In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * What Is Writing Into the Dark? * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[The] reality is that the more you use your creative voice, the more it wants to be used. It never gets tired and you are the only thing that limits it.” Dean Wesley Smith “Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn’t try to write fiction. It’s not a grand enough job for you.” Flannery O’Connor What Is Writing Into the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * TNDJ Contests Reminder * A Flashback on Story Starters * The Numbers My Quote of the Day “That your writing will ‘more than likely’ need ‘changes and midcourse corrections’ is some nonsense that you (like all of us) were taught by non-writers and by other writers who have listened to other non-writers. “Actually, once you learn to trust your subconscious — once you learn to trust your characters to tell the story that they, not you, are living (and I’ll keep saying it until you … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * BO-49 Is in the Books * A Great Start to the Mentorships * Of Interest * The Numbers My Quote of the Day “I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at 3 a.m.” Harvey Stanbrough This quote used to appear in the signature line of my emails. It’s a takeoff on a quote widely attributed to Peter DeVries but probably first uttered by William Faulkner. I list it today in response to the second item in Of Interest. Blackwell Ops-49: Wesley … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * From Horror Writer Christopher Ridge * Update on Mentorship Policy * Nuances * Of Interest * The Numbers My Quote of the Day “Knowledge-in with the critical mind; story-out with the creative subconscious.” Harvey Stanbrough From Horror Writer Christopher Ridge I discovered an excellent website builder for writers: Tertulia.com. This is a great website builder. Amazingly easy to work with for those interested in their own author site. Just pick a template, complete your author profile and send in an ISBN [or ASIN] on one of your books and they’ll … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * Adverbs * Two Mentorship Slots Open * Of Interest * The Numbers My Quote of the Day “I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at 3 a.m.” my take on a quote widely attributed to Peter DeVries but probably from William Faulkner Adverbs I had a question about adverb use from a writer. In full, she wrote What are your thoughts on adverbs? [Such as] smiled sinfully, laughed defiantly, grinned confidently, [or] smirked arrogantly As humans we “smile” a lot for different … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * WMG Half-Price Sale * The Double-Tap Yesterday * Two Mentorship Slots Left * Of Interest * The Numbers Just back and getting back into the flow, so not a lot for you today. Quote of the Day “Ah, you are a fatalist.” “No, just a practiced realist, but one who periodically checks his memory to see what’s coming next.” Nick Spalding, the protagonist, to another character in Chapter 34 of Nightfall, Book 1 of the Nick Spalding series WMG Half-Price Sale If you’ve thought about buying lectures or online workshops from … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The TNDJ Challenges Report * The Numbers The TNDJ Challenges Report The whole point of these challenges is to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost. Feel free to jump in at any time. Participating in any challenge is a way to drive yourself to the computer or legal pad and write fiction. It’s also a great way to build and maintain a streak. As if writing more and better fiction isn’t enough, I even offer prizes. To see those, please visit The NEW TNDJ Challenges. Bradbury … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Why A Mentorship? * Of Interest * The Numbers Why A Mentorship? I got the question within a half-hour of posting Saturday’s post: Why should I pay for a mentorship when I’m already getting so much from TNDJ on my paid or unpaid subscription? The answer to that one is simple. In TNDJ, I’m most often responding to my urge to pass along what I know, but without the catalyst of your questions, I’m only able to skim the surface. When a writer emails to ask a question or questions, it stirs my brain and plumbs the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Setting, and Characters’ Opinions: 4 * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “White Ring Quilt” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. Setting and Characters’ Opinions: 4 After my writer friend read the scene I posted here yesterday, his response was “I feel like I am immersed and grounded in the story, like I am there, feeling and seeing the things the character is experiencing.” That’s the comment I most often get from my readers: that they’re in … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Setting, and Characters’ Opinions 3: An Example * Of Interest * The Numbers Setting, and Characters’ Opinions 3: An Example I recommend you read the first two parts of this short series before reading this one. Check the past couple of days. To help illustrate all of this, I sent my young writer friend a scene of just under 1000 words from Chapter 5 of my current novel in progress. I recommend you read it for pleasure first, then reread it to identify character and setting description and how I presented that. Note that the space … Read more