KillZone Blog

The Journal: On Writing Scenes Out of Sequence

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Welcome, and on Writing Scenes Out of Sequence * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If criticism from outside proves devastating, it is because it so readily joins forces with an infinitely more strident and more aggressive form of criticism that has long existed inside of us.” The School of Life via Farnam Street blog In other words, external criticism only serves to reinforce one’s lack of trust in one’s own abilities. Welcome to Norbert W of Innsbruck, Austria. Norbert knows the freedom of writing into the dark, … Read more

The Journal: Stomping on Chandler’s Good Advice

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy Veterans’ Day * DWS * Stomping on Chandler’s Good Advice * I started writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You can’t have guys with guns running around loose in your novel and surprises popping up like Whac-A-Mole.” Elaine Viets “Um, why not?” Me, in the back of the class, arm raised, waving frantically Happy Veterans’ Day or as we used to call it, Marine Corps Hangover Recovery Day. Yesterday, your United States Marine Corps celebrated its 246th anniversary. Semper fi to my brothers and sisters … Read more

The Journal: Why Do You Write?

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Why Do You Write? * Time to Start Considering Goals? * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[T]he world I create in the writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. … I write because I’m scared of writing, but I’m more scared of not writing.” Gloria E. Anzaldúa “Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself.” Harper Lee “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” Gloria Steinem “Real writers don’t write … Read more

The Journal: Censorship in the Name of Inclusivity

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Censorship in the Name of Inclusivity * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “For a writer’s voice to resonate, it must be true to the writer. Twenty-five years ago, when my first novel was about to drop, I took the one writer who gave me early advice out to dinner in a very nice restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s one of those old-money places where people speak in hushed tones and eat baked Alaska for dessert. “The writer in question was then and is now a huge … Read more

The Journal: Write. Or Don’t. Whatever.

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Write. Or Don’t. Whatever. * Happy Hollowe’en * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.” Raymond Joseph Teller “How do you cope when almost no one notices? … How do you keep going when nothing seems to help? … Is it worth it to keep on keeping on?” anonymous past commenter at Kill Zone blog Topic: Write. Or Don’t. Whatever. In the first item in “Of Interest” today, James Scott Bell takes … Read more

The Journal: Nothing Really

In today’s Journal * Nothing really * Of Interest * The Numbers Nothing today, really. I suspect this will be the shortest post I’ve ever put up. I’m posting today only to send you the “Of Interest” links below. I hope you will find them helpful, hopeful or amusing. Talk with you again later. Of Interest See “Offend Me, Please!” at https://danbaldwin.com/f/offend-me-please. See “Twitter Tutorial – From Zero to 12K” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/10/twitter-tutorial-from-zero-to-12k.html. If marketing is important to you, this is a good article. See “7 Simple Social Media Tips for Successful Authors” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/7-simple-social-media-tips-for-successful-authors/. See “Blue Origin unveils plans to … Read more

The Journal: Sort-of WITD and Pseudonyms

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * One Alternative to WITD * On Pseudonyms * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Spend the best hours of your day on the biggest opportunity, not the biggest problem.” Farnam Street blog “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” Hanlon’s Razor by Robert J. Hanlon One Alternative to WITD In “Of Interest” today I linked to an article about NaNoWriMo. The article is written by a young woman who calls herself a “pure ‘pantser’.” (Ahem. Sorry, but I flatly despise that term. It puts … Read more

The Journal: D2D Paper Price Increase

In today’s Journal * D2D Paper Price Increase * Of Interest * The Numbers D2D Paper Price Increase I’ve been sitting on this for awhile, unintentionally. Frankly I’d forgotten about it. And I’m putting it out there today mostly to justify sharing the items in “Of Interest” with you. Anyway, if you publish (distribute) through Draft2Digital, and if you’re signed up to get their newsletter, you already know this. But just in case you don’t, D2D is adjusting what they call their “print price,” by which they mean their paper-publication price. D2D writes, “For two years we’ve been able to … Read more

The Journal: 10,000 Trillion Ants

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Rewording Heinlein’s Rule 4 * An Analogy * Dean Wesley Smith’s post yesterday * An Anniversary of Note * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There are, by some rough estimates, 10,000 trillion ants in the world at any given moment, and their combined weight would match the total weight of the planet’s human population.” Christoph Irmscher, paraphrasing Edward Osborne Wilson in “The Ant Man’s World.”https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-ant-mans-world/ Idea for an SF novel or series of novels? Rewording Heinlein’s Rule 4 I was talking with screenwriter MGP again and he … Read more

The Journal: Insider Info About Traditional Publishing

In today’s Journal * Insider Info About Traditional Publishing * Of Interest * The Numbers Insider Info About Traditional Publishing By his own admission, John Gilstrap was one of the last very fortunate writers for whom lightning struck under the old “traditional” publishing system. The lightning struck in the form of a very large, life-changing, six-figure advance. Today on the Kill Zone, he posted a brief explanatory article along with links to a video he recorded. In that video, he, his agent, and his editor are chatting about traditional publishing. I trust John for various reasons, so I’m publishing this … Read more