the writing life

The Journal: A New Writer Resource

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A new writer resource * I haven’t written * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I truly believe subscribing to MasterClass and getting a wide exposure to A-List resources can do a lot for you as a writer.” Garry Rodgers A lady named Carol Briggs emailed me yesterday with a breath of fresh air. Carol is a self-described youth services librarian and educator. In her email, she asked, on behalf of a young student named Anna, whether I’d be willing to add Theater Seat Services to my Writer … Read more

The Journal: Election Day

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Today Is Election Day * Another great day of writing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The cat sat on the mat is not the opening of a plot. The cat sat on the dog’s mat is.” John LeCarre “The thing I like best about being a writer is the escape it provides.” Yer Uncle Harv Today is election day. I know, old news. But if you live in the United States, this is probably the most important election day of your life. Today the citizenry and … Read more

The Journal: A Great Motivator

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: A Great Motivator * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Write about what you know, and what do you know better than your own secrets?” Raymond Carver Topic: A Great Motivator This will be a little rattled and fragmented, but I think the advice is there and sound, so bear with me. One of the articles I linked to recently contained some good advice on writing, but it also offered some advice that I thought was not so good. One of the things the author thought was … Read more

The Journal: Halloween, CovID-19 and a Great Writing Day

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Happy Halloween! * Another Perspective of CovID-19 * A great writing day * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “I feel shy of saying this, because to non-writers it sounds so lazy—but if, seven days a week, you can cut out two hours for yourself, when you are undistracted and on-song, you will soon have a book.” Hilary Mantel “Writing is a long game and you have to be patient with yourself and your material. A great deal happens in the dark, as it were; work goes on … Read more

The Journal: Quanta Magazine

In today’s Journal * Quanta Magazine * Of Interest * The Numbers Not a lot to talk about today, but I wanted to get the “Of Interest” items out to you. But before I do that, I strongly recommend a free subscription to Quanta Magazine’s free newsletter. Did I mention it’s free? To find the subscription form, click the link to the first article in “Of Interest.” Then click the small menu icon to the right of the search icon in the upper right corner. When the new page loads, enter your email address under Newsletter on the right and … Read more

The Journal: A Writing Secret

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Writing Secret * The Link Between Poetry and Novels * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Less is more. My first drafts [sic] went into phenomenal detail about absolutely everything. … A sense of place is good. Overwhelming readers is not. I had to keep reminding myself to make sure everything related to the plot and characters.” Terry Odell (See my vehement disagreement in the Topic below.) “As a writing instructor, I find that most of the time when writers teach classes, we focus on teaching people … Read more

The Journal: A Writing Tip

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A Writing Tip * The writing has slowed a bit * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “For reasons of high aesthetic principle, I do not write on a computer. Writing on a computer makes saving what’s been written too easy. Pretentious lead sentences are kept, not tossed. Instead of sitting surrounded by crumpled paper, the computerized writer has his mistakes neatly stored in digital memory. P.J. O’Rourke (via The Passive Voice) A Writing Tip If one or more of your characters in your novels or short stories … Read more

The Journal: A Free Boot Camp for Writers

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Ralphie May’s Boot Camp * The novel is coming along * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Having a dedicated space is a signal to yourself that writing is not an idle hobby that you peck away at between household chores or doom-scrolling Twitter sessions. Ideally, there should be no Twitter allowed in this space. It is a place you go to work.” Kim Bullock That “no Twitter allowed” recommendation is why I also advocate a dedicated writing computer. This is kind of a special edition of the … Read more

The Journal: Quotes of the Day Expanded

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day (Expanded) * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day (Expanded) Quote 1: “What does it mean to write awesomely? At the very least, it means giving your readers more than a by-the-numbers story.” James Scott Bell “More than a by-the-numbers story.” I like that. it’s a great analogy. No great painting was ever created on a by-the-numbers canvas. Of course, Mr. Bell stopped too soon. So how do you give your readers more than a by-the-numbers story? Easy. “By the numbers” comes from the conscious mind. If you trust what … Read more

The Journal: I Guess I’m Smug

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * I love a writing challenge * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Maybe you can be smug when you can actually write 50,000 words of fiction in a month again. When was the last time you did that?” A guy named Steve in a comment on my October 23 post I was going to write a whole thing about what it’s like to be challenged with a personal affront by a person for whom you’re trying to do a favor, but I spent enough time on that in … Read more