Neil Gaiman

The Journal: A Hodgepodge

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I’m gonna harrass you a little * Dean’s writing in public again * Update on the Street Team * The 50%-off sale continues * Smashwords Presents * If you enjoy podcasts * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There is always something, and something else, to discuss.” Joe Hartlaub Hey folks, I’m gonna harrass you a little bit here. Please bear with me. As I write this, I have in mind a few specific friends of mine whom I know would benefit greatly. In fact, I … Read more

The Journal: If It’s That Easy…

In today’s Journal * A quick roundup * The Coming Year * Topic: If It’s That Easy… * How I Came to Writing Into the Dark * Yesterday and Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Well, first a quick roundup since I was reporting fiction numbers a day late: Total fiction words for December……… 55128 Total fiction words for 2019………………… 452693 Total nonfiction words for December… 21570 Total nonfiction words for 2019………… 324830 Total words for 2019 (fiction and this blog)…… 777523 Calendar Year 2019 Novels…………………… 10 Calendar Year 2019 Novellas……………… 1 Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories… 4 Novels … Read more

The Journal: Take Two on Writing Sloppy

In today’s Journal * OMG Alert * Topic: Take Two on Writing Sloppy * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Every now and then Dean mentions The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman from NOLO. It’s an essential investment for a writer. At the moment, NOLO is having a 50% off sale on everything they offer, including The Copyright Handbook. Visit https://store.nolo.com/products/the-copyright-handbook-coha.html. Use the promo code BF50 when you order. Plus, at the moment the handbook is on sale for only $39.99. Which means if you use the code, you can get the book for only twenty bucks. Topic: Take … Read more

The Journal: Some Thoughts on Structure

In today’s Journal * Getting back in the habit * Topic: Some Thoughts on Structure * A side note * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers I’m trying to get back in the habit of building this Journal through the day, writing fiction, and then posting everything at once in the afternoon. To that end, I’ve added the daily update for my WIP back into the numbers below. Hard as it may be to believe, I started Blackwell Ops 7 way back on August 7. Yet in all that time, yesterday was only the 17th writing day for that … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, May 16

In today’s Journal By pure chance Just a reminder Topic: How to Quiet the Critical Voice (Chapter 1) Daily diary Of Interest The numbers By pure chance, there are two items in “Of Interest” today about Kickstarter. Weird. One is by Kris Rusch, who usually blogs about actual, nitty-gritty writer-business things. The other is by Thad McIlroy, who posts on items that interest me (and to which I subscribe) about once a year. Yet the two of them both posted blogs on Kickstarter today, one more or less a how-to about Kickstarter Present and one about Kickstarter Future. What’s weirder, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, April 26

In today’s Journal ▪ Quotes of the day ▪ PWW ▪ Most of the novels ▪ Topic: Balance ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Quotes of the Day: “The critical voice is about fear, and the creative voice is about joy.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “[F]igure out how to keep your critical voice busy with important tasks that are not writing-related.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch *** For a moment, just before 9 a.m., I thought PWW didn’t go out via MailChimp as it should have this morning. Then at 9:02 it appeared in my in-box. I forgot I’d reset … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, April 17

In today’s Journal ▪ A great day ▪ There’s a great writing-book bundle ▪ Thoughts on Realizations and Legacies ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers I had a great day yesterday in Sierra Vista. I bought some new jeans that are actually blue, don’t have frayed cuffs and aren’t falling off me. (grin) I also bought a few items to outfit my 4Runner for upcoming camping trips, got a haircut, and bought some other stuff. Topped it off with a visit to my favorite burger joint. It was a necessary trip, but if I’d tried to write … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, January 15

Hey Folks, Well, Consequences released today. Woohoo! I got an email from Amazon letting me know that, so it released at D2D and Smashwords as well. I’ll upload it to BundleRabbit later today. Frankly, I’d forgotten what day it was, and at the moment I can’t remember what the story was about, except that it’s in the Nick Spalding series. How’s that for not making a particular book “special”? (grin) *** While I’m rambling, let me recommend Linda Maye Adams’ newsletter again. In it she occasionally drops a real gem. You can sign up by visiting her website at https://lindamayeadams.com/. … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, November 14

Hey Folks, Well, again today I’m not going to publish my upcoming challenge. Frankly, I’m not certain yet what form it will take. For the new folks who’ve recently joined us here on the Journal, welcome. To bring you up to speed, I’ve been a very prolific writer (by most standards) but have experienced something of a slump off and on for the past few months. This morning, like a jolt of electricity, I realized the reason for the slump. More on that in a bit. The last story I finished was a novel titled Loose Ends. That was in … Read more