Daily Journal

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writer Resources * A Workaround for the Rule of Threes * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Snatching the eternal out of the desperately fleeting is the great magic trick of human existence.” Tennessee Williams Writer Resources Other than TNDJ, here are some writer resources for you. Most of them are free. These include everything from a course on using Microsoft Word to essays on copyright to practical how-to writing-craft advice to dictionaries and converters and more. And not all of them are from me. I recommend you … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Nuances Matter * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “A writer outlining a novel has a beginning and an end. He’s working toward that end, but after beginning he has to create a lot of stuff to get there. Too often, at that point, he’s no longer writing and is just producing filler. “The problem? The author is bored … because he knows exactly what is going to happen, when it will happen and to whom it will happen. He knows the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Writers Email * On Writing What’s “in Style” * Of Interest * The Numbers On Writing What’s “in Style” A writer recently sent me a link to a video to “give [me] ideas to write about for the Journal.” I appreciate the thought, but I have no shortage of ideas. After all, TNDJ is mostly my own informed opinions and suggestions. Anyone who would care to write a guest post for TNDJ is welcome. Send it to me via email and I’ll consider it. The writer also wrote “One thing he mentions in this video is … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * The Character’s Will * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I thought that you ought to add Corrin Tellado to the pulp writers. She started a bit later, in the 1940’s, but she’s the empress of speed. “Tellado is sometimes called the most important Spanish writer after Cervantes, and no one outside the Spanish-speaking world has heard of her. “During her 60 odd year career, she published 4182 original novels, with 400 million copies in print, writing … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Lingering Thought on Italics * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “At the moment of truth, there are either reasons or results.” Chuck Yeager A Lingering Thought on Italics I thought I had nothing for TNDJ today, but I wanted to pass along the stuff in Of Interest. So I looked back over some files on my desktop and found a note I’d written and forgotten about. Here it is: Recently I posted in TNDJ regarding the use of italics to indicate the POV character’s unspoken thoughts … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * On Reader Taste * A New Consideration for Backmatter * A Comment on Chapter Heads * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Keep going. If you keep writing, you’ll outpace the rejection.” Nanu Ekua Brew-Hammond, author of My Parents’ Marriage (Amistad Books) “Read the best writing you can lay your hands on. Experiment with workshops, writing groups, and teachers. But most of all, let yourself fall headlong into the fictional dream of your characters. Sit in the backseat and notice where they take you. Don’t … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A (Surprise) New Short Story * I Was Surprised Too * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Scout Finch, protagonist in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Exactly how I feel about writing A (Surprise) New Short Story Surprise! “Something in the Way She Moves” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Consider it a bonus. Somehow I hit the 1 instead of the 2 and scheduled … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Why I Do TNDJ * Paid Subscriber? * A Rumination on Story Ideas * Of Interest * The Numbers Why I Do TNDJ One of the major reasons I still publish TNDJ dawned on me yesterday morning when yet another email came in from the Writer’s Digest newletter. It was titled “9 Dos & Don’ts of Writing What You Know.” In that moment, I realized how much impure, thoroughly adulterated crap I waded through in the past about writing in order to be here now writing another issue of TNDJ. Now and then I share in … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Two Fiction Collections: 793,300 Words * A Few Personal Epiphanies * Of Interest * The Numbers The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting 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. During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported these new stories: Balázs Jámbor “The bookstore at the gate of hell” 2400 fantasy Vanessa V. Kilmer “The Princess is a … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Nonfiction Omnibus Published * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “He doesn’t outline it, he writes it straight through.” Ajay Chowdhury in the documentary, “Icons Unearthed: James Bond,” speaking of Ian Fleming’s ‘stream of conscious’ writing style. Thanks to my friend Robert J Sadler for the quote. “I have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” Stephen King Nonfiction Omnibus Published Okay, Nonfiction Omnibus is published. It contains the complete texts of Punctuation for Writers (2nd Edition), Writing Realistic Dialogue … Read more