tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post1428109986774102734..comments2024-02-11T15:29:31.409-05:00Comments on Richard's Pretension: The Devil is in the DetailsRichard Bellushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-68242668872927254822016-04-16T16:22:18.725-04:002016-04-16T16:22:18.725-04:00Step 1: save. Most folks find that hard, but if th...Step 1: save. Most folks find that hard, but if they get past it sound investment strategies are not rocket science. (Well, some are, but there isn't good evidence they work better.) An index card is enough to hold workable rules of thumb. Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-24121361927675479232016-04-16T16:15:42.947-04:002016-04-16T16:15:42.947-04:00Lansdale’s points are useful and I agree with them...Lansdale’s points are useful and I agree with them except sometimes “polish as you go.” I often do, but when I hit a blockage I’ve found it best to smash through it with whatever clunky prose I can get down on paper – after all, you can’t polish something you don’t have. True, I have to throw away the result sometimes, but more often than not I can shine it up. When not, it at least eliminates a false path forward. Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-20547794240855495622016-04-16T12:15:09.791-04:002016-04-16T12:15:09.791-04:00I saw this on the TV the other day about personal ...I saw this on the TV the other day about personal finance, where one man wrote everything he knew about saving. (I don't agree with all of it per se, but for the average person that doesn't know anything at all about personal finance, it's a good rule of thumb): http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/01/08/462250239/when-an-index-card-of-financial-tips-isnt-enough-this-book-is-thereEl Voxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985563041511492981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-68255911740575607282016-04-16T12:06:46.131-04:002016-04-16T12:06:46.131-04:00Evidently Cody is doing something right. I can...Evidently Cody is doing something right. I can't say that I would love all those films, but it doesn't matter as someone else might, and they've earned her a living. That's the main thing. Writing what you know is somewhat a rather abstract concept at first, like can't see the forest for the trees or something. It's also like they say in the stock market: buy what you know. I felt like I didn't know anything. But it's just a way of saying, buy the stocks whose products you use in everyday life, and you'll probably be okay. If you're buying them more than likely others are as well. Use your life experiences. <br /><br />The other day Joe Lansdale posted his nuts and bolts to writing: <br /><br />Writing tips that work for me. Maybe not you, but me, and here they are, or at least some of the major ones:<br /><br />Short hours. I rarely work more than three a day, and sometimes less. But I'm focused. Now and again I do a second, or even third shift, but that's rare. This gives me the rest of the day to read, exercise, watch movies, and I'm home with my beloved wife. So, life is good. I became a writer partly because I didn't want to do the nine to five grind. It's still hard work, but not lonely or say work. I don't buy into that.<br />Polish as you go. You may need to do more polish when it's finished, but if you have this mind set there will be a lot less to do when you finish. Avoid multiple drafts.<br />Set a reasonable goal. Three to five pages a day is mine. If I get more, yippie.<br />Don't outline. Let your subconscious work on the novel. I get up in the morning, have my coffee, and I'm ready to go. I start hot and burn down slowly.<br />Enjoy something besides writing, and reading should be a big part of that. You don't read, you can't write good books. Oh, I know there's an exception, but that's why it's an exception.<br />Travel when you can. Meet new people. Learn to talk to people, and learn to listen when they talk. Learn to work when you travel. I've written several novels out of country and in hotels.<br />And best of all. Have fun. This is cool stuff, writing for a living, making up stories, and getting paid for it.<br /><br />El Voxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985563041511492981noreply@blogger.com