James Scott Bell

The Journal, Sunday, July 1

Hey Folks, Long post today. Yesterday I published a list of the top six things I’d learned from Dean and Kris about writing fiction. In retrospect, it wasn’t really a countdown list. It was actually a list of things I’ve learned that all vie for number one in importance. (grin) I’m even thinking about putting them in a nonfiction book. One writer commented that she would’ve added “Have fun with your writing” to the list. I agree with that, except that having fun with writing is something I kind of take for granted. And that gave rise to this topic. … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, June 24

Hey Folks, No post yesterday. No anything else writerly either as I spent the day with my wife, celebrating 34 years together and wondering how she’s put up with me that long. Probably I won’t write today either, fiction I mean. I’ll start fresh on Monday, and that will give me a week to gear up to my new work ethic (fun ethic) and the coming challenge. Today that challenge got a little more difficult too. Another copyedit came in, and a few days ago another writer told me to expect his manuscript for copyedit also. I look forward to … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, June 10

Hey Folks, If you’re a writer, you don’t want to miss this post. Yesterday, I rolled out at 3 for a change. Felt good. I used the early morning for admin time. I was led to that by a good review of my 10-story collection Mobster Tales that I received via email yesterday. When I went to add the review to the page for that book over at StoneThread Publishing, I realized I hadn’t yet created a page for that book. So I did that, then pasted the review in. You can see it at http://stonethreadpublishing.com/mobster-tales/. Then the day fell … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 31

Hey Folks, I keep hammering away at this. But as an instructor, I know some folks “get it” when they hear information one way, and some get it when they hear it another way or from another source. With that in mind, see Kris Rusch’s “Business Musings: An Agent Nightmare Revealed” at https://kriswrites.com/2018/05/30/business-musings-an-agent-nightmare-revealed/. Yep. It’s so important I added it to the main body of the Journal. And shared it with several writer groups on FB. *** Today should be a writing day, and it probably will be. It might be a percolation day. A percolation day is a day … Read more

The Journal, Monday, May 21

Hey Folks, Well, I almost posted this Journal yesterday, but only for the “Of Interest” section. And it isn’t time-sensitive, so I waited until today. Had a great visit on Saturday and part of Sunday with my son Roy, Dana, Brandon, Lucas, and Joey (aka Fred, a linoleum salesman from Cincinnatti). Thanks for dropping by, guys. Rolled out at 3 this morning. The little girl and I were outside by 3:30, but an old owl screeched from somewhere closeby at a little before 4, so I ushered her back inside. There are several good items in “Of Interest” today. Chief … 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, Monday, May 7

Hey Folks, The “Of Interest” section is huge today, and filled to the brim. Rolled out a little late this morning, but not too bad. After my experience yesterday with writing a short story at what amounted to megaspeed for me, I look forward to what might happen today. I started the day with a half-ton of reading. Everything in “Of Interest” plus a few similar items and side articles. Fascinating stuff. The thing is, everything goes into the subconscious. Even if you don’t write crime/detective/mystery novels, bits of what you read in these articles will bubble to the surface … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 23

Hey Folks, Well, let’s start today off with a Topic: If You’re a Writer and I’m a Reader, You Owe Me Something There were a lot of good comments on James Scott Bell’s “Editing is Dying, Grunting Soon to Follow” in the Kill Zone blog. You can find the post and the comments at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/04/editing-is-dying-grunting-soon-to-follow.html. Reading the comments was an eye-opening experience. Someone, a writer no less, actually advocated for the spelling of “all right” as “alright,” which, honestly, is just laziness. It’s the same reason some folks write “enuff” instead of “enough” or “no” instead of “know” (I’m not … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, April 22

Hey Folks, Well, I’m posting this very early today. The sun has almost come up. (grin) Today will be a non-writing day, but some good items in “Of Interest” below. After a very short night of sleep, I still managed to get out to the Hovel early, as I’d hoped I would. I continued the current story/chapter, then hit a snag and cycled back to repair it. That took me almost to the beginning of that chapter, so I settled in and read through the whole thing, still cycling. I added a few hundred words, but not enough to count … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, April 8

Hey Folks, Hmm. Somehow, I was thinking Friday’s post was Saturday’s post and hadn’t gone out yet. So I amended Friday’s post. Mark it up to a very good case of exhaustion. Anyway, we didn’t get back until yesterday (Saturday) morning and then I didn’t post a Journal. Not a lot going on today. Weird. The morning of the second day of the camping trip, I was jonesing for writing. From now on when I go, I’ll take my laptop along. Just in case. But now I’m back, and this morning I didn’t feel like writing. Since it’s Sunday, I … Read more