In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * Revisiting Fun in Challenges * The Bradbury Challenge * The Writing * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “People are what they do, not what they say.” James Lee Burke “[J]ust go play. Have fun. Tell yourself stories.” Dean Wesley Smith Welcome Welcome to Oleg and Thomas and all other new subscribers to this Journal. If there’s anything I can do to help with your writing, feel free to let me know. You can reach me directly at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. Be sure to check out the free, downloadable, searchable PDF … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Fun in Writing Fiction * The Writing and a Reminder * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Never think about the final product, just the process of writing and keeping the writing fun.” Dean Wesley Smith “If you think something sucks in a story, leave it in the story, your creative voice put it there for a reason. Trust it.” Dean Wesley Smith Fun in Writing Fiction A couple days ago I wrote a bit about the “Fun-to-Work” ratio. Today, coincidentally, Dean Wesley Smith wrote “Keep the Fun.” You can see … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Newsletters and Fiction * The Writing * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The way to succeed is to double your failure rate.” Thomas J. Watson “Dare to be bad.” Nina Kiriki Hoffman “Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what’s more than enough.” Billie Holiday “I have not failed, but found 1000 ways to not make a light bulb.” Thomas Edison “To be ignorant of situations I can do nothing about is a blessing, not a curse.” Moi Newsletters and Fiction I don’t watch or … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Another Sort-of Challenge * The Uses of Challenges * Fiction Doesn’t Matter * The Fun-to-Work Ratio * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was 12.” Ray Bradbury “When an idea hits me, I do it, doesn’t matter what field it’s in [whether science fiction, fantasy, murder mystery, play, poem]. Instantly, I … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday * On Critique Groups * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The most fact-oriented people are those willing to check self-proclaimed ‘fact-checkers’, the most scientifically-minded people are those willing to question every so-called ‘scientific consensus’, and the most virtue-driven people are those willing to expose ‘virtue signallers’. Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewsk “PG … has seen enough virtue-signaling over the years of his adulthood to recognize the difference between saying the right things and doing the right things.” The Passive Guy on an article on his site Yesterday Yesterday, I felt sluggish … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Correction * Dean Wesley Smith * The Writing * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception.” James Thurber “I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.” Stephen King “Creative life is absurdly short. I want to cram in as much as I can.” Stephen King Correction Or rather … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Challenge Writers Reporting * The Writing * Recommendation * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you’ll grow out of it.” Doris Day “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters.” Ernest Hemingway Challenge Writers Reporting For this week, the following writers wrote the indicate short stories. You can still join in the challenge at any time. There’s no cost. It’s a great way to jumpstart your writing. Chynna Pace, “Mirrors,” Middle Grade suspense, 7600 words … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * How Can You—Oh. Never Mind. You Can’t. * The Writing * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Everything is theoretically impossible until it is done.” Robert A. Heinlein “Today I want to focus on the micro level—the scene—and make a pitch for the mini-outline.” James Scott Bell Does this guy ever allow the characters to breathe and just be who they are? Anyway, I assure one and all, I wrote the topic for this post before I checked Kill Zone blog this morning, which is where Mr. Bell holds court. Enjoy. … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Final Word * Of Interest Quote of the Day “All human-generated fiction begins in one of only two places: Block-by-careful-block, step-by-polished-step Construction comes from and through the conscious, critical mind. Unique, original Creation comes straight from the creative subconscious.” from “A Final Word” by Harvey Stanbrough A Final Word Earlier today I wrote in a last-ditch comment on another website, “All human-generated fiction begins in one of only two places: Block-by-careful-block, step-by-polished-step Construction comes from and through the conscious, critical mind. Unique, original Creation comes straight from the creative subconscious.” … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yet More Comments * Why I Talk About This Stuff * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Self-esteem is the prison of the pampered. Self-confidence is the realm of the practiced.” Harvey Stanbrough Yet More Comments There are yet more comments in an exchange between me and another commenter (Felix Torres) on “How to Make Backstory Work for You” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/how-to-make-backstory-work-for-you/. A lot of food for thought. I recommend reading it. Understand, I don’t bring this up for purposes of argument, but only as a springboard to pass along something that … Read more