In Today’s Journal * Writing Effective Dialect, Part 3 * The Writing (Character Voice) * Of Interest * The Numbers Writing Effective Dialect, Part 3 I should have mentioned in the Introduction that I’m considering turning this series of posts into a nonfiction book titled Writing Effective Dialect. If I do that, I’ll expand and include the posts in this series. I’ll also include some information from my years-old and now-unpublished booklet titled “Writing Realistic Dialect.” So just a heads-up on that. I recommend you read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series before reading this one. You can find … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * Find & Replace * On Writing Dialect, Part 2 * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “Racing to the Corner” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. If you enjoy the story, please click Like. Comments are welcome too. Both help with my Substack algorithms. Then tell Everyone else. Bradbury Reminder Today is Saturday. Just a reminder to get your Bradbury Challenge story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday. Find … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On Writing Dialect, Part 1 * On Those Stupid Red Hyperlinks * Of Interest * The Numbers My Thought of the Day I woke up at 2:30 a.m., grinning ear to ear and fired up to race back to the Hovel so I could leap over the parapet and into the trenches of the novel with my friends. But owing to a burned-our lightbulb, then a shower, then answering emails and working on a new series for TNDJ, by the time I finally started cycling through what I wrote yesterday, it … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A Couple of Slow Days * Of Interest * The Numbers A Couple of Slow Days of writing. And in TNDJ. Okay, one, I had nothing to talk about yesterday. Or at least nothing occurred to me. And nothing really today either, but I wanted to get the Of Interest stuff out to you today. Sometimes life intrudes and other things take priority over writing. On Tuesday, my handyman came by and finished installing 40 amps of electricity in the Hovel on two lines, each with 4 receptacles. This has been an ongoing process. I’m just glad … Read more

In Today’s Journal * On Believing In Yourself * Of Interest * The Numbers On Believing In Yourself I’m always going on about believing in yourself and saying things like “It really is that easy.” It IS that easy, but that isn’t to say you can blink your eyes and suddenly be there. Those of you who can make that leap of faith have probably already done so. You probably only need a little believe-in-yourself booster now and then to keep having fun. But for some, believing in yourself and your abilities is less a quick-blink destination and more a … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge * Cutting Tomatoes * My Hungarian Friend * Just That Quickly * The Writing * Of Interest * 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: Balázs Jámbor “AI_WAR” 5000 general fiction Vanessa V. Kilmer “Frayed Ends” … Read more

In Today’s Journal * On Taking Your Time * The Power of a Streak * Guest Posts Welcome * Dean Wesley Smith Writes * The Novel Wrapped * Last Day! * Of Interest * The Numbers On Taking Your Time Another Excellent Example A couple of days ago, “Before I Forget” went live on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. And I got comments: James Ron commented, “Intense, Harvey. Enjoyed it a lot. It had me wondering why the ref and Tats didn’t stop the fight as injuries mounted. Had me thinking it was a hit … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Sequence in Description, Part 3 * One More Thing * Two Days Left * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Readers don’t come back just because two characters gaze at each other across a dimly lit room. They come back for emotional movement…the ups, the downs, the twists that keep them turning pages….” Kris Maze in “Write Emotional Scenes that Better Engage Readers” (highly recommended) A New Short Story “Before I Forget” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Sequence of Description, Part 2 * Still Offering * Of Interest * The Numbers The Sequence of Description, Part 2 To round out the discussion from yesterday, I wanted to present the “rest of the story,” the culmination of the mini-scene I presented in the excerpt yesterday. By way of background, the POV character is Paul Stone, a Blackwell Ops operative. Roberta is his on-the-ground contact. She works for the same company. She’s there primarily to deliver a Colt semiautomatic pistol to him. Here’s the short opening of the scene: When I opened the door, … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Sequence of Description, Part 1 * WRITING BETTER FICTION FLASH SALE! * Of Interest * The Numbers The Sequence of Description, Part 1 Maybe more next-level stuff. Yesterday as I cycled through the previous day’s writing, it dawned on me that some fiction writers have problems with describing characters or settings in the right sequence. By “the right sequence,” I mean the sequence in which the POV character observes or takes-in the setting or other character (especially on a first, much-anticipated meeting). I first taught this stuff back in the … Read more