The Digital Reader

The Journal, Monday, November 5

Hey Folks, Yesterday evening, I saw a great little post in one of the blogs I subscribe to, and it led me to write the topic below. You can read the original post. It’s in “Of Interest” today. *** Food for thought: “The first page sells this book. The last page sells your next book.” ~ Mickey Spillane Topic: NaNoWriMo: Just Stop Already. Or Go Do It. I Don’t Care. Sounds callous, doesn’t it? Sorry. I only say I don’t care because I’ll be too busy writing instead of and seeking or checking with online partners and concentrating on doing … Read more

The Journal, Monday, October 15

Hey Folks, Half the month is gone. I’ve written fiction only one day this month, and that was ill-advised. Still, it is what it is. I hope all of you are having a better month writing than I am. (grin) But today all of that changes. I’m feeling much better overall. I realized yesterday I didn’t get tired as quickly or as early in the day. I’ve learned new ways of getting dressed without assistance, and yesterday for the first time since the operation I was able to wash my entire body in the shower without assistance. Woohoo! Maybe most … Read more

The Journal, Friday, May 18

Hey Folks, Rolled out a little after 3 this morning. I read until around 5, mostly on the Internet, mostly the stuff in “Of Interest” below, then wrote this edition of the Journal. I think I could finish the novel this morning, but I’m going to leave it until Monday. I don’t want to risk leaving a paltry, ragged edge today of maybe less than a thousand words and then have to come back and finish on Monday. I suspect I have another 3,000 to 5,000 words to the end. So given the choice, I’d rather leave the whole thing … Read more

The Journal, Monday, May 14

Hey Folks, I’m alive. Yesterday I took a much-needed “do (almost) nothing” day and basically did (almost) nothing. I did blast through an online workshop. I visited the Internet a bit and we went to the grocery and I read. Otherwise I did nothing. But I’m back. This morning I’ll commute to the Hovel (about 200 feet from my house), coffee in hand, and write a short story. No idea what that will be at the moment. Then this afternoon I’ll work on a copyedit that came in. It’s short. I hope I’ll be able to finish it this afternoon … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 30

Hey Folks, Well, I’m gonna end the month with a fizzle. No writing again today. Still a little under the weather this morning. I have to get through this bug, whatever it is. *** In other news, I got an interesting email from a writer who said he’d sent for a first-page critique. I assume he sent it to the folks at Kill Zone blog. He wrote “judging from the list, I may hear from them in about two years.” If you’re interested, read the brief instructions for submitting your first page at https://killzoneblog.com/first-page-critiques-at-tkz. But if you have to wait … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 23

Hey Folks, Well, let’s start today off with a Topic: If You’re a Writer and I’m a Reader, You Owe Me Something There were a lot of good comments on James Scott Bell’s “Editing is Dying, Grunting Soon to Follow” in the Kill Zone blog. You can find the post and the comments at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/04/editing-is-dying-grunting-soon-to-follow.html. Reading the comments was an eye-opening experience. Someone, a writer no less, actually advocated for the spelling of “all right” as “alright,” which, honestly, is just laziness. It’s the same reason some folks write “enuff” instead of “enough” or “no” instead of “know” (I’m not … Read more

The Journal, Monday, April 16

Hey Folks, Well, I don’t have a lot to report today, but a really good “Of Interest” section. I was determined today to have less than 25% of the edit left to finish tomorrow. With that in mind, I leaned into it from around 4 a.m. until I stopped at around 3 p.m. So a good 11-hour day, with a few breaks here and there. As I write this I have 15% of the edit left to do, so I should finish it tomorrow. Then, unless the gods frown on me. I should be able to return to my WIP. … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, April 12

Hey Folks, Wow. I woke up right at 2:30, which has become my recent norm. But for various reasons I went back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until 4. Problem is, that throws off the whole day. The ladies asked me to stay close so they could go out in the pre-dawn yard. So I didn’t get to the Hovel, which means I didn’t get to the novel. One drawback to having a dedicated writing space and a dedicated writing computer is that when I don’t get there, I don’t write. Then I spent a couple of hours, … Read more

The Journal, Friday, March 30

Hey Folks, This is a process post. I started reading my latest novel to Mona yesterday morning. Reading aloud is the best possible way to proofread. The ears process words less quickly than the eyes, so you catch more stupid mistakes. Also, this morning, I remembered there was one chapter (one I haven’t read aloud yet) in which the two detectives are in the bullpen. As they work on preliminary computer stuff for a few upcoming cases, the POV character relates an overview of two cases they’ve recently closed. One was a very odd suicide and the other was a … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, March 20

Hey Folks, Oh, if anyone wants to visit my site to see the changes in the menu that I mentioned yesterday, visit http://HarveyStanbrough.com. Sorry I didn’t include the link yesterday. And thanks to my friend Robert (by the way, that’s pronounced ro-BEAR as he is an honorary Acadian), for the gentle reminder. (grin) I still have a little work to do in that regard. A few fixes to target pages to make them more negotiable. But no rush on that. I learned yesterday that I have a new copyedit coming in, so I’ll be splitting my time between earning money … Read more