the writing life

The Journal: Willie Nelson wrote a song

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Short announcement * Willie Nelson wrote a song * Topic: A Few Myths About Writing Into the Dark * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If we take man as he is, we make him worse, but if we take him as he should be, we make him capable of becoming what he can be.” Viktor Frankl quoting Goethe A short announcement—Dean posted today that the surveys for the Return of the Fey Kickstarter should go out this week. So if you donated anything to that, you should … Read more

The Journal: Waxing Philosophical

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Waxing Philosophical * One more comment * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.” Ernest Hemingway “When asked [by a journalist] about drinking while working, Hemingway once responded, ‘Jesus Christ! Have you ever heard of anyone who drank while he worked? You’re thinking of Faulkner. He does sometimes—and I can tell right in the middle of a page when he’s had his first one.’” Nicholas Mancall-Bitel at Thrillist … Read more

The Journal: On Writing “Fast”

In today’s Journal * Yesterday * An Epiphany from a Friend * Topic: On Writing “Fast” * Of Interest * The Numbers Well, yesterday morning I started writing Terra 2. But it still has to do with the future of humanity, so Terra 2 will be Book 10 in the FOH series. The covers going forward will be different, of course, depicting some view of the planet, but that’s all to worry about in the future. This book won’t go ‘live’ until July 15. (I’m releasing one novel every two weeks from now through then.) An Epiphany from a Friend … Read more

The Journal: Six Novels in 90 Days? Almost…

In today’s Journal * Six Novels in 90 Days? Almost… * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday, just before this Journal went live at 10 a.m., the last chapter of the novel wrapped. But something (that tiny little creative voice) was still nagging at me. So I decided to take a break. I went up to the house and announced the last chapter was finished, the novel was finished, and the series was finished. And the nagging voice welled up. The series was finished—but not quite. I’d always thought this would be at least a 10-book series, but it just … Read more

The Journal: Recognizing the Critical Voice

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * I expect the novel will wrap today * Topic: Recognizing the Critical Voice * Of Interest * The Numbers I had a pretty good day of writing yesterday once I pried my head out of my butt and realized what was screwing me up: the conscious, critical mind. It’s always the conscious, critical mind. Always. Every time. As an added bonus, I think the novel’s going to wrap today. All that was required was that I stop worrying about it. Can’t believe I made such a rookie mistake. (grin) I even … Read more

The Journal: Conscious Mind

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Conscious Mind * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “We can’t solve poverty or hunger, but we’re going to solve global warming. Think about that.” Anonymous, from a meme Well, sometime or other I slipped from thinking it would be nice personally to finish 6 novels in the first quarter of the year to “trying” to make it happen. That’s conscious mind crap. And as a result, I had a non-writing day yesterday, the second one for this novel. I actually wrote probably 5,000 words yesterday in fits … Read more

The Journal: On Ernest Hemingway

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Prompted by the first post * 10 Steps to Becoming a Writer * Another good-enough day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck.” Ernest Hemingway “I learned not to think about anything that I was writing from the time I stopped writing until I started again the next day. That way … Read more

The Journal: Do Poets Outline?

In today’s Journal * Topic: Do Poets Outline? * A great day of writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Do Poets Outline? The short answer will probably be a snort and “No.” But of course there are some very long poems out there too. I’ve personally written some very long poems. For me, the answer was still no. This question came up because a long-time writer, personal friend, and fellow adherent of Heinlein’s Rules and writing into the dark is as stymied as I regarding why some folks depend on outlines. In addition to novels, like me, my … Read more

The Journal: Nothing Much Today

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Nothing much today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” George Bernard Shaw Nothing much today in the Journal. I’m kind’a concentrating on getting the novel done and out. So nothing bad going on, just writing. If I’m not here for the next day or two, that’s why. Well, the novel’s writing a little slower again and I’m a little nervous about it because the end is nowhere in sight. I guess … Read more

The Journal: The world is chock full

In today’s Journal * The world is chock full * Free lecture * A recent lightning strike * A good day of writing * The Numbers The world is chock full of people who are willing to teach you how to write fiction but have never written so much as one short story or novel themselves. Think about that. The same people who smile smugly and would never sign up for an international money transfer from an obscure Nigerian Prince rush out to buy books on how to write fiction from people who’ve never written fiction. It’s exactly the same … Read more