Pro Writers

Setting Writing Goals for 2018

Hey Folks, This is a special bonus post to all my Pro Writer subscribers out there. Enjoy! First, let me recommend you read the comments on Dean Wesley Smith’s post from a few days ago. There are some ideas for goal-setting and challenges there that might resonate with you. For your convenience, here’s the link: https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/getting-ready-for-2018. What follows is the thought process and rationale that helped me set my own goals and challenges for the upcoming … Read more

Patience Is a Virtue

Hey Folks, Note: I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and will have a great New Year. One of my distributors, Smashwords, is offering a year-end sale in which I’m participating. For only 8 days, December 25 through January 1, all of my books at Smashwords are on sale for 50% off. To take advantage of this year-end sale, visit https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HEStanbrough, make your selections, and enter promotion code SEY50. Thanks, and enjoy! Awhile back I mentioned … Read more

Scene and Chapter Breaks and Hooks

Hey Folks, I love this topic, and it’s timely because it’s what I’ve been practicing in my last few WsIP. (grin) As I write this, I have a copyediting job that I put on the back burner because I was so close to finishing the novel. I’ll begin that copyedit today. To see what I mean by “copyedit,” please visit http://harveystanbrough.com/copyediting/. The writer also requested I check to see whether the scene and chapter breaks “make … Read more

Just Tell A Story

Hey Folks, So many of us have forgotten that our primary purpose is to entertain, first ourselves and then other readers. Entertainent really is the sole purpose of writing fiction. We get wrapped around words. Yet in and of themselves, they just don’t matter. Words really are only tools, like nails to a carpenter. (If the carpenter drops a nail, does he stop the project? Uh, no.) We get wrapped around sentence structure, or about whether … Read more

On Pacing and Paragraphing

Hey Folks, A few days ago as I write this, I was reading one of my magic realism stories to my grandson. “The Storyteller” by Gervasio Arrancado. I wrote the thing several years ago, and I knew nothing about pacing. Or paragraphing, for that matter. As I read it aloud to him, I got bored. Massively bored. I know it’s a good story, yet I found myself wondering what reader could possibly enjoy wading through this … Read more

“Building” Characters?

Hey Folks, Some writers (and probably all of them/us at first) believe they have to “build” or “create” characters. Some folks even go so far as to create a “character sketch” to one degree or another. The character sketch might be so detailed as to include the character’s educational background, childhood experiences, and anything else. It’s the story of the character. Most often, writers who do this begin with a stick figure and then flesh it … Read more

My Updated Fiction Length and Price List for 2017/2018

Hi Folks, First, a few explanatory notes — 1. In everything below, I’m talking about indie publishers, like you and me. All signs indicate the traditional publishing model (the agency model) is dead or dying across the board. I’m also talking here about ebooks. If you want to deal with print, see my excerpt from Dean’s post at http://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-friday-106/. And remember that DWS’ pricing guidelines are for trade paperback books, not mass-market paperback books. 2. As … Read more

Write. What. You. Mean.

Hey Folks, For many years I’ve kept a running list of awkward expressions, misplaced modifiers, and other syntactical anomalies that run the risk of distracting a reader. And by “distracting the reader” I mean jerking the reader out of the story. Most often, this is a result of inserting unintentional humor into a serious scene. If the scene is also meant to invoke feelings of sadness or despair or tension, the inadvertent insertion has an even … Read more

Using Italic Attribute in Fiction

Hi Folks, This is a bit of an embarrassment for me. I used to actively teach that the writer should use italics to indicate the characters’ unspoken thoughts. When I was actively editing for other writers, I applied that erroneous rule. One time, I even passed up doing an edit for one writer because she adamantly refused to allow me to change characters’ unspoken thoughts from normal typeface to italics. I felt like she was paying … Read more

Buyer (Writer) Beware

Hi Folks, Today I’m going to write about an old saying: Let the buyer beware. Basically the saying means the buyer should perform a reasonable level of due diligence before committing to buying a product. And in the case of instruction, “buying” has a dual meaning: 1. purchasing, trading money for; and 2. believing. You know what I mean. Many of you have heard me say before, “If any writing instructor says something to you that … Read more