In Today’s Journal
* The TNDJ Challenges Report
* More on Description
* Another Writer Emailed
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
The TNDJ Challenges Report
Participating in any challenge is a great way to have fun and grow as a writer.
There is no cost. Feel free to jump in at any time. Email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com.
Bradbury Challenge
The requirement is to write at least one short story or short-short story per week.
During the past week, the following writers wrote these new stories:
- Loyd Jenkins “Moon on the Back Forty” 3540 Weird Western
- Vanessa V. Kilmer “DIY Solutions” 3546 Murder Mystery
- Christopher Ridge “The Last Call” 1692 Thriller
- KC Riggs “Moon over the Mustangs” 6084 Gen’l Fiction
- Dave Taylor “Elsa’s Christmas Present ” 2,117 Magical Realism
- Dave Taylor “An Unexpected Turn of Fortune ” 3,862 Magical Realism
- Mattie Fern Worrix “Me And You And A Dog Named Roo” 3095 Time Travel Romance
The Stephen King Challenge
The requirement is to strive to average at least 1000 words per day. The words can go into any short or long fiction or both.
- Balázs Jámbor 5,000 words this week
- Christopher Ridge 8,037 words this week.
Congratulations to all of these writers. They are kickin’ it!
A Little More on Description
A writer left this comment on the post re description from a couple of days ago.
Wow! That description was amazing. I felt like I was in the store and the description of the owner was spot on. I imagined him with white hair, stool behind him, etc. just before I read it (or as I was reading it).
My biggest struggle with description is “describing it.” I use simple words and that reads boring. During cycling, I try to give it more life (and accuracy), but I fall in the trap of tweaking the details with my critical voice to make it sound more “descriptive.”
I stop my writing to look up different ways to say simple words like “white”, “cold”, “sweet”, “musty”, etc. Then my critical voice has taken over. It is not a rewrite but definitely a process of improving what I initially put on the page because my description lacks well written detail. Thoughts?
Okay, first, this writer’s still trapped solidly in the myths of writing. Notice in her comment “my biggest struggle” and “During cycling I try” and “I fall” and “I stop my writing” (emphasis added).
Nothing about the character and what’s actually happening in the story the character’s living.
The character lives the story, folks. To write the story authentically, only write what’s going on and the characters’ reactions to what’s going on.
Step back from the story. Release responsibility. It isn’t your story. It’s the characters’ story.
Here’s my response to the writer:
Thanks. The only advice I can give you is what I always say: Just write what the character gives you.
Critical voice is always ready to jump in. Fight it.
For example, as I was writing the scene in the antique shop, I ‘thought’ the store should have wood-slat floors. But the character didn’t notice the floor (or didn’t say anything about it) so I didn’t include it.
To “improve” what you put on the page, simply read over it for pleasure but let your fingers rest on the keyboard and allow the character (not you) to add to or subtract from what’s already there. That’s cycling. It has nothing to do with the writer ‘thinking’.
You have to trust the character for this to work. But again, the character (not you) is actually in the story and living it. You’re only writing down what happens.
Once you are able to believe in your characters, a whole new world of fun and freedom from the ‘rules of writing’ will open up to you.
Another Writer Emailed
My longer story stalled yesterday, and I really didn’t feel like writing, but at the same time I felt I needed to write anything. Just some words, any words.
Inspiration is such an interesting thing. Three disparate events from the past week came together when I set out to “put those words on my virtual paper.” Never figured a little girl and her dad in a candy store, a homeless guy pushing an overflowing shopping cart, and a street full of stores could turn into a story. But it did and it gave me teary eyes as I cycled back though.
After I put the final touches on this short story today, the longer story came back flooding my head with images of another character who figures into the story somehow. I guess I’ll let her have her say. Why not? Heck I’m only along for the ride and the entertainment.
This writer is an accomplished Navy vet who believes in himself, holds a PhD, and teaches in a university. Despite all that, when we first met a few years ago he was locked into his conscious, critical mind.
But he took a chance on himself and his characters and tried WITD. As a result, he opened the door on a whole new world of fiction.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Hanukkah, the Wright Brothers, and Crocs Before They Were Cool Tons of story ideas. (By the way, they reversed the definitions of the aviation terms “pitch” and “roll,” but they corrected that in today’s issue.
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 880
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 880
Writing of Blackwell Ops 53: Jack Striker | The Next Level
Day 1…… 2035 words. To date………… 2035
Day 2…… 2217 words. To date………… 4252
Day 3…… 3751 words. To date………… 8003
Day 4…… 2218 words. To date………… 10221
Day 5…… 2181 words. To date………… 12402
Day 6…… 1673 words. To date………… 14075
Day 7…… 1972 words. To date………… 16047
Day 8…… 2081 words. To date………… 18128
Fiction for December……………………… 18128
Fiction for 2025…………………………… 772775
Nonfiction for December.………………… 16820
Nonfiction for 2025………………..……… 281950
2025 consumable words………………… 1047156
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 18
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 36
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 122
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29