The Journal: Personas vs. Pseudonyms

In today’s Journal * Personas vs. Pseudonyms * Of Interest * The Numbers Personas vs. Pseudonyms As I mentioned yesterday, I thought you might enjoy reading about a few of my pseudonyms. Actually, though, “pseudonyms” is a misnomor. A pseudonym is only a false name, a mask one can hastily put on to conceal one’s “true” identity for whatever reason. (Does anyone ever reveal their true identity? And which one? But that’s a matter for another post.) A pseudonym is a lie, and it doesn’t imbue the writer with any particular skills. It’s only words. I’ve used a few pseudonyms—one … Read more

The Journal: Sort-of WITD and Pseudonyms

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One Alternative to WITD * On Pseudonyms * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Spend the best hours of your day on the biggest opportunity, not the biggest problem.” Farnam Street blog “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” Hanlon’s Razor by Robert J. Hanlon One Alternative to WITD In “Of Interest” today I linked to an article about NaNoWriMo. The article is written by a young woman who calls herself a “pure ‘pantser’.” (Ahem. Sorry, but I flatly despise that term. It puts … Read more

The Journal: A Little More on Publishing to Paper

In today’s Journal * A Little More on Publishing to Paper * Of Interest * The Numbers A Little More on Publishing to Paper Yesterday I mentioned that I probably would not be taking my publications into paper. I have a couple more things to say about that, and I should have said them yesterday: One: I’ve had a lot of my novels and collections out in paper, so this isn’t something I’ve never tried. But those books didn’t sell very well, probably because they were priced three or four times higher than the ebook versions. And remember, that’s for … Read more

The Journal: D2D Paper Price Increase

In today’s Journal * D2D Paper Price Increase * Of Interest * The Numbers D2D Paper Price Increase I’ve been sitting on this for awhile, unintentionally. Frankly I’d forgotten about it. And I’m putting it out there today mostly to justify sharing the items in “Of Interest” with you. Anyway, if you publish (distribute) through Draft2Digital, and if you’re signed up to get their newsletter, you already know this. But just in case you don’t, D2D is adjusting what they call their “print price,” by which they mean their paper-publication price. D2D writes, “For two years we’ve been able to … Read more

The Journal: 10,000 Trillion Ants

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Rewording Heinlein’s Rule 4 * An Analogy * Dean Wesley Smith’s post yesterday * An Anniversary of Note * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There are, by some rough estimates, 10,000 trillion ants in the world at any given moment, and their combined weight would match the total weight of the planet’s human population.” Christoph Irmscher, paraphrasing Edward Osborne Wilson in “The Ant Man’s World.”https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-ant-mans-world/ Idea for an SF novel or series of novels? Rewording Heinlein’s Rule 4 I was talking with screenwriter MGP again and he … Read more

The Journal: A Little More on Process

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * If you don’t currently practice * Questions from a screenwriter * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” Elinor Smith If you don’t currently practice writing into the dark, and if you want to, read my previous two posts. I have a feeling some folks see “WITD” in the subject line or in the contents list and skip reading the post. … Read more

The Journal: Writing Into the Dark: Part 2

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Writing Into the Dark: Part 2 * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s all a matter of process vs. product. I like the writing. I like telling a story. I like being stuck and not knowing where I’m going. I love that process. If you want to write more, practice, and care about the process [vs. the individual story]. Having fun telling the story is what matters. Don’t worry about the end product. Readers will buy it or not, and there’s nothing you can do about … Read more

The Journal: What Is Writing Into the Dark?

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * “Of Interest” Is Back * Topic: What Is Writing Into the Dark? * Almost Writing Again * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “To see the blue color go right by you and now you’re staring into blackness, that’s the thing.” William Shatner, trying to convey his experience on Blue Origin “Of Interest” Is Back Yeah. I was silly to get rid of it. I’ll happen across things that might be of interest to you as writers of one genre or another or as writers in general, and … Read more

The Journal: How to Write Faster

In today’s Journal * “Of Interest” Is No More * How to Write Faster * Size Really Doesn’t Matter * The Numbers “Of Interest” Is No More After years of including an “Of Interest” section in the Journal I’ve discontinued it. I’ve realized there are no longer any writers out there who are both actively teaching and who can teach you more than I can about the craft of writing. Most of those who do purport to teach simply regurgitate the same old myths you’ve been hearing during most of your life. You can easily find them all over the … Read more

The Journal: Learn

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Today * A Rose by Any Other Name * Arm Yourself * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Terror’s not ghosts flying through the walls, going woo-woo-woo. Terror is when the party is over and everyone has gone home and at last you can take a deep breath and you lock the doors and your place is finally empty and quiet, and you turn out the lights and then you hear the toilet flush upstairs. That’s terror.” Warren Murphy Today the Journal has only three entries in “Of … Read more