DeanWesleySmith.com

The Journal: Editing? Nope, Not Me

In today’s Journal * Thanks, Fabien * Thanks, Danny * Topic: Editing? Nope, Not Me * Of Interest Thanks Fabien Thanks to a response from French author Fabien Delorme on a comment I left on Dean’s site, I revised both my author site at HarveyStanbrough.com and my publisher site at StoneThreadPublishing.com. Check them out if you like. Things are a lot easier to find. The former is now more about Writers, and the latter is more about The Writing. I’ll be working on the sites a bit more today, and maybe writing a little too. Thanks, Danny And thanks to … Read more

The Journal: The Final Brandon Sanderson Post

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Final Brandon Sanderson Post * In other news * Still writing * Of Interest Quote of the Day “A quick search of the publishing category on Kickstarter, sorted for active campaigns, showed me book projects that have funded and brought in (so far) anywhere from $50,000 to $500. The bulk of these are in the $10,000 category per novel … which is, roughly, what any new writer can expect from traditional publishing these days.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch The Final Brandon Sanderson Post If you don’t read anything else today, be … Read more

The Journal: Steinbeck

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Today’s post again * Steinbeck * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Ah, the prayers of the millions, how they must fight and destroy each other on their way to the throne of God.” John Steinbeck in Tortilla Flat “It is astounding to find that the belly of every black and evil thing is as white as snow. And it is saddening to discover how the concealed parts of angels are leprous.” John Steinbeck in Tortilla Flat Today’s post again is mostly to pass along the first item in “Of Interest.” … Read more

The Journal: Maybe a Hiatus, and Archives

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Dean Wesley Smith * Maybe a Hiatus, and Archives * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.” William Faulkner Dean Wesley Smith’s having another Kickstarter campaign. It runs through the end of March. For as little as a five dollar ($5) donation you get all kinds of rewards and stretch … Read more

The Journal: Not a Good Day

In today’s Journal * Oh Well… * BundleRabbit Is Now PubShare * Of Interest I’m a little grouchy today. My apologies in advance. If you don’t want to put up with my grousing, I suggest you skip down to the “Of Interest” section. Oh Well…. Although he “love[d] the book idea and cover” for my SF novel For the Good of the Galaxy:The First Nine Days, Dean declined to include it in the upcoming StoryBundle. The reason? I don’t have a large-enough social-media presence, and therefore don’t have the platform to promote the bundle widely enough to be fair to … Read more

The Journal: Plotting Revisited

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Plotting (AKA Writers Boring Themselves) Revisited * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Go to bed early, get up early—this is wise. Some authorities say get up with the sun; some say get up with one thing, others with another. But a lark is really the best thing to get up with. It gives you a splendid reputation with everybody to know that you get up with the lark; and if you get the right kind of lark, and work at him right, you can easily train him to get … Read more

The Journal: Two Mentors and a Little History

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Two Mentors and a Little History * Of Interest Quote of the Day “I spend a lot of time indoors blending with the furniture and scaring my cousin.” from “10 Fun Facts About Me” by Tari Philip Note: More on the unique voice. I love finding sentences that I suspect never have been said before. This is one of the most interesting sentences I’ve ever read. Thank you, Tari. Topic: Two Mentors and a Little History Today is the eighth anniversary of the day I rediscovered Dean Wesley Smith and … Read more

The Journal: Your Unique Voice, Part 3

In today’s Journal * Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 3 * Of Interest Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 3 Thanks for your patience. Here are my final thoughts (for now) on “Your Unique Voice.” You can click these links to read Your Unique Voice: Part 1 and Your Unique Voice: Part 2. I recommend reading the posts in sequence. Finally, understand the difference between “your” story and your characters’ story. Your story is the life you’re living. In your story you’re currently reading a blog about writing. You can revise your story at will. You can choose to do one … Read more

The Journal: Your Unique Voice, Part 2

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 2 * AI For Audiobooks? * D2D Acquired Smashwords! * Of Interest Quote of the Day “I’m only the author. I don’t know anything. And I mean that honestly when it comes to my own work.” Dean Wesley Smith Topic: Your Unique Voice, Part 2 In my previous post I mentioned that to take advantage of your unique, original, authorial voice—to relax and let it flow—you must trust yourself. That’s the simple truth. In this post I’m going to break that truth down to help you … Read more

The Journal: Be True to the Story

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Be True to the Story * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I never consciously place symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act. Better to let the subconscious do the work for you, and get out of the way. The best symbolism is always unsuspected and natural.” Ray Bradbury “Symbolism? Symbolism is what critics search for and readers sometimes believe they discover. But it has nothing to do with me. I just write the stories.” Gervasio Arrancado, writer of … Read more