KillZone Blog

The Journal, Saturday, June 2

Hey Folks, Dean’s post today (see “Of Interest” below) struck a chord with me. As a result, I added the topic below. I encourage you to read both his post and the topic. Some folks get it one way, some another. And this is a very important topic. Topic: “That” You Write vs. “What” You Write In today’s post (below), Dean Wesley Smith wrote “…all that matters is the writing, not the end product.” That seemingly innocuous statement is only one of the many truly major lessons I’ve learned from him and attempted to pass along. To establish credentials for … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 31

Hey Folks, I keep hammering away at this. But as an instructor, I know some folks “get it” when they hear information one way, and some get it when they hear it another way or from another source. With that in mind, see Kris Rusch’s “Business Musings: An Agent Nightmare Revealed” at https://kriswrites.com/2018/05/30/business-musings-an-agent-nightmare-revealed/. Yep. It’s so important I added it to the main body of the Journal. And shared it with several writer groups on FB. *** Today should be a writing day, and it probably will be. It might be a percolation day. A percolation day is a day … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 24

Hey Folks, Only four days left on the Special Time of Great Forgetting Offer at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/long-day/ (and scroll down to the second bold headline). I want to do this so badly I can barely stand it. Unfortunately, I’ve taken so many workshops there aren’t 4 left (currently) that I want to take. My loss. This is a great value and a great investment in yourself and your writing. $900 worth of training for $500. Check it out. *** Out to the Hovel late at 8:30. I spent some time looking through some of the stuff I started when I was … Read more

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, Tuesday, May 22

Hey Folks, Rolled out at 3:30 this morning and went straight to an online workshop. Finished that (6 weeks’ worth) around 9:15. Then I started my daily rounds of the Internet and putting this edition of the Journal together. Finally out to the Hovel at 10:30. I started cycling through the novel again from about the midway point, touching only the intermissions. I took a break around 11:20, then again around 12:15. In the final session I wrote very little and only changed a few names, mostly with a global search. Today actually felt more like work than fun. But … Read more

The Journal, Monday, May 21

Hey Folks, Well, I almost posted this Journal yesterday, but only for the “Of Interest” section. And it isn’t time-sensitive, so I waited until today. Had a great visit on Saturday and part of Sunday with my son Roy, Dana, Brandon, Lucas, and Joey (aka Fred, a linoleum salesman from Cincinnatti). Thanks for dropping by, guys. Rolled out at 3 this morning. The little girl and I were outside by 3:30, but an old owl screeched from somewhere closeby at a little before 4, so I ushered her back inside. There are several good items in “Of Interest” today. Chief … Read more

The Journal, Monday, May 14

Hey Folks, I’m alive. Yesterday I took a much-needed “do (almost) nothing” day and basically did (almost) nothing. I did blast through an online workshop. I visited the Internet a bit and we went to the grocery and I read. Otherwise I did nothing. But I’m back. This morning I’ll commute to the Hovel (about 200 feet from my house), coffee in hand, and write a short story. No idea what that will be at the moment. Then this afternoon I’ll work on a copyedit that came in. It’s short. I hope I’ll be able to finish it this afternoon … Read more

The Journal, Monday, May 7

Hey Folks, The “Of Interest” section is huge today, and filled to the brim. Rolled out a little late this morning, but not too bad. After my experience yesterday with writing a short story at what amounted to megaspeed for me, I look forward to what might happen today. I started the day with a half-ton of reading. Everything in “Of Interest” plus a few similar items and side articles. Fascinating stuff. The thing is, everything goes into the subconscious. Even if you don’t write crime/detective/mystery novels, bits of what you read in these articles will bubble to the surface … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 30

Hey Folks, Well, I’m gonna end the month with a fizzle. No writing again today. Still a little under the weather this morning. I have to get through this bug, whatever it is. *** In other news, I got an interesting email from a writer who said he’d sent for a first-page critique. I assume he sent it to the folks at Kill Zone blog. He wrote “judging from the list, I may hear from them in about two years.” If you’re interested, read the brief instructions for submitting your first page at https://killzoneblog.com/first-page-critiques-at-tkz. But if you have to wait … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, April 28

Hey Folks, Long post today. Good “Of Interest” section too. Well, another night of very little sleep for me. About 5 hours, waking up every hour to clear allergy symptoms. But every time I lay down again, the symptoms built up. Eventually I figured I might as well give up and head out to the Hovel to get some writing done. So out to the Hovel at 2 a.m. I spent about an hour doing nothing, then added around 800 words to the story I started yesterday. (I started another story two days ago, but it didn’t feel right so … Read more