Studies show it’s true. Look, I get it. You dearly want a neat, multi-step process for getting from idea to finished novel. Maybe there are people out there who are able to go step by glorious well-defined step and end up with a work that pleases them (and, ideally, others). Most of us are not …
I read books on writing in waves, gleaning what I can and moving on to get to the business of actually writing. I’ve been reading fewer of these kinds of books as of late, which I suppose is inevitable as you see the same advice and methods recycled in different ways. I’m definitely the kind …
So I learned something tonight with my first attempt at typecasting: I need to scan the piece in color. I had the date (August 28, 2023) and the model and year of typewriter (1949 Royal KMG) typed in red and lo and behold those did not come through with the black and white scan. I …
I’ve spent the last three days in The Mile High City or the Queen City of the Plains or Wall Street of the West. Thank you Wikipedia. Turns out I’m getting out just in time. Taylor Swift and the New York Yankees have converged on Denver. There are sequins and pinstripes everywhere. At any rate, …
I re-launched my site at jonathandanz.com after being absent for a year or so. I’d revived my old wordpress.com blog, just to have a place to jot things down, but I realize how much I missed having my site at my domain without having ads making it look extra janky. I can do that myself, …
Our neighbors down the street were moving out from a house they’d been in for 35 years. Apparently the wife had been holding onto her parents’ typewriters over the years and finally decided to get rid of this one, leaving it in a box by the roadside. My awesome spouse spied the treasure and I …
The immortal Rick Steves said this about traveling to Naples, Italy (probably Naples, Florida too): “If something’s not to your liking, change your liking.” After reading his Italy guidebook before traveling there for a friend’s wedding in 2016, I think about these words more often than is likely healthy. On the one obvious hand it …
Tip 1: Start writing. Pretty boring, right? Maybe, but showing up gets stuff done. Few things are finer than seeing the words and pages pile up over time. Without showing up, I wouldn’t get to enjoy one of my favorite experiences: Printing out an entire manuscript knowing I’m going to read through to discover what …
Last month my wife and I flew out to Idaho to join some friends on a seven-day trip on the Main Salmon River (not to be confused with the Middle Fork or the South Fork). The river runs through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous wilderness area in the United …
I’m working through the fourth draft of my latest novel, Flood, and have been leaning into the process, doing my best to not worry about the final product and timelines. It’s hard work. But it’s also good, gratifying work. The way I figure, we only have the time before us. The time that’s most enjoyable …