The Journal: Happy New Year, Yesterday, Cycling and Heinlein’s Rules

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy New Year * Thanks * Topic: Yesterday, Cycling, and the Two Days Before * Yesterday too, an article * Heinlein’s Rules * Annual Recap * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It’s never too early to start something new, and it’s never too late to fix what’s broken for next time.” Wes Crowley “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” Brad Paisley (thanks to Sam T for sharing this) For those of you who wait to begin a new year on January 1, … Read more

The Journal: Thanks

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * What Bradbury said * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You see, all my characters write the book. I don’t write the book. All these characters come to me and say, ‘Listen to me.’ And then I listen to them and I put it down, and the book gets written. That’s how I write, you see. All these lovers surround me, and they love life and they tell me about it.” Ray Bradbury on the writing of Fahrenheit 451. Yes! What Bradbury said. Yes! … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, March 23

In today’s Journal ▪ With respect to the OP… ▪ Topic: On Being a “Hybrid” Writer ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest (a boatload of links) ▪ The numbers With respect to the OP mentioned about Microsoft Word in “Of Interest,” you can still view (free) my blog series “Microsoft Word for Writers” at http://harveystanbrough.com/microsoft-word-for-writers/. Just sayin’. *** Topic: On Being a “Hybrid” Writer Part 1: Statement, History and Rationale At 66 years old, with 40-some novels and almost 200 short stories under my belt, I’ve decided to go hybrid. My work has been traditionally published before. I’ve had articles, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, March 14

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the day ▪ Update on admin stuff ▪ Topic: Four Harsh Truths ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers “You only fail if you stop writing.” Ray Bradbury *** Well, I got my main author website up to date yesterday. And I got Blackwell Ops 4: Melanie Sloan uploaded for advance orders. It will release officially on April 15. The universal link is https://books2read.com/u/4NZxYz, but it’s currently available only in a few stores. (It takes a few days to get into all the stores.) The publisher website is going to take a … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, March 12

In today’s Journal ▪ Topic: Reader Taste Revisited ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Topic: Reader Taste Revisited Well, I started a minor firestorm with my offhand comment in my post “On Readers’ ‘Taste’ and Writers’ Ability” over at https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/on-readers-taste…-writers-ability/. (grin) The point of the article was based on a simple but solid premise: that all fiction writers who are (or profess to be or want to be) professionals are responsible for their own work and should strive to learn how to keep readers in their stories. After all, if every unfinished reading experience can be marked … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, January 16

Hey Folks, I learned from Linda Maye Adams’ newsletter that the 2019 Superstars Seminar will run from February 7-9 this year. So I looked it up. (grin) The seminar focuses on the business side of writing, but according to the website they’ll also have a separate writing craft day on February 6. You can attend that as well, or separately. According to Christine Mandeville, the conference co-director, some sessions are full but there are a lot of extras. I recommend it. To see the lineup of instructors. the curriculum and the schedule, click http://superstarswriting.com/. To see the fees, visit http://superstarswriting.com/fees/. … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, September 8

Hey Folks, Topic: On Being a Hack Writer Character stands up tentatively from a brown metal folding chair: Hello. My name is Harvey Stanbrough and I’ve become accustomed to the idea that I am a hack writer. Character resumes his seat. Someone yells, “Scene.” That doesn’t mean I write stories about taxicabs, but that I write far too fast and turn out so much work that no possible way could it be any good. (grin) Never mind that my poetry and fiction is taught in at least two university English programs. I must be a hack. How else could I … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, August 11

Hey Folks, Topic: How to Write Like I Do Recently I received an email in which a writer wrote (toward the end of some lengthy praise of my “process”) “I only wish I could write like you.” During an exchange of emails, I eventually determined the writer was talking about my ability to turn out a lot of quality short stories and novels fairly quickly (though I’m pretty much a slug by old pulp standards). And what the writer really meant was that s/he wished s/he could write, period. I explained that a short four years ago (2014) I too … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, July 5

Hey Folks, Very long post today, but bear with me. I think you’ll be glad you did. I have a real treat for you today, via my friend, writer Christopher Ridge. Chris brought to my attention a presentation by Ray Bradbury to participants in a university writing program. You can find the link in “Of Interest.” The video is almost an hour long, but it’s Ray Bradbury, for goodness’ sake. Who can’t listen to Ray Bradbury for an hour? On writing? Of course, I was hooked at the name. Anyone who knows anything about me knows Ray Bradbury is one … Read more

The Journal, Monday, June 11

Hey Folks, I hope you all read the Journal from yesterday. It might be the most informative one I’ve written. If you missed it, you can find it at http://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-sunday-june-10/. One thing I mentioned yesterday is “Style follows story, not the other way around.” If your stylistic choices call attention to themselves, change them back. For example, the poet E.E. Cummings is as well known for writing in all lower case as much or more so than he is known for his poetry itself. For another, many writers have asked me why they should have to set off dialogue with … Read more