In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Failure, and Goals
* Reminder
* The Writing
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“If you set your goal ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” James Cameron
Failure, and Goals
I love the Cameron quote above. But also remember the only valid comparison is what you did today vs. what you did yesterday.
If you want to succeed, you have to try. And if you aren’t failing occasionally, you aren’t tryng hard enough.
I never advise anyone to set their goal “ridiculously high.” But do set it high enough so reaching it is a stretch.
As a basis for setting your goals, set a timer and write clean, publishable fiction for an hour. Then multiply that number times the number of hours per day that are available to you to write. Then add 500 words.
That’s your daily goal.
Most of us can write roughly 1000 words per hour of clean, publishable fiction. A blazing fast 17 words per minute. That leaves a lot of time for staring off into space.
To set a weekly, monthly, quarterly or whatever longer goal, simply multiply your daily goal times the number of days you can write during a week or month.
But if you set a daily goal, and if you adhere to it, you will find that longer goals really are not necessary. If you stick to your daily goal and if you achieve it often, you will write more than you would have set for a longer goal anyway.
And remember that a new day (week, month, year) begins with every moment. In my quest to write 1,000,000 words of publishable fiction in a calendar year, I’m currently going from Septermber 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
Finally, remember that goals are adjustable. If you never reach your goal, lower it by 250 or 500 words. If you reach it all the time, raise it by 500 or 1000 words.
If you make it often but maybe not all the time, it’s pretty much right on.
Reminder
If you want a place to report your fiction numbers publicly, a process to use to hold your feet to the fire, the Journal can be that place.
Ray Bradbury once wrote that if you want to learn how to write fiction, you should write one story per week for a year. Because, he said, “Nobody can write 52 bad short stories in a row.”
For those who don’t know, I’m currently administering a Bradbury Challenge. It’s simple. Write at least one short story per week. Then, each week on Sunday before midnight Arizona time, send me your story title, word count, and genre via email to harveystanbrough@gmail.com.
Here’s the preferred format: (help me help you)
“Short Story Title” 3456 Genre
If you’re writing a novel, you may also report your weekly progress. Just be sure to include words written this week as well as total words to date.
I’ll publish whatever info I receive in the Monday edition of the Journal each week. There is no cost. I only want to help you succeed.
For those of you currently in the challenge, this is your reminder. Today is Sunday. Midnight my time is a little over 21 hours away. Just sayin’.
The Writing
The novel is flowing, but I had to delete one scene.
The scene is necessary to the characters and the story, but it was also a bit “blue.” I make my books suitable for readers of all ages, so I had to take it out of the novel.
However, I will add a new opening and ending, and the scene I cut out of the novel will become the centerpiece of a short story. The story is already listed in the Numbers section below.
Of course, I’ll publish it under a pen name. Probably the name of the female POV character who told the story in the novel.
In the novel now, there is a much shorter, glossed-over version. Basically the lead-up to the scene I cut.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
The Excruciating Death of Mister Red Pepper Paste Man
Two Days To Get Into the Challenge with Kris! Actually one day. The deadline is 18 December. I do not personally recommend spending $300 when you can do the same thing right here with me. But it is KKR, so your opinion might differ.
The Numbers
The Journal……………………………… 690
Writing of Tarea-Garcia 1
Day 1…… 4968 words. To date…… 4968
Day 2…… 3677 words. To date…… 8645
Day 3…… 3307 words. To date…… 11952
Day 4…… 4467 words. To date…… 16419
Writing of “The Love of Charlie Task” (blue short story)
Day 1…… 1079 words. To date…… 1079
Fiction for December…………………… 66549
Fiction for 2023…………………………. 467383
Fiction since August 1………………… 351759
Nonfiction for December……………… 13030
Nonfiction for the year……………… 268610
Annual consumable words………… 732486
2023 Novels to Date……………………… 10
2023 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2023 Short Stories to Date……………… 8
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………… 81
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)…… 236
Short story collections…………………… 31
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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 will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.