Note: This is a guest post by my friend Dan Baldwin. (Thanks, Dan.) Hi Folks, You know more than you know, you know? Hemingway wrote, “A writer, of course, has to make up stories for them to be rounded and not flat like photographs. But he makes them up out of what he knows.” That’s wonderful advice, but there’s a trap in it. I have encountered many writers who have shied away from a project due … Read more
Hey Folks, Rolled out at 3 this morning and started reading over an excerpt a friend sent me from his next novel. It’s gonna be a good story. The little girl is in the house this morning, though tapping on a glass pane near the bottom of the door now and again. She wants out, but there are two owls perched out there in the darkness. Uhh, no. When the moon set and the owls quit, … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, there is a very good chance this will be a nonwriting day. I’m working through a memoir for a long-time friend, and it’s fascinating. I hope to have it published for him as an ebook by the end of the day, so I’m going to stick with it for awhile and see what happens. Started the entry above (and working through the eformat and cover for my friend) around 4. By around 11:30, … Read more
Hey Folks, Wow. This is gonna be almost just a placeholder post. I rolled out around 4, did not much until around 7, helped clean house for awhile (sort of). Then I wrote a bit, then went to Sierra Vista for some stuff, then back here to write a bit more. A really flat day. Just not a lot going on. I’ll try to get back on task in the next day or two with a … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, after the usual morning routine I remembered to update my Short Fiction page at HarveyStanbrough.com. So a bit of admin stuff to begin the day. There are now 160 short story covers on the page that appears when you click the Short Fiction tab on the site. Another sort-of milestone. A short post today. After yesterday, I thought you might want a break. (grin) Of Interest Some good comments on Dean’s Belief and … Read more
When the missiles are launched, who among us will know? Harold Cranston whistled a familiar old tune as he set the suitcases on the floor in the entry way of his home just outside Huntsville, Alabama. He stopped whistling for a moment and looked over his shoulder. “Helen, I’m going to put the suitcases in the car.” “All right, dear. Did you remember our pillows?” Pillows. She always insisted on taking their pillows. He could sleep … Read more
Hey Folks, Rolled out at 4 this morning. The usual early routine, then to the story from yesterday. It’s a weird little thing, fun to write, but I’m already glad this one will be finished today so I can get on with writing something else. Today a true American hero passed from our lives. John Glenn went off-planet for the final time at 95 years of age. I still have some old 3-cent Mercury postage stamps … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, I lost a long-time subscriber to this Journal yesterday. Being a kindly and gentle woman, she gave her reason for leaving as “too many emails.” I appreciate that, but I admit thinking for a second, “Then why not delete some of the others?” (grin) Seriously, I appreciate all of you who choose to hang in there. Whether you read or skim the Journal every day, “save” it and read it once a week … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, my Christmas Sale announcement posted today on the Pro Writers blog on my site. It will be interesting to see how many unsubscribes I get tomorrow. (grin) Rolled out right at 3:30 this morning and went through the usual routine. Afterward, I took care of some last-minute Christmas shopping online. I love this new world. However, despite the ready availability of goods and services via the Internet, I would still trade all that … Read more
Hi Folks, Usually, attempting to sell fiction to other fiction writers is not a good idea. Even folks like Stephen King have a hard time selling fiction to fiction writers. The fact is, other fiction writers don’t want to buy your books. They want You to buy Their books. (grin) BUT I DO buy novels and stories written by Stephen King. I also buy (some) novels and stories from Dean Wesley Smith, Isabel Allende, Lawrence Block … Read more