janefriedman.com

Today’s Journal, My Writing, and Subscriptions

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Today’s Journal * My Writing * Subscriptions * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Ehh, good enough.” Mediocretes (from a meme a friend sent me) Today’s Journal First, a personal note: Happy Birthday to my youngest son, Roy, who turns 37 years old today. I’m shaking my head, wondering where the time’s gone. The first three items in “Of Interest” are all from Jane Friedman’s blog digest. The first two repeat some things I’ve been teaching for years. But they say those things in a different way, and in the first … Read more

Read, Check. Write, Check. Suffer? Um, No.

In today’s Journal * The Novel Continues * An Enjoyable Visit * My Comment on The Creative Penn * Of Interest The Novel Continues Seemingly interminably. Still, it’s only been 16 days. (grin) I figure it’ll wrap today. I still can’t see the ending (yay) but I feel as if I’ve entered the ending and was writing it yesterday. I also feel like this novel might wrap suddenly, unexpectedly, and that’s the best kind. No boredom. (grin) I mentioned a while back the Dean Wesley Smith adage that every novel writes differently and that this one has been no exception. … Read more

10 Lesser Mistakes Writers Make

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: 10 Lesser Mistakes Writers Make * Up Next * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “[W]here there is fun, there’s no panic to do something a certain ‘correct’ way, or fear that certain mistakes will ruin the book. It’s just about having fun telling stories, and not worrying about the rest.” Chynna Pace “The writer who is a real writer is a rebel who never stops.” William Saroyan “Know what you believe, and be bold with it in your fiction.” James Scott Bell Topic: 10 Lesser Mistakes Writers Make Back … Read more

A Looking-Back Fairy Tale

In today’s Journal * A Looking-Back Fairy Tale * Threatened? Really? * Topic: Expect to Sweat * Of Interest A Looking-Back Fairy Tale Once upon a time I hosted a site called Pro Writers Writing (PWW). The idea was to do something similar to what they’re doing over at KillZone blog. At PWW, a bevy of professional writers, in rotation, would hold forth on writing, publishing, and marketing topics that interested them. To skip over the details, PWW ran successfully for about a year. Then, out of the blue, one of my weekly contributors quit. She cited her own weekly … Read more

The Journal: Tidbits

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Tidbits * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “[Write] 400 words of opinion of setting from the character before you get all busy with plot. That will do wonders for the strength of your story openings.” Dean Wesley Smith in my notes from the Advanced Depth workshop “Whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert, nobody can produce in a vacuum. Well, I don’t know… maybe Stephen King can. I think he could produce in a vacuum, a washing machine, or a microwave.” Tracey Buchanan in “Writer Friendships” “My name is Stephen … Read more