Search Results for: physical senses

The Journal: A Long Journey

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Faulkner * A Long Journey * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “When [the writer] begins to temper what he writes to who will read it, then I think the writing itself suffers.” William Faulkner “Sometimes the characters in my books surprise me, yes. They don’t surprise me in doing something that I never heard of or never imagined human beings doing before, but I hadn’t expected them to do it at that moment.” William Faulkner “I think that if the writer is going to write simply to express his own … Read more

The Journal: On Setting, Pseudonym, and Reparations

In today’s Journal * Writing Setting * Using Pseudonyms * On Reparations * Of Interest Writing Setting I received a question about writing setting: In describing the setting, how much is too much and how much is too little? First, you, the writer, describe nothing. You have a point of view (POV) character. He or she will describe the setting, albeit through your fingers. 1, Anything the POV character sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels, physically or emotionally, should make it onto the page. Nothing the POV character sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels, physically or emotionally, is too much. … Read more

The Journal: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining…

In today’s Journal * Topic: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining… * Of Interest Topic: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining… A few days ago I discontinued my mentorships. This topic sprang from one part of my former Becoming A Writer mentorship. I hope it helps. Actually, this could be titled “Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining and Other Prewriting Structures” like separate world-building, character sketches, etc. But that title is far too long. Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll also discuss briefly why I don’t recommend rewriting. So why don’t I recommend outlining and the rest? The short answer is “Because … Read more

The Journal: Glitches in Writing

In today’s Journal * A Bit of Fun * Topic: Glitches in Writing * A Storyteller * Of Interest A Bit of Fun For a bit of fun, check how well you really observe. See “The Changing Room Illusion” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXk-Oc35oN4. It’s a very short video. Topic: Glitches in Writing This topic is based on James Scott Bell’s post (see “Of Interest”) and his question: “What little things bug you when you see them in a book?” I’ve talked before about studying the language and the craft and using both to convey the story to the best of your current … Read more

The Journal: What Is Writing Into the Dark?

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * “Of Interest” Is Back * Topic: What Is Writing Into the Dark? * Almost Writing Again * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “To see the blue color go right by you and now you’re staring into blackness, that’s the thing.” William Shatner, trying to convey his experience on Blue Origin “Of Interest” Is Back Yeah. I was silly to get rid of it. I’ll happen across things that might be of interest to you as writers of one genre or another or as writers in general, and … Read more

The Journal: Sigh. Regarding “Deep” POV

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Sigh. Regarding “Deep” POV * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they’ve been fooled.” Mark Twain “It’s far easier to talk about doing something than to actually do it.” Harvey Stanbrough Topic: Sigh. Regarding So-Called (for now) “Deep” POV In today’s “Of Interest” there’s a link to a long article about writing in “deep POV.” If I’ve ever heard an academic term, it’s that one. (However, I listed the link and left it there. If you get something … Read more

The Journal: Reader Taste vs. Writer Skill

In today’s Journal * Well, Not a New Writing Process * Topic: Reader Taste vs. Writer Skill * If anyone else encountered a problem * Yesterday * I’ve decided * Of Interest * The Numbers Well, Not a New Writing Process Sorry about that. I labeled what I passed along to you yesterday “a new writing process.” It wasn’t. I watched/listened to both videos. Well, all of the first one and the first few minutes of the second one. I want to say the videos contain a lot of filler, among which the “real” information is scattered. Unfortunately, I can’t … Read more

The Journal: Lansdale, Orwell, and Farland

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Lansdale and Orwell * Farland * Wholeness * Yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Here are keys: Relax and write. It’s not a root canal. It’s writing and you should write something you care about. It can be light, or insightful, or whatever, but it always works best when you come at it with enthusiasm. That way, if it’s hard, you still have fun. Otherwise, it’s just hard.” Joe R. Lansdale “The point is, are you holding your attention? If so, you just might hold the … Read more

The Journal: “Info Dumps” vs. POV

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Microsoft Flight Simulator * Topic: “Info Dumps” vs. POV * Post Tags and Different Strokes * Another pretty good day * Of Interest * The Numbers Has anyone out there ever used (played) the Microsoft Flight Simulator? Apparently it’s a game, but an extremely realistic one. I’m not a gamer, but I’m thinking it would be a great tool or aid in writing. One of the magazines I subscribe to is Air & Space Smithsonian. The May 2021 issue contains an excellent article on the Flight Simulator. You can read it … Read more

The Journal: On Comma Use

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A writer friend in South Africa * A great new information site * Topic: On Comma Use * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “B&N’s new CEO, James Daunt, is designing the company’s phoenix-like rise from its ashes on the direct involvement of on-the-ground booksellers in the decisions on what books individual stores should stock. You know, the way booksellers used to do it before the superstores ran them out of business.” John Gilstrap “[A]s the [book] business fluctuates and expands and contracts, the one constant to all of it … … Read more