Dean Wesley Smith

The Journal: MOM (Moaning Over Misery)

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Lot Slower Yesterday * In a continuation of my MOM * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Being a writer does not make you an editor. And being an editor definitely does not make you a writer.” me A Lot Slower Yesterday Well, my progress on my recast novel was a lot slower day yesterday. I ran into the part of Book 4 that I kept, the thread that had nothing to do with the death that caused me to recast the novel. A cautionary note: If I had it … Read more

The Journal: The Ongoing Saga

In today’s Journal * The Ongoing Saga of Recasting a Novel * The Numbers The Ongoing Saga of Recasting a Novel The first two days went more slowly than I’d hoped. I hadn’t remembered how much of the original Book 4 was predicated on and directly affected by Isabel’s death. So cycling won’t work. Cycling means reading and allowing yourself to touch the story as you read. That is not helpful when recasting a book. Remember, I’ve never done this before so I’m learning as I go. As I read, cycling through the book, my conscious, critical mind kept popping … Read more

The Journal: Mourning Characters, and Rewriting vs. Recasting

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * As you will see * Topic: Mourning Characters, and Rewriting vs. Recasting * Now it’s almost 9 a.m. * Yesterday and today * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It’s never too early to start something new, and it’s never too late to fix what’s broken for next time.” Wes Crowley “WRITING A BOOK is a lonely pursuit, one that can take years of solitary work.” Kate Knibbs, a senior writer at WIRED “Yes. Alas, writing a book is such terrible drudgery. BWAAAAAhahahahahahahahahaha!” me As you will see, it seemed appropriate … Read more

The Journal: Happy New Year, Yesterday, Cycling and Heinlein’s Rules

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy New Year * Thanks * Topic: Yesterday, Cycling, and the Two Days Before * Yesterday too, an article * Heinlein’s Rules * Annual Recap * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It’s never too early to start something new, and it’s never too late to fix what’s broken for next time.” Wes Crowley “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” Brad Paisley (thanks to Sam T for sharing this) For those of you who wait to begin a new year on January 1, … Read more

The Journal: Today, an Odd Compilation

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A do-over * New cats * This morning * Topic: “Thread” vs. “Outline” * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It was only when publishing house after publishing house, agent after agent had rejected my submissions, and I’d decided that no one was ever going to read my books, that I threw the rules out the window. I then simply wrote what I wanted to write, wrote how the stories came to me, was true to them and my characters. Then I published myself … And I’ve sold more than two … Read more

The Journal: “Hallelujah” and Cover Art

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * If I may wax * I knew better * Someone asked me * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I will be glad to see 2021 arrive so I can get back to getting back to being uninterrupted by all the crapfulessness going on.” Anonymous Me too, brother. Me too. “Yet another reason to prioritize writing: Probably nobody ever has broken an arm while at the keyboard.” My tongue-in-cheek version of being ‘supportive’ to a writer friend who broke her arm while doing something other than writing “I did my best, … Read more

The Journal: Catching Up

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Last night * More astute readers * Just a thought * Merry Christmas * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.” H. L. Mencken Last night, one sister-in-law and one son from Indiana flew in to Las Vegas and then drove from there for a visit. We are fortunate that they will be with us during Christmas and as we begin the … Read more

The Journal: Not much today

In today’s Journal * Not much today * The Numbers Not much today. Nothing, really. I’m posting this mostly to get the items in “Of Interest” out to you. Especially the first item for you short fiction writers. In fact, it took me longer to make the links below “hot” than it did to write the rest of this. Talk with you again soon. Of Interest See “Making a Living With Short Fiction 2021” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/making-a-living-with-short-fiction-2021/. See “Abandoned Town of Cairo, Illinois” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cairo-illinois. Story ideas. See “24 Creative Nonfiction Publishers…” at https://www.authorspublish.com/24-creative-nonfiction-markets-open-in-december-2020/. Any essayist or memoirists out there? See … Read more

The Journal: Quotes and “Of Interest”

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Nothing much * For those who are interested * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I realized that coming up with writing topics did not require anything greater than an attunement to the everyday things around me….” Christine M. Estel “My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.” Mizuta Masahide “The Delete button on PG’s keyboard will never gather dust, but the scope of its domain will remain limited to characters, words, the odd paragraph and an occasional draft version of a finished document saved in at least … Read more

The Journal: Setting a “Floor” Goal

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Setting a “Floor” Goal * Be sure to see * After the novel sputtered * Remember that you * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Robert Frost “Despite the number of writing skills we’ve mastered, if we’re not excited about the story we’re telling, it’s going to show.” Lori Freeland Topic: Setting a “Floor” Goal After reading Dean Wesley Smith’s post on the personal goals he set for himself for 2021 … Read more