The Journal, Wednesday, May 23

Hey Folks, Happy birthday to my dad. He would have been 90 years old today. Taking the day “off” today for professional training. (grin) Yesterday I completed the “Cliffhangers” classic workshop. Mostly I learned that I already know cliffhangers (and I thought I did). That’s all right. The validation from a guy who has over three decades in the business and over 200 novels is more than worth the money. And besides, I DID pick up a few things I didn’t know and hadn’t considered. That felt like a bonus. If you believe a cliffhanger is only a physical thing, … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, April 11

Hey Folks, Sorry I took off yesterday from posting the Journal. The first day of a copyedit is always the most difficult with the most concentrated effort. As a result, I totally spaced posting an edition of the Journal. So to today… Well, I’m writing again. The current copyedit is a long one. It will probably take me the better part of two weeks, and I didn’t want to go that long without writing. In fact, on my recent two and a half-day camping trip, I was already jonesing to write on the morning of the second day. So this … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, March 14

Hey Folks, Well, I got a late start this morning. Just kind of a blah day. I almost called this a day off, after which I would have spent the day doing nothing. I finally made it to the novel at around 9:30. In the first session, I got right at 1000 words. About a third of that was to finish correcting the problem held over from yesterday. So the novel’s tracking right along again now. Then up to the house for a break and to write this stuff. *** One of my short story collections is part of a … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, February 15

Hey Folks, I realized today, I’ve been writing fiction over the past few days. Not a lot, relatively speaking, but as I read over my previous novel, I’ve added to it. A lot. I finished my journey over the novel this morning and it’s much better for it. That’s because I never allowed the conscious mind to intervene. I added 3895 words to it (that is now reflected in the fiction totals below), but I also realized a few things that will be important for at least the first sequel. (grin) I call this effort a revision. It was something … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, February 14

Hey Folks, Happy St. Valentine’s Day! Well, I’m learning a lot about writing thrillers from reading Jack Higgins and Lee Child. But I’m all about cutting learning curves (mine and other’s) so this morning I also signed up for Dean’s “Writing Thrillers” online workshop. It’s a classic workshop, meaning no homework, but it’s also half-price at only $150. Six weeks of instruction, and I’ll get through it in a week or so. Probably I’ll work on that whenever I need a break from prepping my latest novel for publication or working on the StoneThread Publishing website. Another good thing about … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, January 18

Hey Folks, Be sure to hit the “Of Interest” section below. There’s a lot there. It will seem overwhelming, but I read all of the info there in less than an hour. Either way, you don’t want to miss it. *** Well, the water heater started leaking last night. One of those times I’m glad I’m renting instead of buying. The owners know us well and trust us, so we do pretty much anything we want to the house and the property, but when big expenses come up (like replacing a water heater) that’s on them. It’s all good. I … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, January 3

Hey Folks, I’m constantly amazed at the variations among writer experiences. In that regard, there are several informative comments on Dean’s post from yesterday. You can see those at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/a-few-words-about-starting/#comments. I was gratified to see that a couple of commenters on Dean’s post took away some of the same things I got out of it. Amazing. We aren’t quite as insulated and alone as we sometimes believe we are. I also get an occasional blog post from a young writer named J.R. Murdock. You can see his latest at https://jrmurdock.com/2018/01/02/looking-back-moving-forward/. Like some of the folks who commented on Dean’s post, … Read more