the writing life

The Journal: A Recommendation and the New Mentorships

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Worked a full day * A Recommendation * The New Mentorships Are Live! * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “You don’t win elections by solving problems.” Jeff, commenter on TPG blog posthttps://www.thepassivevoice.com/prh-opens-the-conversation-to-sustain-antiracist-engagement/#comment-453479 My commentary and response: “You win elections by creating problems and then promising to solve them.” Wow. For the first time since I don’t remember  (probably a couple of months), I actually worked a full day yesterday. It felt good. I spent most of the morning polishing the mentorship information, putting the web pages together, … Read more

The Journal: Surface Advice

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Surface Advice * The New Mentorship Program * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” Mark Twain Topic: Surface Advice That’s what I call the popular but basically meaningless buzz-words that some instructors recommend and then can’t explain, or can’t explain adequately, or explain incorrectly. It’s what I call surface advice. It sounds good but it explains nothing. At best it’s a waste of time. At worst, especially if the explanation is incorrect or the … Read more

The Journal: A Horrific Essay and Time to Get Serious

In today’s Journal * A Horrific Essay * Time to Get Serious * Of Interest * The Numbers A Horrific Essay In today’s “Of Interest” I’ve included a link as I often do to a David Farland (The Story Doctor) Writing Tip. I suggest you read it, if only as a cautionary tale. To my way of thinking, it’s a flat-out horrific essay. I physically shuddered in a few places as I read it. So CAUTION. I included the link only as a (shudder) warning for most of you. The very title itself — and most of the rest of … Read more

The Journal: Discoverability and Recommendations

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A New Tool for Discoverability * Workshop Recommendations * Still working * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “There should be nothing in the world more benign than Goodreads…. What should be a cosy, pleasant corner of the internet has become a monster.” Sarah Manavis of NewStatesman “PG has seen enough publishing contracts to assure one and all that there is no ‘Standard Publishing Contract’.” The Passive Guy A New Tool for Discoverability My friend Sam T. forwarded me an article about Goodreads, how practically unusable it’s become, … Read more

The Journal: Stealing Valuable Classes

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Since I took part * Yesterday I reported * Re yesterday’s link * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not.” Isaac Asimov (Thanks to TPV for the quote.) “[R]eading Mr. Liu [Cixin]’s fiction is essential for understanding how China views America and the world today.” Niall Ferguson [Referring to Mr. Ferguson’s quote], “[T]his is the biggest misinterpretation of my work. … [In my books], aliens are aliens, space is space.” … Read more

The Journal: Thoughts on Walking

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Do you have any favorite quotes * If you aren’t a subscriber * I’m a fortunate guy — thoughts on walking * I didn’t write yesterday * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Don’t let people drive you crazy when you know it’s in walking distance.” Author Unknown “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.” G.M. Trevelyan “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” Henry David Thoreau “It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something.” Charles … Read more

The Journal: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction?

In today’s Journal * Topic: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction? * Of Interest * The Numbers Topic: Can You Make a Living Writing Short Fiction? Not sure why I thought of this again today, but a while back, probably a year or so ago, a friend asked whether I thought a writer could make a living writing short fiction. I said no, I didn’t believe so. I was thinking of the heirarchy of sales in ebooks. Novels in series sell best, then individual novels, then novellas, then short story collections, then short stories. So looking at that, … Read more

The Journal: A Very Brief Update

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * In response to an image * Two first readers * Of Interest * The walking * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Dystopia doesn’t arrive with a bang, but in a gradual slide. We read and watch those narratives with terror. But that’s only because we’re on the outside, and can see what’s happening. Living in a dystopia just feels like living: you get through one day, and then you get through the next, and then the next.” Anne Helen Petersen “Masks are for those people who really believed their clapping … Read more

The Journal: Flash Fiction and Being PC

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Flash Fiction and Shameless Self-Promotion * A New Font: Polite Type * Over the past two days * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “We are not trying to entertain the critics. I’ll take my chances with the public.” Walt Disney Flash Fiction and Shameless Self-Promotion In today’s “Of Interest” section I’m helping advertise a 4-week course on writing flash fiction. I visited the site and it looks like a good course, though I suspect in her definition of “flash fiction” the instructor includes what we used to … Read more

The Journal: Staring at the Sun, and Revisiting Hemingway

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * If you ever wanted to stare at the sun * I’ve been reading * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Before reading the OP, PG might have characterized himself as a cynic, but afterwards, he thinks he’s more of a practitioner of targeted skepticism.” The Passive Guy Yup, that’s me: a Practioner of Targeted Skepticism. Nice to know I’m not alone. “We set goals to help ourselves, not to harm ourselves.” a writer closely related to Wes Crowley “Goals change over time — and that’s okay!” Joanna Penn … Read more