the writing life

The Daily Journal, Saturday, June 22

In today’s Journal * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Well, my son was coming down to spend the weekend with us, but the interstate between here and Flagstaff was closed near Phoenix due to a wildfire. So he ended up having to turn around and go back to Flag. It’s all right. We’ll see him again soon. In the meantime, I slept for only a few hours, restlessly, and finally got up. But I was wide awake, so I came to the Hovel and went straight to the WIP. It wrapped as a novella after an hour … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, June 21

In today’s Journal * Well, crap * Nothing much * Topic: Inanities and Definitions * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers The PWW post from yesterday posted today at 9 a.m. So I guess eventually the post for today will post. Maybe tomorrow. Whenever. In the meantime, I encourage you to check http://prowriterswriting.com each day to see what’s new. *** Nothing much of real value to write about today, and nothing much for “Of Interest” either. And I’m not in a good mood, primarily owing to my own stupidly high expectations. So the following is what you get … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, June 20

In today’s Journal * From Kris Rusch’s blog * Topic: Poking Fun at Horrible Advice * Sort-of Topic: Old Dogs, New Tricks, Nope * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers At the end of Kris Rusch’s blog post on the Las Vegas Licensing Expo (see “Of Interest”) was this: Dean did a Learn-Along which has over 50 videos (so far) as he analyzed what he learned, so that it would stick in his head. The Learn Along is $200 and includes a classic workshop about copyright which retails for $150. He’ll only offer it for another two weeks … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, June 19

In today’s Journal * A cover reveal and camping along the Gila * A word about Affinity Publisher * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Well, to be honest, I was annoying myself with attempting to remember to post a new picture each day. I know, I know. A lot of people read blogs for the pictures. But this is a blog about writing. So to me, it should focus more on, you know, writing. That being said, here’s a cover reveal for you. This will be the cover of my previous novel. To see a larger pic, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, June 18

In today’s Journal * Camping along the Gila * Announcement from Draft2Digital * Stuff is stacking up * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Here’s one of the reasons I return to the Gila Lower Box Wilderness when I want to go camping. This cliff is simply magnificent. Like the Grand Canyon, no photo can do it justice. And because this is true wilderness, the area is filled with the extremes of weather and light. The cliff itself changes color through the day. Toward sunset, for a few minutes, it looks like a cliff of pure gold. If … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, June 17

In today’s Journal * Camping along the Gila * Thanks * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Because I said I would post photos of my recent camping trip along the Gila River in the Lower Gila Box Wilderness in southwest New Mexico, I’ll add one pic to each post for awhile. You should be able to click on any photo to see a larger version. First, why I find it difficult to leave even for a few hours, much less a few days. My little girl planted herself on my bag and gave me two options: either … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, June 16

In today’s Journal * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Well, no writing today, and only a short post here. I stayed up too late last night watching Men in Black 3. (grin) This is a really good short series of movies with a great character arc for Agent J (Will Smith) and incredible writing. Spent some time (over the first cigar of the day) checking and updating Facebook. First time in a couple of weeks. As you know, a few days ago I finished writing my latest Wes Crowley novel. It was number 11 in the series … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, June 15

In today’s Journal * Happy Father’s Day (tomorrow) * I cast about my mind * Topic: How to Practice (and Improve) * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Here in the US, tomorrow is Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, in the US and elsewhere. I am blessed that my youngest son is visiting this weekend. *** I cast about my mind this morning, fishing for ideas for a topic for today’s Journal. I found too many, and they overlapped, but not in a good way. Rather than complementing each other, they contrasted … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, June 14

In today’s Journal * Erratum * Today might be another non-writing day * Help from Kristine Kathryn Rusch * About the personal magazine * Daily diary * Of Interest (a ton of good stuff) * The numbers Yesterday in the Journal, I erred. I somehow managed to not list the correct topic title in the introductory bullet points. I apologize for any confusion. *** Today might be another non fiction-writing day for me. I don’t know. It’s early yet, but I haven’t settled yet on what I’d like to write next. So we’ll see. I don’t have a problem with … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, June 13

In today’s Journal * I’m back * A solid recommendation * Quotes of the day * Possibly a New Endeavor * Topic: On Taking Time Off * Daily diary * Of Interest (a ton of good stuff) * The numbers I’m back. I actually got back late yesterday morning, but I had a lot of email etc. to catch up on, so I let yesterday’s post go as it was. (grin) At least you got a topic, eh? Eh? (grin) Good to be back around you folks. Thanks for hanging around. The break was good. My buddy said he came … Read more