A Personal Challenge for You

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Kris & Dean Show * A Personal Challenge for You * A Thundering Success! * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Thanks for sponsoring [the November Stephen King] challenge. It really helped me get words on to the page. “I have wasted a lot of time tinkering with my writing set up from hardware to apps etc. All of this wasted tinkering was a product of the critical mind. What gear was best? “But as the challenge wore on, I had no time to spend on the … Read more

Bradbury Challenge, and Adventures

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Gift Subscriptions to Writem * 1,000,000 Words in the Bag? * Re “Adventures” * Of Interest * The Numbers The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting 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. During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported these new stories: Vanessa V. Kilmer “Criss Cross” 4009 Mystery Adam Kozak “The Brothers Norris” 6632 Detective Fiction … Read more

Writing Prompts Work

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Important * Writing Prompts Work * It’s December First! * Upping Your Game * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The biggest mistake you can make is to play it safe; a life without adventure is like a meal without seasoning, bland and forgettable.” Dr. Mardy Grothe Important Yesterday I subscribed to the Writem substack as a paid subscriber for a year. Most notably, Writem is known for providing valuable marketing tips to writers. As a result of my paid subscription, Jake graciously gave me five one-month free … Read more

Boring Stuff Re the Ongoing Drama

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Reminder * Boring Stuff Re the Ongoing Drama… * Copyediting * The Numbers A New Short Story “Dave” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out. As always, if you enjoy this strange story, please tell Everyone. If you don’t, shh! (grin) Reminder Today is Saturday. Remember to get your Bradbury Challenge story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday. Also, if you’re in the November or Stephen King Challenge of 1000 words per day, tomorrow is the last day … Read more

The Myths of Fiction Writing

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Myths of Fiction Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday, after the first 8 hours, I decided around 10 a.m. to take the rest of the day off. So no writing, checking emails only occasionally, and spending time with my bride. I hope you all had a similarly great Thanksgiving Day. Quote of the Day “Anyone who stops learning is old, at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Henry Ford The Myths of Fiction Writing Yesterday I wrote “Not knowing the authentic story scares me more … Read more

A Request, and Black Friday ‘Deals’?

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy Thanksgiving! * A Personal Request * Black Friday Deals? * The Writing * Attaining New Heights * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “A good editor knows which changes will solve a problem or two. The majority just know ‘It should have been rewritten.’ Meanwhile, a good editor could help, and teach a lot. But to find a good editor is not necessary to write a good story, and everything starts with a good story.” Balázs Jámbor “I’ve been tracking my words like a hawk, and wring … Read more

Rewriting to Oblivion (guest post)

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Special Offer from Cover Designer Tiffanie Gray * Rewriting to Oblivion (guest post) * A Special Kind of Self-Challenge * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Personally, I think you learn more from finishing things, from seeing them in print, wincing, and then figuring out what you did wrong, than you could ever do from eternally rewriting the same thing.” Emily Temple Note: I blatantly stole the above quote from Dan Baldwin’s Quote of the Week. A Special Offer from Cover Designer Tiffanie Gray … Read more

Writing Fiction Is A Journey

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Good Question * Writing Fiction Is A Journey * The Writing * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that’s no reason not to give it.” Agatha Christie I agree. Give what you have to give as often and as long as you can and let others decide whether to use it. A Good Question I had a good question from a subscriber and writer. Excerpted and partially paraphrased, the question was, “So I have stories, and probably a book or two. … Read more

Bradbury, and Great Testimonials

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * A Pair of Great Testimonials * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Today’s issue of TNDJ is a little late, but I have a lot of great news to report. Please read on. (grin) The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting The whole point of ANY Challenge is to have fun and grow as a writer. There is no cost for any challenge I offer. The only requirement for Bradbury is to write at least one short story per week. The only requirement for the others is to write a … Read more

An Apt Analogy, and Part 2

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * This Should Be a Guest Post, Part 2 * An Apt Analogy * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[Of writing, publishing, reading, and learning,] Writing is the most important. Regular writing, putting new words to a page and creating stories and finishing stories that you start. Without that, you are just an author who talks a good game. Writers are people who write. Authors are people who have written.” Dean Wesley Smith This Should Be a Guest Post, Part 2 First, if you haven’t, … Read more