Daily Journal

In Today’s Journal * Wonder of the Day * Goals? * The Writing * A New Look at Critical vs. Creative Voice * A Diary of the Day * Of Interest * The Numbers Wonder of the Day A California writer (Thanks, RC) shared with me an ‘astute definition.’ This, he said, might be called ‘drawing into the dark’: Goals? If you like, as you form new writing or publishing goals for 2025, email to let me know what they are. You may even use me as a ‘place to report’ if you want to, either publicly or privately. Just … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Merry Christmas * The Numbers Merry Christmas I filed this edition mostly to report my numbers. Seems like most places are taking the next week or so off, so nothing today for Of Interest. Today I’ll work my weird early hours on the novel, then go up to the house at around 6 to spend the rest of the day with my bride. Like many of you, I’ll give and receive gifts, eat far too much, and maybe watch a football game. I hope your Christmas will be the best ever. Talk with you again soon. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Taking the Day Off * Wanna Be a Ghostwriter? Practical Tips * Of Interest * The Numbers Taking the Day Off I’m taking the day off from the Journal today to spend more time with my novel. My thanks to Dan Baldwin for the following guest post. Note: Dan has talked before in TNDJ about ghostwriting, but this is a decidedly different slant. Wanna Be a Ghostwriter? Practical Tips a guest post from Dan Baldwin “Hey! I got a great idea for a book. You write it up and we’ll split the profits fifty-fifty.” If you … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * I’m Excited! * 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: Vanessa V. Kilmer “Fool of Love” 3981 Farce Harvey Stanbrough “No Call for Clocks” 5516 Western Dave Taylor “Escape to the Old Mall” 2,715 Horror/suspense Dave … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Happy Holidays * Dangling Participants * Of Interest * The Numbers Happy Holidays I guess I’m an odd duck. Most of the time, happily, I don’t even know what day of the week it is, much less whether it’s a holiday. I don’t intentionally ‘not notice’ like some old Grinch. I’m usually just happily lost in my characters’ worlds. I’m fortunate that way. When I need to know whether it’s a particular day for some reason, I ask my lovely wife, “Hey, is this Tuesday or Wednesday, or what?” Then she confirms or corrects my guess. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * For All Fiction Writers * A New Short Story * Reminder * Anyone Ever Hear of Bookstagram? * A Story About a Story * A Meme for You * Of Interest * The Numbers For All Fiction Writers If you haven’t visited the Journal website recently, there are now seven articles under the On Writing Fiction menu tab. Especially if you’re new to TNDJ, I suggest you check them out. All of them are derived from earlier posts, so the page is kind of a mini-archive. You can find the full archives and other gifts here. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Self-Defeating Quote of the Day * I Got a Great Question Yesterday * Yesterday I Forgot * This Is a Busy Time of Year * Of Interest * The Numbers Self-Defeating Quote of the Day “I’ve written four books now and it always comes down to, do I have enough fortitude to keep going until I figure it out? Finishing the first draft is always the hardest part. The inner critic is deafening and problems abound. You just have to keep going. Books are made in revision. Nobody gets it right the first time. You can … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Novel Wrapped, and the Writing * What Matters About Being Prolific * Of Interest * The Numbers The Novel Wrapped, and the Writing That makes 19 on the year. Woohoo! What’s more, I’m chomping at the bit to get to 2025 and my new annual goals of 22 novels and 1,100,000 words of published fiction. But I’m not big on sitting on my hands and waiting for a particular date to start writing. There are just too many stories out there waiting to be told. It also helps that I wrote this particular novel in … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A New Epiphany * TNDJ Challenges for 2025 * The Kris & Dean Show * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Epiphany As I picked up where I left off and started writing on the novel yesterday, I had a new epiphany. I started writing fine, but only a few sentences in, the story stalled. Now I’m deep into the story, and I suspect it will wrap in the next couple days. So when it stalled, I fell back on my old standby: You’ve heard me say it before: When the Story Sags, Just Write … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Holiday Gift Subscriptions Now Available * Ten Ways to Start 2025 with a Bang * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s hard to believe since May of this year I have completed 34 short stories, a novel and two novellas. I’ll set new year’s resolution to start sharing them with the world.” Dave Taylor, in an email containing next Monday’s Bradbury Challenge input Note: For those following my numbers, I didn’t write yesterday. Caught up on my sleep a little instead. Dumped my daily average a little, … Read more