Dean Wesley Smith

The Journal, Friday, May 18

Hey Folks, Rolled out a little after 3 this morning. I read until around 5, mostly on the Internet, mostly the stuff in “Of Interest” below, then wrote this edition of the Journal. I think I could finish the novel this morning, but I’m going to leave it until Monday. I don’t want to risk leaving a paltry, ragged edge today of maybe less than a thousand words and then have to come back and finish on Monday. I suspect I have another 3,000 to 5,000 words to the end. So given the choice, I’d rather leave the whole thing … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 17

Hey Folks, Topic: How Do You Know You Won’t Like It If You Don’t Try It? Parents? Sound familiar? Well, we’re in the same boat here. I received a very congenial email from a friend and one time editing client that contained a link to an article titled “I Copied the Routines of Famous Writers and It Sucked.” As it turned out, the article was more humorous than serious. I’ve included the link (last) in “Of Interest” below. And just so you know, the author of the article is not a novelist. He’s a columnist and/or contributor to several online … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, May 15

Hey Folks, Tom Wolfe once said, “I do novels a bit backward. I look for a situation, a milieu first, and then I wait to see who walks into it.” May he rest in peace. Be sure to see today’s “Of Interest.” A lot of good stuff there. Another copyedit came in, and from a writer for whom I’ve copyedited before. It’s great fun watching a writer improve at storytelling. I’m looking forward to the story. So I’ll be doing that for awhile in addition to finishing the novel/story collection. Topic: An Update on Process Writing my own current WIP … Read more

The Journal, Monday, May 14

Hey Folks, I’m alive. Yesterday I took a much-needed “do (almost) nothing” day and basically did (almost) nothing. I did blast through an online workshop. I visited the Internet a bit and we went to the grocery and I read. Otherwise I did nothing. But I’m back. This morning I’ll commute to the Hovel (about 200 feet from my house), coffee in hand, and write a short story. No idea what that will be at the moment. Then this afternoon I’ll work on a copyedit that came in. It’s short. I hope I’ll be able to finish it this afternoon … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, May 12

Hey Folks, Okay, first, a happy Mother’s Day (tomorrow) to all the moms out there. I hope it’s a great day for you. Well, it’s getting too hot in the afternoon even to write out in the Hovel, so adjustments are coming. For those new to the Journal, the Hovel is a rammed-earth structure, basically a cave, with walls that are three feet thick. I have a box fan out there right now, and I bought a portable swamp cooler that works too, though I have no ready source of water out there for it. But both are noisy enough … Read more

The Journal, Friday, May 11

Hey Folks, Wow. I woke up jonesing to get back to writing today. The marketing webinar was great yesterday, but I’ll have to go over it again. It was a ton of information, and they probably needed 3 or 4 hours (or longer) for a proper presentation. They flew through it, not even showing all the slides they’d prepared (but those are all included in the actual video). If you missed yesterday’s Journal, the link to that video is https://youtu.be/2XTd9NcgWWc. As an added bonus, you can dowload the slides they used in the video at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GC3CZUCVQqDN0P7iuLJ44qo9xpkXoqAK/view. (When you get there, … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, May 9

Hey Folks, I got up much closer to my normal time this morning, but frittered away much of the morning. I did do a little cycling and enjoyed that. I also enjoyed wondering what I might write later today. Even made a couple of starts, but nothing stuck. It wasn’t time yet. For whatever reason, today I’m just not feeling it. So day off today. I’ll check out my window later to see whether the world ended (grin). My little cat’s been sneezing a lot lately, and she’s listless. She’s usually a tightly wound ball of pure energy, so I’m … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, May 8

Hey Folks, Okay, a lot of stuff in “Of Interest” today re crime novels and thrillers and Amazon and other things. Crime Writer Sue Coletta is an excellent resource. First some admin stuff… Happy birthday to my eldest daughter, Audrey. Today is her 44th. Thanks to all of you who remain subscribed to this Journal because you find it interesting, motivational, or educational. I probably haven’t said it for awhile, but I do appreciate you. When I was still in the USMC a lifetime ago, I overheard two much older guys talking about ways to stay young. One of them … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 3

Hey Folks, Well, I saw that MailChimp added the May 1st post to the May 2nd post. Weird. In his post today, Dean’s hawking a new writing-book bundle Kris put together. Even if you’re otherwise not interested, this one includes The Heinlein’s Rules lecture. That alone is worth the money for the bundle if you haven’t heard that lecture. Just sayin’. See https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/writing-books-bundle-and-lecture/. Yesterday I reported writing over 6000 words of fiction in what was my personal biggest day ever. This morning I went back and double checked. It was difficult for me to believe that total. Honestly, I felt … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, May 1

Hey Folks, Well, day 3 or 4, still sick. I can literally feel the writing days and hours slipping away, and I have to tell you, it’s annoying. I went out to the Hovel this morning and managed about 500 words in two hours. That while alternately wiping my watering eyes, repeatedly blowing my nose, etc. Maddening. I’ll wait to report those words when I’m back actually writing. Accomplishing a half-hour’s work over a 2-hour period is not something to brag about. So I’m gonna spend the balance of today like I spent much of yesterday, trying to be patient … Read more