Dean Wesley Smith

The Journal: Good Stuff and Bad Stuff

In today’s Journal * First, Happy Easter * Yesterday * Today * If you want to learn * Of Interest * The Numbers First, Happy Easter. Whatever it means to you, I hope it’s an enjoyable day. Yesterday, again I wrote only a little over 1000 words (see Day 6 below). We took an early drive to Sierra Vista mostly to get out of the house. We also had an enjoyable walk down along the San Pedro River. The pic is a selfie Mona took with her phone. That part of the day was wonderful. Then things went wrong. Almost … Read more

The Journal: Negativity, Go Away!

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday * Topic: Negativity, Go Away! * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Why would I want to take a day off from doing something I love?” Dean Wesley Smith Yesterday I realized I wasn’t quite up to “big day” status yet. I wrote some, but not enough to talk about and only as I was cycling through. I sidetracked myself with merging and updating my reverse outlines for the two novels into one. When that was caught up, I also opened a new Word document … Read more

The Journal: Major Change in the Journal

In today’s Journal * For those who missed it, all of Dean’s lectures * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers All of Dean’s lectures, workshops, pop-ups, and even lifetime subscriptions are on sale for 50% off right now. But hurry. The sale ends on Friday (tomorrow) at 5 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time. Go to https://wmg-publishing-workshops-and-lectures.teachable.com/, click “See All Courses,” and use the code SpringTraining2020 at checkout. You can buy more than one, but you have to get them one at a time because Teachable has no shopping cart. Yesterday, I did a lot of non-writing stuff, including … Read more

The Journal: Wilhelm’s Law and Other Misunderstandings

In today’s Journal * WMG Publishing Offer * Topic: Wilhelm’s Law and Other Misunderstandings * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers WMG Publishing Offer WMG Publishing has decided to repeat their 50% off sale on everything they have on Teachable for 48 hours beginning last night at midnight. Everything. Lectures, workshops, pop-ups, lifetime subscriptions… everything. I can’t urge you strongly enough to take advantage of this offer. To do so, visit https://wmg-publishing-workshops-and-lectures.teachable.com/, click “See All Courses,” and use the code SpringTraining2020 at checkout. You can buy more than one, but you have to get them one at … Read more

The Journal: Stores, Distributors and Aggregators

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Here Be Brave New Worlds * Topic: Stores, Distributors and Aggregators * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.” Stephen King in On Writing A new bundle just released: the Here Be Brave New Worlds bundle is now available at your favorite store. To read about it, visit https://bundlerabbit.com/b/here-be-brave-new-worlds. Thirteen novels by thirteen very good writers for only $4.99, including my SF novel The Consensus. To see all eight bundles my work is current … Read more

The Journal: A Rare Treat

In today’s Journal * The numbers for yesterday * A Rare Treat * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers The numbers for yesterday are below. I missed my short story for this week and stopped short on the novel, and that’s fine. I’m not worried about it. To see why, please read on. (grin) A Rare Treat But not rare enough. We no longer have to wonder when our first rattlesnake of the season will visit. I was sitting in the Hovel about three feet from the door (that’s significant), writing on the novel again when I decided I … Read more

The Journal: A Rare Occasion of Looking Backward

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Koontz not Kuntz * Topic: A Rare Occasion of Looking Backward * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The whole idea is to put yourself in a position to be recognized for your work so opportunities increase. False humility or even laziness could prevent that.” Actor Bryan Cranston In yesterday’s post I misspelled Dean Koontz’ name as “Kuntz.” Senior moment. Mea culpa. I’ve corrected it. When you write as many words per day as I do, I guess you can expect to make a phonetic mistake … Read more

The Journal: The Value of an Opening

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Affinity * Yesterday * Today * Topic: The Value of an Opening * Today redux * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Reacher has remained a loner and a drifter, which allows Child the freedom to put his protagonist in virtually any role and in any setting and still continue the series.” Rick Pullen in an interview with Lee Child (see “Of Interest” below) “Advice to Writers: Ignore all advice because you’ve got to imagine here’s your book and that book is going to be competing with several … Read more

The Journal: Back to The Othgygnrkthers

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Back to The Othgygnrkthers * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The world is visibly changing, and we have no idea what the outcome will be.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “So release yourself from Outcome. Be unattached to Outcome, take a calming breath and just continue on.” My corollary Topic: Back to The Othgygnrkthers This will be another process topic, complete with a little waffling, so skip it if you want. Yesterday I said I was trashing the book. This morning, I thought Not … Read more

The Journal: Yes, It’s April Fool’s Day (Yawn)

In today’s Journal * Topic: Sigh… Despite the Date * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Sigh… Despite the Date This is not an April Fool’s Day joke or hoax: As you know, this whole Journal thing is my way of “writing in public”: my progress and my process, right out where everyone can see it. I share my daily writing progress to illustrate how rapidly the numbers can grow. To that end, I encourage others to set daily, weekly, monthly and annual writing goals and then strive to reach them. Even if you fail, you … Read more