Topic

The Daily Journal, Sunday, June 30

In today’s Journal * Recap * Topic: On Building Suspense and Creating Tension * The midpoint of the year * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Yesterday I remembered I hadn’t updated my writer website at HarveyStanbrough.com. So I added In the Cantina at Noon and Change of Plans to the Westerns page, then created new book pages for each of those. Then I added Quiet the Critical Voice to the nonfiction books page. Sometime soon I probably should create a separate book page for each of those, but for the time being prospective readers can see the … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, June 26

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Topic: I Almost2 (Squared) * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Quote of the Day “All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.” Alexandre Dumas *** Topic: I Almost2 (Squared) 1. I almost tossed out the Critical Voice book this morning. After all, pretty much everything in the book flies in the face of one lie or another (DWS calls them “myths”) that writers have been taught over the years. But if you’re one of the minority who were looking forward to the book, don’t sweat it. I will publish … Read more

The Daily Journal, Monday, June 24

In today’s Journal * Of particular importance * Topic: Brief, Grouchy Thoughts on Publishing * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers In her June 22 post on PWW, Michaele Lockhart wrote about the importance of word choice. It was an excellent post, one that I thought would serve as a catalyst for dozens of comments. It did not. Early this morning, I realized why. Word choice is a topic about which any group of craft-wise and craft-serious writers could talk for days—or weeks—on end and never say the same thing twice. So I left a comment on the … Read more

The Daily Journal, Friday, June 21

In today’s Journal * Well, crap * Nothing much * Topic: Inanities and Definitions * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers The PWW post from yesterday posted today at 9 a.m. So I guess eventually the post for today will post. Maybe tomorrow. Whenever. In the meantime, I encourage you to check http://prowriterswriting.com each day to see what’s new. *** Nothing much of real value to write about today, and nothing much for “Of Interest” either. And I’m not in a good mood, primarily owing to my own stupidly high expectations. So the following is what you get … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, June 20

In today’s Journal * From Kris Rusch’s blog * Topic: Poking Fun at Horrible Advice * Sort-of Topic: Old Dogs, New Tricks, Nope * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers At the end of Kris Rusch’s blog post on the Las Vegas Licensing Expo (see “Of Interest”) was this: Dean did a Learn-Along which has over 50 videos (so far) as he analyzed what he learned, so that it would stick in his head. The Learn Along is $200 and includes a classic workshop about copyright which retails for $150. He’ll only offer it for another two weeks … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, June 18

In today’s Journal * Camping along the Gila * Announcement from Draft2Digital * Stuff is stacking up * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Here’s one of the reasons I return to the Gila Lower Box Wilderness when I want to go camping. This cliff is simply magnificent. Like the Grand Canyon, no photo can do it justice. And because this is true wilderness, the area is filled with the extremes of weather and light. The cliff itself changes color through the day. Toward sunset, for a few minutes, it looks like a cliff of pure gold. If … Read more

The Daily Journal, Saturday, June 15

In today’s Journal * Happy Father’s Day (tomorrow) * I cast about my mind * Topic: How to Practice (and Improve) * Daily diary * Of Interest * The numbers Here in the US, tomorrow is Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, in the US and elsewhere. I am blessed that my youngest son is visiting this weekend. *** I cast about my mind this morning, fishing for ideas for a topic for today’s Journal. I found too many, and they overlapped, but not in a good way. Rather than complementing each other, they contrasted … Read more

The Daily Journal, Thursday, June 13

In today’s Journal * I’m back * A solid recommendation * Quotes of the day * Possibly a New Endeavor * Topic: On Taking Time Off * Daily diary * Of Interest (a ton of good stuff) * The numbers I’m back. I actually got back late yesterday morning, but I had a lot of email etc. to catch up on, so I let yesterday’s post go as it was. (grin) At least you got a topic, eh? Eh? (grin) Good to be back around you folks. Thanks for hanging around. The break was good. My buddy said he came … Read more

The Daily Journal, Wednesday, June 12

In today’s Journal * I’m still * Topic: My Favorite Movie Lines I’m still out there today, sitting about 20 feet from a 500-foot drop into the Gila River. Beautiful out there. If I get any excellent photos, maybe I’ll post a couple here. I admit, once I’m back it will be good to be with you all again. For now, here’s one more brief, in-absentia topic, albeit a silly one today. Topic: My Favorite Movie Lines Of all the films I’ve watched, lines from two of them stick in my mind as my favorite lines of all time. I … Read more

The Daily Journal, Tuesday, June 11

In today’s Journal * Thanks for dropping by * Topic: On Process Thanks for dropping by and/or hanging in there. I’m currently camping some 500 feet above the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. Here’s another brief topic as a thank you for hanging around. Topic: On Process A few days ago, James Scott Bell wrote an article titled “Should You Write Dreck?”https://killzoneblog.com/2019/06/should-you-write-dreck.html over on the KillZone blog. Since he asked, here’s my response (slightly amended): Thanks for this, Jim. I believe writing (practice, moving forward) trumps hovering (not saying you hover, but I know a few mostly new writers … Read more