Pro Writers Writing

The Journal: Writing in a Shared World

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Writing in a Shared World * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “No, it’s not a very good story – its author was too busy listening to other voices to listen as closely as he should have to the one coming from inside.” Stephen King Topic: Writing in a Shared World One writer asked about the limitations of writing in a shared world. Specifically, the writer wondered how a proponent of writing into the dark could write in a shared world. So I … Read more

The Journal: Today I’ll Finish

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “People on the outside think there’s something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story. But it isn’t like that. You work, and that’s all there is to it.” Harlan Ellison “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented from the successful is a lot of hard work.” Steven King Yesterday, I rolled out around 2, and by 10 … Read more

The Journal: The Reverse Outline (RO) Revisited and Shared Worlds

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * From James Scott Bell * Yesterday * Topic: The Reverse Outline (RO) Revisited * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” E. L. Doctorow From James Scott Bell’s newsletter, ” how about some old-school pulp fiction… free! My favorite genre is crime/detective fiction from the golden era, 1920-1950. Here’s a treasure trove, including issues of the most famous pulp … Read more

The Journal: A Very Short Post

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * You can join Kevin Tumlinson * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Play around. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.” Natalie Goldberg “Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King I learned in an email, you can join Kevin Tumlinson and Michael Bunker LIVE for Episode 3 of The Kevin Show, coming … Read more

The Journal: Learn Copyright

In today’s Journal * Yesterday * Topic: Learn Copyright * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday. Just wow. This is basically an update of Monday’s Journal entry. Literally within minutes of posting that entry, I turned to the writing computer and realized I was actually finished with The Othgygnrks 2, which is mostly the alien viewpoint that was missing back in March. (If you’re curious, it’s pronounced Oth-gig-nurks.) The total word count for that one is on yesterday’s post (20697 words). From here on out, you’ll see only the numbers for the compiled novel, For the Good of … Read more

The Journal: Yesterday and an Offer

In today’s Journal * Yesterday * A lot of people * If you would like to taste-test * Finally, if any of my patrons * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday was a much better day of writing with well over 4000 words (see Day 7). The only thing that slows the process is stopping now and then to integrate the March novel with the current one. More than once I’ve felt like it would have been wiser (and easier and a lot more fun) to just trash the whole thing and start over like I was going … Read more

The Journal: Good Stuff and Bad Stuff

In today’s Journal * First, Happy Easter * Yesterday * Today * If you want to learn * Of Interest * The Numbers First, Happy Easter. Whatever it means to you, I hope it’s an enjoyable day. Yesterday, again I wrote only a little over 1000 words (see Day 6 below). We took an early drive to Sierra Vista mostly to get out of the house. We also had an enjoyable walk down along the San Pedro River. The pic is a selfie Mona took with her phone. That part of the day was wonderful. Then things went wrong. Almost … Read more

The Journal: A Mishmash of Info

In today’s Journal * Final day to get * As I browse the internet * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Final day to get ANYTHING on WMG Publishing’s (Dean Wesley Smith’s) Teachable account at 50% off. The sale closes at 5 p.m. today. For my money, there is no better, more knowledgeable, or more honest writing instructor than Dean Wesley Smith. Some have said I clarify things that Dean muddles. That’s simply because different instructors can get through in different ways to different students. But if it weren’t for Dean, I literally wouldn’t be where I … Read more

The Journal: Major Change in the Journal

In today’s Journal * For those who missed it, all of Dean’s lectures * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers All of Dean’s lectures, workshops, pop-ups, and even lifetime subscriptions are on sale for 50% off right now. But hurry. The sale ends on Friday (tomorrow) at 5 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time. Go to https://wmg-publishing-workshops-and-lectures.teachable.com/, click “See All Courses,” and use the code SpringTraining2020 at checkout. You can buy more than one, but you have to get them one at a time because Teachable has no shopping cart. Yesterday, I did a lot of non-writing stuff, including … Read more

The Journal: Wilhelm’s Law and Other Misunderstandings

In today’s Journal * WMG Publishing Offer * Topic: Wilhelm’s Law and Other Misunderstandings * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers WMG Publishing Offer WMG Publishing has decided to repeat their 50% off sale on everything they have on Teachable for 48 hours beginning last night at midnight. Everything. Lectures, workshops, pop-ups, lifetime subscriptions… everything. I can’t urge you strongly enough to take advantage of this offer. To do so, visit https://wmg-publishing-workshops-and-lectures.teachable.com/, click “See All Courses,” and use the code SpringTraining2020 at checkout. You can buy more than one, but you have to get them one at … Read more