In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* A New Story
* Another New Story
* My New Webcam
* Revising My Schedule and Routine
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“I did some financial planning, and it looks like I can retire at 85 and live comfortably for 11 minutes.” Anonymous (Thanks to Sam Turner for the Quote of the Day)
A New Story
“Spider” posted yesterday (Friday). You can read it over at https://stanbroughwrites.substack[dot]com/. You can subscribe there too, to get a new short story every week. It’s free.
Another New Story
I mentioned in a video awhile back that I enjoy buying paintings, prints and other artwork as long as they have stories in them. In other words, if I look at a piece of artwork and immediately see at least a few story starters, I’ll buy it. Then I take it home, hang in on the wall somewhere, and wait for the right time and mood for the story to emerge.
This morning I started a new story titled “A Midnight Sketch.” It’s based on the multi-media pen, ink and watercolor DeGrazia sketch titled “A midnight sketch 3AM summer of 1972.”
I won’t list this story below until tomorrow. I might finish it and I might not. I’m playing with this one, practicing with it, seeing whether I can pull off a new (to me) technique/effect that I noticed in another writer’s work.
My New Webcam
My new webcam will be in today or Monday, depending on whether the good folks at the PO put it into my PO box or hold it at the desk.
When it comes in I’ll play with it a bit. If it works with YouTube (as advertised) all will be fine. If not, I’ll probably record videos offline and then upload them to YouTube. I’m hoping for the former.
Revising My Schedule and Routine
Still revising. I tried this morning to go back to the early morning in the Hovel routine. I don’t know whether I can adjust back to getting up that early.
If not, I’ll have to get the Journal out earlier here at the house, then let the cats out and supervise them for a half-hour or so, then breakfast, then finally to the Hovel to write a little later in the day.
I miss seeing the early morning sky though. For years I went to the Hovel at 3 a.m. I did that this morning too, but after all this time I recognized hardly anything in the pre-dawn sky. It will work out one way or another.
Talk with you later.
Of Interest
See “Our Place in Time (to Scale) video” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOVvEbH2GC0. Kind’a neat.
See “6 Stories of Aliens and the Unexplained That Are Just Out of This World” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/world-ufo-day-2023.
See “8 Mistakes You’re Making on Your Author Website” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/8-mistakes-youre-making-on-your-author-website/. Take what works and leave the rest.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 480
Writing of Rose Padilla (WCG10SF5)
Day 1…… 4283 words. Total words to date…… 4283
Day 2…… 3963 words. Total words to date…… 8246
Day 3…… 1463 words. Total words to date…… 9709
Day 4…… 2445 words. Total words to date……12154
Total fiction words for July……… XXXX
Total fiction words for 2023………… 110022
Total nonfiction words for July… 480
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 132030
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 242052
Calendar Year 2023 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2023 Novellas to Date……………… 0
Calendar Year 2023 Short Stories to Date………… 4
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 73
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 221
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark, adherence to Heinlein’s Rules, and that following the myths of fiction writing will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.