Search Results for: physical senses

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * In Memoriam * Time Travel in Fiction, Part One: Getting Into the Weeds * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Everything is theoretically impossible until it is done.” Robert A. Heinlein “Even if it turns out that time travel is impossible, it is important that we understand why it is impossible.” Professor Stephen Hawking In Memoriam This edition of the Journal is dedicated to my writer friend Sam Turner, whose loving, lifelong partner and wife Phyllis passed away on Thanksgiving day. Time Travel in Fiction, Part One: Getting … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Finished the Novel * An Excellent Question * Time Travel for Writers * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Only human beings, in an effort to soothe their collective insecurity, is haughty enough to put forth the assertion that they are ‘better than’ instead of ‘different from’.” Yer Uncle Harv “Being equal does not equate to being the same. And being unequal does not render either side less important.” Same source Finished the Novel Well, the novel wrapped yesterday at 3:20 p.m. Also, the real title of the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Preamble * The Essential Elements of a Story * The Challenge is Still on * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.” Harold J. Smith Preamble Even while posting less often to the Journal, I still visit certain sites each morning. I’m always looking for gems of new (to me) knowledge, but more and more often I’m finding bad or partial advice that, in my opinion, requires some clarification. That was the case this morning … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards * Want to be a Best Seller? * A Reminder * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “the internet’s and high tech’s steep and brutal downsides—political polarization for profit, the knowing encouragement of internet addiction, the destruction of childhood, a nation that has grown shallower and less able to think….” Peggy Noonan in “Artificial Intelligence in the Garden of Eden” in The Wall Street Journal “Hubris is one of the great renewable resources.” P. J. O’Rourke Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards Yesterday my wife forwarded me … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * On Character and Setting * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Too stupid for words and too dangerous and wow are you a lazy bastard if you can’t write your own fiction.” Dean Wesley Smith on whether to use AI-generated content in stories “PG contends that social problems are social problems, not word problems.” The Passive Guy On Character and Setting Awhile back I was talking with a writer about my nonfiction book, Writing the Character-Driven Story. He asked why I put such emphasis on character and setting. Aren’t the events … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Pacing Again * Setting * Of Interest Quote of the Day “While there are some benefits to using AI art as an indie author, it’s essential to consider how ethical it is.” Miles Oliver at The Independent Publishing Magazine Pacing Again Yesterday I talked here a little about Pacing as I used it in my short story, “Keep Calm & Carry On.” I mentioned that one reader emailed to say, “I don’t think I breathed for two minutes.” Another reader left a comment on the story as it was presented on … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One Subscriber * Another slightly shortened day * My Best Advice for Fiction Writers: Part 2 * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I don’t know how you perceive my mission as a writer, but for me it is not a responsibility to reaffirm your concretized myths and provincial prejudices. It is not my job to lull you with a false sense of the rightness of the universe.” Harlan Ellison “This wonderful and terrible occupation of recreating the world in a different way, each time fresh and strange, is an act … Read more