Daily Journal

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * It’s All About Pacing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I believe in putting the horror in the mind of the audience, and not necessarily on the screen.” film director Alfred Hitchcock on how to keep cinema audiences on the edge of their seats (emphasis added) “[Hitchcock was] a master at the art of slowly ratcheting up tension on screen… [T]he key to suspense was not merely shocking the viewers but subtly manipulating their perception and emotions. “[He] knew that for the suspense to work, it had … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A New Short Story * A Day Off * A Few Reminders * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Why think structure when the structure is already thunk in the old brain cells?” Dan Baldwin “I swing big, with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.” Babe Ruth A New Short Story “A Smattering of Angels” went live yesterday on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. If you enjoy it, tell Everyone. If you … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Early Update on Challenges * On Using Formulas in Fiction * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The key to great writing is to find your own voice and speak directly to the human heart without frills—that is true eloquence.” Dan Baldwin “Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.” Dorothy Parker Early Update on Challenges To the best of my reckoning, I have 37 paid subscribers to the Journal. If you’re reading this, you have either a paid subscription, a comped subscription, or a … Read more

In today’s Journal * Three Writing Challenges: Your Choice * My First Challenge to You * My Second Challenge to You * Of Interest * The Numbers Three Writing Challenges: Your Choice Kris Rusch is at it again. She’s challenging other writers to match or exceed her daily word count from August 15 through September 14, albeit for a hefty (it seems to me) fee. If you’re interested, you can read about her challenge in Of Interest. As a way to say thanks to my paid subscribers, I’ve decided to offer two different challenges as well. Note that these are … Read more

In today’s Journal * Correction * Thank You * Commas * Of Interest * The Numbers Correction Yesterday’s Of Interest link to “Tips to Create a Series Bible” somehow went to the wrong place. Turns out I indadvertently added the link from the Quote of the Day yesterday—which apparently also no longer goes to Farnam Stree Blog, which I suspect is now defunct. Anyway, I went to KillZone blog and found the post. Here’s the correct link. Also, if you are interested in series bibles, I recommend you visit the Journal website and type “series bible” into the Search box. … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Mentorships * A Few Notes * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.” Lauren Bacall The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting To take part, the only requirement is to write at least one short story per week. Then, if you want to share your success, submit the story title, word count, and genre to me each week for publication in the Journal on Monday. (Yes, you can also write a longer story and submit your progress each week.) The … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A New Short Story * Saturday * This Morning * Reminder * Microsoft Word for Writers * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I’d rather focus on writing something true and good instead of thinking about promotion or money.” Clint Watsonhttps://clintavo.substack.com/ (I recommend checking this out.) “Here’s the deal: once you learn to have fun as a writer, to write one good, clean draft, and get it out there either traditionally or independently, you will see something amazing happening. You will be developing an audience for your stories.” … Read more

In today’s Journal * Try a Meet-Cute * The KindlePreneur * Of Interest * The Numbers Note: I said in yesterday’s Journal I would be back no later than Monday. I didn’t say I wouldn’t be back sooner than that. (grin) Try a Meet-Cute If you want to write fiction but you’re having trouble pulling the trigger on it, don’t write fiction. Instead, sit down and write what happened between or among two or more characters in a scene in their story, the one they’re living. You don’t have to write it “well,” much less “perfect.” Just write that one … Read more

In today’s Journal * Correction * Taking a Step Back * Of Interest * The Numbers Correction A minor correction, considering only one person wrote to tell me about it. (grin) In one passage in yesterday’s TNDJ, I typed a URL wrong for a link. Links don’t like that. Here’s the passage again but with the correct link: I also offer a free template for a reverse outline, the value of which I’ve talked about elsewhere in this Journal. Visit the Journal website and key “Reverse Outline” into the search box to find those posts. And now… Taking a Step … Read more