Daily Journal

In today’s Journal * The Find & Replace Function * Of Interest * The Numbers Way back in 2015  I wrote a series of blog posts under the umbrella title “Microsoft Word for Writers.” I thought I’d repost a couple of those topics here. Two of the more-essential topics are this one—on using the Find & Replace function—and the next post, on the use of the Paragraph Formatting tool. I hope they will help. The Find & Replace Function The Find & Replace function is the most useful tool in Microsoft Word. With the Find & Replace function, you can … Read more

In today’s Journal * New Story * Also Yesterday * Royalty-Free Cover Art * Update on The Passive Voice Website * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “Curious Shapes” went live yesterday on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. If you enjoy it, tell Everyone. If you don’t, shhh! (grin) One guy wrote to say he liked it. So I says to him, I says, “Whaddayou, sick?” (grin) Also Yesterday Since I was still in conscious-mind mode from a copyedit I recently finished, I did a lot of admin stuff. The key points are The … Read more

In today’s Journal * Another Novel Is Live * Two-Fer Sale * Openings Critique Ongoing * Bradbury Challenge Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Another Novel Is Live Blackwell Ops 24: Buck Jackson Returns went live this morning at Amazon and vendors supplied by Draft 2 Digital. Of course, it’s been available since publication at a lower price at StoneThread Publishing. Still, usually when I get a “your book is live” notice, I’ve just finished or am about to finish another novel. (grin) Not so this time. Because I took time off to do some maintenance around the place, … Read more

In today’s Journal * A Publishing Challenge of Sorts * Of Interest * The Numbers A Publishing Challenge of Sorts Heinlein’s Rule 4, You Must Put It On The Market (Publish), has always been the most difficult of the Rules for me to follow. To get your free, annotated copy of Heinlein’s Rules in PDF, click here. You can also download, free, What Heinlein’s Rules Mean to Me, an essay I wrote awhile back. For novels (and a few omnibus collections of novels) I have my Rule 4 problem pretty much under control now. But it wasn’t always that way. … Read more

In today’s Journal * The Passive Voice Site * Punctuation for Writers * Of Interest * The Numbers The Passive Voice Site which I visit every morning to find items for Of Interest, is currently down. I suspect the security certificate for the site has expired. I also suspect PG and his webhost are working to correct the situation. In the meantime I’ll check a couple times each day to see whether the problem has been rectified. Punctuation for Writers Punctuation is the least-understood tool in the writer’s toolbox. But despite its seeming insignificance, it is also among the most … Read more

In today’s Journal * Seeing Oneself “Represented,” or… * A Further Note on Copyediting * New Novel * Of Interest * The Numbers Seeing Oneself “Represented,” or Write Fiction for Fiction’s Sake There has been a great deal of talk in recent years about people with various surface differences seeing themselves “represented” in fiction. The other side of the same coin is a great deal of talk about “cultural misappropriation.” Representing any one group or sub-group is not the fiction writer’s job. The fiction writer’s job is only to tell a story. Hopefully s/he will tell it well enough to … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * I’m Copyediting Again * Subscription Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[Y]our Opening Critiques offer … was the best 15 bucks I’ve ever spent, bar none.” Peter Armstrong, writer and Journal reader, in a comment Thanks for the endorsement, Peter. “Anyone who stops learning is old, at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Henry Ford as reported in 1440 Daily Digest The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting To take part, write at least one short story per week (or … Read more

In today’s Journal * Curtailing the Opening Critiques Offer * Bradbury Challenge Reminder * I Take My Lessons * Of Interest * The Numbers Curtailing the Opening Critiques Offer My offer to critique your opening is something that could leap your writing ahead. That’s why I offered it. But I’ve changed the rules a bit. I overextended myself, and I have to get back to my own writing. So— 1. Please send only one opening for critique. What you learn from it will sink into your creative subconscious, and you will be able to apply it to other openings. 2. … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Why I’m Charging a Fee for the Openings Critiques * Let’s Talk Genre * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[A]ll roads lead back to just keep writing and having fun. That really is the key.” Dean Wesley Smith (see the second item in Of Interest) A New Short Story “A View to the Curious” went live yesterday on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. If you’re curious, go check it out. (grin) Why I’m Charging for the Openings Critiques Nobody brought this up. I … Read more

In today’s Journal * Short Story Contest Winners * Openings Critique Offer * An Updated Look at Free Writer Resources * Of Interest * The Numbers Short Story Contest Winners I mentioned before that I received only ten entries in the recent contest, but every one of them was a good story. And I do not blow smoke. Consider… Some were first-ever short stories by brand new writers or folks who usually write novels. In one short story by a new short-story writer, I found one of the most excellent turns of phrase I’ve ever seen. Her story was also … Read more