the writing life

The Journal: Copyright: It Isn’t Rocket Science

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Copyright: It Isn’t Rocket Science * No bites * Great day * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I am a writer, a writer whose work has been published widely, so I have figured out a thing or two about how copyright does and does not work.” Emily Harstone Copyright: It Isn’t Rocket Science Sorry, but the quote of the day is just a really stupid statement. Being a writer, even a widely published writer, doesn’t mean you know copyright any more than being an experienced driver means you know the … Read more

The Journal: A Primer on Learning to Write Fiction

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: A Primer on Learning to Write Fiction * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Those that know, do; those that understand, teach.” Aristotle “We can know something without understanding it. But what a difference it makes when we do understand; when the subject in hand isn’t something that we know a few facts about, but we have personal experience of what that feels like.” John Dsouza “Resident Writing Coach — [name redacted] has been a freelance editor and reader for literary agent [name of agent and agency redacted] for over … Read more

The Journal: Garbage Runs in Cycles

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Garbage Runs in Cycles * Great start * The Numbers Quote of the Day “We often think we need to open with a huge bang, something that’ll catch the reader’s attention and play out like a blockbuster movie. But here’s the thing about those high-powered opening scenes: readers don’t care because they don’t yet know the characters or the baggage….” Becca Puglisi Topic: Garbage Runs in Cycles This morning was weird in two ways. Like so many other natural phenomena, garbage seems to run in cycles. One: I just realized … Read more

The Journal: The Shared World short story

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Shared World short story * Still looking for a publisher * And where do I leave a legacy? * The Numbers Quote of the Day “There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. The writer who has to go into the streets is a writer who does not know the streets. . . when you leave your typewriter you leave your machine gun and the rats come pouring through.” Charles Bukowski (via The Passive Voice) Well, yesterday I stopped writing the short story with … Read more

The Journal: Today, Yesterday, Sometime Later

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: Today * Yesterday * Sometime later * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Saying that taste is just personal preference is a good way to prevent disputes. The trouble is, it’s not true. You feel this when you start to design things.” Paul Graham “It takes confidence to throw work away. You have to be able to think, there’s more where that came from.” Paul Graham Topic: Today in “Of Interest” is a link to an article that purports to list “12 Signs You’re Still in the Learning Phase of … Read more

The Journal: The Journey Home: Part 6

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * The Journey Home: Part 6 * A Second (Very Short) Addendum * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Most cynics are really crushed romantics: they’ve been hurt, they’re sensitive, and their cynicism is a shell that’s protecting this tiny, dear part in them that’s still alive.” Jeff Bridges “No one expects a medical student to perform surgery correctly on his first try. And no corporate lawyer would be allowed to negotiate a merger without experience and years of law school behind her. Lawyers and doctors learn by doing. Writers feel we … Read more

The Journal: An Addendum

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: An Addendum * It will be interesting, * The Numbers Quote of the Day “My advice to writers who think they’re out of ideas is to tell them to write the word ‘The’ and then follow with another word and… bing-bam-boom straight to the Moon, Alice… there’s your idea.” Dan Baldwin Topic: An Addendum One addendum to yesterday’s post — Everything you are able to learn and absorb and put into practice about writing or anything else is dependent on whether you’re ready to learn and absorb the lesson. Much … Read more

The Journal: Writer’s Block and Coming Up with Ideas

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Writer’s Block and Coming Up with Ideas * The Numbers Quote of the Day “You can not do this from critical voice. You must learn it by reading and typing in openings of top bestsellers (stage four writers) and pay attention to what they are doing. Then you just trust your creative voice to add what it has learned into your stories over time.” DWS on learning pacing Note for any RSS readers: I added the above Quote of the Day after I initially posted today’s edition of the Journal. … Read more

The Journal: Fact or Fiction Indeed

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Fact or Fiction Indeed * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The words are maps, and the map is not the territory. The map is static; the territory constantly flows. Words are always about the past or the unborn future, never about the living present. The present is ever to quick for them; by the time words are out, it is gone.” Polish scholar named Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski (via The Passive Guy) Topic: Fact or Fiction Indeed In today’s “Of Interest” there’s a link to an article titled “Fact … Read more

The Journal: Quotes, Comments and an Email

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Quotes of the Day by Ray Bradbury (and one from me) * Thanks * Topic: Email, the “writing zone,” and whose story is this, anyway? * Public Service Announcement * The Numbers Quote of the Day “By the end of the third day [at a writing retreat], I find myself waking up eager to write.” David Farland Quotes of the Day by Ray Bradbury “The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me.” RB “My stories … Read more