In today’s Journal
* The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting
* Mentioning Other Authors
* The Numbers
The Bradbury Challenge Writers Reporting
To take part, write at least one short story per week, then submit the story title, word count, and genre to me each week for publication in the Journal on Monday.
The whole point is to have fun and grow as a writer. You can join or rejoin the challenge at any time. There’s no cost. You can even do it on your own, without reporting numbers to me or anyone else.
During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported these new stories:
- Vanessa V. Kilmer “Crushed Cane, Broken Bottle” 3537 Dystopian
- Adam Kozak “Advice for Romeo and Juliet” 2781 Humor
- Christopher Ridge “Pops” 2700 Horror
- Dave Taylor “The Plumber’s Emergency Job, 4011 Mystery
You know, when your writing stalls or when you seem to be in a slump or you just can’t seem to bring yourself to sit down and write, doing something decisive like joining the Challenge can go a long way toward fixing that. Just sayin’. All are welcome.
Mentioning Other Authors
This isn’t about writing fiction. It’s about being confident enough in your own abilities to be willing to introduce your literary “competition” to others.
I’m kidding. Really, there is no competition. That would require comparisons, and the only valid comparison any writer can make is how well s/he wrote the previous story with how well s/he’s writing the current one.
Recently, formalist poet and fiction writer Adam Kozak wrote a great note on his substack in which he recommended me by name and my website and the TNDJ substack. Thanks, Adam!
And more recently, Vin Zandri mentioned me in a comment on one of Dean Wesley Smith’s posts.
Thanks, guys! Any mention of me or my websites helps spread what I’m trying to do. It might even lead a few new readers to my fiction. Or grab the attention of a Hollywood producer or whatever. You never can tell.
So as some folks used to say back in the ’60s, help a brother (sister) out. The old saying about a rising tide lifting all boats is a valid one.
Whenever I can, I do that for other writers, and not only by mentioning them in various posts in TNDJ or giving them a byline and the URL of their website when they guest-post for me.
When I have a POV or other character who reads, s/he always reads real novels by real authors whose work I either know or like (or both).
In one of my recent Blackwell Ops novels, the POV character brought two novels along with him for his down time during an assignment.
One was Robert J. Sadler’s Hole in the Water, the 29th or 30th book in his Michael Grant Black Book Investigations, a mystery series. The whole series is a storehouse of intrigue.
The other one was James Gary Vineyard’s The Grave on Peckerwood Hill. It’s a cop novel, sort of, but it’s also chock full of hijinks and witty dialogue.
Both novels are well written and highly entertaining. Obviously, I recommend them.
The point is, IF the reader happens to wonder whether the POV character is reading an actual novels by a “real” author, and IF s/he’s interested enough to look up the name of the author or the title of the novel, s/he’ll find that both are legit.
I’ve also mentioned novels by Stephen King and Hemingways and Vin Zandri and Lawrence Block and KC Riggs and several other authors. And if my character’s mention of their books gets them even one new reader, it’s worth it, right? And it costs me nothing.
So like I said, a rising tide lifts all boats. Help out your fellow authors and they might even return the favor. Which would also be cool.
Upcoming, beginning tomorrow, a two-part series on the necessity-of and how-to control the reading experience in your stories and novels.
And in a few days, a great guest post by Dan Baldwin.
Talk with you again then.
The Numbers
The Journal……………………………… 720
Writing of Blackwell Ops 26: Tailor Moses
Day 1…… 2069 words. To date…… 2069
Day 2…… 3438 words. To date…… 5507
Day 3…… 1464 words. To date…… 6971
Day 4…… 2089 words. To date…… 9060
Day 5…… 1037 words. To date…… 10097
Day 6…… 1092 words. To date…… 11189
Day 7…… 1286 words. To date…… 12475
Day 8…… 3631 words. To date…… 16106
Day 9…… 2011 words. To date…… 18117
Day 10…. 2493 words. To date…… 20610
Day 11…. 2747 words. To date…… 23357
Fiction for July…………………….….… 30565
Fiction for 2024…………………………. 460110
Fiction since October 1………………… 723208
Nonfiction for July……………………… 25690
Nonfiction for 2024……………………… 236570
2024 consumable words………………… 656721
2024 Novels to Date……………………… 10
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 4
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)……………… 92
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 241
Short story collections…………………… 29
Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing are lies, and they will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.
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