Sue Coletta

The Journal, Saturday, August 4

Hey Folks, In today’s “Of Interest,” the second entry is about what one writer does when he’s stuck in a story and unsure what to do next. If you read it and an impending sense of boredom doesn’t sweep over you, you’re probably a plotter and/or an outliner. And that’s fine. I want to say I disagree with the guy, but as Dean often reminds us, every writer is different. I will say that his post enabled me to understand how some writers can view writing as pure drudgery. I added the entry to “Of Interest” today to provide a … Read more

The Journal, Monday, July 30

Hey Folks, First, thanks to writer friend Bob C. who sent a URL for an article for the “Of Interest” section. You will find it below. With it, Bob sent an email that read in part, “This struck me as a con artist who knew just the right buttons to push for a certain well-heeled market of aspiring writers. The lesson here is that there are a ton of people hovering around would-be authors looking to take their money.” From the article, “Today Anna March … offers private literary consulting — manuscript consultations for $1,600 to $3,000 and coaching for … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, July 29

Hey Folks, A lot in “Of Interest” today. Some of it’s spot on, and some of it, not so much. With the abundance of writing advice out there, I’ve taken to carrying a shaker of salt with me as I read, so I can take a grain as necessary. I receive James Scott Bell’s infrequent newsletter. In today’s edition, he notes that his stand-alone thriller, Don’t Leave Me, is on sale for 99 cents. But the tagline is what prompted me to add this entry: “When they came for him it was time to run. When they came for his … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, July 28

Hey Folks, Today’s Journal entry is all about writing advice, the Kill Zone blog, and the “Of Interest” section of this Journal. In my own hunt for writing advice, I seek out other professional writers who are farther along the road than I. Once I find them, I gauge whether their advice is valuable to me overall. If a blog post is rife with misspellings and wrong word usages, awkward phrases and misplaced modifiers, or if they display a certain level of ignorance about the language (for example, ignorance of the difference between “likely” and “probably” or “if” and “whether” … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, July 17

Hey Folks, Oops. Well, I didn’t get this out yesterday. Not used to the new time yet, I guess. So I wrote most of what’s below yesterday, but I’ll count it today. A request — if anyone knows of any writer’s blogs (or group blogs, like Kill Zone, or organizational blogs) where professionals hand out anything of value to other writers (regardless of genre), please let me know. You can comment below or email me privately at harveystanbrough.com. Kill Zone still has a few authors who post valid posts now and then, but it seems to be devolving. Of course, … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, July 7

Hey Folks, Nothing much going on yesterday, so no Journal entry for July 6. This will continue the previous Journal post and topic (see http://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-thursday-july-5/). In that post, I wrote that “…professionals (including Dean) seldom say ‘Don’t worry about the money. Write for joy.’ Dean does say writing should be fun, but he also talks a lot about making money from it.” Dean’s post yesterday was about copyright. (It’s in “Of Interest” today.) In one comment, a writer said (jokingly) she would buy the Copyright Handbook “someday.” Dean roughed her up a little bit. Now in my previous Journal entry, … Read more

The Journal, Monday, July 2

Hey Folks, Well, that was a short-lived experiment. Embarrassment sometimes is the result (and is always the risk) of sharing one’s writing life. But that’s just the way it goes sometimes. If you’re going to be an open book, occasionally a reader will find a bug smashed between your pages. A few days ago I announced my new daily word count goal. Then I announced I was going to see how long I could hit it in a row, day after day, to create a streak. Then reality started to set in and I backed off on the streak aspect … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, June 26

Hey Folks, Nothing really to report today. I took too many days off (got used to it). I’m glad I started working toward next month a little early. So this is mostly to send you the “Of Interest” stuff below. See you soon. ​ Of Interest See Sue Coletta’s “9 Ways To Build Suspense ~ Fiction Writing” at https://www.suecoletta.com/9-ways-to-build-suspense/. See Sue Coletta’s “Pinch Points In Fiction Writing” at https://www.suecoletta.com/pinch-points-in-fiction-writing/. See Sue Coletta’s “How To Craft A One-Page Synopsis Using Story Beats” at https://www.suecoletta.com/how-to-craft-a-one-page-synopsis-using-story-beats/. Fiction Words: 1816 Nonfiction Words: 90 (Journal) So total words for the day: 1906 Writing of Stern … Read more

The Journal, Monday, June 25

Hey Folks, Not a lot to report today, but at least I’m writing fiction again. After such a long layoff, it feels great. Awhile back I started my 9th Pulp detective novel. I’ll probably push through from here and finish it first, then either back to something else or forward to something new. My “novel goal” at the moment is to have two more novels finished by the end of July. That should be fairly easy to do. I’ve started three in the past few months that I allowed to lapse for one reason or another. Had a lot of … Read more

The Journal, Monday, June 4

Hey Folks, Wow. Nothing but whole lot of nothing going on yesterday in a writerly way. Did a little work around the yard, did some reading, but very little else. My business computer was all messed up (the last Lenovo I’ll ever buy) so I spent a few hours messing with it. Finally got it working again, or at least limping along. I did spend a little time online finding things for “Of Interest” and they’re below. Nothing time sensitive, so I figured it would keep until today. Hence no Journal yesterday. I stayed up too late on Sunday night, … Read more