The Passive Voice

The Journal: WITD and Cycling

In today’s Journal * Nothing good in literature * WITD and Cycling * Readers are different * All of that being said * Some good songs * Of Interest * The Numbers A couple of days ago I wrote that “Nothing good in literature ever came from the conscious, critical mind.” Given that “good” resides in the eye of the beholder and given that we can never know how good a plotted work might have been had it been written into the dark, I’ll stand by my statement. A friend emailed me part of an article (copied and pasted) from … 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: An Inane Quote

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * An Inane Quote * A lot to see * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day (an inanity) “Everything is a decision.” Matthew Salesses in Craft in the Real World (as noted in an article in “Of Interest”) What a stupid, inane quote. The problem is, we’re talking about two different “real worlds” here. Granted, in the real world of timid, frightened, uncertain writers—a world that is admittedly much larger than the world in which I reside—certainly everything from character “development” to setting to scenes and plot points is … 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: Insanity

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Vincent Zandri * John Gilstrap, actor * Insanity: Writing Advice from a Stage Zero Writer * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “If the sad parts don’t make us cry when we write, and the funny parts don’t make us chuckle, then we’re just phoning-in our performance, and the reading audience will see right through it. To be believed, you need to live the moment on the page.” John Gilstrap “Writing a novel is rarely fun. Like most writers, I usually rely on love for my characters, daily … Read more

The Journal: Special Edition

In today’s Journal * Special Edition * Of Interest * The Numbers Special Edition This will be short. I’m publishing the Journal today only to urge you to read “Come Looking For Anger,” Dean Wesley Smith’s post from yesterday. Yesterday is the first time I remember being at my computer and not reading his post on the day it was published. Go figure. Anyway, it and the comments are must-read. And spread the word to your writing groups and writer friends. Then duck. You can find the post at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/come-looking-for-anger/. And if you want to see the post that caused … Read more

The Journal: Got my new pickup

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * My New Pickup * Labor Day Weekend * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[T]hink like a publisher. I want to wholesale the books to someone like Little Passports because they [not I] work to acquire the end customer….” Darcy Pattison My bride was kind enough to take a couple of quick snapshots of my new pickup. Well, it’s new to me, and exactly what I wanted. Please pay no attention to the short, fat, slouchy, probably balding vagrant who wandered in to photo-bomb the second picture. (Like … Read more

The Journal: A Few Tidbits

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A few tidbits * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “My problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity.” Cory Doctorow “Your next book is your best promotion.” Dean Wesley Smith “A writer is a person who writes. An author is a person who has written.” Dean Wesley Smith Yesterday as I watched and listened to Dean Wesley Smith in a few pop-up lectures, I was reminded of a few tidbits I’ve found to be true. I thought I’d pass those along: 1. The difference between writers who make it and … Read more

The Journal: Yesterday

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Another month gone * Yesterday * Yesterday also * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” George Bernard Shaw Well, another month gone. That feels significant for some reason, though with me it resonates only with stalled numbers and missed opportunities. I won’t go into that. Too depressing. Yesterday I sold my Chevy Colorado pickup. It’s a 2007, so it was made back when they still actually looked like a mid-size pickup. A … Read more