Pro Writers Writing

The Daily Journal, Sunday, May 19

In today’s Journal * My friend Dan * Weird how writers say * Topic: My Own Stages of Becoming a Fiction Writer * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers My friend Dan Baldwin will be dropping by today mid-morning or a little later. We’ll enjoy a couple of cigars and, no doubt, a lot of talk about writing. It’s always enjoyable visiting with Dan. I invariably learn something new or realize something I’d forgotten. So I’ll devote the first couple of hours this morning (after the Journal stuff) to the WIP, then post this early. *** As another … 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, Wednesday, May 15

In today’s Journal Quote of the Day Well, without really planning to Topic: How to Quiet the Critical Voice (Intro) Daily diary Of Interest The numbers Quote of the Day From Jeff Goins’ newsletter: “You don’t have to want to be a writer. You just have to write.” *** Well, without really planning to, I guess I’ll take a shot at writing the critical-voice nonfiction book. As DWS has done before me (and as I did over on the big blog with Writing the Character-Driven Story), I plan to write the entire book a chapter at a time here in … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, May 14

In today’s Journal Quote of the Day In the past two days Topic: How to Write “Complicated Stories” into the Dark Daily diary Of Interest The numbers Quote of the Day From The Passive Guy: “Writing well means never having to say, ‘I guess you had to be there.’” Jef Mallett *** In the past two days, I came up with two topics that are so huge they want badly to be nonfiction books. One is How to Quiet the Critical Voice, and the other is Writing High-Action Scenes. Of course, the former probably won’t sell five copies. (grin) The … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, May 12

In today’s Journal Happy belated Mother’s Day Quotes of the Day Topic: Verified — Yep, I’m a Hack Daily diary Of Interest The numbers To any moms out there, a heartfelt happy belated Mother’s Day. I know, it’s still Mother’s Day, but most of it will be over by the time many of you read this. I should have mentioned it in yesterday’s journal. *** Quotes of the Day “[T}he shift I felt when I finished my first novel. Once I knew I could do it, I knew that I could learn to be a better writer.” Shaunta Grimes* Also, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, May 11

In today’s Journal ▪ Today will be a fairly short day ▪ I’m not sure ▪ Topic: I’m a Hack ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Today will be a fairly short day since it’s Saturday. I’ll spend some time with the WIP, then some time with my wife. *** I’m not sure whether I’m actually writing right now (telling a new story, putting new words on the page) so much as taking some enjoyable time AWAY from actual writing. Or more succinctly, away from writing for publication. At least that’s how it feels. I AM writing, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, May 4

In today’s Journal ▪ Delayed start ▪ I labeled one ▪ Topic: Letting It Fly ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Sometimes the way my brain works annoys me. I rolled out early this morning specifically so I could have fun (write) early, but I’m also a writing instructor. So my brain gave that mentoring role priority. I’m not complaining. I just think it’s an interesting curiosity. I took about an hour to respond to an email that should have taken a few minutes max. I mentally meandered around, eventually finding (I hope) the right words to … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, April 28

In today’s Journal ▪ Topic: Back Cover Blurbs ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Topic: Back Cover Blurbs Over at PWW today, Karen posed an excellent question that keeps a lot of writers up at night: How to create a back-cover blurb that will draw the reader’s interest yet will not “give away” too much (or any) of the book. DWS has written extensively on this topic, though only a bit here and there. I don’t believe he’s ever done even a lecture on the topic, though if he did I would immediately recommend it. Still, I’ve … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, April 22

In today’s Journal ▪ Still downloading ▪ Too Important for “Of Interest” ▪ Topic: Life Wants to Live ▪ A note about “Of Interest” ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers I visited Unsplash.com yesterday and downloaded more possible cover pics for Blackwell Ops 5, and this morning I continued and downloaded even more. And yes, as I scanned “women in shadow” pics (thousands of them) I also downloaded a lot of pics that appealed to me for future stories and/or covers too. Easy to get happily lost while doing that. (grin) But everything’s moving forward. I’ll get … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, April 18

In today’s Journal ▪ Dean Wesley Smith’s free offer ▪ Topic: Always Learning ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Dean Wesley Smith is incredibly generous. He is giving away his Pop-Up Workshop #9: “How Authors Hurt Their Own Writing and Sales and How to Stop.” No catches. No gimmicks. The Pop-Up consists of twelve videos plus a short story prompt. See the link to his post (and the first video) in “Of Interest.” ESPECIALLY if you think you don’t need this (critical voice) SIGN UP. Seriously. Topic: Always Learning Every morning I search the Internet for items … Read more