the writing life

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, April 23

In today’s Journal ▪ Pro Writers Writing blog ▪ Topic: You Have a Choice ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Well, for the second day in a row the post at PWW didn’t go out via MailChimp as it was supposed to. As a result, I deactivated the “missed-post trigger” plug-in that obviously isn’t working and activated another one. I also went into MailChimp and re-set the posting time to 9 a.m. So we’ll see. UPDATE: The PWW post went out! Woohoo! I’ll leave the posting time at 9. Wouldn’t want to upset anything. In the meantime, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, April 22

In today’s Journal ▪ Still downloading ▪ Too Important for “Of Interest” ▪ Topic: Life Wants to Live ▪ A note about “Of Interest” ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers I visited Unsplash.com yesterday and downloaded more possible cover pics for Blackwell Ops 5, and this morning I continued and downloaded even more. And yes, as I scanned “women in shadow” pics (thousands of them) I also downloaded a lot of pics that appealed to me for future stories and/or covers too. Easy to get happily lost while doing that. (grin) But everything’s moving forward. I’ll get … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, April 21

In today’s Journal ▪ A guy once said to me ▪ Today is Sunday, and Easter ▪ Topic: Sometimes I Hate the Truth of Numbers ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers A guy once said to me, “You shouldn’t work on Sunday. Even God took Sunday off.” To which I replied, “Ah, but I am not a god.” *** From the Department of Stuff You Already Know, today is Sunday, and Easter, and a short day for me. Sometime today, I’ll help my wife set up a small office for a surprise party kind of thing for … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, April 20

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the day ▪ Topic: On the Value of Pre-Orders ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Quote of the Day: “We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening a mob with the news that grass is green.” G. K. Chesterton *** Topic: On the Value of Pre-Orders Well, apparently I’m still having trouble with Heinlein’s Rule 4 … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, April 19

In today’s Journal ▪ Grand Master Jack Williamson ▪ There’s a great writing-book bundle ▪ Topic: Always Learning ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers In a comment on his post from yesterday, DWS reminded me of Jack Williamson, whom I was fortunate to study under and get to know during my final year in college at Eastern NM University in Portales NM back in the early ’90s. Jack had compiled a collection of short stories titled People Machines, and he gave me a copy. But it wasn’t only a collection of stories. Accompanying each short story was … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, April 18

In today’s Journal ▪ Dean Wesley Smith’s free offer ▪ Topic: Always Learning ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Dean Wesley Smith is incredibly generous. He is giving away his Pop-Up Workshop #9: “How Authors Hurt Their Own Writing and Sales and How to Stop.” No catches. No gimmicks. The Pop-Up consists of twelve videos plus a short story prompt. See the link to his post (and the first video) in “Of Interest.” ESPECIALLY if you think you don’t need this (critical voice) SIGN UP. Seriously. Topic: Always Learning Every morning I search the Internet for items … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, April 17

In today’s Journal ▪ A great day ▪ There’s a great writing-book bundle ▪ Thoughts on Realizations and Legacies ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers I had a great day yesterday in Sierra Vista. I bought some new jeans that are actually blue, don’t have frayed cuffs and aren’t falling off me. (grin) I also bought a few items to outfit my 4Runner for upcoming camping trips, got a haircut, and bought some other stuff. Topped it off with a visit to my favorite burger joint. It was a necessary trip, but if I’d tried to write … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, April 16

In today’s Journal ▪ We’re a strange lot ▪ Topic: Mentoring (or Not), A Cautionary Tale ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers We’re a strange lot, we humans. I left work and turned on the television yesterday, then flipped through news channels (all of the “biggies” as well as a few lesser-knowns) for coverage of the Notre Dame tragedy. There was good coverage for about an hour, complete with all the drama of disbelieving news anchors, trembling in their chairs as they guided on-scene witnesses through first-hand accounts of what was happening at the moment. Then news … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, April 15

In today’s Journal ▪ Notre Dame Cathedral ▪ Blackwell Ops 4: Melanie Sloan ▪ I couldn’t get through the OP ▪ Topic: Mentoring (or Not), A Cautionary Tale ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers First and foremost, our hearts go out to the people of Paris and France as Notre Dame, which has stood since the 14th century, is on fire today. I don’t watch network news, so I first learned of this at around 1:15 p.m. from my dear friend Michaele, for whom the Cathedral was once her parish church for a short while. Of course, … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, April 14

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the day and thanks ▪ Another BundleRabbit bundle ▪ Yesterday I ordered ▪ Topic: “Take Your Time: Part 3” ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Via The Passive Voice, “If you have a story that seems worth telling, and you think you can tell it worthily, then the thing for you to do is to tell it, regardless of whether it has to do with sex, sailors or mounted policemen.” — Dashiell Hammett *** I think I forgot to mention awhile back I’m in another BundleRabbit bundle called Eclectica. My short … Read more