-
Day Two: Novel Challenge
Day Two: Novel Challenge Again for Day Two, a weird day. For the first time all year, it turned sort of hot here. Maybe got up to almost eighty, which here at the coast is a killer for us locals. Silly, I know, but air conditioning is a lost art here. So it was too warm for me to work in my office at WMG, so went out for some walking, got a new pair of running shoes and some running socks as well. Home by 6 p.m., after only about one hour of work, 1 hour of exercise. Too warm to work in here, so I went downstairs and took a…
-
Day One: Novel Challenge
Day One: Novel Challenge Really a strange start to this new novel challenge. I ended up getting to the WMG offices around 2:30 p.m., then headed out for errands, first going to our south store, then to a bank, then back to WMG offices, then to a second bank and the post office before heading to walk with two other writers. Got done with the walk around 5 p.m., headed to the grocery store for some lunch and to pick up what I needed for dinner, then back to WMG Publishing to work on workshop stuff. Home by 7 p.m., so 3.5 hours of work, 1 hour of exercise. Cooked…
-
Writing a Novel Quickly
Here We Go Again Backed myself into a corner on getting a book finished, so need to do it quickly. So going to play here if you folks want to tag along and watch once again. Going to fire on finishing a novel from scratch, no outline, nothing, in seven days. Over 40,000 words. Going to use the same method as I did last time. Progression method. I want to see if it will work more than once for me. So minimum 3,000 words tomorrow, then add 1,000 words per day to the total needed for the day. Again, these are minimum words. What I want to do is be on…
-
Topic of the Night: Making a Living With Your Short Fiction: Updated 2016
(Update 2016: About six or so years ago I did the first run-through of this post. I then updated it three years ago. Well, it seems a few people found the old posts and wanted me to update this idea for 2016. And see if I still believe a writer can make a living writing only short fiction in 2016. Short answer. Of course. It is very, very possible, unlike ten years ago when I would have given a very different answer. So following is the old post updated to 2016. Interestingly enough, not much changed. I marked updates where they were needed.) Requirements Needed For a Writer To Make a…
-
A Myth of Time
A Myth of Time I did a Sacred Cows post below this one. ——- The Day Writers’ meeting, then worked on workshop stuff at WMG, then walked to a late lunch with Kris, then back to work on more workshop stuff. Home to cook a late dinner and take a nap. Then I had to finish my 10,000 (5 miles) steps and got that done right before midnight, then just watched some television until around 2 a.m. Then in here to do e-mail and some more workshop stuff. I’ll fire on the new book tomorrow again. ———- September Online Workshops Click the workshop tab above for description and sign-up or go to www.wmgpublishingworkshops.com. Questions about any…
-
Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Traditional Publishing Takes Less Time
This chapter came from a conversation at a writer’s lunch and hearing this myth from dozens of writers over the last few months. Finally just got fed up with it. And when I am fed up, duck. Chapter Five There is this belief that if a writer could just get a traditional publisher to take care of them, all would be great, they could only write, create great art, eat candy all day, sign books for adoring fans, and roses would grow in the dark out of their asses. Or something like that. This myth comes from traditional publishers because, in this modern world, it’s about the only thing they can…
-
Three Years
Three Years That’s right, three years ago tomorrow I started this daily blog, missed a few days, then settled into a streak of not missing posting something here. I wrote numbers of non-fiction books here and am working on yet another with the third Sacred Cows book. And three years ago I announced Smith’s Monthly and that the first issue would be out in October three years ago. I should have the 36th issue out in late September if all goes well. Right on time. I had planned to just stop the daily blogs and do special posts blogs, but have now decided to just keep on going for a…
-
Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: You Must Be Talented to Be a Professional Writer
(This is a vastly updated chapter on this topic from six years ago if it sounds slightly familiar. But it needs to be a chapter in the new Sacred Cows book.) Chapter Four The word “talent” has been used for a very long time to destroy writers. I have always believed that the word is the worst myth of them all in publishing, so here goes a chapter that I’m sure will be annoying to some people. Especially to those of you who think you are talented. Okay, first to my trusty and well-worn Oxford American Dictionary for a standard definition. Talent: Special or very great ability, people who have…
-
Topic of the Night: Play Ethic
Topic of the Night: Play Ethic This topic actually gets confusing, so let me see if I can make it clear. If confused on something, feel free to ask in the comments or write me. And caution: This topic might slam into a few belief systems. Just saying. (grin) “Work Ethic,” as described in dictionaries and online is basically a value based on hard work and diligence. There are all sorts of different meaning attached to the term depending on your political or economic system, but not going into that. And the term is tossed around in a thousand ways, so I want to try to narrow it down to…
-
Clearing the Decks
Clearing the Decks When you have a big challenge starting, the last thing you want to do is have stuff hanging over you. That’s a self-inflicted wound. So see below how I am doing the clearing and what I can’t and don’t want to clear. ——- The Day Ended up behind because of having to run errands, so was late to the walking with the writers. Still got in some. Then back to WMG offices to work on workshop stuff until around 7 p.m. Home for a nap, then dinner, then I got in here and did workshop assignments. Got that all done and went to watch some television, then…