Daily Journal

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Serious Note 1 * Tongue-in-Cheek Note 2 * An Easter Sale * Update on Novel Serialization * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it.” Hank Aaron Serious Note 1 In Dean’s post (see Of Interest), as a stretch goal for his Poker Boy Kickstarter he’s offering a “focus bundle to learn characterization.” Characterization is important. As you know, I do not advocate doing character sketches or otherwise ‘trying to learn’ (thinking about) characters in advance. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge * A Note from Dave Taylor * Yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The faster I write the better my output. If I am going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I am pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.” Raymond Chandler (Thanks to Patrick D for the quote.) 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 … Read more

Oops. Sorry this is late. I forgot to post it after I posted the Substack version. In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * Some Maybe Helpful Thoughts on Serialization * The Numbers A New Short Story “One Hot Late Afternoon in a Jungle” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. If you enjoy the story, please click Like. Comments are welcome too. Both help with my Substack algorithms. Then tell Everyone else. Bradbury Reminder Today is Saturday. Just a reminder to get your Bradbury Challenge … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Woohoo! * Your Results Might Vary * NaNoWriMo Is Shutting Down * A Quick Survey * Of Interest * The Numbers Woohoo! Yesterday, about the time I finished cycling through what I wrote in the novel yesterday, a friend invited me to write a short story for a pulp fiction paper anthology that’s supposed to come out this summer. So I took a little over two hours to write that (it mostly wrote itself) before I took a short break, then went back to the Hovel to write more on the novel. I love it when … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * One Example of Character Description * A Quick Survey * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” Ernest Hemingway Yeah, I know the above is a repeat, but it’s maybe the best advice Papa ever handed out about writing. One Example of Character Description The two paragraphs in this example comprise the opening of Chapter 4 of my current novel, which I wrote on Tuesday and cycled through on Wednesday. I also … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writing and Storytelling in All Guises * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” – Ernest Hemingway Writing and Storytelling in All Guises Writing and storytelling come in all guises. Everything depends on nuance. Chances are, if you have a sense of the nuances of language—a sense of the rhythms and of what goes where, when, and why—you can write in either … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Sometimes to Start Again * The TNDJ Challenges Revisited * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[T]his kind of challenge really gets a writer producing stories, novels, and other stuff. Just a regular amount really, really adds up.” Dean Wesley Smith Sometimes to Start Again With every story or novel I start writing, when I finish writing for the day, the act of closing my laptop seems to erect around the story a minor barrier: a parapet or a low wall. Sometimes to start writing again the next … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge * Yet Another Lesson, Part 2, from BO-40: John Staple * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There is nothing like being pleased with your own efforts—and this is the best stage—before it is published and begins to be misunderstood.” Flannery O’Connor The Bradbury Challenge During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported these new stories: Balázs Jámbor “Good luck and bad luck” 2200 General Fiction Vanessa V. Kilmer “Pull My Finger” 3022 Farce Alexander Nakul “Tabloid” … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Yet Another Lesson from Blackwell Ops 40: John Staple * Of Interest * The Numbers Yet Another Lesson from Blackwell Ops 40: John Staple In recent posts I’ve included at least two excerpts from Blackwell Ops 40: John Staple, the short novel I just finished. I provided those as learning opportunities. The thing is, often I don’t think to pass along ‘lessons’ others might find of value because they’re practices that, at this point, I more or less take for granted. By that I mean I no longer think of them consciously, or I assume the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * The Novel Wrapped * Note * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “One cannot grow fine flowers in a thin soil.” Virginia Woolf “If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” Sam Walton A New Short Story “Old Times” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. If I remember right, that’s a Stern Talbot PI short story. (I went back and read it. It is a PI … Read more