Daily Journal

In today’s Journal * Ten Years Ago Yesterday * Every Decision Leads to a New Future * Of Interest * The Numbers Ten Years Ago Yesterday On October 19, 2014, I started writing what would become my first novel, Leaving Amarillo. I also published the first official edition of the Journal on that date. The novel wrapped with 40,610 words on November 10, 2014 (23 days). Although it was my first novel, it ended up being the fourth of the twenty-two books that comprise The Wes Crowley Saga. So yesterday was kind of a major anniversary for me. And yet … Read more

In today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * Given the Ability to Split My Soul * The Numbers A New Short Story “Blue Bell and the Roses”went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. It’s a great story (strictly my opinion as a reader). Go check it out. As always, if you enjoy it, please tell Everyone. If you don’t, shhh! (grin) Bradbury Reminder Today is Saturday. Just a reminder to get your story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday. Remember, if you finish a story earlier in … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * You Have Achieved Great Things * Of Interest * The Numbers You Have Achieved Great Things So is this an inspirational message or a butt-chewing? That depends strictly on your perception. I have my own opinion, but I’m only the writer. Whatever it is, it’s a long one, so settle in. I’m one of those annoying people. I’m one of those who, if I’ve done a thing before, I know I can do it again. Shrug. Call me crazy. And thanks to Jim G for reminding me of this yesterday. And … Read more

In today’s Journal * Scheduling * Speaking of Challenges * Of Interest * The Numbers Scheduling Recently I talked about daily word count averages and how much they matter. This is one more way they matter. I call it scheduling. Life throws all of us little or big curves now and then, and they seem almost always to interrupt our writing time. For the really big curves, there isn’t much you can do. You just have to step back for a moment (or a day or a month) and then start writing again when the smoke has cleared. But the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On the Different Ways to Write Fiction * The Numbers Quote of the Day “In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.” Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) as reported in 1440 Daily Digest On the Different Ways to Write Fiction This is intended only for those who are serious about writing fiction. If you aren’t—if you’re writing only for therapy or only to mark another “to do” off your bucket list or whatever—that’s perfectly fine but you are not the … Read more

In today’s Journal * The List * Short Day * The Comet * Of Interest * The Numbers The List In yesterday’s issue of TNDJ, which you can read on Substack or at An Idea Whose Time Has Come I talked about writers getting together to support and encourage each other with writing and/or publishing challenges. Shortly after I posted that, a professional, traditionally published, excellent short story author emailed me from England to let me know he wanted in. This morning that guy is the only one on the list. I’m a little confused. Or maybe aghast with disbelief. … Read more

In today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * An Idea Whose Time Has Come * The Numbers The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting I really wish more of you guys would jump into this. C’mon, show us what you’ve got. The whole point is to have fun and grow as a writer. I’m gonna list my stories here too (again). The Challenge helps remind me I need a story every week. There is no cost. The only requirement is to write at least one short story per week. (I’m no longer keeping track of your longer fiction. Too erratic.) … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Practice Is Important * Of Interest * The Numbers Practice Is Important This is a blast from the past, and a perfect followup to yesterday’s post on setting goals. I originally posted this to the Journal back in June of 2018. I read over it with an eye toward updating it—and I did add to it a little—but the original post is kind of timeless. For perspective, notice that in this post I mentioned having written “31 novels and around 200 short stories.” Today I’ll write my 255th short story and … Read more

In today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Setting Goals * Harvey’s Notes to Earth * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “Empirita Sanchez de Uvalde” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. It’s also an excerpt from one of my Blackwell Ops novels. Go check it out. Setting Goals This is a topic I feel compelled to revisit now and then. Since we’re entering the final quarter of the year, it might be timely for some of you. In a recent issue of TNDJ, I mentioned I’ve recently readjusted my goals. … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Place (and Computer) of One’s Own * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers A Place (and Computer) of One’s Own This is another blast from the past, considerably updated. I first posted it here back on November 1, 2018. I felt it was relevant because in today’s Of Interest, DWS talks about having a dedicated writing computer. As many have said, having a dedicated writing space is all-important. Still, I’ve heard many say they can write anywhere. I usually smile and say, “Oh good.” The unasked question is … Read more