KillZone Blog

The Journal: A Few Changes to the Journal

In today’s Journal * A Few Changes to the Journal * Of Interest A Few Changes to the Journal Mostly I’m posting this to get the “Of Interest” items out to you.(grin) A reader accidentally unsubscribed yesterday and asked me to add him back to the list. I tried to add the subscriber again, but MailChimp wouldn’t allow it. Since he unsubscribed, he has to resubscribe himself. (I’m not sure why they made me click a box that said I had his permission to add him if they weren’t going to believe me.) So I was going to email him … Read more

The Journal: Big Book Giveaway

In today’s Journal * Big Book Giveaway * Of Interest Big Book Giveaway Note: Hey folks, if you’re subscribed to my Substack reader blog as well, you’ll see this post again later today in a slightly different format.Basically the same post, though, same offer. I realize about the dumbest thing an author can do is try to get other writers to read his fiction. (grin) That even holds true when the writers in question consider the author an instructor and something of an authority. Go figure. But that’s fine. Despite all that, now and then I like to give away … Read more

The Journal: An Interesting Conversation

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Some Good Comments * Another Comment, Another Place * Okay, No More WITD for Awhile * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “You just can’t do anything about the past. But if you turn around and face forward, it is amazing what you can accomplish in the future.” Dean Wesley Smith “Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Any therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” John Donne (Not about writing but I just really like this quote.) Some Good … Read more

The Journal: AI Audiobooks?

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * AI Audiobooks? * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Try to catch up if doing so is possible and will be challenging. If impossible to catch up, then simply reset the challenge and start fresh.” Dean Wesley Smith on whether to try catching up when you fall behind on a challenge “Ahh, the problems of being prolific.” Dean Wesley Smith AI Audiobooks? I currently have in my inbox (as probably do many of you) an email from Google Play Books. The subject reads “Create an auto-narrated audiobook.” As of this writing … Read more

The Journal: Use Your Author Name

In today’s Journal * Thank You * Topic: Use Your Author Name * Of Interest Thank you to the generous person who searched the Monroe Country Public Library in the Florida Keys for books from StoneThread Publishing. And thank you again for apparently uploading so many STP books to the search results and recommending some of them to the library. What a wonderful thing to do! If you have identified one of my books that you would like to read, I’d be happy to send you a free book. Just email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com and let me know the title … Read more

The Journal: How to Write Into the Dark

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: How to Write Into the Dark * A Recommendation * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “My students and I are currently working on finding a concrete theory of time travel with multiple histories that is fully compatible with general relativity.” Barak Shoshany, Assistant Professor, Physics, Brock University “Courses in prosody, rhetoric and comparative philology would be required of all students, and every student would have to select three courses out of courses in mathematics, natural history, geology, meteorology, archaeology, mythology, liturgics, cooking.” W. H. Auden via The Passive Voice … Read more

The Journal: I Had to Laugh

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I had to laugh * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “If I’ve done my job in the first two hours, the audience will believe anything I tell them at the end.” Director Steven Spielberg on making up stuff in fiction “Tip: Non-outliners — write the story then add the foreshadowing.” Steve Hooley, TKZ, on foreshadowing (grin) I Had to Laugh I had to laugh, albeit in a good-natured way, when I first read that second quote. Yeah, I’m gonna take advice on how to write into the dark from an … Read more

The Journal: Critiques? Um, No.

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Critiques? Um, No. * Of Interest Quote of the Day “[U]sing someone else’s idea without using their expression of that idea is not copyright infringement. Copyright protects the expression of ideas, not ideas themselves.” The Passive Guy Topic: Critiques? Um, No. Disclaimer 1 — I’ll say up front that if you are one who actively seeks out criticism of your work from readers or from other writers, that’s fine. None of my business. To each your own. Disclaimer 2 — I’ll also say I’m not talking here about copyeditors or … Read more

The Journal: Editing? Nope, Not Me

In today’s Journal * Thanks, Fabien * Thanks, Danny * Topic: Editing? Nope, Not Me * Of Interest Thanks Fabien Thanks to a response from French author Fabien Delorme on a comment I left on Dean’s site, I revised both my author site at HarveyStanbrough.com and my publisher site at StoneThreadPublishing.com. Check them out if you like. Things are a lot easier to find. The former is now more about Writers, and the latter is more about The Writing. I’ll be working on the sites a bit more today, and maybe writing a little too. Thanks, Danny And thanks to … Read more

The Journal: Conveying the Senses

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Conveying the Senses * By the Way * By the Way 2 * Of Interest (An Inane) Quote of the Day “On the use of senses. Morrell suggests taking sight for granted, then including two others, but ‘sneak them in’ so it isn’t obvious. The object is to make the reader feel, not see. … I liked this better than the ‘use all 5 senses in every scene’ approach, which to me, often feels forced.” Terry Odell, a writer Any aspect of a story that is forced on the characters … Read more