In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Writers Write * The Writing * Oh, and Another Source for Story Ideas * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Oh, I do not have multiple personality disorder. I’m a fiction writer. I have a lot of inner children, and sometimes they come out to play.” Me, to an imaginary psychiatrist Writers Write Note: The two excerpts below are from private emails from writers who are subscribed to TNDJ. The first is a testament to WITD, in a way, specifically to “writing fast,” which basically means writing what … Read more

In today’s Journal * Yesterday, and Spell Checking * Verisimilitude * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday, and Spell Checking After I filed TNDJ, I started the day yesterday by spell checking the complete (thus far) 2024 Journal Archives. I was surprised. The process took about 15 minutes or a little longer. Of course, I caught glimpses here and there of what I’d written. MAN there’s a lot of knowledge in those posts, from January 2, 2024 all the way through to October 23, 2024. This year’s archive alone is already 297,869 words in 914 pages. And that’s not including … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Three Great Resources for Writers * An Interesting Writing Day * Please Think Long and Hard * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The strength of fiction is series and hooking readers into a series.” Dave Chesson (the Kindlepreneur) in an interview (see Of Interest) Three Great Resources for Writers All writers are different, so I’m not gonna talk about these. I just want to mention them and provide the links. You can explore each of them on your own: Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI) Selfpublishingadvice.org/ratings​​ (Also from … Read more

In today’s Journal * The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting * Typos Happen * Once in a Blue Moon * Of Interest * The Numbers The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting I really wish more of you guys would jump into this. C’mon, show us what you’ve got. The whole point 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. (I’m no longer keeping track of your longer fiction. Too erratic.) During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following … Read more

In today’s Journal * Ten Years Ago Yesterday * Every Decision Leads to a New Future * Of Interest * The Numbers Ten Years Ago Yesterday On October 19, 2014, I started writing what would become my first novel, Leaving Amarillo. I also published the first official edition of the Journal on that date. The novel wrapped with 40,610 words on November 10, 2014 (23 days). Although it was my first novel, it ended up being the fourth of the twenty-two books that comprise The Wes Crowley Saga. So yesterday was kind of a major anniversary for me. And yet … Read more

In today’s Journal * A New Short Story * Bradbury Reminder * Given the Ability to Split My Soul * The Numbers A New Short Story “Blue Bell and the Roses”went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. It’s a great story (strictly my opinion as a reader). Go check it out. As always, if you enjoy it, please tell Everyone. If you don’t, shhh! (grin) Bradbury 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 … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * You Have Achieved Great Things * Of Interest * The Numbers You Have Achieved Great Things So is this an inspirational message or a butt-chewing? That depends strictly on your perception. I have my own opinion, but I’m only the writer. Whatever it is, it’s a long one, so settle in. I’m one of those annoying people. I’m one of those who, if I’ve done a thing before, I know I can do it again. Shrug. Call me crazy. And thanks to Jim G for reminding me of this yesterday. And … Read more

In today’s Journal * Scheduling * Speaking of Challenges * Of Interest * The Numbers Scheduling Recently I talked about daily word count averages and how much they matter. This is one more way they matter. I call it scheduling. Life throws all of us little or big curves now and then, and they seem almost always to interrupt our writing time. For the really big curves, there isn’t much you can do. You just have to step back for a moment (or a day or a month) and then start writing again when the smoke has cleared. But the … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * On the Different Ways to Write Fiction * The Numbers Quote of the Day “In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.” Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) as reported in 1440 Daily Digest On the Different Ways to Write Fiction This is intended only for those who are serious about writing fiction. If you aren’t—if you’re writing only for therapy or only to mark another “to do” off your bucket list or whatever—that’s perfectly fine but you are not the … Read more

In today’s Journal * The List * Short Day * The Comet * Of Interest * The Numbers The List In yesterday’s issue of TNDJ, which you can read on Substack or at An Idea Whose Time Has Come I talked about writers getting together to support and encourage each other with writing and/or publishing challenges. Shortly after I posted that, a professional, traditionally published, excellent short story author emailed me from England to let me know he wanted in. This morning that guy is the only one on the list. I’m a little confused. Or maybe aghast with disbelief. … Read more