the writing life

The Journal, Thursday, November 1

Hey Folks, Happy November, everyone! After I published the Journal yesterday, I went ahead and published the novella. You can see all of my mystery/noir/PI things at http://harveystanbrough.com/mystery/. To see the most recent cover and description, visit http://harveystanbrough.com/stern-talbot-disappearing-worm/. (grin) I have a doc appointment I’d forgotten about early this afternoon. Just a followup with the cardio-plumber. I’ll see the electrician on the 13th. I’m happy to report that will not be a Friday. I almost wish I’d gone ahead and written more yesterday, when my fingers were jonesing for the keys. But it isn’t all bad today either. I just … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, October 31

Hey Folks, Man, October flew by. Already. There are a LOT of interesting if a little spooky articles in “Of Interest” today. Don’t miss it. You might want to get your favorite beverage ready before you settle in to read. (grin) Happy All Hallows Eve, everybody. Enjoy. And please be safe. If you actually eat all that extra candy you bought… well, you know. (grin) We live on a side road on the edge of a very small and very socially/religiously segmented (cliqueish) town. And we aren’t part of the primary societal/religious segment, so we don’t get trick or treaters. … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, October 30

Hey Folks, I’m a very lucky guy. The first reader for my Nick Spalding series sent me an email last night. (I got it this morning.) While reading back through Nightfall (Book 1) she noticed I’d misspelled “cannon” as “canon.” In her email, she sounded as if she were hyperventilating. (grin, but great catch, Nan) So when I emailed her back this morning, basically I just told her typos happen (yes, even in books published by the “Big 5”) and to not worry about it. It was an easy fix. Then, because the typo occurred in the first few pages … Read more

The Journal, Monday, October 29

Hey Folks, I had a thought yesterday… I never celebrate when I finish writing a novel. Never. It’s a vast sadness that leaves me feeling empty, and I mourn the sudden separation from my fictional friends. After all, do we celebrate the end of a friendship? The end of a marriage? The end of the life of a loved one? Of course not. But as with any other birth, I always celebrate starting a new novel. It’s the beginning of an exciting new journey — in my case, with old or new friends — and I love the wonderful anticipation … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, October 28

Hey Folks, Not a lot going on today. I’ll write some fiction, and probably I’ll spend time watching a little NFL football (haven’t watched for about three years) and then of course Game 5 of the World Series. In baseball, I always watch as many division series as I can, and then both league championship series. I enjoy watching professionals in any discipline perform at such a high level. But this year, as I watched the NLCS, I told my wife I thought either team (whichever won) was going to be awed at the buzzsaw that is this year’s Boston … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, October 27

Hey Folks, Wow. Who knew last night’s ball game would become the longest game in the history of post-season baseball? It finally ended (for me) around 12:30 a.m. my time. (groan) I gave up and went to bed halfway through the 18th inning. And the Dodgers won it moments later, 3-2. It was Boston’s first road-trip loss in this post season. And I actually saw Mary Hart (of TV entertainment show fame) making fun of and trying to distract a Boston pitcher who has a unique “look-in” to his catcher. Sigh. Some peope are surprisingly crass. *** A minor publishing-process … Read more

The Journal, Friday, October 26

Hey Folks, I’m actually writing this on Thursday afternoon (yesterday). Wow. I figured it would take at least a full day just to find the appropriate cover pics for the five publications I want to put out soon. Or longer. Didn’t happen that way. I got lucky. And I can’t say enough good things about Unsplash, a place where you can download high-resolution images FREE and use them for any purpose you like. Unsplash even tags each photo with the photographer’s name, so it’s easy to give them appropriate credit for their work. Anyway, I started searching for photos yesterday … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, October 25

Hey Folks, Writing fiction is my escape. It’s fun, and I love nothing more than being shoulder-deep in a story, racing along with my characters, almost breathlessly anticipating what will happen next. It’s so enjoyable for me that I occasionally use writing as a carrot. It dangles from a string, hanging from a stick that’s tied to my balding old head. It’s the only way I can think of to get my muley old butt to pay attention to Heinlein’s Rule 4 and move forward. That will be the case today. No more fiction writing for me until I create … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, October 24

Hey Folks, Over the past two days, I’ve written lengthy topics as part of my Journal posts. I’ve included another one today on The Reverse Outline. And I probably will include another one tomorrow on A Different Kind of Outline (for those who would like a safety net). These posts are mostly for new folks who have subscribed to the Journal or who follow along on Facebook. But I enourage those of you who’ve been with me awhile to read over them too. Even if it’s a topic you’ve seen before, you might pick up something you can use. It … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, October 23

Hey Folks, On this day in 1983, two suicide bombers in truck bombs attacked the Marine barracks near the airport in Beirut, Lebanon. The attack killed 220 Marines and 21 other service personnel. This was the deadliest attack against US Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945. At the same time, another truck bomb attacked a building housing French paratroopers, killing 58. We will not forget. *** Now to writing…. First, a thought to ponder: When we look back at something we’ve written and think it’s good, our first thought is usually “But writers are the worst … Read more