Space.com

The Journal: On Daily Word-Count Goals

In today’s Journal * Sympathy * Thanks, I needed that * Topic: On Daily Word-Count Goals * A Final Word on Goals for This Year * The Journal Archives * Of Interest * The Numbers First, my heartfelt sympathy for the family, friends and fans of Coach John Madden, who passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning at the age of 85. I was fortunate that I got to witness much of his career as a coach and then as a coach in the broadcast booth. Coach Madden will be sorely missed. My sincere thanks to reader Larry P who emailed me … Read more

The Journal: Peter Brandvold

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Here’s to Boring and Uneventful * Peter Brandvold * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: It must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” William Faulkner Here’s to Boring and Uneventful I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Ours was boring and uneventful, in a good way. Meaning there was no undue, unnecessary excitement and no drama. One more thing for which to be grateful. Unfortunately, Dean’s was something less than boring, as reported at … Read more

The Journal: Agents Want a Fresh New Voice

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Agents Want a Fresh New Voice * Don’t look * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Great writers make their stories authentic by allowing us to experience what their characters hear, see, smell, taste, and touch—capturing the senses so we are fully involved.” Ellen Buikema at Writers in the Storm “When agents are asked what they are looking for, their typical answer is ‘a fresh new voice’.” Steve Hooley in “That Special Sauce” at the Kill Zone blog Agents Want a Fresh New Voice Agents and publishers want … Read more

The Journal: Censorship in the Name of Inclusivity

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Censorship in the Name of Inclusivity * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “For a writer’s voice to resonate, it must be true to the writer. Twenty-five years ago, when my first novel was about to drop, I took the one writer who gave me early advice out to dinner in a very nice restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s one of those old-money places where people speak in hushed tones and eat baked Alaska for dessert. “The writer in question was then and is now a huge … Read more

The Journal: Write. Or Don’t. Whatever.

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Write. Or Don’t. Whatever. * Happy Hollowe’en * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.” Raymond Joseph Teller “How do you cope when almost no one notices? … How do you keep going when nothing seems to help? … Is it worth it to keep on keeping on?” anonymous past commenter at Kill Zone blog Topic: Write. Or Don’t. Whatever. In the first item in “Of Interest” today, James Scott Bell takes … Read more

The Journal: Nothing Really

In today’s Journal * Nothing really * Of Interest * The Numbers Nothing today, really. I suspect this will be the shortest post I’ve ever put up. I’m posting today only to send you the “Of Interest” links below. I hope you will find them helpful, hopeful or amusing. Talk with you again later. Of Interest See “Offend Me, Please!” at https://danbaldwin.com/f/offend-me-please. See “Twitter Tutorial – From Zero to 12K” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/10/twitter-tutorial-from-zero-to-12k.html. If marketing is important to you, this is a good article. See “7 Simple Social Media Tips for Successful Authors” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/7-simple-social-media-tips-for-successful-authors/. See “Blue Origin unveils plans to … Read more

The Journal: Some Fun, and Serious Stuff

In today’s Journal * Some Fun * Serious Stuff * Of Interest * The Numbers A little fun this morning. See Nathan Bransford’s “How a book goes from acquisitions to bookstore shelves” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/how-a-book-goes-from-acquisitions-to-bookstore-shelves/. But be sure to see PG’s comment at the end of the OP. And now, some serious stuff, including a serious look at how to get story ideas. Please go read “True Crime Thursday – A Small Town’s Loss of Innocence” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/09/true-crime-thursday-a-small-towns-loss-of-innocence.html. There will be a quiz. Okay, did you read it? I know, it’s horrible, frightening, etc. But as a writer it’s also rich … Read more

The Journal: Making a Story Important

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Making a Story Important * A Fallacy * Prejudgment Stinks * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Full of bull on every page.” Jack Kerouac in a letter to Allen Ginsberg about Truman Capote’s writing “That isn’t writing at all. It’s typing.” Truman Capote about Kerouac’s On the Road I wasn’t going to post today at all, but then I read Kelley’s comment on my previous post, “Insanity.” I assume the comment referred to my subtopic on “how to keep writing a novel.” But as I was writing … Read more

The Journal: A Day Out

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Day Out and a Short Progress Report * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Tell the Editor and Writer to take a walk and let the Child write whatever it wants.” Clive Matson “We’re writers. We write. If something gets in the way of the writing, it does not belong in our toolbox.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch Today we’re going out of town to estate sales, etc. More to spend a day out of our normal environs than for any other reason. A kind of treasure hunt. But … Read more

The Journal: All About SF

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * All About SF * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “A starting crew of just 98 people would be enough for a 6,300-year-long journey (travelling in a hypothetical spacecraft at speeds that are possible with current technology) to Proxima Centauri b…. [The crew would consist] of 49 unrelated breeding pairs, ready to pass on their genes. The population would only remain genetically diverse and healthy over time under certain conditions, so for example, the crew’s breeding would have to be monitored and restricted.” excerpted from the first item … Read more