Dean Wesley Smith

The Journal: On Censorship and Cancel Culture

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: On Censorship and Cancel Culture * Patreon * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The job boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you behave and then telling the truth about what you see.” Stephen King “Authors are now being successfully pressured to remove lines from published books that are deemed objectionable by some readers. … The point of cancel campaigns is to create a chilling effect for academics, writers, editors, and others.” Jonathan Turley, author of the first item listed … Read more

The Journal: A Non-Productive Personal Day

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Non-Productive Personal Day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s dialogue that gives your cast their voices, and is crucial in defining their characters.” Stephen King A Non-Productive Personal Day Hey there. I did a lot yesterday, but almost no writing. Just over 1000 words. I’m mentioning all of the following because my schedule might be up in the air for a few days while I figure out my new routine and get started with it. This is more important than writing on my current story, … Read more

The Journal: A Short Post Today

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Short Post Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.” Stephen King “I started trying to write a short story for Amanda [Palmer] … about what it was like to be me when I was 7, and it just kept going. And it turned into a book called … Read more

The Journal: There Are Five Physical Senses

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: There Are Five Physical Senses * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “When you find a writer who really is saying something to you, read everything that writer has written and you will get more education and depth of understanding out of that than reading a scrap here and a scrap there and elsewhere.” Joseph Campbell Topic: There Are Five Physical Senses Not one. Five. One of the most obvious signs of a beginning writer is that in description, the writer focuses on Sight as the dominant, … Read more

The Journal: Alison Naomi Holt and Robert J. Sadler

In today’s Journal * Thanks for the input * Alison Naomi Holt * Robert J. Sadler * Yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Thanks to everyone who gave me input re my fairly recent announcement that I was considering writing nonfiction books on all my mentoring subtopics. I even thought about doing a Kickstarter for the series. I appreciate the input, but I’ve decided against doing that, at least for now, and at least as a series. It would take too much time away from my fiction, and really, that’s where I live and breathe. Besides, the mentorships, personalized … Read more

The Journal: The Novel Finished

In today’s Journal * Welcome * How to Write Fiction Sales Copy * More Boring Talk About My Own Writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Welcome to Kelley and Anitha and any others who have joined our little community lately. If I can ever do anything to help with your writing, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You know those writers you meet at writers’ conferences who deliver their lecture or class and then disappear into their room in the hotel for the duration? Yeah, that’s not me. I was the guy hanging out in the lobby or the … Read more

The Journal: A Story Idea

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday * A Story Idea * Of Interest * The Numbers Well, yesterday, finally, I took a few minutes to upload the slightly revised editions of The Rise of a Warrior and Comanche Fire, the first two novels in the Wes Crowley series. Nothing major. As I was reading through them, I spotted and corrected a few typos. Anyway, anyone who would like a “clean” copy of The Rise of a Warrior, you only need to email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. A Story Idea For those of you who enjoy reading or … Read more

The Journal: Four-Book Give-Away

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A give-away * StreetLib * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “In Heinlein’s Rules, Product Focused writers have trouble with Rules #1, #2, and #3. Process focused writers have a horrid time with Rules #4 and #5.” Dean Wesley Smith, in his reply to my comment. Another of those gems I talk about. In honor of Dean’s previous two excellent posts, I’ve decided to do another give-away. For a limited time, you can get Quiet the Critical Voice (and Write Fiction) and Writing the Character Driven Story free. … Read more

The Journal: Great Advice from DWS

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Dean’s current and previous posts * Meanwhile * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[T]he advantage of writing 40,000 word novels. Readers can read them faster.” Dean Wesley Smith “[Fiction] implies the action of making, or rather, giving form. It is not inventing something that is not true, but giving shape to something that was already there.” Valeria Luiselli, Mexican author Well, I’m gonna add Dean’s current and previous post to my writers resources pages on my main website. Great, great stuff. The first post in today’s “Of … Read more

The Journal: The Saguaro Cactus

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Actually, no * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day A little misinformation from an article a friend sent me, featured on Yahoo News: “Saguaro are considered to be a ‘symbol of the American west,’ yet they are rare, NPS officials say. ‘These majestic plants, found only in a small portion of the United States, are protected by Saguaro National Park’ near Tuscon.” Actually, no, saguaros aren’t ‘rare’. 1. Saguaros are protected in Arizona, but so are almost every desert plant. If you don’t believe me, be observed trying … Read more