Lee Lofland

The Daily Journal, Thursday, March 14

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the day ▪ Update on admin stuff ▪ Topic: Four Harsh Truths ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers “You only fail if you stop writing.” Ray Bradbury *** Well, I got my main author website up to date yesterday. And I got Blackwell Ops 4: Melanie Sloan uploaded for advance orders. It will release officially on April 15. The universal link is https://books2read.com/u/4NZxYz, but it’s currently available only in a few stores. (It takes a few days to get into all the stores.) The publisher website is going to take a … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, March 12

In today’s Journal ▪ Topic: Reader Taste Revisited ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Topic: Reader Taste Revisited Well, I started a minor firestorm with my offhand comment in my post “On Readers’ ‘Taste’ and Writers’ Ability” over at https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/on-readers-taste…-writers-ability/. (grin) The point of the article was based on a simple but solid premise: that all fiction writers who are (or profess to be or want to be) professionals are responsible for their own work and should strive to learn how to keep readers in their stories. After all, if every unfinished reading experience can be marked … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, March 10

In today’s Journal ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Back on schedule, at least for now. Rolled out at 2 a.m. after sacking out last night at 6. But in addition to doing what’s necessary to put out this Journal every day, I also fooled around for awhile and didn’t get to the novel until 4:30. Frankly, I’m having a little trouble writing this one too. (ATTN: WHINE ALERT!) Between the positive life roll and the Blackwell Ops books being in the back of my mind as I write, it’s slow going. (grin) I also think my … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, March 9

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on my challenge ▪ On Daylight Saving Time ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers In today’s “Of Interest,” Dean Wesley Smith talks about firing up his challenge again. And again, I picked up a gem that helped me. At the moment and for the past few days, all three of my sons are visiting. I’m blessed. All are adults and successful in their own right, and each has a (very) unique personality. I love that about them, so I’m trying not to miss even a single moment of observing those personalities while … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, March 5

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing ▪ An experiment ▪ Topic: Reader Taste (Revisited) ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Well, the subscription form wasn’t working out. Each time I updated it, it disappeared. So if you’ve subscribed, please do so again. To subscribe, visit http://prowriterswriting.com and click Subscribe vis Email in the menu. We’re growing! Yesterday we added Terry Odell, and this morning we added Dawn M. Turner. *** It’s kind of hard to gauge how the experiment is going. Of course, I’m only one day in. When I’m writing, the story’s going … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, March 3

In today’s Journal ▪ More on pacing ▪ A weird fact about me ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers A few days ago I mentioned pacing almost in passing. I got some good comments and a few emails about it, so I thought I’d expand on that in a topic. Then I remembered I’d written a post about the topic over on the big blog. To see that one (it holds up well) see “On Pacing and Paragraphing” at https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/on-pacing-and-paragraphing/. *** Here’s a weird fact about me. I guess you could call it part of my process … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, March 1

In today’s Journal ▪ A quiet rumination on days ▪ A happy announcement ▪ Topic: The Best Defense ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers When I close out each day and post the Journal, I go back and reset the Notepad document on which I type the original. Yesterday, I almost left February in place and changed 28 to 29. I always feel a little cheated at the end of February, even when it has 29 days. Seriously, couldn’t they have taken the extra day from a couple of those with 31 days and made every February … 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