The Passive Voice

The Journal, Thursday, December 6

Hey Folks, Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day, though I think, sadly, it’s no longer taught in schools. Here’s a quote for the day: The carrier Enterprise sailed into Pearl Harbor the day after the attack. Surveying the wreckage from the bridge, Adm. William Halsey could not hide his anger. “When this war is over the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.” For an excellent article about that fateful day, see https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-japan-failed-pearl-harbor-18638. *** Wow. Remember I released Book 2 of the Nick Spalding series, Transitions, back in November? One of my donors, a voracious reader, sent me an email … Read more

The Journal, Monday, December 3

Hey Folks, Another good quote: “I am what I am. To look for reasons is beside the point.” — Joan Didion And another one from Chandler: “I have a sense of exile from thought, a nostalgia of the quiet room and balanced mind. I am a writer, and there comes a time when that which I write has to belong to me, has to be written alone and in silence, with no one looking over my shoulder, no one telling me a better way to write it. It doesn’t have to be great writing, it doesn’t even have to be … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, November 25

Hey Folks, I was in touch with Dean. He assured me he’s dealing with a problem he’s never encountered before as he attempts his challenge to write 10 novels in 100 days while coming off a major life roll and tries to get into shape. I’m not ashamed to admit I was probably wrong in my musings yesterday about his dilemma. It isn’t difficult to be humble in the presence of greatness. He and Kris are working through the problem. I have no doubt they’ll succeed in discovering and overcoming whatever it is. He also assured me he’ll keep us … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, November 21

Hey Folks, I hope each of you in America will enjoy your Thanksgiving Day tradition tomorrow. For those of you who do not live in the US, I hope you will pass a peaceful and lucrative day of your own, filled with joy and productivity. *** Time for another gentle reminder. From time to time, I hit upon a URL that’s so useful, so informative, so educational for fiction writers of all stripes, that I add it to one or more of the Writers Resources links on my main website. For a free education, please take time to visit http://harveystanbrough.com/writer-resources/. … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, November 20

Hey Folks, I apologize in advance for the long post today. I hope you get something out of it. I hadn’t planned to write a topic today either, but then I wandered across PJ Parrish’s post “When Should A Story End?” (“Of Interest”) and came across this doozy: “…writers should strive to make each plot point arise organically from character.” Later, she talks about a character living an “unauthentic” life. I don’t wonder. Topic: Let Your Characters Live Their Own Lives I’ve seen too many Nationwide Insurance commercials lately. My first thought as I read the excerpt above was “Tiny … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, November 15

Hey Folks, My new all-time favorite quote: “The faster I write, the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.” ~ Raymond Chandler Hey, even if you don’t believe me or Dean, you have to believe Raymond Chandler, don’t you? The above is not because Raymond Chandler was an experienced fictionist who knew all the “tricks.” (There are none.) It’s because he learned to trust his subconscious and allow the characters to tell the story. After all, they’re the ones who are living it. (grin) To … Read more

The Journal, Monday, November 12

Hey Folks, Not a great deal to talk about today. I’m annoyed because my Internet was out for about 4 hours. That happens a lot. Funny, they still charge us for that time. Makes me glad I’m a writer. I can escape to a world where you actually get the service you pay for, people take responsibility for their own actions, and politicians who lose concede gracefully instead of stamping their feet, holding their breath ’til they turn blue, and bring in dozens of lawyers to find “misplaced” ballots. Sigh. Topic: To Create A New Text-Only Hyperlink Recently a friend … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, November 8

Hey Folks, There’s a lot to explore in “Of Interest” today. I’ll begin with a new favorite quote: “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ~ Ray Bradbury *** I have a slightly altered routine that I have to get used to. I’m leaving the writing computer in the Hovel now, hooked up to the big monitor, instead of carrying it back and forth to my office in the house. So I have to remember to carry a flash drive back and forth with me. Each day I’ll transfer the … Read more

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, Sunday, November 4

Hey Folks, What sites about writing do you follow regularly other than mine or the ones I regularly mention in “Of Interest”? If any of you know of any good websites from other writers who are serious about the craft or from writer-enablers that I don’t mention here at least occasionally, please share those URLs with me. I went through my list of “followed” sites this morning and found I had to delete roughly half of them. Most I deleted because the writers who were posting on them previously had faded into the “whatever happened to” domain. They hadn’t posted … Read more