Hey Folks, I’m so spoiled. First, I have the best job in the world. Think about it. Day in, day out, I sit alone in a room making stuff up. It doesn’t get any better than that. And second, I live in southeast Arizona. So on my rising this morning it was almost 50° outside. I enjoyed a good cigar as I began the day with emails and Facebook and a few games of Spider solitaire … Read more
Hey Folks, Well, the transition from HEStanbrough.com to HarveyStanbrough.com with the Journal seems to have been flawless. No problems reported as yet. I rolled out around 3:30 this morning but did very little for the first 4+ hours other than email, Facebook and games. * * * The floor of our house, with the exception of the bedroom and the two offices, is Saltillo tiles. The house itself is rammed earth. Think adobe, but without bricks. … Read more
Hey Folks, Beginning today, I’m posting this Journal to my main site at HarveyStanbrough.com. If you came here looking for the Free Story of the Week, either scroll to the blog post below this or click the Free Story of the Week tab in the menu. It will still post every Friday at 8 a.m. If you’re looking for the Pro Writers blog post, click the Pro Writers tab in the menu. It will still post … Read more
Hi Folks, Awhile back, another professional fiction writer drank some Kool-Aid. Then he wrote a post about strong female characters. Oh, except that you can’t qualify them as “strong” because that word has too many “male connotations.” So instead you have to “give them agency” and blah blah blah. Holy crap. And wholly crap. Do I have something against strong female characters? Hell no! But I do have something against the writer acting as a god, … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 1/10/2014. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. Instead of a regular blog post I thought I’d toss out this list of URLs this time. I’ve found all of these useful at one time or another, and I still refer to many of them regularly. However, the presence of these URLs on this list does not necessarily constitute my endorsement or recommendation except … Read more
Hey Folks, A friend sent me some information re the upcoming NaNoWriMo annual “challenge.” In case you’re interested, the link is Tips for Surviving the Agony and Ecstasy of NaNoWriMo. There, I’ve done my civic duty. Now I can play a bit. Okay, first, how about that title, eh? I mean, seriously, “The Agony and Ecstasy”? Does that evoke a picture of a poor, beleagured, suffering-for-his-art writer with one forearm flung dramatically across his forehead or … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 9/10/2013. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date. As I write this, I just had an excellent question from an acquaintance in Tucson who wrote that she had bought my Punctuation for Writers a few years ago at a Society of Southwestern Authors (SSA) meeting and had found it useful. However, it had … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 8/30/2013. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I have NOT revised the original post other than reparagraphing some of it. This post goes hand in hand with my previous post on Busting the Myths of Digital Publishing. I often hear from folks who say they want to “publish like you, on Amazon” but they don’t mention any other venues. If you self-publish, … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 8/20/2013. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date. First, a brief announcement. I’ve reopened my copyediting and eformatting service. I’ve kept my prices LOW. Former editing clients are preferred, but new clients are welcome too. For details, please click http://harveystanbrough.com/copyediting/. Okay, back in August, 2012 I updated and republished a post titled “Busting … Read more
Hi Folks, More and more often recently, I’m being asked about ghostwriters. Why to hire one, and why not to hire one. So I put together this handy list for you. When folks ask me why I recommend hiring a ghostwriter, my first answer is always this: First and foremost, a professional ghostwriter is a professional writer. When we want something done right, we employ someone who’s already mastered the learning curve. Hiring a professional always … Read more