In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Sort of a Day Off
* Stages of a Fiction Writer: Introduction
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“Doing nothing is hard. You never know when you’re done.” attributed to actor/comedian Leslie Nielsen
Sort of a Day Off
I’ve got nothing of real value for you today other than maybe (up to you) the links in Of Interest.
However, I am putting together my thoughts on The Stages of a Fiction Writer. I decided to include the introduction below. The Stages themselves will be coming soon.
I posted a similar series on this topic back in June or July of 2024, but I wasn’t happy with it.
Stages of a Fiction Writer: Introduction
What follows is my own take on the stages of a fiction writer based on my personal experience as a prolific fiction writer and my observations over the years as a writer, instructor, and copyeditor.
When I begin posting the Stages you will probably notice that some of the traits are fluid, flowing from one stage to another. You will also notice that some of the traits essentially repeat, carrying over from one stage to another.
These are only general guidelines and, as a compilation, are only my opinion. And of course, opinions are free. You can get them on pretty much any topic from pretty much anyone.
In every case, my opinions always come from personal experience. Unless I’ve actually lived an experience and celebrated (or suffered and regretted) the consequences, I don’t offer an opinion.
On this particular topic, over a period of 9 years I have written roughly half as many novels and roughly one-third as many short stories as my unintentional mentor (Dean Wesley Smith) wrote over his 40+ year career.
Still, to give credit where credit is due, I first heard of The Stages of a Fiction Writer through a series of posts several years ago on DWS’ website. I think he’s since also published a nonfiction book on the topic.
As for Dean’s posts on this topic, I agree with some of his assertions, but not all of them. I’m also not big on labels, but over the years I found his Stages posts a good general guide for assessing my own skill level at the moment and determining what I still need to learn.
If you find this series of value, I suggest you copy/paste and save these post for your personal use (as I did with Dean’s posts). I doubt I’ll ever publish them in book form.
Also, my take on this topic is a little different from Dean’s in one significant way: My take has nothing to do with anything over which the writer has no direct control, especially the number of sales, which of course leads to “bestseller” status.
You have direct, absolute control over how you write, how often you write and publish, how and where you market your work, etc. But you have no control over the number of books sold (unless you buy them yourself).
So whether and when your book becomes a bestseller has nothing to do with what stage you’re in as a fiction writer. This series is only about your actual level of skill as a fiction writer. Nothing else.
Note: I will never make a judgment regarding which “stage” you’re in as a fiction writer, so please don’t ask. That’s up to you to determine.
Back soon with the indicators of Stage 1 fiction writers.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
15 Ways to Sell Preorder Books…
How to Publish Public Domain Books…
The Dos and Don’ts of Blogging for Writers I didn’t vet this. As I wrote above, everyone has an opinion.
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 610
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 610
Writing of
Day 1…… XXXX words. To date………… XXXXX
Fiction for January………………………… XXXX
Fiction for 2026…………………………… XXXX
Nonfiction for January.…………………… 4820
Nonfiction for 2026………………..……… 24410
2026 consumable words………………… 24410
2026 Novels to Date……………………… 0
2026 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2026 Short Stories to Date……………… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 123
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29