The Journal: New Releases

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * New Releases * Of all the blogs I visit and read * Of Interest * The Numbers ​​​ Quotes of the Day “[Y]our words are how you see yourself, your actions are how other people see you.” Farnam Street blog “Talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling.” Bill Belichick “If you’re too busy to read the fine print and figure out what it means, don’t enter the contest.” The Passive Voice New Releases Well, Wes Crowley: The Final Chapter went live yesterday. You can see it at https://books2read.com/u/3Lw9le. That’s the … Read more

The Journal: Well, Fooey

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Well, Fooey * Smashing Smashwords * Daniel Fellows * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Governments always claim noble purposes as the basis for limiting speech or other rights.” Jonathan Turley I started a new novel yesterday morning. As usual, a fairly slow start. And then around noon I realized, well, fooey. In talking with a friend, I came to know that I have five unpublished novels: Terra 2, the last novel in the FOH SF series (so far); Wes Crowley: The Final Chapter, the 12th … Read more

The Journal: Journaling, Focusing Down and More

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Birthday thoughts * Thank you * For those of you interested * Whale Sharks * Focusing Down * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “If you’re only going to mention something once, and it has no other significance to the story, choose one specific detail, and that’s it.” James Scott Bell “In a way we’re stenographers. The story’s being told to us.” Stephen King Happy Birthday to my wife. Today she turns 36. No, seriously. 36. Happy birthday, Honey. Oh, and happy 245th birthday to the USA. Thank … Read more

The Journal: NOW the novel is wrapped

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy Father’s Day * I added two chapters * Recently some overzealous writer * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Those are great days, when you’re writing, when something happens that you know works and you don’t have any self-doubt about, and you never saw it coming.” Dean Koontz “One of the biggest keys to success at anything hard is believing that you can figure it out as you go along. A lot of people won’t start until they figure it out. And because most hard things can’t … Read more

The Journal: Alison Naomi Holt and Robert J. Sadler

In today’s Journal * Thanks for the input * Alison Naomi Holt * Robert J. Sadler * Yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Thanks to everyone who gave me input re my fairly recent announcement that I was considering writing nonfiction books on all my mentoring subtopics. I even thought about doing a Kickstarter for the series. I appreciate the input, but I’ve decided against doing that, at least for now, and at least as a series. It would take too much time away from my fiction, and really, that’s where I live and breathe. Besides, the mentorships, personalized … Read more

The Journal: No

In today’s Journal * No Topic * No Blog * Welcome * Of Interest * The Numbers No Topic Browsed the internet this morning for items of interest. I added those links to my Journal notepad document, then scrolled up to see what I’d written for a topic. I’ve written so many topics lately, I just assumed I’d written one for today and had it ready to go. I didn’t. So no topic for today. I usually write those the day before, then add the “Of Interest” items and “go to press.” No Blog I haven’t solved the problem of … Read more

The Journal: Pulp Speed Revisited

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Today * Pulp Speed Revisited * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “My novels are what is known as popular and sell very well, but I am not a critic’s favorite; indeed I am generally dismissed with a sneer as a bestseller and not reviewed at all.” Daphne du Maurier “Sometimes I wonder what the difference is between being cautious and being dead.” Sue Grafton “When fiction writing isn’t fun, you are doing something wrong. And that is usually a myth or critical voice….” Dean Wesley Smith “The … Read more

The Journal: A “New” Computer and Logging a Day

In today’s Journal * Free Hour-Long Lecture * A “new” computer * Logging a Day * The Numbers Free Hour-Long Lecture I updated yesterday’s Journal a little late. So in case some of you missed it yesterday, to register for a free hour-long lecture titled “The First Twenty Pages — How to Win Over Agents, Editors, & Readers in Just Twenty Pages,” click https://authorspublish.com/free-author-lecture-the-first-twenty-pages/. It’s free, so it’s worth checking out. I registered, and I’ve also since learned the lecture will take place on Wednesday, March 24, at 2pm ET and 11am PT. But just as a reminder, you really … Read more

The Journal: The upcoming topics and a short tale

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * That third quote * The upcoming topics and a short tale * The Journey Home: Part 8 * The second quote * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The common denominator of success — the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.” Albert E. N. Gray “The courage to take the first step. The discipline to take the next one.” FarnamStreetblog.com “It is hard to believe that a … Read more

The Journal: Critical Voice vs. Creative Voice

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Critical Voice vs. Creative Voice * Dean’s put out a call * In today’s post at the Kill Zone blog * * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[N]othing important, or meaningful, or beautiful, or interesting, or great ever came out of imitations. The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” Anna Quindlen “I plucked hissing, thrashing, horned tomato worms off the plants and tossed them in a bucket, secretly terrified of their alien aggression. Every … Read more