Dean Wesley Smith

The Journal: Bitter Mountain Moonlight

In today’s Journal * Bitter Mountain Moonlight is out! * The novel continues * Of Interest * The Numbers Bitter Mountain Moonlight is out! Not a lot to talk about today. But hey, if anyone out there would like to see Bitter Mountain Moonlight, the Cave Creek anthology containing my short story, “Rider Jones and the Portal,” you can read about it at https://www.wmgpublishinginc.com/project/bitter-mountain-moonlight-a-cave-creek-anthology/. Amazon’s Cave Creek series page is at https://amzn.to/3gW3tyO. You can also find links to every book retailer where the ebook is available using this universal link: https://books2read.com/u/4ERdXz. (Amazon wasn’t there yet as of this morning.) If … Read more

The Journal: How do you know which story idea to write?

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * PQ Topic: How do you know which story idea to write? * The novel continues * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” Ernest Hemingway “It is only when you open your veins and bleed onto the page a little that you establish contact with your reader.” Paul Gallico “Writing is easy. You just open a vein and bleed.” Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at … Read more

The Journal: Rider Jones Wrapped

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Rider Jones wrapped * Took a day off * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I didn’t write what I thought people wanted to read. I didn’t research what might be popular — what might sell — and write that. I wrote stories that felt personal to me, that I enjoyed completely from writing to reading.” Kristen Ashley Yes. This is how you set trends rather than following them. “Scene is where the pace of the story slows to ‘real time,’ and we’re privy to every word, gesture, … Read more

The Journal: IP Valuation

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: IP Valuation * Rider Jones * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Intellectual property is the oil of the 21 century.” Mark Getty “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.” Thomas Jefferson Topic: IP Valuation I was going to talk in-depth about IP valuation this morning. To that end, I did a Google search for “IP Valuation,” downloaded a promising-looking PDF document, and clicked a button on the … Read more

The Journal: Fiction Lengths and Much More

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Brief Introspection * A reminder * A heads-up * Fiction lengths * Fairly good day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Marilyn Strathern If you set a solid goal, chances are you will fall short. You want something to reach for, not something to obtain. “Most readers will subliminally appreciate the specificity even if they don’t know the reference.” James Scott Bell “No pressure, no diamonds. Little pressure, little diamonds. Great pressure, great … Read more

The Journal: Working and Having Fun

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday * Topic: About Writing as “Work” * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[P]eople pay good money to get on a rollercoaster to be stressed and thrilled and have fun. That’s writing every novel for me.” Dean Wesley Smith “I enjoy writing as well as having written. I enjoy finding my story as I go, figuring it out, and putting it down for myself, and no one else.” Joe R. Lansdale Yesterday quickly turned into a non-writing day as my wife and I (mostly my wife) filtered … Read more

The Journal: Catching Up

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welp, I’m back * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The writer who thinks the whole purpose of writing is suffering isn’t one I’m much interested in. The one that tells a story for the joy of telling it is the one I’m interested in.” Joe Lansdale “All I want is a story. If you want to send a message, call Western Union.” Samuel Goldwyn Writing this yesterday (Wednesday) about an hour and a half after I got back to get a jump on the Journal for tomorrow. … Read more

The Journal: The Origins of Rider Jones

In today’s Journal * The Origins of Rider Jones * Of Interest * The Numbers The Origins of Rider Jones Well, I hadn’t planned to write anything while I’m “off.” But it’s difficult to plan not to do something you do pretty much every day. And Dean exacerbated things. In his introduction to my short story, “Rider Jones and the Portal,” in the forthcoming (May 2021) Cave Creek anthology Bitter Mountain Moonlight, he wrote in part “Harvey Stanbrough is giving me a run at being a top productive writer in this modern world. And he might be as nimble across … Read more

The Journal: Pulp Speed Revisited

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Today * Pulp Speed Revisited * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “My novels are what is known as popular and sell very well, but I am not a critic’s favorite; indeed I am generally dismissed with a sneer as a bestseller and not reviewed at all.” Daphne du Maurier “Sometimes I wonder what the difference is between being cautious and being dead.” Sue Grafton “When fiction writing isn’t fun, you are doing something wrong. And that is usually a myth or critical voice….” Dean Wesley Smith “The … Read more

The Journal: Forgetfulness—Blessing or Curse?

In today’s Journal * Pulp Speed * Topic: Forgetfulness—Blessing or Curse? * The novel wrapped * Of Interest * The Numbers Pulp Speed There’s an item in “Of Interest” today on writing at what DWS terms “Pulp Speed.” I encourage you to read it, even if you’ve seen it before. It was one of the first few posts of Dean’s that I read, and I’ve read it again all three times he’s dusted it off and brought it forward. Writing at any pulp speed is the ultimate challenge for writers who just like to tell stories. Writers who, like me, … Read more