The Journal: Focus Down and Mentorships

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Focus Down and Mentorships * Update on my writing * WMG Workshops Half-Price Sale * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.” Stephen King in On Writing “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” Mark Twain in Following the Equator “On the focus of a story, she writes ‘…the only remedy is resolutely to abandon the larger for the smaller field, to narrow one’s vision to one’s … Read more

The Journal: Character with a Problem, Part 2

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Ooh I was so tempted * Censorship * Pro Writers Writing * Topic: Character with a Problem, Part 2 * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “One of the things Dean Wesley Smith talks about is how he learns himself through teaching. I feel that this has been as much about me learning as anything. Putting down my thoughts about things I’ve learned over the years has helped to crystalize and solidify them for me.” Sean Monaghan in a comment on Pro Writers Writing “For those of you who have already … Read more

The Journal: A Writing Secret

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Writing Secret * The Link Between Poetry and Novels * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Less is more. My first drafts [sic] went into phenomenal detail about absolutely everything. … A sense of place is good. Overwhelming readers is not. I had to keep reminding myself to make sure everything related to the plot and characters.” Terry Odell (See my vehement disagreement in the Topic below.) “As a writing instructor, I find that most of the time when writers teach classes, we focus on teaching people … Read more

The Journal: A Rare Second Post

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Two Journal posts today * Six years ago today * Writing Into the Dark * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Some days things don’t line up quite right. That’s why they make tomorrows.” Wes Crowley If you don’t receive two posts via email today, you can see the earlier post at https://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-bottom-line-concerns/. There are several “Of Interest” items in that post and none in this one, so you might want to take a look. I felt like something was special about today, October 19, but I couldn’t … Read more

The Journal: Save This Post

In today’s Journal * Save This Post * Of Interest * The Numbers Save This Post If you’re still on the fence about whether to purchase Affinity Publisher and/or the Affinity Revolution full course for how to use publisher, I recommend you keep this post. I might talk again about using or learning Affinity Publisher, but I probably won’t list the links again (see below). I’m still working my way through the so-called “beginners” course on Affinity Publisher. I’ve slowed down a little because as I come to things I don’t already know but that interest me, I’m applying and … Read more

The Journal: A Little More on Cycling

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * It Keeps on Tickin * Topic: A Little More on Cycling * About Dean Wesley Smith * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The good parts of a book may be only something a writer is lucky enough to overhear or it may be the wreck of his whole damn life and one is as good as the other.” Ernest Hemingway (via The Passive Voice) It Keeps on Ticking I came across an old Timex watch in my desk drawer a few days ago. On a lark, I … Read more

The Journal: Finished My 50th Novel

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Little Richard * Yesterday, and Done * Topic: On Cliffhangers… * Shared World Stuff * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “If only we could remember that fame and money are gifts given us only after we have gifted the world with our best, our lonely, our individual truths.” Ray Bradbury “What The Subconscious is to every other man, in its creative aspect becomes, for writers, The Muse.” Ray Bradbury God bless the family and loved ones of Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), who passed away … Read more

The Journal: Life Rolls Happen

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Life rolls happen * Hey Media, shut up already * Be Sure to Check “Of Interest” * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Even the pandemic flu of 1918 only killed one to two percent of the people who were infected.” Anthony Fauci, via The Passive Voice Life rolls happen. I’ll be headed out of town tomorrow morning (Friday) for up to a few days. How fortunate am I, to be able to love my day job and take it with me? Thanks to … Read more

The Journal: On Reverse Outlines

In today’s Journal * Topic: On Reverse Outlines * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: On Reverse Outlines A patron wrote to ask me, in part, to explain reverse outlines in more detail. While I’m writing a novel, occasionally I have to fact-check something that happened earlier in the novel. That might be a place name (name of a town or building, etc.) or an aspect of a character description (eye color, hair color, what they’re wearing, etc.) or a timeline item (what time they left the bar, etc.) if correct timelines are important to the story. Using … Read more

The Journal: On Process

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the day * On Process * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day Via the Passive Voice, “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” Italo Calvino “Wayne Gretzky said, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’ The core of any unusual profession … is embodied in that quote: You can’t succeed if you don’t try.” Kristine Kathyrn Rusch On Process Yesterday I mentioned I thought the WIP was stalled. I opened it this morning, looked it over, and realized it … Read more