the writing life

The Journal, Monday, June 11

Hey Folks, I hope you all read the Journal from yesterday. It might be the most informative one I’ve written. If you missed it, you can find it at http://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-sunday-june-10/. One thing I mentioned yesterday is “Style follows story, not the other way around.” If your stylistic choices call attention to themselves, change them back. For example, the poet E.E. Cummings is as well known for writing in all lower case as much or more so than he is known for his poetry itself. For another, many writers have asked me why they should have to set off dialogue with … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, June 10

Hey Folks, If you’re a writer, you don’t want to miss this post. Yesterday, I rolled out at 3 for a change. Felt good. I used the early morning for admin time. I was led to that by a good review of my 10-story collection Mobster Tales that I received via email yesterday. When I went to add the review to the page for that book over at StoneThread Publishing, I realized I hadn’t yet created a page for that book. So I did that, then pasted the review in. You can see it at http://stonethreadpublishing.com/mobster-tales/. Then the day fell … Read more

The Journal, Friday, June 8

Hey Folks, This will almost be a topic on websites and what to do with them. Welcome to new subscribers. In this golden era of indy publishing, there are no limits. You can have complete control of your writing career. IF you’ve managed to avoid the hordes of traditional and vanity publishers out there who only want to take your money. But it does take a little work. It’s important to have an author website, a place where fans can visit to learn about you and what you’re doing. It’s also important, especially as you write more stories and novels … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, June 7

Hey Folks, Well, it’s Thursday. That means I have a half-day. My wife and I decided we’d take one day off per week from walking, and we decided Thursday would be that day. That way I can start writing early and go straight through (with short breaks) instead of using an hour of that time for a walk. *** Still adjusting my way of doing things. I was determined to get up early this morning. But with the sun coming up earlier and going down later, it’s more difficult to go to bed earlier. And since we got rid of … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, June 6

Hey Folks, A very long post today. First a topic for folks who have joined the Journal recently and/or haven’t heard my speil on punctuation as a tool before. Then one of the personal tidbits some of you like. This one is a fairly brief bit on everyday life as a writer (or anyone else) in southeast Arizona. Topic: On Comma Use Recently, a major writer with whom I usually agree on most things handed out some bad information. And by bad I mean harmful. A writer commented that she doesn’t know where to place commas. The major writer advised … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, June 5

Hey Folks, Looking forward to another good day of writing. The novel is running, and it’s weird (for me). It seems to be psychological suspense with a lot of police procedural mixed in. Meaning the final main genre probably will be police procedural. Well, unless it develops into a thriller. I’ll have to see what happens with the scope. I like the effects/ramifications of both of the PS and PP genres. Both require minuscule, exacting and precise detail-detail-detail (but none of it boring, all of it tension-building) at the sub-molecular level. I love that stuff. Both require intensity. Both require … Read more

The Journal, Monday, June 4

Hey Folks, Wow. Nothing but whole lot of nothing going on yesterday in a writerly way. Did a little work around the yard, did some reading, but very little else. My business computer was all messed up (the last Lenovo I’ll ever buy) so I spent a few hours messing with it. Finally got it working again, or at least limping along. I did spend a little time online finding things for “Of Interest” and they’re below. Nothing time sensitive, so I figured it would keep until today. Hence no Journal yesterday. I stayed up too late on Sunday night, … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, June 2

Hey Folks, Dean’s post today (see “Of Interest” below) struck a chord with me. As a result, I added the topic below. I encourage you to read both his post and the topic. Some folks get it one way, some another. And this is a very important topic. Topic: “That” You Write vs. “What” You Write In today’s post (below), Dean Wesley Smith wrote “…all that matters is the writing, not the end product.” That seemingly innocuous statement is only one of the many truly major lessons I’ve learned from him and attempted to pass along. To establish credentials for … Read more

The Journal, Friday, June 1

Hey Folks, Short post today, which I’m sure you’ll find a relief after some of my recent ones. (grin) I had a good walk this morning. Otherwise I’m just writing today. I haven’t set aside the work tentatively titled Seduction quite yet, but I moved on to another one today. Maybe I’ll finish Seduction, maybe not. Not worried about it. It feels sluggish right now, and at the moment I just want to produce, get myself back on track with a routine. The new one, Dread, is listed below. New month, too, so I had to set up all my … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, May 31

Hey Folks, I keep hammering away at this. But as an instructor, I know some folks “get it” when they hear information one way, and some get it when they hear it another way or from another source. With that in mind, see Kris Rusch’s “Business Musings: An Agent Nightmare Revealed” at https://kriswrites.com/2018/05/30/business-musings-an-agent-nightmare-revealed/. Yep. It’s so important I added it to the main body of the Journal. And shared it with several writer groups on FB. *** Today should be a writing day, and it probably will be. It might be a percolation day. A percolation day is a day … Read more