The Passive Voice

The Journal: On Setting, Pseudonym, and Reparations

In today’s Journal * Writing Setting * Using Pseudonyms * On Reparations * Of Interest Writing Setting I received a question about writing setting: In describing the setting, how much is too much and how much is too little? First, you, the writer, describe nothing. You have a point of view (POV) character. He or she will describe the setting, albeit through your fingers. 1, Anything the POV character sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels, physically or emotionally, should make it onto the page. Nothing the POV character sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels, physically or emotionally, is too much. … Read more

The Journal: Writers Are Ageless

In today’s Journal * Writers Are Ageless * Of Interest Today’s post is a guest blog, a repeat of Dan Baldwin’s most recent Writing Tip of the Week. It is posted in its entirety by permission of the author. Enjoy. Writers Are Ageless A young whippersnapper friend of mine seriously and politely asked, “What’s is it like being old?” I thought for half a second and said the following. “My friend, I am young enough to hike, climb, scramble, trip, fall, get up and camp all alone in some of the most spectacular country in the world. And I’m experienced … Read more

The Journal: Even While on Hiatus

In today’s Journal * Even While on Hiatus * Of Interest Even While on Hiatus I stay with my early morning routine, checking various websites for items I think might be of interest to you. I’m popping in today to share some of those with you. The first two items in “Of Interest” are VIP(ost)s that have to do with personal safety. Note: Regarding those items, PLEASE do as John Gilstrap recommends and check your state laws. Don’t take anything for granted. It’s as easy as typing into a search engine “Does [Your State] have a castle law?” If I … Read more

The Journal: Maybe a Hiatus, and Archives

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Dean Wesley Smith * Maybe a Hiatus, and Archives * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.” William Faulkner Dean Wesley Smith’s having another Kickstarter campaign. It runs through the end of March. For as little as a five dollar ($5) donation you get all kinds of rewards and stretch … Read more

The Journal: Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide?

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide? * Of Interest Quote of the Day “[I]t amuses me that people sometimes accuse me of writing the YA books to ‘cash in.’ Um, no, my friends. I earn less on those. Not significantly less, but still. I write them because they are stories I want to tell.” Brandon Sanderson Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide? Over at KillZone blog, Garry Rodgers asked, “Indie Publishers — Exclusive or Wide?” I suggest you read the post and the comments. They are enlightening. Then go whichever way … Read more

The Journal: Talking Kickstarter Again

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Talking Kickstarter Again * * * * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “There is money in publishing. A lot of it. It just doesn’t flow to the writers. Because, frankly, writers are stupid.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Dean and Loren offer a free class on crowdfunding on Teachable.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol Topic: Talking Kickstarter Again This will be brief. See “Brandon’s Kickstarter” at https://kriswrites.com/2022/03/09/business-musings-brandons-kickstarter/. Amusing excerpts “[From] the company town newspaper (The New York … Read more

The Journal: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining…

In today’s Journal * Topic: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining… * Of Interest Topic: Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining… A few days ago I discontinued my mentorships. This topic sprang from one part of my former Becoming A Writer mentorship. I hope it helps. Actually, this could be titled “Why I Don’t Recommend Outlining and Other Prewriting Structures” like separate world-building, character sketches, etc. But that title is far too long. Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll also discuss briefly why I don’t recommend rewriting. So why don’t I recommend outlining and the rest? The short answer is “Because … Read more

The Journal: Audio Courses

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Audio Courses * Of Interest Quote of the Day In Saudi Arabia, “The religious police’s official Arabic name dates back hundreds of years, but still sounds Orwellian in English: the Committee for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.” from an article in The Atlantic on the Saudi crown prince (Nothing to do with writing, but a really cool quote anyway.) Audio Courses Yesterday, to my delight, a young woman named Monica Arac de Nyeko ordered several of my audio courses. I’m naturally curious, so I keyed Monica’s name into … Read more

The Journal: More Brandon Sanderson

In today’s Journal * More Brandon Sanderson * Mentorships Discontinued * Of Interest More Brandon Sanderson Another very short but important post today, primarily to mention two things: First, I took the time to look around and find Brandon Sanderson’s “318-R” course, the course on writing that he teaches at BYU. It’s free online (with his blessing) in a series of YouTube videos. I encourage you to watch at least the Course Overview (58 minutes) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8&list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL. If you go to that particular URL, you’ll see not only the Course Overview video, but the list of the other videos on … Read more

The Journal: Not a Good Day

In today’s Journal * Oh Well… * BundleRabbit Is Now PubShare * Of Interest I’m a little grouchy today. My apologies in advance. If you don’t want to put up with my grousing, I suggest you skip down to the “Of Interest” section. Oh Well…. Although he “love[d] the book idea and cover” for my SF novel For the Good of the Galaxy:The First Nine Days, Dean declined to include it in the upcoming StoryBundle. The reason? I don’t have a large-enough social-media presence, and therefore don’t have the platform to promote the bundle widely enough to be fair to … Read more