When asked what advice he would give new writers, Ray Bradbury said, “Write at least a thousand words a day for ten years. Write at least a short story every week of your life, or its equivalent in essay form, play form or the novel. … Habit is everything. Learning one’s craft is locked into habit.” So there you go. Got a good night’s sleep last night despite the idiot dog across the way doing his bark-at-nothing … Read more
Well, rolled out a little before 2 this morning. I was wide awake when I got up, but I’ve been tired most of the day. My hobby is photography. I started it mostly so I could take my own cover shots for my books. I have a decent DSLR (Sony SLT A65) and some limited knowledge how to take good pics. Like writing, it takes practice more than anything else. But I have very limited technical knowledge … Read more
Up right at 2 this morning at my little girl’s insistence. It’s all good. She’s a good baby. I’m being lazy this morning. It took me over an hour to email a response to a lady who runs a nonprofit. Stuff about how to do things on her WordPress website. Yep, I still haven’t learned. Well, they either take the advice or they don’t. It isn’t like I’m getting royalties. Yawn. I saw a video (posted … Read more
Up right at 3 this morning. The writing and tending to the kitten took their toll so I slept longer than usual, but she seems to be doing much better this morning. She spent a lot of time yesterday and last night resting and healing. It’s odd how much she can put up with and how stoic she is about it. Humans could learn a great deal from little wonders like my girl. I’ve learned tons … Read more
Up a little before 2 this morning. Writing before 3:30. A little delay this morning because I was (and am) tending to my kitten. Yesterday, something outside scared her badly. She raced in, then through the house looking for a place to hide. For some reason she didn’t hide in her safe place under the bed. Instead she ran back into the kitchen, up on the counter, then up on the cabinets. The tops of those … Read more
Up right at 2 this morning. Again, by 3 a.m. I was writing. That’ll work. The retraining continues. I’m noticing I seem to have less self-discipline the older I get. Is that how it’s supposed to work? No walking today. With over 7 miles two days ago and almost 6 miles yesterday, I’m taking a day off from walking. Okay, got a lot of writing done today as well as a cover for “Finding Harold.” It … Read more
Hi Folks, I’m thinking about doing a daylong seminar on this. It would depend on interest. If you happen to be interested and able to travel to Tucson, let me know by email please at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. A brief announcement for a friend. JoAnn Popek and Deborah Owen recently told me about a no-fee short story contest. The deadline is September 15 though, so get cracking. (grin) For guidelines, visit Creative Writing Institute and scroll down. I’ve had questions … Read more
Checked email first thing this morning per usual. I received a request to write a foreword for an anthology being published by Creative Writing Institute. I’ve told them I’ll do it. Rolled out a little after 2, and by 3 a.m. I was writing. Woohoo! The retraining is in progress. I wrote awhile with a couple breaks, then went to walk a local arroyo about 6. Again left my camera in the pickup and just walked. … Read more
One more fairly major change to this blog. I’ve changed it so the full post appears in your email. You’ll still have the option of reading the whole thing in your browser where it looks a lot better. And of course I’ll continue to hope you will refer this to others, but you can also just read the whole thing in your email now. This won’t help those who don’t bother to even open the email, … Read more
Rolled out a little before 2 this morning. I think I’m almost caught up on my rest. Still, not much in the mood to write, although I’d better GET in the mood as the clock is ticking for the next short story. (grin) Again I didn’t do much this morning but catch up on more of my preferred reading. Later I also opened all the pics (over 400) from the Gila trip. I separated out the … Read more