the writing life

The Daily Journal, Thursday, August 22

In today’s Journal * I kind of like * Daily Diary * Of Interest * The numbers I kind of like this new schedule, posting the Journal early and reporting fiction the following day. I don’t know that I’ll keep it, but I suspect I will. For one thing it takes the pressure off. I can write fiction at any time of day or night, and I’m not limited by needing to get the Journal out at a particular time. I had a fairly good day yesterday with a few thousand words (see below), especially after not writing fiction at … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, August 21

In today’s Journal * Not sure * Tooting my own horn * Topic: Helping Reedsy Out * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Not sure what today will hold. Tomorrow (Thursday) I’ll be in Tucson all day for various medical appointments. Just stuff I have to check out. No biggie. Yesterday, I mentioned a new cover and then forgot to insert it into the post. That’s it on the right. I’ve gotten into the habit of publishing the Journal early. So I don’t forget to post the cover again, I’m going to publish early again today. I also … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, August 20

In today’s Journal * Yesterday, I mentioned * Topic: Cover Design, Part II * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Yesterday, I mentioned that I’ll be returning to Douglas, Arizona to take cover photos, meaning pro-level photos specifically intended for use as book covers (and other IP things) vs. snapshots. I have hundreds of my own photos already, but most of them are snapshots. That was the intention at the time, and as a result few of them are appropriate for use as covers. In a way I’m glad, because going through them would be a monumental task, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, August 19

In today’s Journal * Slow start today * Topic: Some Basic Tenets of Cover Design * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Slow start today as I’m still worn out from the wonderful trek Dan and I had around southeast Arizona yesterday. Weird. We didn’t do a lot. Mostly we were driving, stopping now and then to take photos. But I could easily spend today doing nothing at all. I had hoped to find some new cover-pics, but no luck there. However, I did find a whole town full of cover-pic opportunities (Douglas, Arizona). I will revisit that … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, August 18

In today’s Journal * Tomorrow I’ll write * Topic: (Sigh) WITD One More Time * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Tomorrow I’ll write again. Today I’ll be off playing with my buddy for about half the day. I planned to spend some time with my novel this morning, but I ran across a comment on the PWW blog from yesterday. Rather than respond in full to the comment there, I decided to give my response a fuller, maybe more attentive and receptive readership here. So…. Topic: (Sigh) WITD One More Time In part, the commenter I mentioned … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, August 17

In today’s Journal * The boys are back in town * Topic: Lock Down Your (Possible) URLs * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers The boys are back in town, so tomorrow’s post probably will be short. (Today I at least have a topic for you.) My son and eldest grandson drove in late last night. I’ll spend most of today visiting with them. Then this afternoon, one of my friends will drop by. He’ll spend the night too, and then he and I are going on a photographing (research) trip for about half the day on Sunday. … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, August 16

In today’s Journal * Cows Pulling Pranks * Topic: On Dreams and Goals * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Cows Pulling Pranks Where I live just outside St. David Arizona (north of Tombstone) we abut a rancher’s land. The fence runs along the south (long) side of the Hovel, about a foot away. Clumps of straw-colored grass and small, 10- to 15-foot mesquite trees populate the landscape under an almost-full moon. A few pre-teen to teenage clouds are scattered about in clumps as if waiting for something to happen. Inside the Hovel, my desk faces a window. … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, August 15

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A Note on Dreams and Goals * Topic: Writing Setting and Scene Descriptions * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Quotes of the Day “One advantage of being prolific is it reduces the importance of any one book.” Isaac Asimov Invaluable, that. Write it, publish it, write the next one. It’s all practice, and practice makes better. “Quantity and quality aren’t enemies.” Ryan J. Pelton A Note on Dreams and Goals Dreams are just that. Dreams. They’re things you would like to achieve or attain that are completely out … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, August 14

In today’s Journal * As it turns out * Change One to the Basic Plan * Topic: Licensing Intellectual Property * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers As it turns out, someone gave Ryan Pelton (The Prolific Writer) my name as someone he might want to interview as a prolific writer. Who knew? (grin) In part, Ryan wrote, “I think your lessons on writing would be super helpful to our community. Would you be up for coming on the show some time?” Of course, I said, “Sure.” (grin) Kind of exciting. So here are a few links about … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, August 13

In today’s Journal * Topic: More on (My) Priorities * More Mentoring Options Now Available * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Topic: More on (My) Priorities Yesterday I talked about priorities. My own priorities lately are shifting. I recently realized, for a few months now my number one priority has been this Journal. (If you don’t believe that, look back over how many topics I’ve written in the past few months.) Writing fiction slipped to being my second priority. At about the same time, writing fiction also got tangled up with learning about licensing, and to a … Read more