In Today’s Journal
* The TNDJ Challenges Report
* A Nice Surprise
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
The TNDJ Challenges Report
The whole point of these challenges is to have fun and grow as a writer.
There is no cost. Feel free to jump in at any time.
Participating in any challenge is a way to drive yourself to the computer or legal pad and write fiction. It’s also a great way to build and maintain a streak.
As if writing more and better fiction isn’t enough, I even offer prizes. To see those, please visit The NEW TNDJ Challenges.
Bradbury Challenge
The only requirement is to write at least one short story, short-short story, or essay per week. During the past week, the following writers wrote these new stories:
- Loyd Jenkins “The Thing in the Holler” 1560 Weird Western
- Vanessa V. Kilmer “Notes from the Vale” 3027 Fantasy
- Christopher Ridge “Smoke Break” horror 1522
- KC Riggs “El Chepe Express” 3433 general fiction
- Dave Taylor “The Invitation” 3,068 Dark Fantasy
- Dave Taylor “Revelations” 2,036 Dark Fantasy
- Dave Taylor “Wade” 2,473 Dark Fantasy
- Mattie Fern Worrix “You Are All That I Knead” 3265 Time Travel Romance
The Stephen King Challenge
The requirement is to strive to average of at least 1000 words per day as you proceed through writing a novel or novella.
- Jacob Hawes “Crystal God 2” (Jacob didn’t report this week. At last count, his novel was at 78537 words.)
The Run With Harvey 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.
The following writers wrote the indicated number of words this week:
- Erin Donoho 8,273
- Balázs Jámbor 8500
- Christopher Ridge 4000
Congratulations to all of these writers.
Any questions about the challenges, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com.
A Nice Surprise
I use Talkwalker Alerts to let me know if my name or StoneThread Publishing appears anywhere online.
Yesterday, I received an alert that Omnimystery News, hyped as “Information for and Reviews of Mystery Books, Games, Television and Film,” had listed Blackwell Ops 50: Sam Granger | A Zero-Sum Game.
In fact, BO-50 even got top billing, though there wasn’t a review that I was able to find. But Omnimystery News also displayed the Amazon link, which is fine.
But I also got another alert.
That one notified me that another of my Blackwell Ops books had been pirated. Stolen. I despise a thief more than I despise anything.
That book was offered as a free download on a members-only site. Of course, the worthless a$sbag who hosts the site is being paid for the membership.
I guess after you pay the membership fee, you are allowed to download whatever titles you want with no compensation to the writer.
Whatever.
The readers who frequent sites like that should be ashamed of themselves.
And if I had my way, I’d strip the skin off whoever’s running that site, then stake him out over an ant bed.
Of course, that would inconvenience me too. I’d have to crouch in the sun to keep him awake so he could more fully enjoy the fruits of his thievery as the ants nibbled away at him. Not that I’d mind at all.
But alas, sigh, it isn’t a perfect world.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again A post on challenges, and a half-price sale
WITS Bloggers Share Writerly Thanks
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 500
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 500
Writing of Blackwell Ops 52: Sam Granger | Figuring Things Out
Day 1…… 4693 words. To date………… 4693
Day 2…… 3623 words. To date………… 8316
Day 3…… 3530 words. To date………… 11846
Day 4…… 6309 words. To date………… 18155
Day 5…… 5129 words. To date………… 23284
Fiction for November……………………… 75594
Fiction for 2025…………………………… 737635
Nonfiction for November.………………… 20340
Nonfiction for 2025………………..……… 259810
2025 consumable words………………… 989876
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 17
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 36
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 121
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29