Daily Journal

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * What If My Story Stinks? Heinlein’s Rules Series, 3 * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols. The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them.” Pablo Picasso What If My Story Stinks? Heinlein’s Rules Series, 3 Today the topic is mostly about Rule 4: You must put it on the market. Q: I want to dive right in to some of my questions about the rules, starting with #4: You must put … Read more

In Today’s Journal * I Get Comments * Of Interest * The Numbers I Get Comments I felt a need to address this topic again. I’m doing so only because it might get through to one more writer. This will be the last time for a good long while. Big Philly wrote in a comment: “Dean [Wesley Smith] helped me become a better writer. So did the other guy. You take some from here, you take some from there. It’s our work, so we get to choose how we crank it out” (emphasis added). Here’s my response, expanded for a … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Heinlein’s Rules Series, 2 * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You do not have to be prolific as I am, but you do have to produce product….” Dean Wesley Smith Heinlein’s Rules Series, 2 Actually, more introductory stuff today, with some specifics on Heinlein’s Rules mixed in. Q: To provide context, how long have you been using this process, how many books/stories have you been able to write, and what kind of success have you achieved? Harvey: I first discovered Heinlein’s Rules and a technique called Writing … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On WITD and Being Prolific * Heinlein’s Rules Series, 1 * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You do not have to be prolific as I am, but you do have to produce product….” Dean Wesley Smith On WITD and Being Prolific Writing into the dark and being prolific go hand in hand, and they work in concert. But it is not easier for me to WITD because I’ve been writing fiction for a long time or because I’m prolific. Rather, I have been writing for a long time and am … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge * Anti-Promotion * A Reminder (or If You’re New Here) * Of Interest * The Numbers The Bradbury Challenge The whole point of the Challenge is to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost. The only requirement is to write at least one short story per week. Feel free to jump in at any time. During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported these new stories: Erin Donoho “Finding My First Horse” 2100 YA contemporary. Loyd Jenkins “The Man Who Delivers” … Read more

In Today’s Journal * CORRECTION * What the New Amazon… * From Tiffany G About Atticus * From Bob B About Cover Design * Stuff About Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers CORRECTION A writer reported “invalid code” when she tried to download Quiet the Critical Voice and Write Fiction yesterday. I went back and checked, and I found I’d done something stupid. Happens sometimes. (I know, total shock, right?) This offer now runs from today through Sunday, June 28. If critical voice is slowing or stopping your writing, PLEASE download this FREE book. It will help. Click Quiet … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Re Yesterday’s Post * A New Short Story * Affinity Publisher Help * True Pulp * Of Interest * The Numbers Re Yesterday’s Post I believe in you and your abilities. To help you along the road to believing in yourself, I’m offering a free book. No strings. Here’s the deal. For the next week, I’m giving away copies of Quiet the Critical Voice and Write Fiction. To get your copy, you only need to click Quiet the Critical Voice and Write Fiction. At checkout, enter the coupon code MHGUD585KD. You can download the book in .pdf, .mobi, … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I Get Emails * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Critical mind has one job in fiction: to keep you from writing fiction.” Me, to a friend on the east coast when his novel kept shutting down. I Get Emails A writer—I’ll call her Sylvia, which might or might not be her actual name—emailed to ask my opinion about using WooCommerce and selling through your own WordPress website vs. using Payhip, Shopify, etc. Of course, every writer and indie publisher is different, but no matter … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writing Aliens * Affinity Publisher is a Quagmire * According to D2D * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The only people who see the whole picture are the ones who step outside the frame.” Salman Rushdie Writing Aliens Among the most difficult things for a science fiction writer to do is come up with a convincing alien species. In fact, we most often take the easy way out and default to humanoid figures with different features: witness Klingons, Vulcans, Ferengi, and other species encountered during the voyages … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Echoes of Hemingway * Critical Voice vs. Creative Voice * Of Interest * The Numbers Echoes of Hemingway is published. It will go live on Amazon and everywhere else on July 12. But it is live NOW at the StoneThread Publishing discount store. BUT WAIT!  UPGRADED OFFER! I misspoke in yesterday’s TNDJ. You can get BOTH the Echoes of Hemingway anthology AND my 10-story Mobster Tales collection for donating $10 to the TRUE PULP Kickstarter! For descriptions on both collections, see yesterday’s post. Basically, you get THIRTY high-quality short stories for reading pleasure and instruction for … Read more