Jane Friedman

The Journal: Rider Jones Wrapped

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Rider Jones wrapped * Took a day off * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I didn’t write what I thought people wanted to read. I didn’t research what might be popular — what might sell — and write that. I wrote stories that felt personal to me, that I enjoyed completely from writing to reading.” Kristen Ashley Yes. This is how you set trends rather than following them. “Scene is where the pace of the story slows to ‘real time,’ and we’re privy to every word, gesture, … Read more

The Journal: The Essential Elements of a Story

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: The Essential Elements of a Story * Hit another minor snag * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.” Wole Soyinka (the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature) How very apt. Thanks to PG for the quote. Topic: The Essential Elements of a Story Disclaimers 1. In the following, when you see “story,” know that the advice applies to a short story, novella, or novel. A short story is about one event. A novella … Read more

The Journal: A Conundrum

In today’s Journal * Digital Marketing Assistance * Karen Riggs * Odd. At roughly the 2/3 point * Of Interest * The Numbers Over at The Passive Voice today, among other articles, was one titled “Should You Hire a Social Media Assistant?” See https://www.thepassivevoice.com/should-you-hire-a-social-media-assistant/. The article was written by Barbara Linn Probst as a guest post for Jane Friedman. If this topic interests you, I also encourage you to read the comments. For one digital marketing and/or virtual assistant possibility, see https://www.pub-craft.com/. I’m not recommending them, only mentioning them. I encourage you to key “digital marketing” and/or “virtual assistant” into … Read more

The Journal: A Recommendation and the New Mentorships

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Worked a full day * A Recommendation * The New Mentorships Are Live! * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You don’t win elections by solving problems.” Jeff, commenter on TPG blog posthttps://www.thepassivevoice.com/prh-opens-the-conversation-to-sustain-antiracist-engagement/#comment-453479 My commentary and response: “You win elections by creating problems and then promising to solve them.” Wow. For the first time since I don’t remember  (probably a couple of months), I actually worked a full day yesterday. It felt good. I spent most of the morning polishing the mentorship information, putting the web pages together, … Read more

The Journal: Browsing for Information

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I’m not back * Topic: Browsing for Information * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “As a child I’d run into Wilde’s witticism ‘The only true talent is precociousness.’ I took my writing seriously, and it seemed to pay off.” Samuel R. Delany In the early part of the movie Twister, Bill keeps saying, “I’m not back.” It provides a quiet comedic undertone. Which is a little how I feel this morning. I’m not back. But I found a few things I hoped you would see and I … Read more

The Journal: What’s Going On

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * What’s Going On * L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing he knew nobody had said it before.” Mark Twain “A metaphor, to be judicious, needs to support the tone of the scene or the tone of the action it is describing.” Jessi Rita Hoffman What’s Going On Reading Gaiman’s post from a day or two ago gave me the idea that I’m being a slacker. I set out … Read more

The Journal: Neil Gaiman

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * While I wasn’t paying attention * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “When you’re all alone out there, on the end of the typewriter, with each new story a new appraisal by the world of whether you can still get it up or not, arrogance and self-esteem and deep breathing are all you have. It often looks like egomania. I assure you it’s the bold coverup of the absolutely terrified.” Harlan Ellison When I wasn’t paying attention, Neil Gaiman decided to post a few blog posts. I encourage … Read more

The Journal: Thanks and More Of Interest

In today’s Journal * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers I’m still on hiatus. Just popping in mostly to share the items in “Of Interest.” Those of you who have commented or emailed, thanks for letting me know you’re still out there. I’ll be back before too much longer. At this point, I’m pretty sure my next novel will be Book 3 of the Othgygnrk Invastion series, mostly just to get the shared world going and illustrate to players some different ways they can play.  I hope to start that sometime in the next few days. I … Read more

The Journal: Satellites and a Poem

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Satellites * Stone Libraries and the stories they tell * Yesterday and Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Mrs. PG gave up bookstore signings a long time before she went indie. Too much time and effort for too little return.” The Passive Guy Each time I go camping, I try to spot satellites in the night sky. Sometimes I see one or two, sometimes none. This morning, at 4 a.m. on my way to the Hovel, I glanced up and spotted one traveling from southwest to … Read more

The Journal: On Goals, and a Challenge

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday and Today * Topic: On Goals, and a Challenge * More Shared World Stuff * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” Unknown (via The Passive Voice Yesterday I submitted the clean final copy of For the Good of the Galaxy: The First Nine Days to Amazon and D2D. It’s still available for preorder until June 1 when it goes live. To take a look, visit https://stonethreadpublishing.com/ftgotg-the-first-nine-days/. Today I’ll begin reading over FTGOTG: … Read more