Zen in the Art of Writing, and People Machines

In today’s Journal

* Quotes of the Day
* Zen in the Art of Writing
* Speaking of Writing
* A Lunacy Too Far?
* Of Interest

Quotes of the Day

“Critical Voice has one job, and that is to stop you from writing. Creative Voice is always positive. Critical Voice is always negative.” Dean Wesley Smith

“[W]e all have health and family issues that stop the writing. Those are not excuses. Those are reality and we come back to writing when the world allows us to.” Dean Wesley Smith

Zen in the Art of Writing

I swear, if it were not a copyright violation, I would serialize Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing right now, right here in the Journal. I can’t, of course, either legally or (more importantly) morally.

If the great man were still alive, I might be bold enough to ask his permission, as I asked SF Grandmaster Jack Williamson’s permission back in the 1990s (and received it) to republish the essays from People Machines in The Roswell Literary Review.

By the way, if you write fiction (especially science fiction, but also fiction in general) I strongly recommend you buy a copy of People Machines. It’s a collection of short stories by Jack Williamson, and each story is accompanied by an essay on the writing craft. Truly great stuff. You can buy a paper copy for a few dollars at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006W14I4.

In Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing, practically every sentence is quotable wisdom about writing fiction, both attitude and craft. And every paragraph certainly contains at least one quotable thought. Which is to say, the book is chock full of lessons on how to think about writing fiction and how to write fiction.

I can’t serialize that great master’s course on writing for you, but I can strongly urge you to buy it, read it, and reread it as necessary. If you have Zen in the Art of Writing, and if you’re a writer, you don’t need me, the Journal or anything else.

Go. Write.

Speaking of Writing

It’s always both educational and therapeutic to share with others what you’ve learned or discovered or realized about your own storytelling practice. Doing so both leads the sharer to further revelations and helps other writers.

No deadlines, no pressure, but if you want to share, please remember the Journal is open to guest posts.

A Lunacy Too Far?

I am not making this up. See “Canada becomes the first country to print warning signs on each individual cigarette” at https://interestingengineering.com/health/canada-becomes-the-first-country-to-print-warning-signs-on-each-individual-cigarette.

Isn’t this a control-freak lunacy too far? If the politicians are seriously concerned about the health of their constituents and not simply appeasing their voter base, how about putting a warning on each individual M&M or each individual candy corn or Reese’s Cup or candy bar?

Or, if they’re seriously concerned, why not nip the whole tobacco problem in the bud (forgive the pun)? Why not take actual responsibility and put their political future on the line with an outright ban on all tobacco farming and importation?

Too widespread? Okay, then why not ban cigarette production outright? For the answers to these and other similar questions, before you vote again (and if you really want answers), follow the money.

There you go. A whole raft of story ideas.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Zero-Sum Game” at https://deanwesleysmith.com/zero-sum-game/.

See “Stunning Photo of Earth…” at https://petapixel.com/2023/05/09/stunning-photo-of-earth-taken-by-europes-powerful-new-satellite/. More great images farther down the page.

See “Top 10 Baby Names of 2022” at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/. Need character names? You can also find the top names for different years on this site.

See “…first X-ray of a single atom…” at https://news.ohio.edu/news/2023/05/scientists-report-worlds-first-x-ray-single-atom-nature.

See “EU tech chief pushes for rapid creation of AI code of conduct” at https://interestingengineering.com/science/eu-tech-chief-pushes-for-rapid-creation-of-ai-code-of-conduct.

Harvey’s Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 620

Total fiction words for June……… XXXX
Total fiction words for 2023………… 97868
Total nonfiction words for May… 620
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 110040
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 207908

Calendar Year 2023 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2023 Novellas to Date……………… 0
Calendar Year 2023 Short Stories to Date………… 4
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 73
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 221
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31

Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark, adherence to Heinlein’s Rules, and that following the myths of fiction writing will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.