The Passive Voice

The Journal: NaNoWriMo Approacheth

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: NaNoWriMo Approacheth, Slouching… * I’m writing again * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “It is the writer that creates a story that will sell … if the writer allows himself to be in the story with the character.” Dean Wesley Smith Topic: NaNoWriMo Approacheth, Slouching Toward Keyboards Everywhere Forgive me the following. I’m going to get a little snarky. In an article in Kobo Writing Life yesterday, the author advised writers to “prepare” for NaNoWriMo. The article suggests writers 1. Plot their outline 2. Do a … Read more

The Journal: Heinlein’s Rule 2

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I’ve updated the mentorships * Topic: Heinlein’s Rule 2 — You Must Finish What You Write * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “At some point in the next 1,000 years, nuclear war or environmental calamity will ‘cripple Earth.’ However, by then, ‘our ingenious race will have found a way to slip the surly bonds of Earth and will therefore survive the disaster.’ The Earth’s other species probably won’t make it, though.” Max de Haldevang, quoting Stephen Hawking in Quartz magazine “In fiction, emotional release is boring. Drama … Read more

The Journal: “Turnaround” and Links

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * “Turnaround” Finished * My friend Robert S. * Not a lot, but links * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The most regretful people on earth are those… who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.” Mary Oliver As advertised, I played a little yesterday and finished “Turnaround.” I wasn’t sure of the title when I started (it was just what occurred to me) but the reason for the title became clear as the story wrapped up. (grin) I … Read more

The Journal: Bottom-Line Concerns

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Bottom-line concerns * Degrees of communication * Writing into the dark * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “In order to control myself I must first accept myself by going with and not against my nature.” Bruce Lee “Bottom line concerns have all but decimated the publishers’ promotional efforts….” Paul Dinas on Anne R. Allen’s blog “Bottom-line concerns.” Yes. Because today the major traditional publishers increase the value of their corporation NOT by publishing and selling books but by paying a pittance for IP, then valuating that IP … Read more

The Journal: An Intensive Learning Month

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * An Intensive Learning Month * Book Covers * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “In 1792, while Gustav III was attending a masquerade ball, he was shot and killed by someone who didn’t like him.” PG Well, it looks as if October 2020 will be my intensive learning month. (grin) The instructor of the Affinity Publisher for Beginners course also offers a couple of FREE courses on Affinity Photo. I’ve already signed up. To read about those, see * 10 Steps to Amazing Photos at https://courses.affinityrevolution.com/p/10-steps-to-amazing-photos. This will … Read more

The Journal: A Quick Primer on Cover Design

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: A Quick Primer on Cover Design * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “[I]n the online world, the cover is the single most important way to position the book.” Bigstock blog “When you browse the Amazon bestsellers in your genre, you should notice patterns in color schemes, fonts, layouts, and images.” Dave Chesson, Kindlepreneur Topic: A Quick (Very Basic) Primer on Cover Design If your immediate response to this is “I don’t need this because I have a cover designer,” well, good for you. But you’re throwing … Read more

The Journal: Griping a little

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Griping a little * Still in class * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “[L]ibraries promote more reading, which creates more readers, which creates more book purchasers, which means publishers make more money.” The Passive Guy I’m griping a little today. I don’t like inaccuracy in writing instruction, and there’s a lot of inaccuracy out there. When I read or hear a blatant inaccuracy that is obviously not a typo in a blog post or a misstep in a writing class, it makes the hairs on the back … Read more

The Journal: Very short post today

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Very short post today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.” PG Wodehouse Very short post today. I was going to publish this Journal entry yesterday, but we had a wide power outage in southeast Arizona and the power came back on a little too late to file this. As it turns out, I didn’t have a lot to … Read more

The Journal: Magic Realism, Writing, and the WIBBOW Rule

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * How I came to write magic realism * The WIBBOW Rule * A Note on Covers * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Writing to me is an advanced and slow form of reading. If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. … It took me a long time to do a short book; a long time to leave the world of language and the building up and shaping of the book, but once it … Read more

The Journal: Just Chatting

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Just chatting * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Written stories belong to their individual creators as individuals. Copyright laws around the world reflect this belief and value. … Stories don’t belong to cultures or people who bear some similarity to the characters in a book.” David Vandagriff (as The Passive Guy) harkening back to my previous Journal post Just chatting this morning. I haven’t talked with you in a few days. That omission was unintented. But really, I haven’t had much to talk about, at least regarding … Read more