In today’s Journal
* A Thought
* On Cycling
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
A Thought
Fully giving yourself over to Story—allowing your characters uncontrolled access to your creative subconscious and complete control of your fingers as you and they race through the story that they, not you, are living—is easily among the more sensual, intimate, and purely truthful acts you can ever perform as a writer.
On Cycling
I get questions on cycling, and especially cycling vs. editing, so let me be as absolutely clear as possible:
Like writing into the dark, cycling is a free-flowing function of the creative subconscious. It has NOTHING to do with conscious or critical thought, or with thinking, surmising, considering, trying or otherwise constructing. Ever. Under any circumstances.
Editing, revising, and rewriting by any name (revisiting, revamping, etc.) are functions of the conscious, critical, fear-ruled mind. Each revision, rewrite or editing pass will move what was your original, unique story further from what actually happened as the characters lived it.
Despite the freshest, steamiest possible mushroom fodder emanating from several sources on pretty much an hourly basis, going hybrid as a writer is impossible. You cannot serve both your creative subconscious (your unique, original story and voice) and your conscious, critical mind. You have to choose, and then you have to commit.
You cannot both write into the dark and plan or plot or “erect signposts along the way” or any of that other nonsense. You can convince yourself that’s what you’re doing—though deep down you know better—but you cannot actually do it.
Two rules apply—
1. You cannot create with the conscious, critical mind. You can only construct, block by logical, boring block. Nothing original ever came from the conscious, critical mind. It learns and regurgitates, nothing more.
2. You cannot construct with the creative subconscious. The instant you go critical or wonder why or think what if (or anything at all) or prioritize or sequence, you’ve switched to the conscious mind and wandered off the path of the unique, original story. Which throws you back to Rule 1.
If you feel a need to argue the point, I suggest you check in with yourself and re-read those two rules. That isn’t to say you wouldn’t rather construct than create. Many who haven’t yet learned to trust in themselves would. If so, that’s fine with me.
You can even tell others who are hungry for reaffirmation of the myths instead of actual useful knowledge that you’re somehow doing both, but don’t try peddling that around here. It won’t float. It will sink and be flushed.
For a great deal more on cycling, please see the following two posts. I’ve written many, many other posts on writing into the dark and cycling as well. You can access them by keying “witd” or “cycling” into the search box in the sidebar at https://hestanbrough.com/.
I’m finally starting to write again, little by little, which is to say I’m finally beginning to work out my new routine. Today I plan to finish at least two of the stories below in Numbers.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Dispatches From A Writers Conference” at https://killzoneblog.com/2023/07/dispatches-from-a-writers-conference.html.
See “Reminder” at https://deanwesleysmith.com/reminder/.
See “Welcome Back” at https://deanwesleysmith.com/welcome-back/.
See “Worldcoin Launches” at https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/07/ready-for-your-eye-scan-worldcoin-launches-but-not-quite-worldwide/. This includes a “proof-of-personhood system called WorldID.” Ideas abound. SF and maybe end-times religious writers, go crazy.
See “Sharks on crack…” at https://interestingengineering.com/science/sharks-on-crack-research. I am not making this up.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 580
Writing of “Pretend Writer”
Day 1…… 2322 words. Total words to date…… 2322
Writing of “Untitled Stern Talbot Mystery”
Day 1…… 190 words. Total words to date…… 190
Writing of “Marvin McTavish Decides”
Day 1…… 326 words. Total words to date…… 326
Day 2…… 346 words. Total words to date…… 672
Writing of “A Midnight Sketch”
Day 1…… 1341 words. Total words to date…… 1341
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……… 4525
Total fiction words for 2023………… 143100
Total nonfiction words for July… 14130
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 145680
Total words for the year (fiction and nonfiction)…… 260227
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.