Topic

The Journal, Saturday, May 12

Hey Folks, Okay, first, a happy Mother’s Day (tomorrow) to all the moms out there. I hope it’s a great day for you. Well, it’s getting too hot in the afternoon even to write out in the Hovel, so adjustments are coming. For those new to the Journal, the Hovel is a rammed-earth structure, basically a cave, with walls that are three feet thick. I have a box fan out there right now, and I bought a portable swamp cooler that works too, though I have no ready source of water out there for it. But both are noisy enough … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, April 28

Hey Folks, Long post today. Good “Of Interest” section too. Well, another night of very little sleep for me. About 5 hours, waking up every hour to clear allergy symptoms. But every time I lay down again, the symptoms built up. Eventually I figured I might as well give up and head out to the Hovel to get some writing done. So out to the Hovel at 2 a.m. I spent about an hour doing nothing, then added around 800 words to the story I started yesterday. (I started another story two days ago, but it didn’t feel right so … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, April 24

Hey Folks, Great “Of Interest” section today. Don’t skip over Lee Lofland’s blog post just because maybe you aren’t a crime/police/detective writer. Using all the senses is a skill you need in ANY fiction. Topic: Aging as Excuse A young Marine Corps friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that he’s met 40 year olds who are old and 80 year olds who are young. I agree. In fact, I commented there that “I still tell people I’m 26, but I was rode hard and put away wet. Plus I have 39 years’ experience at being 26, so I’m REALLY … Read more

The Journal, Friday, April 20

Hey Folks, Wow. I have to admire Dean’s tenacity. He started a challenge to write 30 stories in 30 days while moving. But also, his wife, friend and life partner is physically hundreds of miles away. Even with the availability of phone calls and emails, not having the energy of that physical presence around has to be a trauma. Plus he’s giving up a beautiful home he’s lived in for a very long time. That’s a major trauma. Plus his responsibilities at WMG Publishing, and the workshops, and the emails etc. etc. ad nauseam. And on top of all that, … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, April 19

Hey Folks, Another very long post today. Get your beverage, settle in and enjoy. Way back on January 7, I started a story called “The Storytellers.” On the first trip to the Hovel this morning, I happened across it while looking for Versailles. An idea occurred to me last night, and I was going to apply it this morning. Remember yesterday I mentioned I wished I could work on both of them (Versailles and Pulp 9) back and forth? Be careful what you wish for. Curious, I opened “The Storytellers” and glanced over it. As I read, naturally, I did … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, April 4

Hey Folks, All right. Well, I finished the novella this morning. I’ll go over it one more time (reading aloud to myself) before I publish it, but the final word count will be very near what’s posted below. *** A few days ago, a subscriber asked in a comment about my after-writing process. Do I send my work to my first reader before I read it aloud? Do I print it before I read it aloud or read directly from the screen? Just as importantly, the commenter wrote “I’m working on getting better writing a clean [first] draft….” I was … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, March 29

Hey Folks, A lot of good links included today. The learning truly never ends. I started the morning per usual, cycling back over what I wrote yesterday. As I went, I realized I’d left some sensory detail out of a few scenes at the beginning of chapters. That “grounding the reader” thing. It’s important. So why do I have to do that while cycling? Well, I don’t always. Most of the time I remember to ground the reader at the beginning of each major scene and chapter as I’m writing it. But that’s the value of cycling. Of being “unstuck … Read more

The Journal, Friday, March 16

Hey Folks, Sometimes I’m in such a foul mood, my only escape is into my fiction. There I can pal around with the people I like. And I can kill the ones I don’t like. *** Topic: Ongoing Learning A couple of days ago, I started reading the second Jack Reacher book Lee Child ever wrote. And his first Jack Reacher book was also very his first novel and a New York Times bestseller. That “bestseller” label doesn’t always do it for me, but this is very good stuff. The guy’s an excellent writer. As opposed, say, to someone else … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, March 11

Hey Folks, Out to the Hovel a little early today, this being Sunday. I spent some waking-up time just playing Spider, then started on the novel at around 3:15. An hour later, I had my first 1000 words of the day. Took a very brief break, basically standing up and stretching a bit, then back at it. I’ll do one more session, then up to the house for a few minutes. Had a couple more good sessions and got a little over 3000 words by 10. Up to the house for a break. My wife’s working on the annual plague … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, March 8

Hey Folks, No writing today. In fact, over yesterday and today, when my wife is home after work, I’m reading my latest novel to her aloud. Amazing some of the little things I’m finding and correcting as I go. For goodness’ sake, READ YOUR WORK ALOUD. I’m also formatting and proofing my wife’s recently finsihed memoir of her childhood, titled A WonderFull Life. Great fun, and well into our 33rd year of wedded bliss, I’m learning things I didn’t know. (grin) *** I chatted via email with my friend Robert Sadler earlier today, and the matter of Heinlein’s Rules came … Read more