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The Short Story as Adjunct to the Novel

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A quick note * Topic: The Short Story as Adjunct to the Novel * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength, and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you.” Ruby Bridges “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” George Orwell (Story ideas, anyone? Other than A Few Good Men, I mean?) A quick note—Please be sure to read Dawn T’s comment on yesterday’s post. She briefly … Read more

Why I Talk About WITD So Often in the Journal

In today’s Journal * Why I Talk About WITD So Often in the Journal * Abandoning the Experiment * Of Interest Why I Teach WITD So Often in the Journal Bob Calverley, a long-time reader and writing friend, commented on yesterday’s post. You may read his comment before you continue below to read my response, but the response also stands alone. My apology in advance for this lengthy post: First, overall, I can guarantee this Journal will never exceed in value the price of a subscription. But that’s all right. It’s my thoughts on writing, nothing more. I have been … Read more

A Looking-Back Fairy Tale

In today’s Journal * A Looking-Back Fairy Tale * Threatened? Really? * Topic: Expect to Sweat * Of Interest A Looking-Back Fairy Tale Once upon a time I hosted a site called Pro Writers Writing (PWW). The idea was to do something similar to what they’re doing over at KillZone blog. At PWW, a bevy of professional writers, in rotation, would hold forth on writing, publishing, and marketing topics that interested them. To skip over the details, PWW ran successfully for about a year. Then, out of the blue, one of my weekly contributors quit. She cited her own weekly … Read more

It’s Been a Week

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Welcome * It’s Been a Week * Succumbing to Unreasoning Fear * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “And how do we discern character?” A question posed by an anonymous AP writer in an article about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My response: Easy. Compare the words a person says and … Read more

Working with Serious Writers

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Working with Serious Writers * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.” Stephen King “You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” Stephen King “You go to work. You don’t wait for inspiration to strike. You sit down and write. If you don’t feel like writing, you write anyway. Writers’ block is an affectation.” Elaine Viets on writing fiction Topic: Working with Serious Writers A mentorship slot just came open. … Read more

A Look at Inara

In today’s Journal * Welcome * A Look at Inara * Of Interest Welcome to Lisa B and any other new subscribers we’ve picked up recently. I hope you find some helpful things in the Journal. A Look at Inara On yesterday’s post, Journal reader Lakshmi commented “I’d love to hear your take on https://inara.world/.” Okay, first and foremost, don’t depend on me. Always read the privacy notice and any terms and conditions before directly engaging with any new online endeavor. And don’t judge them based on what you think they must mean by the words they put on the … Read more

Inside No. 9 and AI Writing

In today’s Journal * Inside No. 9 * AI Writing * Seriously, What Gives? * Of Interest Inside No. 9 I keep forgetting to mention, if you want to see some really great short stories in film, take a look at Inside No. 9, a British black-comedy anthology. According to the internet, the anthology is “available on NOW TV, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Netflix, iTunes and YouTube.” I get it through my BritBox subscription. So what does this have to do with writing? Well, the writing (storytelling) for Inside No. 9 is excellent. And the scripts are available to purchase … Read more

One Alternative to TinyLetter

In today’s Journal * Topic: One Alternative to TinyLetter * Mentorships and More * Of Interest Topic: One Alternative to TinyLetter I’ve been looking around at other newsletter services. I’ve found several “up there” with MailChimp with all the marketing and email-collection tools, etc. But I haven’t found even one that compares directly with the no-BS, no-frills TinyLetter. Then a thought occurred: Most email programs enable you to create “groups” (or whatever name your email program calls them). The idea is, you can gather contacts that are interested in a particular topic into one group. For example, you might have … Read more

Dare to Be Bad

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Dare to Be Bad * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.” Stephen King (Amen. Preach it, brother.) “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Topic: Dare to Be Bad Anyone who’s followed Dean Wesley Smith very long has heard him use this admonition in his blog. According to Dean, it’s something he and Nina … Read more

End of the Hiatus

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * End of the Hiatus * TinyLetter? Um, No * About Paid Reviews * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite.” Bertrand Russell “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward.” Princess Diana End of the Hiatus I seem unable to stop playing with the Journal. There’s just too much to pass along, whether positive thoughts on writing, interesting posts by other writers, or warnings like the one below … Read more