KillZone Blog

The Journal: Great Advice from DWS

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Dean’s current and previous posts * Meanwhile * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[T]he advantage of writing 40,000 word novels. Readers can read them faster.” Dean Wesley Smith “[Fiction] implies the action of making, or rather, giving form. It is not inventing something that is not true, but giving shape to something that was already there.” Valeria Luiselli, Mexican author Well, I’m gonna add Dean’s current and previous post to my writers resources pages on my main website. Great, great stuff. The first post in today’s “Of … Read more

The Journal: The Saguaro Cactus

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Actually, no * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day A little misinformation from an article a friend sent me, featured on Yahoo News: “Saguaro are considered to be a ‘symbol of the American west,’ yet they are rare, NPS officials say. ‘These majestic plants, found only in a small portion of the United States, are protected by Saguaro National Park’ near Tuscon.” Actually, no, saguaros aren’t ‘rare’. 1. Saguaros are protected in Arizona, but so are almost every desert plant. If you don’t believe me, be observed trying … Read more

The Journal: Character Descriptions

In today’s Journal * Wow. Lately * I’d be remiss * Topic: Character Descriptions * Yesterday, and Memorial Day * Of Interest * The Numbers Wow. Lately “Of Interest” seems a feast or famine prospect. Today it’s famine. I’d be remiss if I didn’t pass along the info on “David Farland’s Advanced Fantasy and SF Writing Workshop” (at https://mystorydoctor.com/david-farlands-advanced-fantasy-and-sf-writing-workshop/). I’d also be remiss if I didn’t remind you of my mentorships and recommend a comparison. But that’s up to you. Topic: Character Descriptions It’s difficult to point to a “good” book on characterization. Not because they aren’t out there, but … Read more

The Journal: More Good Input

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * More good input * Thanks to Maggie King * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I’ve never followed the tide of popular opinion in the way I write my novels. I’m not going to start now. … I just make an effort not to write anything into my stories that would hurt or show contempt for someone because they’re male or female.” Haruki Murakami “Our job is to give new meanings and special overtones to absolutely ordinary words.” Haruki Murakami “When I’m writing, I write every day. It’s … Read more

The Journal: Opportunities, and Misinformation

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * StreetLib * Misinformation * Listening to Dean * Mentorships Revised * The Reading * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Our lives are but specks of dust falling through the fingers of time. Like sands of the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” Socrates Today’s Journal is filled with opportunities, and there’s a note to clear up some misinformation. Opportunity: StreetLib If you’re still looking for an aggregator or distributor for your books, you might check out StreetLib. I’ll be taking another look at them. StreetLib … Read more

The Journal: Mentorships vs. Nonfiction Books

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Mentorships vs. Nonfiction Books * The Fiction * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Q: I WROTE LESS THAN 200 WORDS TODAY. DO I STILL DEPOSIT THEM IN THE WORD BANK? A: Yes, because every word counts… (and you have written more than 99% of writers today).” FAQs at “THE 200 WORDS A DAY CHALLENGE.” Can this be true? Topic: Mentorships vs. Books I’m looking for feedback here. As I was looking over all the topics in The Writing Craft I mentorship, it dawned on me that … Read more

The Journal: The Novel Wrapped

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Novel Wrapped * Reverse Outlines Again * Publishing Schedule * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[F]ocus your thoughts only on what you can act upon, and forget the all the rest. … On a daily basis, it’s you and the page. You control what words you put down, and how many.” James Scott Bell “[A]nyone touching your work will dumb it down. Try being an artist and standing up for your own work.” Dean Wesley Smith “I can publish a novel indie for around $5.00. And … Read more

The Journal: David Farland and Dan Baldwin

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * David Farland * Dan Baldwin * The end of the novel * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It’s been my belief from the beginning that there is virtually nothing an author can do to significantly impact sales. The best way for an author to sell books is to write more books.” John Gilstrap David Farland I’ve been linking to a series of posts by David Farland in “Of Interest.” So far he’s posted ten lessons. There might be more. I don’t agree with everything Farland says about … Read more

The Journal: The Novel and the Free Ebook

In today’s Journal * The Novel * Of Interest * The Numbers The Novel Well, as I reported several days ago, I planned to take my time with this one. But I seem unable to do that. On days when I reined myself in, I still wrote a lot of words. And so far I have zero cuts included in that word count. So it looks like this one could wrap as early as today, and probably no later than a few days from now. I’m hoping the characters will throw in a new twist or two. I’m very much … Read more

The Journal: I love a good argument

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I love a good argument * Of Interest * The Numbers I love a good argument, and I have two to report today. Re a point made in the first item in “Of Interest” today, I am an indie publisher, and I don’t believe traditional publishers make the lion’s share of book sales. The author of the article points out (correctly) that “The majority of the cover price of a book goes to the retailer—the book store—and the distributor.” I agree. The assertion is indisputable. So I would never say the … Read more