The Journal, Friday, July 27

Hey Folks, Yesterday, Amazon hosted a free webinar on Paperback Formatting Essentials. I was registered for it, but I missed it. Probably because taking my books to paper isn’t the priority it used to be. Anyway, Amazon was kind enough to send a link to a recording of the event. It’s in “Of Interest” today. If you’re interested in taking your books to paper (or even if you already do), I suggest you take a look. Even if you don’t want to use Amazon, I suspect you can still learn something about paperback formatting. Plus the video is only 20 … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, July 26

Hey Folks, A few decades ago I started writing aphorisms and definitions, more as a mental exercise than anything else. Be forewarned: Of the definitions, some are serious, some are attempts at humor (ala Ambrose Bierce) and all are cynical. Which, if any, you perceive as humorous will depend on your own life and experiences. So today, here are a few random thoughts, definitions and aphorisms. Except where noted, these are original to me. If any of them spur story ideas, please feel free: From a poster I saw on Facebook — “The past is in your head. The future … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, July 25

Hey Folks, Still not fully back up to speed with my writing. At times, I’ve found myself actually hoping “other things” (website construction, copyedits, etc.) will come up so I can delay it a little longer. It’s a conundrum. I want to write. I want to give myself wholly over to my stories and play with my friends. For me, there is no better feeling than being lost in a good story as it unfolds. And then there’s that legacy thing I talked about a couple days ago. And of course, if someone else said to me, “But I really … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, July 24

Hey Folks, Not a lot to talk about this morning. I didn’t write much fiction today. Worked on a website for a new writer. I still have a lot to do on it but I’m waiting for more input. I find that more and more often I have to re-learn to separate Advice from Outcome. Specifically, to not look back and rate my recommendations in light of what various writers do with them. For example… 1. I can talk ’til I’m blue in the face about the pitfalls of traditional publishing (I’ve been there), but writers still choose to chase … Read more

The Journal, Monday, July 23

Hey Folks, A Brief Memoir with a Point When my dad passed away around 30 years ago, I was thrilled to find some of his writings in an old suitcase. It wasn’t a suitcase full of manuscripts or anything like that. The suitcase was an old two-tone brown pressboard affair. It had a kind of fishnet container stretched across the inside of the lid. Inisde were old New Mexico State Police shoulder patches, an old pair of glasses and other things. And inside that fishnet area were a few poems typed on an old manual Remington. Dad never talked about … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, July 22

Hey Folks, Not much to write about yesterday, so I skipped the Journal, though I did add a few items to “Of Interest.” Yesterday Mona and I did yard work, then cooled down and went to Sierra Vista for a few hours. It was a nice diversion. Not sure yet what today will hold. But I’ll post this so I can get the “Of Interest” items out to you. A few have asked what I mean by “character-driven fiction”; a few others have wondered why I pay such close attention to settings. Here’s the short answer: Maybe 10% of a … Read more

The Journal, Friday, July 20

Hey Folks, Gird your loins and prepare for an onslaught of words. You know how I get. (grin) Before I begin, my apology to anyone who’s subscribed to the RSS feed for the big site. During construction this morning I inadvertently created two or three new “posts” that should have been pages. So if you got those, just delete them. No worries. Posts from over there go out once a week, on Tuesday. All right, I’ve revised my Writer Resources page. Pretty dramatically, actually. Basically, I replaced the gaggle of individual links that were there with an ungaggle of links … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, July 19

Hey Folks, Another long post, but I think a good one. I’m going to try an experiment. I started this Journal almost 4 years ago to keep track of my own writing, both fiction and nonfiction. I also did that in part to let others see what is possible if they can only get themselves to the keyboard. But sometimes (even often, at times) it backfired. Instead of motivating others, sometimes seeing my numbers actually depressed them. They looked at my numbers as if I was daring them to do the same, or to surpass me. That was never the … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, July 18

Hey Folks, Today’s post is long. It’s all about professional resources… I went through my links yesterday, deleted any authors’ websites that are about nothing but the author, new releases, etc. I’m keeping only those that offer some insight for other writers. And I’ll be rearranging those today to make them easier to find. One person responded to my call for resources yesterday. (Thanks, Gnondpom.) The ones that were already listed in my Writers Resources or that I’ve added are preceded below by an asterisk (to let you know you can find them on my site later). The others are … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, July 17

Hey Folks, Oops. Well, I didn’t get this out yesterday. Not used to the new time yet, I guess. So I wrote most of what’s below yesterday, but I’ll count it today. A request — if anyone knows of any writer’s blogs (or group blogs, like Kill Zone, or organizational blogs) where professionals hand out anything of value to other writers (regardless of genre), please let me know. You can comment below or email me privately at harveystanbrough.com. Kill Zone still has a few authors who post valid posts now and then, but it seems to be devolving. Of course, … Read more