Daily Journal

The Journal, Wednesday, April 18

Hey Folks, A long post today, so you might want to grab a beverage. (grin) Topic: The Power of Streaks Revisited I talked here awhile back about the power of streaks. A “streak” means repeatedly hitting a certain regularly scheduled goal without missing. When you miss, the streak ends. For example, say you’re determined to write 1000 words per day every day. The more days you do that in a row, the more powerful the streak becomes because you won’t want to miss. As a nice aside, and if you did do that for 100 days in a row (just … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, April 17

Hey Folks, Well, I finished the edit at about 8 a.m. after a final few hours of editing. Then I ran over it again with Find & Replace just to double check on a couple of global changes, then ran a spell check. I finally sent it off at around 9:30 a.m. I didn’t plan to write today. I usually need to wind down after an edit, especially a lengthy one. I planned to start reading a novel today. I’d heard of a really good crime author from James Scott Bell. The critics rave about this author (I won’t mention … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 16

Hey Folks, Well, I don’t have a lot to report today, but a really good “Of Interest” section. I was determined today to have less than 25% of the edit left to finish tomorrow. With that in mind, I leaned into it from around 4 a.m. until I stopped at around 3 p.m. So a good 11-hour day, with a few breaks here and there. As I write this I have 15% of the edit left to do, so I should finish it tomorrow. Then, unless the gods frown on me. I should be able to return to my WIP. … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, April 15

Hey Folks, Well, happy Shearing Day. No fiction writing yesterday or today, as expected. Yesterday I edited for a few hours in the early morning, then a little more later on. I was going to publish an edition of this Journal yesterday, but I had nothing even for the “Of Interest” section so I didn’t. This morning too I edited for a few hours. I should finish the edit over the next two days. *** Back when I presented sessions at writers conferences and conventions and in private seminars, every now and then I’d hear some version of “Well, the … Read more

The Journal, Friday, April 13

Hey Folks, Sometimes it feels specifically like I make plans so I’ll have something to change later. Remember how I said a few days ago I was going to write in the early morning and then edit later in the day? Yeah. I worked on my WIP for a few minutes this morning, just enough to put my hand in. Then I thought about the copyedit waiting on my business computer. My gut tied in a knot. The client was even good enough to prepay the balance for the edit. Then, thankfully, I read Kris Rusch’s current Business Musings article … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, April 12

Hey Folks, Wow. I woke up right at 2:30, which has become my recent norm. But for various reasons I went back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until 4. Problem is, that throws off the whole day. The ladies asked me to stay close so they could go out in the pre-dawn yard. So I didn’t get to the Hovel, which means I didn’t get to the novel. One drawback to having a dedicated writing space and a dedicated writing computer is that when I don’t get there, I don’t write. Then I spent a couple of hours, … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, April 11

Hey Folks, Sorry I took off yesterday from posting the Journal. The first day of a copyedit is always the most difficult with the most concentrated effort. As a result, I totally spaced posting an edition of the Journal. So to today… Well, I’m writing again. The current copyedit is a long one. It will probably take me the better part of two weeks, and I didn’t want to go that long without writing. In fact, on my recent two and a half-day camping trip, I was already jonesing to write on the morning of the second day. So this … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 9

Hey Folks, I hope to get started on my next novel soon. Probably another noir mystery. We’ll see what appeals to me. Probably no writing today. An edit came in, though it’s a re-read so it won’t take more than two or three days. I don’t like doing re-reads, but if the writer insists, I’ll do it for half the price of the original edit. I don’t personally recommend revising an edited manuscript, but when I’m wearing my copyeditor hat, the customer is always right. In the meantime, my recent camping experience proved I can walk (rugged terrain) three miles … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, April 8

Hey Folks, Hmm. Somehow, I was thinking Friday’s post was Saturday’s post and hadn’t gone out yet. So I amended Friday’s post. Mark it up to a very good case of exhaustion. Anyway, we didn’t get back until yesterday (Saturday) morning and then I didn’t post a Journal. Not a lot going on today. Weird. The morning of the second day of the camping trip, I was jonesing for writing. From now on when I go, I’ll take my laptop along. Just in case. But now I’m back, and this morning I didn’t feel like writing. Since it’s Sunday, I … Read more

The Journal, Friday, April 6

Hey Folks, Well, I’m home from the camping trip to the Gila River in the Lower Gila Box Wilderness. It was fun. As promised, I’ve (pre-)posted the third topic below. I’m updating this edition of the Journal a bit since I’m back. Two days ago I talked in general about reading your work aloud, then discussed reading aloud during my writing process. Yesterday, I discussed reading aloud in my own after-writing process. So today…. Topic: Using a First Reader vs. Reading Aloud Of course, you can also do both: read aloud and send your work to a first reader, in … Read more