critical mind

It’s Been a Week

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * It’s Been a Week * Succumbing to Unreasoning Fear * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “And how do we discern character?” A question posed by an anonymous AP writer in an article about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My response: Easy. Compare the words a person says and … Read more

Inside No. 9 and AI Writing

In today’s Journal * Inside No. 9 * AI Writing * Seriously, What Gives? * Of Interest Inside No. 9 I keep forgetting to mention, if you want to see some really great short stories in film, take a look at Inside No. 9, a British black-comedy anthology. According to the internet, the anthology is “available on NOW TV, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Netflix, iTunes and YouTube.” I get it through my BritBox subscription. So what does this have to do with writing? Well, the writing (storytelling) for Inside No. 9 is excellent. And the scripts are available to purchase … Read more

The Secret to Being Prolfic

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: The Secret to Being Prolfic * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “If you wish to advance into the infinite, explore the finite in all directions.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Sure you can, Harvey. ‘Can’t’ never did anything.” My stepmom, about 65 years ago when I complained that I couldn’t do something. I owe her my Marine Corps career, and I owe her my writing career. “May your future be limited only by your dreams.” Christa McAuliffe Topic: The Secret to Being Prolfic First, the secret to being a prolific … Read more

The Journal: Just Write and Have Fun

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Just Write and Have Fun * Of Interest Quote of the Day “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.” Michael J. Fox I’ve seldom if ever read a better quote on this topic. Topic: Just Write and Have Fun (Confession Time) I wasn’t going to post an edition of the Journal today, but Matt asked me a question about redrafting: tossing out an opening that isn’t “working” and starting over from scratch. He wanted to know whether I ever … Read more

The Journal: Very Short Post Today

In today’s Journal * Very Short Post Today * Should One Seek A Critique? * Of Interest Very Short Post Today Just not a lot to say, and I’m aware that a lot of the stuff inside the recent topics has been negative. I want to get away from that for awhile. Also, the novel’s coming along, but very slowly. I put down fewer than 500 words yesterday, so I didn’t bother updating the numbers. I feel the novel is (I’m) on the verge of breaking out, but it’s (I’m) not quite there yet. As you might imagine, critical mind’s … Read more

The Journal: More on Challenges and Writing

In today’s Journal * Topic: More on Challenges and Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: More on Challenges and Writing Ironically, one of the big problems with being a prolific writer is publishing. You can’t make money on what you write unless you (or someone) publishes it. That’s why Heinlein’s Rule 4 exists, and that’s the one I almost constantly fall off of. Not that I care, but more on that later. Maggie King mentioned in a comment that a prolific writer might have a problem finding enough proofreaders (or first readers) to keep up. She suspects that’s … Read more

The Journal: Critical Mind: A Diagnosis

In today’s Journal * Topic: Critical Mind: A Diagnosis * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Critical Mind Diagnosis I’m seemingly never immune to intrusions from the critical mind. Yesterday, as I wrote in the current story, that niggling, quiet little voice (creative mind) kept telling me I was forcing things and going in the wrong direction. By “wrong” I mean I was telling the story per what “made sense next” instead of just giving the characters their head and writing what they gave me to write. You would think by now I’d know better, and I do. But really, … Read more

The Journal: The Journey Home: Part 7 Is Finished

In today’s Journal * Just a reminder * Wow. I almost screwed up * I was thinking * Today, and as I was reading * The Numbers Just as a reminder, the half-price sale on WMG Publishing (DWS) workshops ends on Thursday at 5 p.m. You can use the code AGAIN to get anything on Teachable at half price. (Note: I am not an affiliate. I pass this along only because I beleive it’s a great value.) Wow. I almost screwed up big time. So here’s another cautionary tale direct from the experience of a prolific writer. Yesterday, I was … Read more