In Today’s Journal * Writing Fiction: Work or Play? * An Update on My Own Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Writing Fiction: Work or Play? Recently a writer friend sent me a link to an article that he thought might raise my blood pressure. It didn’t. To each his own, am I right? The article (see the link in Of Interest) had to do with prolific writers and how they view the writing of fiction. As I told my friend after I skimmed over the article, I didn’t see anything that annoyed me, but I was surprised at … Read more

In Today’s Journal * On Comma Usage “Rules” * Of Interest * The Numbers On Comma Usage “Rules” When I was in college we used the HarBrace College Handbook in English classes. It contained 19 PAGES of comma rules. In today’s Of Interest you’ll find a link to an article in Writer’s Digest listing the “10 Most Important Comma Usage Rules.” The article is mostly correct, but like HarBrace—as well as Strunk & White and pretty much anything else that regurgitates the “rules”—it’s also as dusty and dry and mechanical as an ancient bone bleached in the Arizona sun. Bleh. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * About Contest Entries * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot.” Robin Williams About Contest Entries Hey folks, I’m back in the Hovel and trying to get back into the swing of things. For anyone who missed it earlier, I’m running a new contest for short stories. It could result in an anthology titled Echoes of Chandler. You can find the contest rules here. In that post in “Notes” below the rules, I included … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge * On the Road * The Numbers The Bradbury Challenge The whole point of the Challenge is to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost. The only requirement is to write at least one short story per week. Feel free to jump in at any time. During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported these new stories: Erin Donoho “Gold Seeds,” 1800 words, historical literary suspense Loyd Jenkins “Fire Beneath the Land” 3200 Fantasy Vanessa V. Kilmer “Blue Folder” 2999 Mystery … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Thank You * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * Of Interest * The Numbers Thank You Thanks to all of you who donated to the True Pulp Kickstarter. I appreciate you. Other than that, I’m sending this mostly so you’ll have the items in Of Interest. A New Short Story “Cleanup on Aisle 4” went live Friday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. This is a short story from the Blackwell Ops world. Go check it out. It’s free. If you enjoy the story, please click Like. Comments are welcome too. Both … Read more

In Today’s Journal * One Day Left * A New Contest * I’ll Be Away * The Numbers One Day Left on the True Pulp Kickstarter. To repeat my last offer from a few days ago, If you donate at least $15 to the True Pulp Kickstarter today or tomorrow and then email me to let me know, I’ll send you a coupon code to score the One-Off Mysteries Omnibus OR the complete, 10-volume set of The Journey Home SF Saga (a $35 value) OR the Nonfiction Omnibus PLUS Writing Better Fiction (a $34 value). And of course you’ll also … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Contest * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The art of writing pulp is the art of writing sentences that do more than one thing at a time.” Raymond Chandler A New Contest Hint: Read some Raymond Chandler. It isn’t the same as watching the movies. Raymond Chandler was a master at pulling the reader into the scene and the story with the characters via his vivid description of setting. In other words, he was a master at creating depth. Echoes of Chandler Contest Rules 1. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * An Example of Author Intrusion * A Final True Pulp Push: Only Two Days Left! * Of Interest * The Numbers An Example of Author Intrusion The second novel in the Journey Home SF saga is currently posting over at Your Morning Serial, free of course. If you’re a latecomer and you’re interested, you can go there to read The Ark (the first novel) and then The Journey Home: Part 2 (the second novel). I’m also a subscriber, so I’m reading stuff I wrote a while back day by day, just as the other subscribers are. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Today’s Best Misplaced Modifier * The Bradbury Challenge * Spicey Stuff (a guest post) * Of Interest * The Numbers Today’s Best Misplaced Modifier Cloned yak delivered via C-section weighing 74 pounds. Fair enough, but how much did the yak weigh? (grin) The Bradbury Challenge The whole point of the Challenge is to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost. The only requirement is to write at least one short story per week. Feel free to jump in at any time. During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re … Read more

In Today’s Journal * One Author Newsletter * Of Interest * The Numbers One Author Newsletter I recently received an author newsletter from bestselling novelist Rachel Amphlett. The newsletter was just over 780 words plus a few book covers, but in it she seemed to touch all the bases. So it’s an almost-excellent example of what to do if you’re sending out only a monthly newsletter. Here’s the structure Rachel used. Other than my inset note, the bold items below are the sections of her newsletter: Greeting The greeting was personalized to my first name. There’s a way to do … Read more