Dean Wesley Smith

The Journal, Monday, December 17

Hey Folks, I rolled out a little before 2 this morning and was in the Hovel by 2 to start my day. I haven’t explained for awhile why I run such “odd” hours, and we’ve had several new folks join us in following this Journal. For me, my hours aren’t odd at all. It’s a matter of balancing writing time with family time, chores, etc. We all have 24 hours in each day, and we all have physical bodies. So the first basic division of our time is between Sleep and Living. I don’t personally care for sleep, and I … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, December 15

Hey Folks, Wow. My fiction number was so good yesterday it almost scared me off. (grin) Then I calmed down. I’m also practicing with what’s left of this month and year to write 4,000 words per day. So far, I have almost 1000 words in the bank. Not too shabby. *** The third novel in the Nick Spalding action-adventure romantic-suspense series released this morning. If you’re interested, you can find it at http://harveystanbrough.com/coincidence/. *** Topic: Pet Peeves That Matter Pet peeves — you know, those little flaws and inanities that grind away on the nerves and cause me to close … Read more

The Journal, Friday, December 14

Hey Folks, Topic: On Challenges (It’s That Time of Year) In Dean’s post today (see “Of Interest”) he’s talking about restarting his challenge on January 1 to write 10 novels in 100 days. His plan is to write 10 50,000 word novels in that time. It will “stretch” him (and hence, be a challenge) because he isn’t sure he can write 5,000 words per day consistently for 100 days. I’m considering joining him in that challenge, but with a twist. I would write 10 novels in 100 days, but probably in a particular world, so a series. Or maybe two. … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, December 13

Hey Folks, Well, the would-be novel previously (and tentatively) titled Dread is now finished and titled Situation Solved. It’s a hard-nosed police procedural mystery. It came in at 58,000 words. See the numbers below. I completed the “second draft” (spell check) in about ten minutes and it’s now winging its way through the ether to my first reader, a retired Tucson police detective. She’s also a woman, which helps since my protagonist this time around is a woman. (grin) Topic: On (My) Manners A few days ago I mentioned that when you are invited to present sessions at a writers … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, December 11

Hey Folks, Again, nothing much to report. I do want to welcome any new subscribers. The novel still seems to be approaching the end game, but I thought the same thing around 10,000 words back. (grin) The characters continue to throw twists and turns, none of which I can foresee. It’s entertaining as all get-out, but still a little annoying when the ending seems to move two steps farther away for every step I take. There’s a lot of cycling with this one too. Whenever the characters toss in a new twist, it seems to require foreshadowing in one place … Read more

The Journal, Monday, December 10

Hey Folks, I had an interesting question re the new Gutenberg “blocks” that WordPress shoved upon us recently. The long and short of it is this: If your website is hosted on WordPress.COM, you have to pay extra to be able to add plugins to your website. That’s one of the things I don’t like about WordPress.com. It’s “free,” and then they nickle and dime you to death. Same with a lot of the other so-called free providers. ALSO and more importantly, if your site is hosted on any of those, be absolutely certain to read the terms of service. … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, December 9

Hey Folks, YAY! (grin) Reading “Of Interest” items can be SO valuable in SO many ways! In reading The Passive Guy’s recent post about troubles with his website, I stumbled across a post that mentions a new WordPress plugin called “Classic Editor,” which apparently enables WordPress users to go back to posting without those ugly, time-consuming “blocks” (Gutenberg). I also found “Disable Gutenberg.” I installed that one. Then I clicked Add a New Post and voila! my old posting screen was restored in full. I can’t say enough what wonderful news this is. If you like “blocks” for some things … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, December 6

Hey Folks, Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day, though I think, sadly, it’s no longer taught in schools. Here’s a quote for the day: The carrier Enterprise sailed into Pearl Harbor the day after the attack. Surveying the wreckage from the bridge, Adm. William Halsey could not hide his anger. “When this war is over the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.” For an excellent article about that fateful day, see https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-japan-failed-pearl-harbor-18638. *** Wow. Remember I released Book 2 of the Nick Spalding series, Transitions, back in November? One of my donors, a voracious reader, sent me an email … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, December 5

Hey Folks, Topic: A Realization or Epiphany Dangerous as it sounds, sometimes I feel as if I’ve been through it all as a writer. “Dangerous” because such a feeling is the surest way to stop learning and reach a plateau. Which is to say it’s the surest way to death as a writer. When we reach a plateau, a flattening-out of the attempt to keep learning, little things we’ve learned but haven’t yet tried tend to sift down through the holes and cracks in our knowledge. Without having practiced them, we forget them and have to be reminded. That’s the … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, December 4

Hey Folks, I think, having gone to bed early last night and risen early again this morning, I’m finally over whatever funk has mastered me during the past few days. Today should be a good one. *** Paraphrasing Dean Wesley Smith from “Of Interest” today, “We need to make our writing process like our reading process. When you’re reading and you reach the end of a chapter, do you put the book down and try to figure out where the story’s going next? Or do you just keep reading to entertain yourself. Do the same thing with your writing.” From … Read more