “One of the widest gaps in human experience is the gap between what we say we want to be and our willingness to discipline ourselves to get there.” Harry Emerson Fosdick Topic: Humility and Epiphany In an email exchange, another writer wrote something that shocked me to my core. The statement was nothing earth-shattering. It was one of those casual sentences-in-passing that carries almost no weight at all. It was about process, about something the … Read more