Hey Folks, Well, I now have a grandson living with me. He needs a little help, and I suspect it will help me as much as it helps him. I mention this only because my schedule will inevitably change. I will continue to write (and for now, edit), of course. And I will try to remember to post this Jounal each day. If I happen to miss a day now and then, just know I’ll be … Read more
Hey Folks, Just a placeholder post today. A family situation came up in New Mexico, so I have an unscheduled road trip today. Nothing bad, but a blessing in thick disguise. Sure glad I built up a slight lead in the edit. After today I’ll have a small deficit, but nothing I can’t make up in short order. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Back tomorrow. Of Interest Check out Dean’s 12/22/16 Daily (http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/122216-daily/). … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, a really blah day out here today. Probably today I’ll just edit and build that bank. I’ve pretty much written off the rest of December for writing fiction. Not officially but just in a “don’t sweat it” kind of way. It’s something I tend to do, and I’m not sure why. A year ago (or so, at the end of a 12-month period) I was closing in on 750,000 words for that year. … Read more
Hey Folks, Not sure what today will entail. Editing for sure, and probably writing. Otherwise who knows. Well, I took an unscheduled trip to the grocery, a pure pleasure in my “new” 1995 Toyota Taco(ma) pickup. Then back here to post a photo of the pickup on Facebook. Then I wrote the topic below, and finally moved to the edit. It’s 11:30 a.m. already. * * * Well, I edited off and on while playing with … Read more
Hey Folks, Rolled out at 3, and by 4 the baby wanted to go outside for awhile. We did, and then (around 5) I put her in the house and went to the Adobe Hovel to explore writing some fiction. I started a magic realism story. I didn’t get very far (only a few hundred words) before my cigar was finished and I headed back to the house. Then an unexpected trip to the store for … Read more
Hey Folks, When discussing consistency in a seminar I taught a year or two ago, I mentioned as an example, that the writer should use either “toward” or “towards” throughout the manuscript. I also said, almost in passing, that “toward” is the American version of the word and “towards” (most often pronounced “t’ords”) is the Brit version. I wasn’t talking about the use of the word by a particular character or in a writing set in … Read more
Hey Folks, Today, as it turned out, is another nonwriting day. But read on. There are good things in this edition of the Journal. Windy here. Big wind. Strong stinkin’ wind. Even the cats don’t want to go out. Windy in New Mexico too. Two large trees hit my son and daughter’s house in Roswell. Damaged the roof and cut the electricity. Sigh. While visiting Amazon yesterday to place my short story and novella in their … Read more
Hey Folks, Last night after I sent off the Journal I wrote “Wow. I hope I’m ABLE to push aside the critical mind stuff and turn to writing when I’m through editing for the day.” But that’s just silly. I’ve experienced this kind of thought off and on (mostly on) for the past two years, yet I’ve accomplished more in that time than many do in an entire career. (grin) I always end up pushing down … Read more
Hey Folks, Got up late at 4 and went outside to get pics of the second supermoon in what, two months? Anyway, that took some time. Had to replace a battery in one camera, etc. Then I sipped hot coffee and hunted my kitten, who had jumped the fence while Dad was busy staring at the sky. Found her, got her back in and got some exercise to boot. The cultural editor of the Mexican magazine … Read more
Hey Folks, I’m about to embark on an interesting experiment. Yesterday I received a 200,000 word creative nonfiction manuscript to copy edit. First “real job” I’ve had in a while. It’s going to be interesting, to say the least, how this meshes with my writing. Notice that my concern is how the work meshes with my writing, not how my writing meshes with my work. Priorities. The two shouldn’t clash at all, and one shouldn’t create … Read more