In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A New Short Story * Reminder * This Should Be a Guest Post * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Whenever I am asked what kind of writing is the most lucrative, I have to say, a ransom note.” H.N. Swanson (literary agent) Note that this quote is also often attributed to character Harry Zimm in the film adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1990 novel, Get Shorty. A New Short Story “A Curious Warmth” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Hitting a Million? * Two Interesting Comments on Publishing to Paper * The Numbers Quote of the Day “A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.” Billie Jean King Hitting a Million? You all know I’m trying to hit 1,000,000 words of published fiction for the year on or before December 31. After yesterday’s writing session, I didn’t like my chances, so I did some quick math. 1,000,000 (goal) – 898447 (yesterday’s annual total) = 101,553. Initially, I thought there was no way. I’d basically have to … Read more

In Today’s Journal * It’s Time to Publish to Paper * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers It’s Time to Publish to Paper Of the 98 novels, 10 novellas, 29 short story collections, and 10 major nonfiction books I’ve published, all are available as ebooks. But only several of my novels (maybe 20), maybe 3 novellas, and several of my short story collections are available in paper editions. Of my nonfiction books, I believe only Writing Realistic Dialogue and Punctuation for Writers, 2nd edition, are available in paper. Yet readers I meet increasingly ask me what I have … Read more

In Today’s Journal * About Hybrid Publishing * Hybrid Publishing Is a Viable Option * Of Interest * The Numbers About Hybrid Publishing: A Foreword In Of Interest today, you’ll find a link to Vin Zandri’s latest video from his YouTube channel, Writer’s Life. It that video, beginning at about 4:37, he talks about having found his ‘sweet spot’ in hybrid publishing, vs. going all-tradpub or all-indie. I found his comments in the video interesting, so I emailed him: “Hey Vin, I’m not understanding how tradpub, especially with their lack of promoting authors who aren’t established yet, can get your … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writing Is Just Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I have to admit I’m having a blast writing The Sailor [a novel]. I haven’t the faintest idea where it is going but it’s sure fun going along for the ride while I get to record it.” Dave Taylor, a fiction writer who gets it Writing Is Just Writing Glue, staple, or otherwise attach this to the inside of your eyelids: Writing Is Just Writing. Funny, I didn’t plan to post an issue of TNDJ today. Then … Read more

In Today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * The November Challenge * Provocative? * Unabashed Promotion * Of Interest * The Numbers Note: I hope after yesterday’s post, more writers will take the opportunity to jump into the Bradbury Challenge. Of course, only time will tell. The challenge is free, and the whole point is to have fun and grow as a writer. This is what I did, albeit alone, back in 2014. It’s a lot more fun being able to report your progress. The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting There is no cost. The only requirement is to … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * This! * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!” Mark Twain, in a December 1906 remark dictated for his autobiography, which was being published in installments in The North American Review. This! Please buckle up and keep your hands inside the conveyance. This is a long post. The above is among my favorite Mark Twain quotes, though it has often been misquoted (yes, even by me) and presented as, … Read more

In Today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Reminder * About Novel Collaborations * The Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers A New Short Story “Coffee? Perhaps Tea?” 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. Just a reminder to get your story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday. Remember, if you finish a story earlier in the week, you can send the info to me … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Laugh of the Day * How to Overcome ‘Writing Anxiety’? * From Vin Zandri * Of Interest * The Numbers I took a day off yesterday. I worked on squaring away the electricity for the Hovel, but otherwise I did nothing, including writing. I wasn’t going to post an issue of TNDJ this morning, but a bunch of stuff caught my attention. So today’s post is partly serious, partly a chuckle fest. Quote of the Day “I picked up Writing Better Fiction … and I have to say, quite frankly, it’s … Read more

In Today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * DITW—Pacing Is Everything, Part 1: Dialogue * No Writing Yesterday * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “My three favourite things in life are eating my cats and not using commas.” Anonymous, from a meme “At one point, [Dean Wesley Smith] wrote about writing but those days are long gone. Your TNDJ fulfills that role admirably and is one of the reasons I subscribe.” Dr. Harold Goodman DITW—Pacing Is Everything, Part 1: Dialogue Introduction What follows is an extremely abbreviated look at a massively complex subject: Pacing in fictional dialogue. Later, … Read more