Atlas Obscura

The Journal: Start a Writing Career

In today’s Journal * Start a Writing Career * I finished one * Of Interest * The Numbers Start a Writing Career I’m one of those writers Dave Farland talks about in his article, linked in today’s “Of Interest.” I don’t worry a lot about sales. I follow Heinlein’s Rules. I write, submit to a market or indie publish, and write again. But marketing and sales? The very concept puts me to sleep, with the exception of two rules: 1. The opening of a book sells that book, and the end of a book sells the next book. So I … Read more

The Journal: A Recommendation and the New Mentorships

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Worked a full day * A Recommendation * The New Mentorships Are Live! * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You don’t win elections by solving problems.” Jeff, commenter on TPG blog posthttps://www.thepassivevoice.com/prh-opens-the-conversation-to-sustain-antiracist-engagement/#comment-453479 My commentary and response: “You win elections by creating problems and then promising to solve them.” Wow. For the first time since I don’t remember  (probably a couple of months), I actually worked a full day yesterday. It felt good. I spent most of the morning polishing the mentorship information, putting the web pages together, … Read more

The Journal: Surface Advice

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Surface Advice * The New Mentorship Program * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” Mark Twain Topic: Surface Advice That’s what I call the popular but basically meaningless buzz-words that some instructors recommend and then can’t explain, or can’t explain adequately, or explain incorrectly. It’s what I call surface advice. It sounds good but it explains nothing. At best it’s a waste of time. At worst, especially if the explanation is incorrect or the … Read more

The Journal: Thoughts on Walking

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Do you have any favorite quotes * If you aren’t a subscriber * I’m a fortunate guy — thoughts on walking * I didn’t write yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Don’t let people drive you crazy when you know it’s in walking distance.” Author Unknown “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.” G.M. Trevelyan “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” Henry David Thoreau “It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something.” Charles … Read more

The Journal: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction?

In today’s Journal * Topic: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction? * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction? Not sure why I thought of this again today, but a while back, probably a year or so ago, a friend asked whether I thought a writer could make a living writing short fiction. I said no, I didn’t believe so. I was thinking of the heirarchy of sales in ebooks. Novels in series sell best, then individual novels, then novellas, then short story collections, then short stories. So looking at that, … Read more

The Journal: A Very Brief Update

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * In response to an image * Two first readers * Of Interest * The walking * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Dystopia doesn’t arrive with a bang, but in a gradual slide. We read and watch those narratives with terror. But that’s only because we’re on the outside, and can see what’s happening. Living in a dystopia just feels like living: you get through one day, and then you get through the next, and then the next.” Anne Helen Petersen “Masks are for those people who really believed their clapping … Read more

The Journal: Doodle-bugs and Bigfoot

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * During my morning walk * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “We set goals to help ourselves, not to harm ourselves.” a writer closely related to Wes Crowley (grin, and thanks to Aldred G. for the reminder) During my morning walk, if I encounter other creatures (jackrabbits, coyotes, lines of hard-working ants, etc.) I always say a cordial good morning. This morning on my way back to the house, a doodle-bug crossed my path. As is my habit, I said, “Good morning, Doodle-bug!” And just as I was … Read more

The Journal: Deep POV and Garry Rodgers

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Um, yeah. * In today’s “Of Interest” * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “In Deep POV, you’re writing AS the [POV] character instead of about them. The reader experiences the story as the character experiences the story to create an immersive effect. The reader can only know what the point of view character knows, sees, hears, intuits, learns, etc. Every word written comes from the POV character’s perspective.” Lisa Hall-Wilson Um, yeah. As I wrote in the Journal yesterday, “Deep POV” is just a new name for … Read more

The Journal: Beware of Scammers

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Beware of Scammers * Dave Farland’s APEX writers group * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The best research is often passive. Never be afraid to learn more about people and what they do–who they are.” John Gilstrap “Like GPS navigation, which started as just a tool but has reduced our engagement with the act of navigating, AI language generators may start by sparing us labor but soon spare us thought.” David A. Price in The Wall Street Journal, courtesy The Passive Guy Topic: Beware of Scammers … Read more

The Journal: A Cornucopia

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I hadn’t planned * In a break from my own norm * Just in case anyone’s interested * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.” Cary Grant “Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.” Cary Grant “Write the truest version.” Kathleen McCleary “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. So finally I would write … Read more