In Today’s Journal
* I Get Emails
* Hard to Believe
* Genre Envy, Part 1
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
I Get Emails
Yesterday, writer friend Patrick D sent me a link to an interview with Peter Bradvold, a successful writer of westerns (see Of Interest).
In the email, Patrick wrote that Mr. Brandvold’s “method aligns closely” with mine and “he only writes what he finds ‘fun’.”
Patrick also wrote “But one thing I noticed about him, about you, and many other WITD writers, is that you have already internalized story structure, found inspiration in particular writers (in his case Jack London and Hemingway), and then found your own way to success.”
That is absolutely true, no doubt.
But as I told him in my response and as I’ve written many times over the years in the Journal,
Through not only what we’ve read but also through television shows, films, and even advertisements and commercials we’ve viewed and heard, pretty much everyone who’s reached their teenage years or beyond have internalized story structure without having studied it formally and without even consciously realizing it.
So the problem isn’t that some of us know story structure and some of us don’t. The problem is that some of us realize and trust that we’ve absorbed story structure—that we trust ourselves—and some of us can’t quite bring ourselves to do so.
That’s why I preach so often in TNDJ to trust yourself. You’re inundated pretty much 24/7 with story structure, even in your dreams while you sleep, so you’ve got this. All you have to do is trust that you’ve got it, and as you wrote above, write what’s fun for you to write.
Do yourselves a favor folks: Believe in yourself, trust yourself and your characters, and Just Write.
Hard to Believe
A new subscriber DM’d me on Substack. He wanted to purchase one of my audio courses but was unable to find a buy link or other information. (Thanks, Matt M!)
Hard to believe I omitted that information all this time. Anyway, I’ve since updated the page. Stop by and check it out.
Genre Envy, Part 1
Back when I was copyediting a lot, occasionally I’d get an email from a prospective client that contained something like,
“You write mysteries, so can you even copyedit fantasy?” or “You write westerns, right? Can you edit science fiction?” or “You write genre stuff. Can you edit a literary story?”
What I wanted to say in every case was “Um, no.” But I needed the money. (grin)
So instead I gave them a little class they wouldn’t have needed if they were paying attention as they wrote, especially if they wrote in different genres:
“Yes, I can copyedit all of that AND Romance, Thrillers, Suspense, Erotica, Literary, Westerns, SF, ‘high’ and ‘low’ Fantasy, etc. ‘Cause, you know, they’re all written in the same language using the same words.”
Given knowledge of the tropes and reader expectations of the different genres, a good copyeditor can copyedit anything.
And a good fiction writer can write a good story in any genre.
Because it’s all language, folks. It’s all just words.
I’m not copyediting much anymore because I prefer to work on my own stuff. But make a note: All of the above goes to writing just as much as it goes to copyediting.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Peter Brandvold – Obsession & Stubborness a Key to Success
You must refill the hot tub after your parties A hilarious letter from Melissa Rivers to her mother, comedian Joan Rivers
Running off the leash (a Brandvold blog post)
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 600
Writing of Blackwell Ops 47: Sam Granger | Special Duty
Day 1…… 3250 words. To date…… 3250
Day 2…… 1110 words. To date…… 4360
Day 3…… 3323 words. To date…… 7683
Day 4…… 1656 words. To date…… 9339
Day 5…… 1413 words. To date…… 10752
Fiction for September……………… XXXX
Fiction for 2025………………………. 534149
Nonfiction for September.………… 3310
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 189560
2025 consumable words…………….. 716095
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 13
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 31
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 117
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 301
Short story collections……………………. 29