In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Bradbury Challenge
* A Personal Thank You
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” Amelia Earhart
Bradbury Challenge
Most of those who have joined in this challenge have written tens of thousands more words than they might have otherwise. You can still join in the challenge at any time. And if you’re a fiction writer, why not?
There’s no cost, and the challenge is a great way to increase your inventory and jumpstart your writing. Chances are you’ll have more fun than you’ve had in a long time. The challenge is also a great way to get more practice pushing down the critical voice.
During the past week, in addition to whatever other fiction they’re writing, the following writers reported their progress:
- Erin Donoho “The Enchanted Castle 1500 words Children’s Fiction
- Balázs Jámbor “Tasks” 1200 words Literary Fction
- Loyd Jenkins “Swimming and Monsters” 1410 words Historical Fantasy
- George Kordonis “…Reap The Whirlwind” 2234 words Psychological Horror
- Alexander Nakul “Fragrances of sacred beasts” 1137 words Erotic Fantasy
- Chynna Pace “Holly’s Christmas Quest” 4606 words Fantasy
- Christopher Ridge “My Family” 1500 words Crime
- K.C. Riggs “El Viento” 1882 words Paranormal
A Personal Thank You
A personal thank you to the young fictionist who wrote, in a recent email,
“I’ve been getting so much out of the Journal posts from the past week. The ones about WITD have been great reminders and the ones about dialect are so fascinating. I’m learning so much. It’s crazy to me how much I learn from your free posts, way more than I have from paid courses.”
I very much appreciate such sentiments. For any subscribers or readers who are new to the Journal, you can also download the complete (free) Journal archives and/or several free articles and/or books at https://hestanbrough.com/the-daily-journal-archives-gifts-dvds/. On that page, only the DVDs are not free.
Thank you, too, to my patrons and donors, who help support this Journal. Should any of you find the Journal useful and would like to contribute, please click My Donation Link.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Critics are getting less cruel. Alas” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/critics-are-getting-less-cruel-alas/. A delicious read regarding the (non-)importance of reviews.
See “A Little Group Help” at https://deanwesleysmith.com/a-little-group-help/.
See “The Rhetorical Triangle for Writers” at https://killzoneblog.com/2023/07/the-rhetorical-triangle-for-writers.html. Maybe interesting, but for fiction, just write the story.
See “Toyota’s Lunar Cruiser will be powered by regenerative fuel tech” at https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/toyota-regenerative-fuel-tech-manned-lunar-rover.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 400
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……… 2203
Total fiction words for 2023………… 112225
Total nonfiction words for July… 13550
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 145100
Total words for the year (fiction and nonfiction)…… 257325
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.