Professional Writer Series

The Journal, Saturday, November 24

Hey Folks, If you remember, Dean Wesley Smith had a challenge during which he proposed writing 10 novels in 100 days. At first it faltered, so he restarted it. Now, in “Of Interest” below, he’s announced it’s faltered again. (Actuallly, he says it’s “still going on” but then says the restart didn’t work well.) I wish him luck on the re-restart, whenever it happens. I suspect he will successfully complete this challenge once he gets going on it. I can’t know because I’m not there, but I wonder whether Dean’s feeling overwhelmed by the project and allowing his conscious mind … Read more

The Journal, Friday, November 23

Hey Folks, Another short day, probably. No worries. I was in the Hovel by 3, though after the gorging yesterday around noon, I wasn’t in much of a mood to do anything productive. (grin) But I do mean “gorge,” at least for me. We ate Thanksgiving dinner around noon yesterday, and after that had a couple of hours to settle over some TV. (I still can’t get back into the NFL after all the flap, so that was off the table.) We watched a few episodes of a Brit mystery/comedy, and then I got up to get dessert. Understand, as … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, November 22

Hey Folks, Probably a short day today, but I decided to get some writing done. To the Hovel at 4, where I spent a little time looking for items for “Of Interest.” There isn’t a lot today. Got a good session done, then a break up to the house to see when my wife wanted me to start cooking my part of The Meal. (grin) Back to the Hovel and the novel, with apologies to my wife who’s already slaving away. Just difficult to leave the novel when it’s flowing so well. Two more good sessions, and it’s back to … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, November 21

Hey Folks, I hope each of you in America will enjoy your Thanksgiving Day tradition tomorrow. For those of you who do not live in the US, I hope you will pass a peaceful and lucrative day of your own, filled with joy and productivity. *** Time for another gentle reminder. From time to time, I hit upon a URL that’s so useful, so informative, so educational for fiction writers of all stripes, that I add it to one or more of the Writers Resources links on my main website. For a free education, please take time to visit http://harveystanbrough.com/writer-resources/. … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, November 20

Hey Folks, I apologize in advance for the long post today. I hope you get something out of it. I hadn’t planned to write a topic today either, but then I wandered across PJ Parrish’s post “When Should A Story End?” (“Of Interest”) and came across this doozy: “…writers should strive to make each plot point arise organically from character.” Later, she talks about a character living an “unauthentic” life. I don’t wonder. Topic: Let Your Characters Live Their Own Lives I’ve seen too many Nationwide Insurance commercials lately. My first thought as I read the excerpt above was “Tiny … Read more

The Journal, Monday, November 19

Hey Folks, Feeling fine this morning. Also, the second book in the Nick Spalding series launched this morning. You can see the cover and read the description at http://harveystanbrough.com/transitions/. The universal link for all retailers is https://www.books2read.com/u/38r5WO. The next two books in the series will launch, respectively, on December 15 and January 15. If you (or someone you know) enjoy rich settings in action-adventure romantic-suspense novels and being immersed in the characters, you will enjoy this series. *** To the Hovel at 3 and spent the first hour+ dinging around the Internet and updating my publisher website. (Much more to … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, November 18

Hey Folks, Glad I wrote early yesterday. Much of the rest of the day was filled with a shopping trip (an estate sale and then groceries) to Sierra Vista and then relaxing. For that reason, and because I already know the balance of the day will be filled with a major chore, I walked into the Hovel at a little after 2 this morning. Wheee! I learned from a Tatum NM (population 811 in the 2017 census) high school classmate on Facebook yesterday that our alma mater’s 8-man football team will play for the NM state championship on Saturday, November … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, November 17

Hey Folks, Got to the Hovel at 3, then decided to republish Dean’s post from yesterday as a guest post (with permission) over on the main site. So I did that. Then I created another post on the big site (the “Advice” I posted here on 11/15). I also decided to work on the site a bit. For one thing, I removed the Become A Patron page from my website. There, I offered a lot of bonuses for patrons, but nobody took me up on it. (I do have a list of a few regular donors, for whom I am … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, November 15

Hey Folks, My new all-time favorite quote: “The faster I write, the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.” ~ Raymond Chandler Hey, even if you don’t believe me or Dean, you have to believe Raymond Chandler, don’t you? The above is not because Raymond Chandler was an experienced fictionist who knew all the “tricks.” (There are none.) It’s because he learned to trust his subconscious and allow the characters to tell the story. After all, they’re the ones who are living it. (grin) To … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, November 14

Hey Folks, Welcome to a new subcriber from Germany. I hope you’ll find something of value here. My characters will definitely wrap up the story in my 35th novel today. Somehow, 35 seems like a milestone to me. I’m not sure why. My new short-term goal now is to write at least 50 novels. We’ll see. *** I mentioned this a long while back, but if you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter from CrimeReads.com, you’re missing a bet. The focus at CrimeReads is recommending books on crime (duh), but they regularly interview writers about their process, about various genre touchstones, … Read more