-
Want to Work With Me?
Four Main Ways… To work with me on your writing and publishing business. The most intense and regular way is to have me be your mentor for a year. There is one spot still open in that. I announced that spot three or four months ago and forgot to mention it didn’t fill. Basically, as a mentor I am here for you when you need a question answered, to be talked off a ledge, or to proof your sales copy. I read anything you want me to read and I also have each person check in with me on Sunday to tell me what they have been doing or not…
-
Just a Day
A Couple People Asked… Since I used to detail out my days a lot here, and at some point in the future, I might do it again for a special project or something, and a few people have asked why I don’t do that now, I’ll show you today, a fairly normal day at the moment. Managed to be up and moving around 10 am, did some email and business until around noon, then wrote about 1,500 words in two short sessions. (Working on a new Cold Poker Gang novel called Ring Game. The one I just finished will be to the challenge followers in a week or so.) Kris…
-
Writing This Morning…
Exercising This Afternoon… Visiting friends and reading stories tonight. A pretty good day all around. Most certainly a fun one. Almost three thousand words on a new Cold Poker Gang novel. (Finished the previous one.) Then ended up with just over seven miles of steps (14,000 plus) which included a half mile of running. Then visited a friend who was in town tonight before getting to reading challenge stories. Still have a few to go from last week, so no one panic. Can’t beat a day like today.
-
June Workshops and Descriptions
Time Travel Workshop Available… Plus I have below some of the descriptions of the Futures workshops, all four of them, and the description of the Emotions workshop and Time Travel workshop. I also have a list of all the different workshops now available. An amazing list. All this is on Teachable, of course, and that is where you would sign up unless you have a credit. If you have a workshop credit, write me. The four Futures workshops also have a bundle on Teachable that you can get all four cheaper if you buy the bundle. So first off, the June listing of Regular Workshops now available. Then all the…
-
Update on My Stuff
Still Working Into My New System.. But making progress. The web site (not this one, a new one) is making progress. Got a few things to fix and a ton of books to list, but that will take time. And I have been learning InDesign, the new one, so I can get ramping on the Make 100 Short Stories. That will take another week and I should have the first few covers done for Issue #45 of Smith’s Monthly. (I will post them here.) I need to finish up the novel that will be in that issue as well, a brand new Marble Grant novel that is mostly done because…
-
Future Workshop Series
Fourth In The Series Starts Next Wednesday… Futures: Patience…. Pacing a Career. How, When, and Why? In this Future series for writers, we have available now (1) Refresh and Renew, (2) Opportunities, (3) Structure, and soon (4)Patience. You can sign up for them on Teachable at any point you want and go through them at your own pace. But this fourth one, Patience, will be paced like a regular six week workshop this first time through, starting next Wednesday. And we have a bundle available to get a discount if you buy all four. All four Futures Workshops are in the Lifetime Subscription as well and anyone with a Lifetime Subscription…
-
Fantastic Writing Advice
“Write like everyone you know is dead…” Joe Lansdale said that in the post that he allowed me to copy here last night. And I wanted to point out that one simple things he says. Here is what he said on the topic in total: “Write like everyone you know is dead. To hell with everyone else’s opinion when you write. Write for yourself. I don’t have a perfect reader in mind. That works for some, but it makes me write for them which means I might not be writing for me. I have no idea what anyone else will like. I only know what I like, so I write…
-
Great Advice from Joe Lansdale
Joe Allowed Me to Reprint This Here… It is an amazing post. Very clear and to the point. Worth the read. Thanks Joe, for saying this on Facebook and then allowing me to reprint it here. ———— Facebook Post April 23rd from Joe Lansdale: Each to his own, but the idea of multiple drafts is not necessarily a good idea. A writer can get lost in all those drafts, and think the more drafts the better the book. I polish as I go, so there’s essentially one draft, though by polishing as I go, I’m doing a lot of little daily rewrites. I don’t outline or plot, except subconsciously, I…
-
Hint: Don’t Wait Until Sunday
At Least Not Very Often… Folks, deadlines are a fun thing and they really help us all at times get writing done we might not have gotten done without the deadline. That is what The Great Challenge is all about. Deadline. It is a no-lose challenge, where even if you miss a week, you get the money you paid for the challenge in credit toward anything we do in workshops. And the reason is to give each of you a deadline to get a story finished and to me each week by Sunday night. Second week now. Not everyone has started yet, and there is still room to jump into…
-
Thinking of a New Pop-Up
Character and World Building While Writing into the Dark… Seems like a fun idea to talk about for a bunch of videos in the Pop-Up series, including techniques on how to do both character and world building while writing into the dark. Especially complex world and character stuff. I get a bunch of questions about this regularly, actually. Anyone even interested? It would open up in mid-May somewhere. In the meantime, Kris and I have a bunch of homework to do between writing to get ready for the licensing expo here in June. Going to be great fun and I hope to learn a ton and maybe make a few…