The Book Designer

The Journal: Life Rolls Happen

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Life rolls happen * Hey Media, shut up already * Be Sure to Check “Of Interest” * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Even the pandemic flu of 1918 only killed one to two percent of the people who were infected.” Anthony Fauci, via The Passive Voice Life rolls happen. I’ll be headed out of town tomorrow morning (Friday) for up to a few days. How fortunate am I, to be able to love my day job and take it with me? Thanks to … Read more

The Journal: What the Journal Is All About

In today’s Journal * I lost a whole day * What the Journal is all about * A new comment policy * About Atlas Obscura * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers I lost a whole day yesterday, but I brought it on myself. I’m out here in public, an easy target for anyone who wants to snipe, but that doesn’t mean I have to belabor you with the specifics. You might take a lesson from all of this though: People who don’t know you will hear whatever they want to hear, whatever suits their purpose and gives them … Read more

The Journal: A Free Short Story

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A new free short story * Please continue to spread the word * Sigh… the lies continue * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day From The Passive Voice, “No publisher should ever express an opinion on the value of what he publishes*. That is a matter entirely for the literary critic to decide. I can quite understand how any ordinary critic would be strongly prejudiced against a work that was accompanied by a premature and unnecessary panegyric from the publisher. A publisher is simply a useful … Read more

The Journal: A Short Story Contest

In today’s Journal * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers This morning I was handed a theme for my upcoming short story: People are strange. It’s a contest prompt, and the deadline is midnight EST, 1 March. That’s TOMORROW. Just in case you want to and can pound out a short story in that time, I’ve included the link in “Of Interest” below. Apparently the opening date was Feb 10, but I didn’t learn of it until today. Probably due to my own inattention. Anyway, I turned-to. Wrote a short story to meet my own deadline and then submitted … Read more

The Journal: A Cover Reveal and On Being Prolific

In today’s Journal * Clive Cussler * Topic: A Cover Reveal and On Being Prolific * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Clive Cussler, one of our better authors, passed away today at the age of 88. May his family and friends heal quickly and well. Topic: A Cover Reveal and On Being Prolific Part 1 I’m taking a day off today, sort of. Early this morning, I was tempted to let Heinlein’s Rule 4 slip. But not from fear of what readers might think of my story. I was tempted to let it slip because publishing just isn’t … Read more

The Journal: Boredom and the Power of I Am

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Boredom and the Power of I Am * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers “[B]oredom comes when a reader anticipates (even subconsciously) what will happen next—and then it does.” James Scott Bell Know how to beat boredom for your reader? Don’t plan. Just write. Topic: Boredom and the Power of I Am Even if you’re a non-believer, the bible and other religious texts hold important lessons for everybody. There’s much wisdom there. In my humble opinion, the most important is the concept of I AM. I Am is the … Read more

The Journal: Not Much Today

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Not Much Today * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “This is a hard technique to teach writers: how do you write setting from the point of view of someone who sees the same thing every day? You write about what’s different, as well as describe what they’re actually doing. If you’re not careful, you’ll overdescribe—or underdescribe. And if you’re wondering, overdescribing is better.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch Not Much Today and a Minor Change If you missed yesterday’s post, I encourage you to read it. It’s … Read more

The Journal: This is Important

In today’s Journal * Topic: This is Important: What I Offer * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: This is Important: What I Offer Today I’m tooting my own horn, letting you know what you can learn from me and the various ways you can learn from me. I realized this morning I’ve never enumerated the various ways I teach. In case you didn’t know or as a gentle reminder, first I write this Journal almost every day. In it, I often post a topic that I believe will help someone out there. Sometimes some readers see my … Read more

The Journal: Writer Fear

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Writer Fear * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “A good story is a good story no matter how you classify it.” Claire Langley-Hawthorne Topic: Writer Fear By now, anyone who follows this blog regularly or even irregularly knows I advocate Heinlein’s Rules and a technique called Writing Into the Dark (WITD). This is not original to me, nor is it original to Dean Wesley Smith, from whom I learned it. Nor was it original to whomever taught it to him. WITD is all about … Read more

The Journal: Feeling Overwhelmed

In today’s Journal * Topic: Feeling Overwhelmed: A Process Post * In light of Dean’s post today * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Feeling Overwhelmed: A Process Post I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. Well, actually, not a little. Actually a lot. I have a pretty big goal, writing a short story every week and a novel every month. And I’m aiming at a streak, but I don’t really care about that. Even if I miss, I intend to pick back up and keep the same goals just as if I hadn’t missed. So my weekly and monthly … Read more