Hey Folks, Rolled out a little before 3. I checked email and played on Facebook for about a half-hour, during which I was able to rouse considerable ire with a personal request of the person currently occupying the White House. Then, coffee in hand, cigar clenched firmly between teeth, I started working on the edit. I finished it around 8:45, then ran a final spell check in the track-changes version. Then I save it with another … Read more
Hi folks, Because Dean Wesley Smith gave me permission to post this, I rushed it but failed to add the category. But because I want you to see it now, before the new year, I’m reposting it on Wednesday morning. This is a guest post by professional long-term fiction writer Dean Wesley Smith. I encourage you to visit his website regularly at http://DeanWesleySmith.com. You will find a gold mine of information there. In the alternative, subscribe … Read more
Hey Folks, Ahh, first, thanks to those who responded re yesterday’s Journal entry. I didn’t mean to sound as if I’m complaining. I’m not. I’m thrilled at my current situation. I think my point was simply that it’s all right to “roll” with life rolls and keep on writing. In other news, I am constantly amazed by the level of ignorance on display these days. And the humor it spawns within my twisted soul. (grin) At … Read more
Hey Folks, Rolled out a little before 3 this morning, checked email and Facebook, coffee in hand. I also spent some time in thought. I wrote most of the stuff below between about 3:30 and 7, then worked on a friend’s website to create a new page. Then I made a horribly unhealthy (but delicious) breakfast for myself and my grandson, then came back to finish writing the stuff below. Now, at 10 a.m., I’m moving … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, probably another nonwriting day. I’ll get at least some editing done, but we’re still making adjustments due to the recent 1/3 increase in size to our family. (grin) Switching around some furniture and so on. Making everything as close to “normal” as we can for ourselves (Bryan, Mona, me) and for the kits and the pup. Indeed, another nonwriting day. But today I had stirrings of a story within me. It (the fiction … Read more
Hey Folks, Merry Christmas, everyone, and whatever you believe Him to be, God’s blessings on all of you. Topic: Blessings (in part, copied from a friend’s post on the Internet) I am thankful for my blessings: For the wife who says it’s hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me, and not out with someone else. For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes because it means she is at home, not on the … Read more
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
In jeans and an olive-drab t-shirt, Mark Smith sat on his front porch in the late evening hours of November first. His M-14 rifle—well, the civilian version, a reasonable facsimile still in 7.62 millimeter—lay across his lap. Over the past half-hour, he’d disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the rifle. It was a weekly chore, and it kept him connected. The sounds of some inane sitcom filtered out through the door, complete with the laugh track. He shook … 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