the writing life

The Daily Journal, Sunday, March 3

In today’s Journal ▪ More on pacing ▪ A weird fact about me ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers A few days ago I mentioned pacing almost in passing. I got some good comments and a few emails about it, so I thought I’d expand on that in a topic. Then I remembered I’d written a post about the topic over on the big blog. To see that one (it holds up well) see “On Pacing and Paragraphing” at https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/on-pacing-and-paragraphing/. *** Here’s a weird fact about me. I guess you could call it part of my process … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, March 2

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on my challenge ▪ Topic: An Admission ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Man, a short day yesterday, and maybe a short day today and tomorrow. One of my sons and his wife and children are visiting. So I’ll visit. (grin) Meanwhile, time’s running out on my current novel (for the challenge). I’m also feeling a need for breaks more and more often, not from the WIP, but from the overall challenge. For the first time, I feel like I might not finish this one by the target date of March 6. … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, March 1

In today’s Journal ▪ A quiet rumination on days ▪ A happy announcement ▪ Topic: The Best Defense ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers When I close out each day and post the Journal, I go back and reset the Notepad document on which I type the original. Yesterday, I almost left February in place and changed 28 to 29. I always feel a little cheated at the end of February, even when it has 29 days. Seriously, couldn’t they have taken the extra day from a couple of those with 31 days and made every February … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, February 28

In today’s Journal ▪ Quote of the Day ▪ Topic: Words ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Via the Passive Guy, the quote of the day: “Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” ~ Neil Gaiman Topic: Words Words are our friends, writers. There have been many bits of advice handed down over the years, sometimes from “on high” by writers who have Made It. Like Stephen King famously writing “The path to hell is paved with adverbs” or Samuel Clemens’ admonition to hunt … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, February 27

In today’s Journal ▪ Welcome and adios (almost) ▪ On yesterday’s topic ▪ Topic: About Numbers ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Hello and welcome to Sherry and Kimberley, and a sad farewell (I thought) to another subscriber. When I emailed him to say I was sorry to see him leave, it was news to him. So he’s re-subscribing. (grin) *** Frankly, the topic I posted yesterday was half tongue-in-cheek. As I wrote somewhere in that article, if someone else outlines and plots everything to within an inch of its life, that’s fine with me. In the … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, February 26

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on PWW ▪ Just got a note ▪ Topic: “Pantsers” vs. “Plodders” ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers The contributors for PWW seem to be getting excited and looking forward to posting on PWW. Note that I may or may not always agree with what they post. But that isn’t the point. The site isn’t “my” website. I’m only the guy who set it up and started the ball rolling. The site itself belongs to those who post on it. I’ll also contribute, but only every now and then as a guest … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, February 25

In today’s Journal ▪ Update on PWW ▪ Thanks in spades ▪ The Hovel, Part 2 ▪ My special offer stands ▪ Daily diary (and pictures!) ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers I received notice this morning that we have our first new subscriber who isn’t also a contributor at Professional Writers Writing. Woohoo! If you haven’t subscribed yet, I hope you will. And I hope you’ll tell all your writer friends. I think PWW is really going to be a big deal, a go-to source for writing information, advice and inspiration. *** Thanks for all the comments recently on … Read more

The Daily Journal, Sunday, February 24

In today’s Journal ▪ Yesterday ▪ Smashwords’ 10th Annual Read an Ebook Week ▪ Topic: Presenting… The Hovel ▪ A Special Offer (I’m feeling generous) ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Yesterday was interesting. I didn’t make much headway in the story, but I did get covers created for Blackwell Ops 2 and 3, promo files done, and those books uploaded for pre-order at D2D, Amazon and Smashwords. So all in all, a good day. On the home front, the heater in the house spontaneously started working again. Seems I have the only heater on earth that … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, February 23

In today’s Journal ▪ Topic: Paragraphing ▪ A Special Offer (I’m feeling generous) ▪ Daily diary ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Topic: Paragraphing Despite what most of us heard in school, you don’t have to keep everything about a particular topic in one massive paragraph. Especially in fiction. And blog posts. In fiction, you should begin a new paragraph every time a different character speaks. Most everybody knows that. You should also begin a new paragraph when the scene or setting changes (even in the same setting, even a little). The primary benefit of shorter paragraphs (say up to … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, February 22

In today’s Journal ▪ MurderCon registration opening soon ▪ Daily diary and general rambling ▪ Of Interest ▪ The numbers Registration for MurderCon, presented by Writers’ Police Academy, opens this coming Sunday. For information, see https://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/classes-available/. *** Up at a little after 3 to a rainy, drizzly morning. And the rain’s supposed to turn to snow later. According to those who profess to know, we’re supposed to get 6″ before it’s all done. Not something we’re used to here, but it’s only weather. It will be 70 degrees here by the middle of next week. Of course, today many of … Read more