The Writing Life

If You’re a Writer and I’m a Reader, You Owe Me Something

Hey Folks, There were a lot of good comments on James Scott Bell’s “Editing is Dying, Grunting Soon to Follow” in the Kill Zone blog. If you haven’t read it (I recommend it) you can find the post and the comments at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/04/editing-is-dying-grunting-soon-to-follow.html. Reading the comments was an eye-opening experience. Someone, a writer no less, actually advocated for the spelling of “all right” as “alright,” which, honestly, is just laziness. It’s the same reason some folks … Read more

Have a Clue

Hey Folks,   This morning (as I write this) I read a new post on a site I often reference. I was stunned, and not in a good way. I was reminded again of the preacher in the film “Oh God.” The problem was, the preacher was a hypocrite. God (played by George Burns) said, “The guy ought to be selling Earth shoes.” That sums up my philosophy about entirely too many so-called writing instructors. I … Read more

Practice Is Important

Hi Folks, Note: This is a time-sensitive post, so I put off the post on bad writing instructors until July 10. Practice Is Important Part I — Rationale and a Harsh Truth About Hovering As it is in all art, practice in writing is important. Without practice, the writing craft and the writing itself goes stale. And as it is in all art, practice in writing is fun, if uncomfortable. Many writers still feel more comfortable … Read more

The Dark Side of Streaks

Hey Folks, I talked here awhile back about the power of streaks. A “streak” means repeatedly hitting a certain regularly scheduled goal without missing. When you miss, the streak ends. For example, say you are determined to write 1000 words per day every day. The more days you do that in a row, the more powerful the streak becomes because you won’t want to miss. As a nice aside, and if you did do that for … Read more

The Original Heinlein’s Rules

Hey Folks, In recent years, say about the last 40 or 50, many would-be writers have gotten away from writing. They set out to write, but then allow themselves to be trapped in a vicious circle. Some don’t even actually write. Instead, they meet with writers and other would-be writers in groups and rehash all the same old advice that hasn’t worked for them thus far. They attend conferences and conventions. They strive to meet writers … Read more

On Publishing, Indie-Publishing and Making a “Name” as a Published Author

Hey Folks, I received a query from a writer who’s interested in a copyedit. He also asked whether I would help him find an agent and a traditional publisher. Uhh, no. After I explained why I thought the agent chase and traditional publishing in general was not a good idea, he wrote in reponse “About publication: I agree with you. However, I want not money but name as a published author, which you know somebody does … Read more

How to Make Enemies and Annoy People

Hi Folks, Way back in October of last year (and originally, probably three or four years before that), I published a post titled “Trust Your Professional.” If you missed it, you can see the original post at http://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/trust-your-professional/. The whole point is that getting What You Want is much more important to You than it is to the person or persons from whom you’re trying to get it. This is true in every case. That’s why … Read more

An Old Concept Made Fresh and New, Sort Of

Hi Folks, An interesting article titled “Micro-Progress Your Novel” caught my attention back in late February. I had to share it because it’s so… well, not new. Despite the high-falutin’ title, the article is all about eating an elephant one bite at a time. That’s all. Instead of trying to “write a novel,” which the author of the post calls a “daunting prospect,” the idea is to set a series of smaller goals, like writing for … Read more

Taking the Necessary Break

Hey Folks, Breaks are a necessary part of life. For the professional fiction writer, they might be even more necessary. I suppose it all depends on how you define “break.” I have more than enough days when I don’t write any fiction. There are days when life intervenes with chores that have stacked up or shopping trips to the next town over or minor emergencies. You know, like coating the roof of the camping trailer because … Read more

Fear of Rejection

Hey Folks, Wow. I am depressed. Well, not really. But had I not finally understood awhile back that I can only advise, and that I can’t afford mentally or emotionally to tie my advice to a given outcome, wow would I be depressed. I edited a novel for a client in February 2006. Then I edited a rewrite of a couple chapters in April 2006 for the same novel. This morning (as I write this), TWELVE … Read more