Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Journal: A Day Out

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Day Out and a Short Progress Report * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Tell the Editor and Writer to take a walk and let the Child write whatever it wants.” Clive Matson “We’re writers. We write. If something gets in the way of the writing, it does not belong in our toolbox.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch Today we’re going out of town to estate sales, etc. More to spend a day out of our normal environs than for any other reason. A kind of treasure hunt. But … Read more

The Journal: Mentorships, and Just for Fun

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The first quote of the day * I used to teach * Just for Fun * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Two to three years writing one novel. What the hell? What is she doing the rest of the time? Actually playing the harp? Because real writers write.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” Stephen King The first quote of the day is from the first post listed in “Of Interest.” I also … Read more

The Journal: Lansdale, Orwell, and Farland

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Lansdale and Orwell * Farland * Wholeness * Yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Here are keys: Relax and write. It’s not a root canal. It’s writing and you should write something you care about. It can be light, or insightful, or whatever, but it always works best when you come at it with enthusiasm. That way, if it’s hard, you still have fun. Otherwise, it’s just hard.” Joe R. Lansdale “The point is, are you holding your attention? If so, you just might hold the … Read more

The Journal: Get a Beverage and Settle In

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * First, there are a lot * Free hour-long lecture * Slow day yesterday * Just out of curiosity * Of her current Kickstarter * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The writing courses taught me how to trust my characters even more than I had been – to let them lead me through the story.” Rachel Amphlett “There’s a term I like, coined by author Dean Wesley Smith over on his blog, called ‘writing into the dark.’ This means writing without an outline, without an overall plan, without a safety net, … Read more

The Journal: Why I Write the Journal

In today’s Journal * A good day * Topic: Why I Write the Journal * The Numbers Yesterday was a good day for me and my fiction. I wrote a short story of 4140 words for the Cave Creek Shared World, spell-checked it and sent it off, then took a short lunch break and added another 2480 words to the novel for a total on the day of 6620 words. Topic: Why I Write the Journal Note: This is a very long post. I won’t apologize for that, and I hope you’ll read it to the end. Slim pickings for … Read more

The Journal: I Have a Question

In today’s Journal * Topic: I Have a Question * Non-writing day yesterday * No “Of Interest” section today * The Numbers Topic: I have a question. Why are writers so insanely frightened of writing into the dark? I don’t mean individual writers being frightened to test the waters. I used to be one of those. I’d almost break out in hives at even the idea of sitting down and just writing without a clue as to which characters would appear or what they would do or say or which twists and turns might appear in the story, unbidden, unforetold … Read more

The Journal: Taking a Step Back

In today’s Journal * Taking a Step Back * Of Interest * The Numbers Taking a Step Back Hey folks, I’ve been publishing this Journal off and on almost every day for about six years. Doing so was/is my attempt to pay forward what I’ve learned during my journey as a fiction writer. I hope to get back to publishing the Journal regularly, but for now it’s time to take a step back. For the foreseeable future I’ll publish much less frequently, more like JA Konrath or Neil Gaiman than Dean Wesley Smith. In the meantime, I strongly recommend you … Read more

The Journal: An Important Story Bundle

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * StoryBundle * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If you are constantly fighting and saying ‘I really want to be a writer,’ but you don’t ever sit down and write, maybe you don’t want it, because writers are people who write.” Dean Wesley Smith StoryBundle is offering four different bundles at the moment: African Spec Fic, Write Stuff 2020, Latinx Dark Fiction, and Young Adult Megabundle. I’ve recently purchased the first two on the list. I bought African Spec Fic because I’m getting more interested in speculative fiction … Read more

The Journal: Of Interest

In today’s Journal * Today * Off for a Few Days * Of Interest * The Numbers Some good stuff in “Of Interest” today. This morning I received the final bit of feedback from my first readers on Book 2 of the Othgygnrk Invasion series, which will release on July 1. I’ll make those changes today, then finish the copyedit I’m working on. Listen, I’ll probably be off here for a few days. I have a feeling nobody’s reading this recently anyway, and I don’t blame you. I need to regroup a little, focus on some things I’m putting together … Read more

The Journal: What Readers Want

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday * Topic: A Few Extra Thoughts on What Readers Want * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (via The Passive Voice) Yesterday I attended class. I was one of the smart ones who backed one of Deans’s Kickstarters for $5. And the Kickstarter funded and then reached two or three stretch goals. I feel a little bit like a pirate. For a lousy $5 … Read more