Search Results for: opening

The Journal, Monday, December 18

Hey Folks, Mostly I’m posting today to pass along some stuff in “Of Interest” below. But as long as I’m here, I’ll give you an update on my personal writing stuff as well. My December’s slipping by with not a word of fiction so far. How weird is that? In a way, knowing I could start writing today and have a new novel finished by the end of the year is a liability. In a way. But that probably won’t happen, and it’s all right. I’m allowing everything else in my life to take precedence right now. But that’s by … Read more

The Journal, Monday, November 13

Hey Folks, Well, this should be an interesting week. This is a convergence week for me, when several different events, sequences, and changes are coming together to consume blocks of time. I went to Benson this morning to renew my driver’s license and combined that with a shopping trip to settle our cupboard and refrigerator accounts after this past weekend. By the time that and a couple other necessary chores were done, that was the morning. It’s now approaching noon. On Wednesday morning, I have to head for Sierra Vista (Fort Huachuca) to renew my military ID card, and while … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 11/2

Hey Folks, Hmm… a meandering, personal-thought journey in today’s Journal…. I’ve still been thinking about challenges, but I think that’s almost over. I thought about a challenge in which I would write at least one opening per day during the month of November. If the opening took off, I’d write it. If not but if it piqued my interest, it would go into my Openings file. Either way, I’d still have to write a new opening every day. But something didn’t feel quite right about that. Mostly it felt too contrived, probably because it was. The main thing, I think, … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 10/19

Hey Folks, Enjoyed a brief conversation with a dear friend from Dallas this morning. That was a pleasant surprise. Thanks Robert. Of course, in my current state I probably sounded grouchier than normal, though I don’t think I actually was. Part of our discussion was about my current endeavor to leave cigars behind. And in that, I’ve had an even more recent epiphany. If I had a cigar stashed away somewhere and happened across it, there’s a very good chance I would at least light it and take a couple of puffs before putting it out. Of course, that would … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 10/16

Hey Folks, Here we go. The first day of the rest of my writing life. (grin) And I’m going to start it in Sierra Vista at a brake shop. So my restart on writing might be one day late. We’ll see. In major news from the department of Well That Sucks, via The Digital Reader, see “CreateSpace to Close its Web Store” at https://the-digital-reader.com/2017/10/13/createspace-close-web-store/. Note that this estore closure does NOT affect CreateSpace’s other services. For more on that, I recommend you read the original announcement at CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/Help/Index.jsp?orgId=00D300000001Sh9&id=50139000000oxUN. The biggest immediate impact is that CS pays (well, has paid) … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 10/2

Hey Folks, First and foremost, my heart goes out to the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas, and my unbridled rage to the shooter. Damn him. Rolled out way late this morning. Almost 5 a.m. That’s a couple of hours late for me. Partly though it was a choice. As I work toward snapping off my cigar-smoking habit at the end of this week, the later I get up the easier it will be to smoke fewer cigars per day so my current stash will last through Friday. I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see the little monsters … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 10/1

Hey Folks, Hmmm. Strange things going on with the Internet lately. Sites that have been fine for years suddenly not working. Then a few minutes later, they’re fine again. I’ve encountered problems with some of the plugins on my own site, DWS has encountered several problems recently, and other sites I visit regularly have experienced glitches of various levels of severity. Just wondering, is anyone else seeing these problems? At this point, I’m only hoping I can access hestanbrough.com (The Daily Journal) when it’s time to post today’s edition. It’s already blanked out on me three times this morning. (grin) … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 9/19

Hey Folks, For awhile, occasionally I’ve included links to articles on Science Alert. Recently I’ve come to believe it’s more of a populist rag with sensational, click-bait headlines than a valid source of stimulating information. So I looked around. If you’re interested in space and science, try https://www.space.com/. If it looks interesting to you, you can sign up for any or all of three separate newsletters: Space.com newsletter, headlines about the space program, space tourism and more. LiveScience newsletter, the day’s science news covering space, animals, health, environment, technology and history. TechNewsDaily newsletter, technology news and information for non-geeks. If … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 9/12

Hey Folks, Okay, I mentioned a couple of times a workshop I’m taking with Dean. It ended this morning, so here’s my report. On the Online Workshops tab of his website, the title (if you want to read about it) is officially “Writing Mysteries.” If you’re interested, I encourage you to read the writeup there. First, I found that the actual workshop more than nailed the description on the website. This is an actual writing workshop. He teaches you how to write mysteries in the ten most popular subgenres. Plus there are extensive notes on writing Thrillers (used to be … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 9/10

Hey Folks, Rolled out late again this morning. That’s all right. Had an urge to write something different, so I started another story. Then I got stuck. Then I sat back and thought about that. It’s been happening a lot over the past couple of months. Then I realized what’s going on and wrote the topic below. TOPIC: Introspection Recently, privately, a friend applauded me for sharing the down sides as well as the up. Possibly he didn’t realize he was only encouraging me. (grin) I find myself in a ridiculous predicament, though “predicament” is too strong a word. Besides, … Read more