Sue Coletta

The Journal: Today, and All That Entails

In today’s Journal * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Today I’m posting this primarily to get the “Of Interest” items out to you. I’m not sure yet what the day will hold. Some learning, certainly, almost certainly more work on licensing projects and maybe on my shared world bibles. And a couple of new story ideas (and a couple of older ones) have been nagging me over the past few days. Decisions, decisions. And then there are things I want. Like I want to set or re-set some new goals. I’ve been wanting to start writing at least … Read more

The Journal: Story Gestation

In today’s Journal * Dean Wesley Smith * I actually wrote * Topic: Story Gestation * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Dean Wesley Smith has announced he’s going to shut down sign-ups for both the Licensing Transition learn-along and the Shared Worlds class on December 8. Just sayin’. I actually wrote 1700 words on the Blackwell Ops 7 novel yesterday. I keep thinking I could just set it aside and forget it, but the story’s too good to ignore. So I’m back at it again. I was going to share a comment I left on a post (see … Read more

The Journal: Getting Organized, Rights Grabs, and Learning

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Preparation Saves Time and Prevents Typos * Topic: Another Rights Grab * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Thomas’s poetry is so narrow — just a straight conduit between birth & death, I suppose—with not much space for living along the way.” Poet Elizabeth Bishop in a letter to a friend after hearing of Dylan Thomas’s death Can you get a story or title idea from this quote? As a side note, my own favorite Dylan Thomas poem is “The Force That Through the Green … Read more

The Journal: Finished an Edit and the Critical Voice

In today’s Journal * Finished an edit * Topic: WITD, Cycling and the Critical Voice * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Well, I finished the copyedit I was working on, and Oh Wow was it ever a great read. The thing was so fast-paced I kept wishing it had already been copyedited so I could ‘just read’ it. I don’t usually announce new releases of any work but my own here, but I think I’ll announce this one when it’s published. It’s just that good. Topic: WITD, Cycling and the Critical Voice A writer wrote to ask me … Read more

The Journal, Monday, October 7

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * First * Topic: POV (Point Of View) * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day (a lesson I haven’t learned well enough yet)       First, let me just say out loud that I strongly agree with Sean Monaghan’s post “There Are Lots of Ways to Write” over on PWW today. That being said, I’ve tried and dismissed the advice that is most often batted back and forth in writing groups and conferences and (I’ve heard) on “boards,” whatever those are. Personally, I can’t follow that … Read more

The Journal, Friday, October 4

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday * Licensing Stuff * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses the moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” Graham Greene Yesterday we just got out of the house for most of the day. We enjoyed lunch and shopping and then got the oil changed on my pickup over in Sierra Vista. It even got a bath in one of those car wash places that grabs your tires and … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, August 23

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy much-belated 90th birthday, and welcome * Topic: How Long It Takes to Write a Novel * Daily Diary * Of Interest * The numbers Quotes of the Day “I don’t get writers’ block— …however, I do have lots of bad writing days. [But a] bad writing day is a million times better than a no-writing day.” Stephanie Feldman (short story writer and novelist) “Taylor Swift says she will be rerecording her early work. If she does this the right way, she will probably destroy the market value of the Big … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, July 29

In today’s Journal * Your eyes * Topic: How to Get More Sales * Topic: Writing and Publishing * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Your eyes do not deceive you. Today is a two-topic day. Both are essential. (Well, if I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have written them. Duh) So let’s jump right in. Topic: How to Get More Sales I started to add “at Amazon” to the title of this topic, but it will help improve your sales in all venues. I’m taking a free Reedsy lessons-by-email course on Amazon algorithms. Not that I’ll try … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, July 15

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: 12 Ways to Make a Critique Group Work * Update * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Quote of the Day “I don’t think in terms of genres. I think in terms of story.” David Gerrold Topic: 12 Ways to Make a Critique Group Work Versions of this article have been posted on my writer site in August 2013 and September 2017. Everyone here knows I don’t participate in critique groups. Nor do I recommend doing so. After all, I constantly battle to keep my own conscious, critical … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, July 1

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Recap * Topic: On Writing This Journal and Teaching * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Quote of the Day Via the Passive Voice, “People are always asking me, ‘What do you want people to say about you a hundred years from now?’ I want them to say, ‘Dang, don’t she still look good for her age?’” Dolly Parton *** Yesterday I updated my production spreadsheet to get it ready for July. Then I looked over my notes from the Pacing workshop and decided I didn’t need to view … Read more