In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* A Quick Exchange
* Of Interest
Quotes of the Day
“It is my conclusion that the human mind and body is essentially a single cell rechargeable battery that is charged from the atmospheric DC voltage and the Earth.” Steven Magee, Health Forensics
“The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off—it’s with you all the time.” Alvin Ailey
A Quick Exchange Between Pro Writers
Yesterday in the Journal I wrote “Or maybe when I access my creative subconscious I’m drawing back a curtain on another dimension, another place, one in which my characters are actually living their ongoing story. Maybe the stories I record for them are only slices of the life they’re living in that other place.”
Dan Baldwin, professional fiction writer, article writer, ghostwriter, and pendulum dowser sent me this:
“I think there may be something to this. My swinging a rock on a string and an on-going reading leads me to think so. Quantum mechanics makes my head swim, but the more I read up on it, the more this seems not only possible, but probable.”
I wrote back, “It’s what I believe, firmly. But the point is, it doesn’t matter. Whether we pull back a curtain on another dimension, access characters and stories that are taking place in our own imagination, or stumble upon some sheer magic, the point is that we get to be the first ever to see, hear and record that particular story for that particular set of characters. Thanks for helping me clarify.”
You can learn more about Dan at Four Knights Press.
Folks, a truly amazing world awaits once you’re able to respect your characters, release control of them, and let them tell the story that they, not you, are living.
Would you want someone else to construct YOUR story, controlling everything you say and do? Of course not. This is exactly the same thing. You have as much right to construct someone else’s story from your external point of view as someone else has to construct your story from their point of view.
DWS wrote recently that he’ll write a post soon about his own writing. I’m eagerly anticipating that. I’ll be interested to see whether he mentions returning to a daily word count goal.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Dear writer: Advice on prioritizing your to-do list” at https://on.substack.com/p/writer-advice-hilary-fitzgerald-campbell. Something I received via email and thought some of you might enjoy.
See “Chaos and Creating Fiction” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/chaos-and-creating-fiction/.
See “The Author-Creator Marketing Playbook” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-author-creator-marketing-playbook/.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 430 words
Writing of Santa Fe: A New Office (novel, WCG8, Santa Fe 3)
Day 1…… 2815 words. Total words to date…… 2815
Day 2…… 2034 words. Total words to date…… 4849
Day 3…… 2650 words. Total words to date…… 7499
Day 4…… 2209 words. Total words to date…… 9708
Day 5…… 4214 words. Total words to date…… 13922
Day 6…… 2299 words. Total words to date…… 16221
Day 7…… 2136 words. Total words to date…… 18357
Day 8…… 1688 words. Total words to date…… 20045
Total fiction words for January……… 10337
Total fiction words for 2023………… 10337
Total nonfiction words for January… 32370
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 3270
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 13607
Calendar Year 2023 Novels to Date…………………… 0
Calendar Year 2023 Novellas to Date……………… 0
Calendar Year 2023 Short Stories to Date… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 71
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer because of my zen-like non-process. If you want to learn it too, either hang around or download my Journal Archives at https://hestanbrough.com/the-daily-journal-archives/, read them, and try WITD for yourself. The archives are free.