In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* A Writer Asked
* Free TNDJ Archives
* The Novel’s Flying
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” Jack London
Easily one of the wisest things I’ve ever heard. H
A Writer Asked
A writer asked about a few different terms I used in Writing Fiction and Acting: 1:
You wrote about “recorder,” “presenter,” and “POV character.” I read that as three different and distinct roles. Are they? Do you pick one and write from that place? Or, does one change from time to time? Can I switch back and forth?
My Response
The POV character is the character through whose physical and emotional senses (point of view or POV) the story is being told.
The POV character develops naturally as you begin and write a story.
The writer who writes into the dark has two roles:
Recorder: The writer simply writes the story as it unfolds before him in his mind.
The writer ‘records’ what happens and how the characters react in dialogue and action. In other words, the story isn’t coming ‘from’ the writer. It’s coming from the characters. The writer’s only writing it down or ‘recording’ it.
You might also call this role “reporter.” Stephen King calls himself his characters’ “stenographer.”
Presenter: The writer’s name is on the cover, so in this role, the writer cycles through the story and “presents” it to the world as clearly and cleanly as he can.
Free TNDJ Archives
I make this offer every now and then. Oddly, very few take me up on it.
Folks, if you write fiction and if you don’t have the TJDJ archives from the past four years, you’re missing a sure bet that’ll help smooth your learning curve. A lot.
I’ve written a ton of stuff about “recorder” and “presenter” and a lot of other craft topics over the past four years: setting, scene, characters, POV, and so on.
The archives are free and presented in searchable (and even printable) PDF format.
To get them, all you have to do is email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com and let me know. I’ll happily send you the last four years of archives free, and I don’t even ‘collect’ your email address.
Just tryin’a help. Any questions, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com.
The Novel’s Flying
I hesitate even writing this for fear of jinxing it, but the novel’s really flying. Had the best day of writing yesterday that I’ve had in a long while. (grin) On Day 4 of writing I’ve already exceeded 18,000 words. Woohoo!
Then again, jinx schminx. I just love conveying my characters’ stories. That whole “recorder” thing.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
8 Cool Non-Writing Ways to Use AI This is NOT about using AI to write. If you’re all over the place, it’s more about using it to help compartmentalize your thoughts.
Dr. Mardy’s Quotes of the Week: Giving Thanks
Kickstarter Friday Kickstarters to study and emulate. This week Dean features a Kickstarter by our own Kathryn Kaleigh
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 520
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 520
Writing of Blackwell Ops 52: Sam Granger | Figuring Things Out
Day 1…… 4693 words. To date………… 4693
Day 2…… 3623 words. To date………… 8316
Day 3…… 3530 words. To date………… 11846
Day 4…… 6309 words. To date………… 18155
Fiction for November……………………… 70465
Fiction for 2025…………………………… 732506
Nonfiction for November.………………… 19840
Nonfiction for 2025………………..……… 259310
2025 consumable words………………… 984247
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 17
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 36
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 121
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29