In Today’s Journal * One Big, Huge, Massive Caution * More About Yesterday’s Excerpt * WRITING BETTER FICTION FLASH SALE! * Of Interest * The Numbers One Big, Huge, Massive Caution I’m starting to think maybe I made a mistake and did you a disservice by offering that post yesterday. Here’s the big overall point: Remember that I made those changes on the fly. What took me over a couple of hours to explain in TNDJ took me only several seconds to actually do. And I did it all during cycling, while in the creative subconscious. You might or might … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On Clarity—Maybe Next-Level Stuff * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best.” Joe DiMaggio Hmm… There is always some reader who might be seeing your work for the first time. Even aside from the money, you owe him your best, yes? Which means you owe him an authentic story, the story your characters (not you) are actually living. So write into the dark, cycle over it (all while in the … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writing Tip of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge * Considerations * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Anyone who writes mysteries or contemplates doing so, or who even reads them, will benefit from reading Murder for Pleasure [by Howard Haycraft]. I recommend it heartily.” Frank Gruber Writing Tip of the Day If you want to write, write. Escape. Give yourself over to your creative subconscious and let yourself be absorbed into the act of putting new words on the page. (See the first item in Of Interest.) … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writing Tip of the Day * A Diary of Days * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Anyone who writes mysteries or contemplates doing so, or who even reads them, will benefit from reading Murder for Pleasure [by Howard Haycraft]. I recommend it heartily.” Frank Gruber Writing Tip of the Day For me, as for many of you, it’s easy to lapse into writing only the visual, what the POV character physically sees in any given scene. For me, it’s also natural to record the POV characters unspoken … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * BookFunnel * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “After you learn to write your whole object is to convey everything, every sensation, sight, [smell, sound, taste,] feeling, place and emotion to the reader. To do this you have to work over what you write.” Ernest Hemingway A New Short Story “No Better Day (expanded)” (Hemingway-ish) went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. It’s free. This is one of those very rare stories, … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Value of a First Reader * The Publishing (and Writing) * For Any Who Wonder * The Numbers Quote of the Day “People are what they do, not what they say.” James Lee Burke in an interview. The Value of a First Reader In the back of every novel I write, I credit my first reader, Russ Jones. In part, I write that he “keeps me from looking like a total dweeb.” That is an understatement. In Blackwell Ops 38: Paul Stone, Russ pointed out that I had inadvertently changed … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Writing-Publishing Streak * A Friendly Nudge Toward WITD * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space. Every one of us is a part of that jewel. A facet of that jewel. And in the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal.” Fred “Mister” Rogers A Writing-Publishing Streak I first published a segment titled “A Writing-Publishing Streak” on January 24. I’d just finished and published BO-35. So this is basically an update and (I … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * POV, Part 2 * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I don’t understand the process of imagination—though I know that I am very much at its mercy. … The ideas come to me; I don’t produce them at will. They come to me in the course of a sort of controlled daydream, a directed reverie.” Joseph Heller in “The Art of Fiction No. 51” in The Paris Review (via writer Dr. Harold Goodman) “You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * POV, Part 1 * Of Interest * The Numbers My Quote of the Day “‘Narrator’ (like ‘POV’) is just another after-the-fact observation of a critic or reader. Once you’re aware of the concept as a writer, forget it and Just Write the Story.” Harvey POV, Part 1 In this post and the next, I’m elaborating on a conversation I had with another writer. I’ll refer to him as Ed. Personal to Ed—I’m elaborating a LOT. Please read this and the next post. Ed emailed to say this: “I’m curious how … Read more

In Today’s Journal * My Quote of the Day * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Personal to Anonymous JE * When Do You Stop Writing? * Of Interest * The Numbers My Quote of the Day “Breathe, relax, and let go of responsibility for the characters’ story. They, not you, are living it. You are only the Recorder. That’s why I call writing into the dark a Zen-like non-process. The more you let go, the more you receive.” Harvey The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers … Read more