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The Journal: Finished My 50th Novel

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Little Richard * Yesterday, and Done * Topic: On Cliffhangers… * Shared World Stuff * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “If only we could remember that fame and money are gifts given us only after we have gifted the world with our best, our lonely, our individual truths.” Ray Bradbury “What The Subconscious is to every other man, in its creative aspect becomes, for writers, The Muse.” Ray Bradbury God bless the family and loved ones of Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), who passed away … Read more

The Journal: Yet Another Use for a Reverse Outline

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Thanks to my patrons * Topic: Yet Another Use for a Reverse Outline * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Conjure the nouns, alert the secret self, taste the darkness. Your own Thing stands waiting ‘way up there’ in the attic shadows. If you speak softly, and write any old word that wants to jump out of your nerves onto the page, your Thing at the top of your stairs in your own private night may well come down.” Ray Bradbury A special thanks … Read more

The Journal: Frustration in the Time of Cholera

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday * Topic: Frustration in the Time of Cholera * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day (Still bingeing on Bradbury) “You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” Ray Bradbury Yesterday the writing started slow, but it picked up (see … Read more

The Journal: Why Helping Writers is Important

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday (and the Day Before) * Topic: Why Helping Writers is Important (and So Frustrating) * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day (Still bingeing on Bradbury) “Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.” Ray Bradbury “The first thing a writer should be is — excited.” Ray Bradbury On the day before yesterday, I was … Read more

The Journal: A Very Short Topic

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Yesterday * Today * Topic: A Very Short Topic * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.” Ray Bradbury “Eventually, everyone will be quarantined to their houses with no sports to watch… and in nine months a boom of babies will be born… and we will call them Coronials.” Creative Talent Agency (via The Passive Voice) … Read more

The Journal: A Bit of Silliness

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * The Writing Bundles Kickstarter * A Bit of Silliness * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” Ray Bradbury According to Dean Wesley Smith, the Writing Bundles Kickstarter has hit the third stretch goal and is closing in on the fourth. As a result, everyone who backs the Kickstarter with at least a $5 donation will get * the First Quarter of Tips … Read more

The Journal: “Can’t” vs. Critical Mind Excuses

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Can’t vs. Critical Mind Excuses (in which Harvey gets mouthy) * Welcome * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Can’t never did anything.” Shirley Stanbrough (my mom) Topic: “Can’t” vs. Critical Mind Excuses In “Of Interest” today is an article titled “10 Ways to Feel Like a Real Writer When You Can’t Write Thanks to Coronavirus.” Normally I wouldn’t even link to this silly article, but some of the 10 activities on their list are still things writers need to do, so I … Read more

The Journal: Why I Don’t Talk Much About CoVID-19

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday * Topic: Why I Don’t Talk Much About CoVID-19 * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “If it’s not on the page, your reader doesn’t know it.” Nathan Bransford Yesterday, I got sidetracked for awhile by a new (to me) source for royalty free photos. See Visual Hunt at https://visualhunt.com/ (via Jane Friedman). The daily word count continues to decrease (see Day 4, sigh). I’ll have to see whether I can do something about that. (grin) It has nothing to do with the novel. The … Read more

The Journal: Think

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Yesterday * Topic: Think * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Nothing will stop you from being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.” John Cleese (from KillZone blog a day or two ago) Yesterday, I got up early to give myself more time on the novel, but that didn’t really work out. I was tired much of the day, and I wasn’t thinking quite right. Lesson learned. Maybe. I got just over 3600 words (see Day 3). At the end of the … Read more

The Journal: On Goals

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: On Goals * Yesterday * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” Orson Scott Card Topic: On Goals Yesterday after I posted the Journal, I hazarded a look at my short story goal spreadsheet. Since I started on January 1, I’ve written 12 short stories. Great fun. Then I missed. So I was thinking I was probably behind by … Read more