Professional Writer Series

The Journal, Thursday, December 27

Hey Folks, I got into a short email discussion with a fellow novelist who also writes off into the dark. The upshot was, he wondered whether maybe — when a character does something that’s unexpected and out of character — it’s all right or even necessary to create a history for that character that would explain the unexpected action, a kind of character sketch (my term, not his). I decided to copy my response here as a topic. Topic: Writing Into the Dark, Take 2 I did a post on Writing Off Into the Dark over on the Pro Writers … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, December 26

Hey Folks, Good morning! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m looking forward to the new year, and I hope it will be a prosperous and healthy one for all of you. Of course, the new year (or anytime, really) is a great time to learn new techniques. I was listening this morning to part of Dean’s workshop on Secondary Plot Lines. I’ve written 36 novels. I’ve used secondary plot lines a lot. But there’s always something new to learn. And the course was basically free. I bought one of the Writers Gift boxes ($50) from WMG … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, December 25

Hey Folks, Well, I guess I’ll continue my streak of writing (almost) every day. It really is easy when I have a WIP. It’s much easier to take a day off between stories than to take a day off when a story’s still unfolding. (grin) That’s the main reason I’m glad I was able to make the process of writing fun. When I enjoy being surprised and entertained by the characters in their story, that expectation drives me back to the computer to write when I might not otherwise go. Which of course is why I’m so frantic to start … Read more

The Journal, Monday, December 24

Hey Folks, Wow. Up way earlier than I expected to be, again. But being up a couple hours earlier than my version of normal gives me time to “wake up” etc. and still have a good writing day, so I don’t mind. Hey, happy Christmas Eve. And just in case I don’t show up in your inbox tomorrow, I hope you will all have a fun, joy-filled Christmas Day no matter what particular holiday your celebrate. After we swap gifts, my wife and I will share a semi-traditional Mexican Christmas dinner with our neighbors. No tamales (nom nom nom) but … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, December 23

Hey Folks, Well, the Dean/Harvey discussion continues. (grin) See the post (and comment) in today’s “Of Interest.” Up early again this morning at 2 a.m. But today I shouldn’t have as much cycling to do, which means I can write more new words. Yesterday I wrote only about 2000 words, then hit a snag that caused the necessity to cycle back through the story and adjust the timeline (hours within a two-day period) and ages of the actors. I’ll finish that this morning, then pick up where I left off. Topic: On Readers’ “Taste” and Writers’ Ability I do understand … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, December 22

Hey Folks, Happy Winter Solstice yesterday. I forgot. (grin) Topic: The Importance of Paragraphs While glancing over the internet this morning for items of interest, I checked in on a blog I’d saved in my bookmarks but hadn’t looked at recently. When I save one in my bookmarks, it’s because I hope it will provide valuable, or at least valid, information. A writer posed this implied question: I have trouble trying to figure out when to begin and end paragraphs and when to have dialogue included in the paragraph and when to have it stand on its own as an … Read more

The Journal, Friday, December 21

Hey Folks, If you’re part of Draft2Digital, yesterday you received a very nice Christmas poem from them. I always find it interesting when a company does something they don’t “have” to do. D2D didn’t have to send out that holiday greeting. After all, it went out (at least via email) only to those who are already signed up. It isn’t even on their blog. To see the poem, click This Link. D2D is a vibrant young innovative distribution company, still at the stage where they actually care about writers. If you aren’t using D2D yet, I hope you’ll jump on … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, December 20

Hey Folks, Very strange goings on here at the Stanbrough Camp for Odd People. Two days ago, I didn’t write any fiction at all. The story was there, but I wasn’t. Yesterday, I stopped a few hundred words short of 4,000 because I just ran out of steam. My fingers were beginning to hit the wrong keys. Today, just before noon, I had 4,967 words and was NOT out of steam. Part of it’s because the story is really flowing. And the part I finished today is a novellette at 9500 words. It’s the story that wants to be a … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, December 19

Hey Folks, J. L. Parker left a myth-riddled comment on Dean’s post about traditional publishing a few days ago (see the second item in “Of Interest”). Dean addressed a couple of points in his response. But J. L. aso wrote “if you want your book available in book stores and libraries as well as online … [you] have to go the traditional route.” This is the kind of misinformation that drives me crazy and can send untold numbers of writers awry. So in response, I left the following comment: For J. L., I can also say recently a LOT of … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, December 18

Hey Folks, Wow. I stayed up to watch about 3/4 of the football game last night. It was difficult to watch the Saints pitted against both the Panthers and the referees (grin), so I finally gave up. But by then it was late. I couldn’t sleep, so I stayed up even later and didn’t roll out this morning until almost 5. Ugh. So a late start to the day. No Internet in the Hovel this morning, so I did the preliminary “Of Interest” stuff and this bit of the Journal up at the house with my first cup of coffee. … Read more