Daily Journal

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Re Steven James’ Story Trumps Structure * Musings on the Writing * Still Offering * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘No, I went to films.’” Quentin Tarantino Re Steven James’ Story Trumps Structure Writer Sebastian left a thorough comment you might want to read. My endorsement of the book doesn’t mean I agree with everything James says. If I considered buying it based only on the ten points in the comment, I wouldn’t have … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Value of Humor and Interruptions * A Rare Promotion for Another Writing Instructor * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[P]ublication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is.” Ann Lamott Thanks to Bob B. for this excellent quote. The Value of Humor and Interruptions Check out this lengthy excerpt from my current novel. You weel fin’ a leetle more dialec’ een thees wahn too (grin): After the hostess seated us and gave us each a menu and a glass of icewater with … Read more

In Today’s Journal * On Serialized Fiction * A Book of One’s Own * For Anyone Who Missed It * Writing Effective Dialect, Part 5 * Of Interest * The Numbers On Serialized Fiction In Of Interest below, Vin Zandri talks about a new platform where you can serialize your fiction. I’ve always been interested in serializing my novels. If you are too, be sure to also check out this Laterpress article: The Complete Guide to Writing Serial Fiction In the article, the author explains serial fiction and also lists several platforms (but note that Kindle Vella is no longer … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Writing Effective Dialect, Part 4 * A Note from Dan Baldwin * Remember the Run With Harvey Challenge? * Of Interest * The Numbers Writing Effective Dialect, Part 4 Word Sequence and Misused Words Sometimes dialect (character voice) is conveyed through a stiff, clunky response (e.g., no contractions). Other times it’s conveyed using words in a different order than a native speaker would use. Juxtaposition matters. A close friend of mine who was born in Mexico and whose native language was Mexican Spanish had trouble with prepositions when he spoke in English. For example, if you … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge * Report on a Ten-Day Challenge * 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: Balázs Jámbor “Guest pictures” 2000 General Fiction Balázs Jámbor “Dear shine of my eyes” 2200 Contemporary Balázs Jámbor “Asking … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Writing Effective Dialect, Part 3 * The Writing (Character Voice) * Of Interest * The Numbers Writing Effective Dialect, Part 3 I should have mentioned in the Introduction that I’m considering turning this series of posts into a nonfiction book titled Writing Effective Dialect. If I do that, I’ll expand and include the posts in this series. I’ll also include some information from my years-old and now-unpublished booklet titled “Writing Realistic Dialect.” So just a heads-up on that. I recommend you read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series before reading this one. You can find … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * Find & Replace * On Writing Dialect, Part 2 * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “Racing to the Corner” 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 story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday. Find … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On Writing Dialect, Part 1 * On Those Stupid Red Hyperlinks * Of Interest * The Numbers My Thought of the Day I woke up at 2:30 a.m., grinning ear to ear and fired up to race back to the Hovel so I could leap over the parapet and into the trenches of the novel with my friends. But owing to a burned-our lightbulb, then a shower, then answering emails and working on a new series for TNDJ, by the time I finally started cycling through what I wrote yesterday, it … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A Couple of Slow Days * Of Interest * The Numbers A Couple of Slow Days of writing. And in TNDJ. Okay, one, I had nothing to talk about yesterday. Or at least nothing occurred to me. And nothing really today either, but I wanted to get the Of Interest stuff out to you today. Sometimes life intrudes and other things take priority over writing. On Tuesday, my handyman came by and finished installing 40 amps of electricity in the Hovel on two lines, each with 4 receptacles. This has been an ongoing process. I’m just glad … Read more

In Today’s Journal * On Believing In Yourself * Of Interest * The Numbers On Believing In Yourself I’m always going on about believing in yourself and saying things like “It really is that easy.” It IS that easy, but that isn’t to say you can blink your eyes and suddenly be there. Those of you who can make that leap of faith have probably already done so. You probably only need a little believe-in-yourself booster now and then to keep having fun. But for some, believing in yourself and your abilities is less a quick-blink destination and more a … Read more