In Today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* I Keep Trying
* One Taker
* No Judgement Here
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“Publishing on Amazon isn’t hard. But it is easy to do wrong.” The Kindlepreneur
I Keep Trying
to post less often, but that might not be in the cards.
Sometimes not writing and posting something is really difficult. So read these when you can, but try not to skip over any of them completely or you might miss something you would have found of value.
One Taker
so far on my offer to let others write in the Blackwell Ops world. See yesterday’s post here.
I could be wrong (and I hope I am), but I have a feeling that one taker hasn’t read any of the books. I’ll put together the Bible and send it to him anyway, but….
If you’re interested in writing in the Blackwell Ops world, reading at least a few of them would be a good idea so you can get a feel for the flavor of the books.
That’s why I was so excited to make such a great offer of a complete 7-volume saga set in that world for under $15. That’s like getting 7 novels for the price of 7 short stories.
If all you want is something to snap you out of a writing funk, try what I’ve always recommended: Drop a character with a minor problem into a setting, then sit down at a keyboard and write it.
No Judgement Here
As you all know, I’m a strong advocate of creating fiction, pre-beginning to The End, with the creative subconscious. I also advocate blocking the conscious, critical mind completely out of the creative process.
Again, from pre-beginning to end: So from the conception of a story idea all the way through writing and cycling and publishing the story or novel that results from that idea.
In fact, if there was some law that said I ‘have’ to outline, character sketch, and world build BEFORE I write, or one that said I ‘have’ to critically revise, seek critical input, then revise again, then do (or have done) a critical developmental or copyedit, then rewrite X number of times AFTER I write, I wouldn’t write fiction at all.
Nothing is more enjoyable to me than writing fiction and living vicariously through my characters.
But nothing is LESS enjoyable (or more boring) to me than engaging in the block-by-block construction of characters, worlds, or stories as dictated by my or others’ conscious, critical minds. I simply won’t do it.
I’m probably allergic to a process like that. If I even tried it again (yes, been there, done that) I’d probably break out in hives.
Life is too short and too precious for nonsense like that. (Sorry, but to me it’s nonsense.)
Now, all of that said, the non-process of WITD is MY way. It’s the way I choose to create. Meaning I CREATE with the CREATE-ive subconscious. To me, that’s just common sense.
But you might have a different way, and that’s fine.
If you actually ENJOY outlining and revising and rewriting and all that hovering over individual words and sentences, go for it. You’ll get no argument or judgement from me. Again, been there, done that. A long time ago, I did exactly the same thing.
I’ll never say my way is the only way to write fiction, but as long as I’m breathing and writing I’ll never stop saying WITD is the most freeing way to write fiction. Because it is.
And yes, I’ll continue to encourage you to
- believe in yourself,
- trust your characters, and
- really try writing into the dark.
But if you choose not to do that, hey, that’s your choice to make.
No matter what, you do you.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
How to Publish a Book on Amazon (Step-by-Step Guide for 2026) Goes to the quote of the day. Spend some time with this. It isn’t just about filling in the blanks. (If you’d rather watch a video of the process, click here.)
Amazon Book Categories: My Secret Method to Choose Clear Winners
Your next book ad creative is done for you (Steal these promo templates!) If you do ads, check these out.
What Actually Scares Me About AI
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 710
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 710
Writing of
Day 1…… XXXX words. To date………… XXXXX
Fiction for January………………………… XXXX
Fiction for 2026…………………………… XXXX
Nonfiction for January.…………………… 18770
Nonfiction for 2026………………..……… 18770
2026 consumable words………………… 18770
2026 Novels to Date……………………… 0
2026 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2026 Short Stories to Date……………… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 123
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29