KillZone Blog

The Daily Journal, Saturday, March 2

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on my challenge ▪ Topic: An Admission ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Man, a short day yesterday, and maybe a short day today and tomorrow. One of my sons and his wife and children are visiting. So I’ll visit. (grin) Meanwhile, time’s running out on my current novel (for the challenge). I’m also feeling a need for breaks more and more often, not from the WIP, but from the overall challenge. For the first time, I feel like I might not finish this one by the target date of March 6. … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, February 28

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the Day ▪ Topic: Words ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Via the Passive Guy, the quote of the day: “Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” ~ Neil Gaiman Topic: Words Words are our friends, writers. There have been many bits of advice handed down over the years, sometimes from “on high” by writers who have Made It. Like Stephen King famously writing “The path to hell is paved with adverbs” or Samuel Clemens’ admonition to hunt … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, February 27

In today’s Journal ▪ Welcome and adios (almost) ▪ On yesterday’s topic ▪ Topic: About Numbers ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Hello and welcome to Sherry and Kimberley, and a sad farewell (I thought) to another subscriber. When I emailed him to say I was sorry to see him leave, it was news to him. So he’s re-subscribing. (grin) *** Frankly, the topic I posted yesterday was half tongue-in-cheek. As I wrote somewhere in that article, if someone else outlines and plots everything to within an inch of its life, that’s fine with me. In the … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, February 26

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on PWW ▪ Just got a note ▪ Topic: “Pantsers” vs. “Plodders” ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers The contributors for PWW seem to be getting excited and looking forward to posting on PWW. Note that I may or may not always agree with what they post. But that isn’t the point. The site isn’t “my” website. I’m only the guy who set it up and started the ball rolling. The site itself belongs to those who post on it. I’ll also contribute, but only every now and then as a guest … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, February 24

In today’s Journal ▪ Yesterday ▪ Smashwords’ 10th Annual Read an Ebook Week ▪ Topic: Presenting… The Hovel ▪ A Special Offer (I’m feeling generous) ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Yesterday was interesting. I didn’t make much headway in the story, but I did get covers created for Blackwell Ops 2 and 3, promo files done, and those books uploaded for pre-order at D2D, Amazon and Smashwords. So all in all, a good day. On the home front, the heater in the house spontaneously started working again. Seems I have the only heater on earth that … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, February 23

In today’s Journal ▪ Topic: Paragraphing ▪ A Special Offer (I’m feeling generous) ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Topic: Paragraphing Despite what most of us heard in school, you don’t have to keep everything about a particular topic in one massive paragraph. Especially in fiction. And blog posts. In fiction, you should begin a new paragraph every time a different character speaks. Most everybody knows that. You should also begin a new paragraph when the scene or setting changes (even in the same setting, even a little). The primary benefit of shorter paragraphs (say up to … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, February 20

In today’s Journal My apology for the very long Journal today. But it’s all good stuff. ▪ Update on the challenge ▪ Topic: Writers Need Adventure — Don’t They? ▪ Two folks chimed in ▪ Daily diary (yeah, it’s back) ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers With novel 3 of the challenge in the bank, I’ll probably begin novel 4 today. No idea at the moment what it will be. Maybe back to one of my series, maybe a standalone. I guess we’ll see. It won’t be another Blackwell Ops book, though, unless another truly unique character pops into my … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, February 18

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on the challenge ▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing ▪ Topic: Ignore Name Calling ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Today would be the last day of writing for book 3 of the challenge if I didn’t have a day in the bank. (grin) As it stands, I have today and tomorrow to finish the book on time. And it looks as if I’ll make it. I’d like to finish it today and carry over that bank day, but we’ll see. Everything depends on the characters. As it is, I expect … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, February 17

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers The Pro Writers Writing website continues to evolve. I finally have the “banner” across the top of the site like I want it. I’ve added many things behind the scenes that will make the site easier to navigate and various plugins that will make the site easier to read. I’m very excited about our official launch, which is planned for March 15. Stay tuned! *** My son got in from a trip to Yuma last night, so we stayed up chatting … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, February 16

In today’s Journal ▪ My guest post ▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing ▪ The daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers My guest post on crime writer Sue Coletta’s blog posted this morning. If you get time, stop by and take a look. And if you’re moved to do so, please leave a comment. It’ll help with her blog. The URL is in “Of Interest.” *** The Pro Writers Writing site continues to come along. I’m still dithering with Robert’s original logo design, primarily trying to make the overall header short enough that the “meat” below it doesn’t … Read more