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Catching Up… To Do or Not To Do?
A Great Question… I got that question from a writer just today and I had a pretty simple answer for him. But there is more to my answer than what I was able to give him at the spur of the moment. I said this: Try to catch up if doing so is possible and will be challenging. If impossible to catch up, then simply reset the challenge and start fresh. Sounds simple until you start figuring out if something is impossible or not. Sometimes you just know you have screwed the pooch. No catching up is possible. Reset and restart!!! But other times the added challenge makes it even…
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Time of Great Forgetting…
It Is Back, Stronger Than Before… In all my years of watching writers go through this period from April to the middle-end of July, break all streaks, get too busy to write, actually forget about writing and publishing completely, I have not seen a year this bad. I got a hunch there is one major reason. This is the first spring in two years that we feel (as a population) safe enough to get out and do things in most parts of the world. So wow, all that postponed stuff from the last two years is going to be done this year no matter what. I get that, I really…
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Finally Getting Some Things Caught Up…
Not Everything, Yet, But Gaining… Today I finished all the layout of Smith’s Monthly #60. Yes, realize or try to imagine 60 monthly issues. Five full years, although there was a 2 year gap in there when Kris was sick and we had to get down here to Vegas. But now still going strong. And I also did the introduction and got everything together for Smith’s Monthly #61. Will turn that in after a day or so. And also got a bunch done today on the next issue of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine. Got to get that turned in. So all kinds of fun projects. And a very strange Sky Tate…
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THE 2022 WRITE STUFF BUNDLE
WOW, THIS IS A GREAT BUNDLE!!! And it has a $150 Pop-Up class in it as well, all part of the ten projects to help with your writing and publishing. Kris curated this and did a fantastic job. This one is worth grabbing, folks, and telling people about. You can get it at www.storybundle.com/writing. And while you are at Storybundle, Kris and I both have books and one of our major collections in Celestial Sagas bundle put together by Robert Jeschonick. It is a great one. So you can grab a bundle to help you with the writing and publishing and a bundle of great reading. So here is Kris’s…
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How Do I Keep Going…
When a Big Project Is Finished? I get this question a bunch, usually from someone who has just finished one of the big challenges, like a story per week or a novel every two months. Very real and very tough question. The essence is that when the motivation to do something in writing stops, how to replace it with an as-effective or better motivation? The answer is, of course, “It depends…” “And it is different for every person…” But here is how I would look at it. First, look at the motivation that has been keeping you going through everything. Sit down and list why it kept you going, the…
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Watched Bridgerton
Yes, I Watched a Regency… For the second year in a row. Four episodes in the last two days. Kris had to explain a bunch of stuff to me, but some pretty good acting and the characters were likable, so I’ll watch the third season if there is one. Interesting difference in plotting from this show to others. These episodes were mostly an hour in length and if the characters had only talked, nothing would have happened, but as it was not a lot happens. Where, say, The Rookie fifty things happen, ten viewpoints, and a ton of stuff, and it is only 15 minutes into the episode. When Magnum…
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Why All The Stretch Rewards?
Why Give So Much Away? Got that question a lot this time, more than any other campaign we have done, although I must admit, that question is pretty normal for our campaigns. If a person does a $5 pledge to get an early copy of RESCUE TWO in electronic form, as I write this they get ten more books and nine workshops worth $1,350.00. But that is about to jump one more goal to eleven books and ten workshops. Why do this? Why give so much away? Two major reasons, actually. First, this is a campaign for my new Seeders novel RESCUE TWO. It stands alone, but gives a good…
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Reading a Lot of Great Stories
Study Along Workshop for Thriller/Humor I have been amazed at a number of things. First off, how many writers got stories in for this workshop. Writing thriller/humor short stories is a tough challenge and a lot of writers tried it. So that impressed me. Second thing that impressed me with the first assignment was how good they were overall. Some great mysteries and a bunch of writers actually hit thriller/humor short stories. Then with the story in 40 hours, a lot of writers made the deadline and again the stories were great. And the third story deadline of 24 hours had about three times as many stories as I expected,…
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Another Friday Night
Over The Years… I think it is a total miracle that I have not missed on this blog on a Friday night. Some of you know I tended bar for 17 years, and just about always on a Friday night. So back in 1987, when I went freelance with writing and editing and publishing, I swore I would never spend another Friday night or another New Year’s Eve in a bar. But for some reason, after 35 years of not going anywhere on Friday night, the itch to go out and do something on Friday night is still there. I never want to do anything in reality, but it is…
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RESCUE TWO KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN NOW LIVE!!!
ALL KINDS OF GREAT STUFF!! Including a ton of different workshop stuff, and with every award you get a copy of my new Seeders novel RESCUE TWO. Rescue Two Kickstarter. The two special workshops are on science fiction. — WRITING IDEA FICTION Special Workshop. All the ins and outs of writing idea fiction and how to do it and how to come up with ideas. You can take it starting April 12 or May 3rd. And remember, this is the only place to get this workshop. — WRITING ABOUT TIME Special Workshop. All the ins and outs of writing about time while in space and how to do it and…