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The Journal: Production

In today’s Journal * Yesterday I raved * Topic: Production * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday I raved about Kris Rusch’s post on licensing in Patreon. I recommended signing up for her Patreon account. As a result (go figure), today she made that post public. I still recommend subscribing to her Patreon account. Again, it’s only $5 per month for all her Patreon content. But you get to read Business Musings: Die Hard (Licensing) today. See “Of Interest.” Great post. You might want to read it a couple of times. Topic: Production An email from another writer … Read more

The Journal: Kris Rusch, A New WIP, and Today

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Kris Rusch’s Patreon Page * Smashwords is patening new technology * Today * I’ve also had a few questions * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day Via my friend Bob Calverley, “Bad books on writing tell you to ‘WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW’, a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so many mediocre novels about English professors contemplating adultery.” Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War and Vietnam vet Topic: Kris Rusch’s Patreon Page Because of the way the world is today, I’ll … Read more

The Journal: Learning Never Stops

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: The Learning Never Stops * Today * A Note in Passing * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “The key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not the way it expects.” William Goldman Topic: The Learning Never Stops Seriously. And if you pursue knowledge of any particular topic, then mull over that knowledge, realizations come quickly and often. This will be a thought-process post. A little insight into what goes on in my head during pretty much every waking moment. … Read more

The Journal: Licensing and Everything Else

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: Licensing and Everything Else * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “I’m thankful there are people out there who read what I write and who like what I make. I’m very lucky, and I know it.” Neil Gaiman Topic: Licensing and Everything Else DWS has said many times that licensing is a process, one that takes time. It has occurred to me that how long it takes from concept to actual production seems even longer when compared to the ability of today’s writers to write … Read more

The Journal: Happy Gathering Day and “On Platitudes”

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Happy Gathering Day * Topic: on Platitudes and “Just write the next sentence” * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quote of the Day “Any day that starts with you seein’ the sunrise and ends with you seein’ the sunset is a pretty good day. If what happens in between ain’t big enough to interfere with those two events, it’ll wear off.” Wes Crowley Here in the States it’s Thanksgiving Day, a major holiday. Ostensibly, it’s a day set aside to count our blessings and express our gratitude for those … Read more

The Journal: More on Shared Worlds

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Topic: More on Shared Worlds * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Quotes of the Day “The toughest thing we do as artists is trust our own vision. If we don’t, we will not end up with a long career. … What good writers do is make familiar stories new, so new in fact that they seem breathtakingly original.” — Kristine Kathryn Rusch And for those of you who write in series, this one really struck me: “When you’re writing in your own world, you don’t go for the details … Read more

The Journal: Take Two on Writing Sloppy

In today’s Journal * OMG Alert * Topic: Take Two on Writing Sloppy * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Every now and then Dean mentions The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman from NOLO. It’s an essential investment for a writer. At the moment, NOLO is having a 50% off sale on everything they offer, including The Copyright Handbook. Visit https://store.nolo.com/products/the-copyright-handbook-coha.html. Use the promo code BF50 when you order. Plus, at the moment the handbook is on sale for only $39.99. Which means if you use the code, you can get the book for only twenty bucks. Topic: Take … Read more

The Journal: Write Sloppy?

In today’s Journal * Yesterday * Topic: Write Sloppy? Umm, No. * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Yesterday, I wrote a few hundred words, then took a break. I meant to come back and write more, but I didn’t. I also read Dan Baldwin’s bloggette, “Advice Worth Ignoring, in which he related a tale about a successful author who advised beginning writers to “Just write a bad book. Start with something that’s subpar, and learn. It’s extremely fulfilling….” Honestly, that infuriated me. And it quickly gave rise to today’s topic. Topic: Write Sloppy? Umm, No. As a successful … Read more

The Journal: Some Thoughts on Structure

In today’s Journal * Getting back in the habit * Topic: Some Thoughts on Structure * A side note * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers I’m trying to get back in the habit of building this Journal through the day, writing fiction, and then posting everything at once in the afternoon. To that end, I’ve added the daily update for my WIP back into the numbers below. Hard as it may be to believe, I started Blackwell Ops 7 way back on August 7. Yet in all that time, yesterday was only the 17th writing day for that … Read more

The Journal: Story Gestation

In today’s Journal * Dean Wesley Smith * I actually wrote * Topic: Story Gestation * Today * Of Interest * The Numbers Dean Wesley Smith has announced he’s going to shut down sign-ups for both the Licensing Transition learn-along and the Shared Worlds class on December 8. Just sayin’. I actually wrote 1700 words on the Blackwell Ops 7 novel yesterday. I keep thinking I could just set it aside and forget it, but the story’s too good to ignore. So I’m back at it again. I was going to share a comment I left on a post (see … Read more