Hey Folks, Well, I finished the novel. A very strange process on this one that I hope I will never repeat. I think taking the day off yesterday helped a lot. I almost took today off too. I was thinking about writing a short story today, but then a transition for the current story came to mind. Kind of a missing link. (grin) I sat down, applied the transition, then just kept typing. And as has … Read more
Hi Folks, This post first was published in a slightly different version on October 10, 2016 over on the Daily Journal. I’m reposting it here because I felt it needed a broader audience and might help some of you. Got a great email from a respected writer friend recently (Thanks, JGV!) regarding my current WIP (back in October, 2015). He wrote What about doing away with the specific dimensions and leaving the images of the structures, … Read more
Hey Folks, More than likely this will be a nonwriting day. Trying to stay true to my word and just stay away from the novel today. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. But I think I can do it. It’s really weird though, taking a day to just do nothing. I’ve been spending some quality time with my Toyota 4-Runner (finally located a back window glass), chasing down an errant package online, etc. Anyway, I … Read more
Hey Folks, I’ve finally seen a pattern developing. Originally, I wanted to rise hyper-early so I could use that quiet time to write. But most early mornings I check email first in case anyone (especially any writer) needs anything. Then I visit Facebook and scroll my notifications for items of interest. (I don’t use the “newsfeed” feature.) I try to at least Like anything friends post, and comment when appropriate. After that, depending on my mood … Read more
Hey Folks, In my WIP, things are bogged down. When that happens, I’ve either written past the ending (I didn’t in this case) or I took a wrong turn. Either that or there’s just something I’m not seeing. So today I’m going to backtrack in the actual novel (vs. the reverse outline) to try to find where I took an oblique. From there I’ll read over what I wrote just before that, then take off with … Read more
Hey Folks, Apparently I visited Dean’s site too early yesterday. After I left he posted a new article. See “Of Interest” below. There’s a lot down there today, and it’s all good. Ted White, one of the great editors of SF and Fantasy, needs help saving his house. If you can help, visit https://www.gofundme.com/44r62-save-my-house. And if you have a Facebook page and/or are in any writers’ groups, please share. (This is also in “Of Interest” below.) … Read more
Hey Folks, A few folks mentioned the picture of my guitar came out huge in the email they received and interrupted the post. That’s just how some email programs deliver photos (instead of running the text along the side). When that happens in the future, you can always see the “real” post at http://harveystanbrough.com/. I’m taking a non-writing day today. Topic: A Lesson Learned I guess this is kind of a topic. I spent a lot … Read more
Hey Folks, No topic today, so just my blathering. Oh, I think I mentioned I bought a new guitar a couple days ago to add to my small collection. (I also have a Martin HD-28 and a custom made, arch-top f-hole tenor Britton guitar, made by my maternal uncle, Roy Britton.) Anyway, if I didn’t mention buying a new one, well, I did. It’s a hollow-body electric Peavey JF-1, a Jack Daniels custom job. If it … Read more
Hey Folks, All the recent talk about people being “offended” and “sensitivity readers” is just annoying. But they aren’t really connected. This is two different mini-topics: perception and censorship. Perception People have every right to perceive anything they see or hear in any way they want. And they have a right to be “offended” if that’s how they want to spend their time. Shrug. Fine by me. However, whether they are offended is a direct function … Read more
Hi Folks, A little rant this time, but a well-reasoned rant. It really is attrocious what Amazon does to authors regarding royalties. This problem came fully home to me awhile back when I uploaded the new version of The Wes Crowley Saga (10 full novels in one book) to Amazon and Smashwords. At Amazon, to get a 70% royalty, a book must be priced between $2.99 and $9.99. All other prices glean the author a 35% … Read more