Farnam Street

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: How Do You Get So Many Ideas?

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * PQ Topic: How Do You Get So Many Ideas? * The current story * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” J.K. Rowling via The Passive Voice “The best way to improve your ability to think is to spend time thinking.” Farnam Street blog, in an article titled “How to Think: The Skill You’ve Never Been Taught.” It dawns on me that at one time, university was where one went to be taught how to think. Now university is where students … Read more

The Journal: The Question Rules

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Fairly good day * Topic: The Question Rules * Followup * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day I’ve talked here before about having a specific skill in mind when you sit down to write, for example pacing or dialogue or whatever. That’s how you practice and improve. Today’s topic will help you practice a particular technique. HS “Deliberate practice is what turns amateurs into professionals. … Deliberate practice means practicing with a clear awareness of the specific components of a skill we’re aiming to improve.” Farnam Street I … Read more

The Journal: Willie Nelson wrote a song

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Short announcement * Willie Nelson wrote a song * Topic: A Few Myths About Writing Into the Dark * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If we take man as he is, we make him worse, but if we take him as he should be, we make him capable of becoming what he can be.” Viktor Frankl quoting Goethe A short announcement—Dean posted today that the surveys for the Return of the Fey Kickstarter should go out this week. So if you donated anything to that, you should … Read more