The Daily Journal, Friday, January 18

Hey Folks,

I guess my inner child is more interested in finishing my WIP today (a Stern Talbot PI mystery) than I am. (grin) The mind controls the inner clock, and despite a relatively late night (for me), I came wide awake and rolled out at 1 a.m. this morning.

This is a perfect example of the 2 year old subconscious mind standing at your bedside, tugging at your hand, and stage-whispering (so as not to wake up the person in the other side of the bed) “C’mon! Let’s go play!”

I suspect, as he has all along, my 2 year old wants me to help load the moving van that will enable the WIP family to move out of town. When they do, I’ve already promised him he can go play with his friends at Blackwell Ops again.

Whaddya gonna do? I got up, made a cuppa joe, and headed for the Hovel. Got the “Of Interest” stuff added and now I’m on my way to the WIP.

So I’ll finish that one today (Day 13 of 15). If I start the next one tomorrow, I’ll do so with two days in the bank. So that’s kind’a cool.

Just a math note re what is possible…

There are 365 days in this year. There are 21.47 17-day periods in this year. During the first 17 days (so not counting today), I’ve written 35,344 words of fiction, or 2,079 words per day. (That includes 4 days when I wrote zero.)

If I can maintain the same average daily production every day through the year that I’ve maintained through the first 17 days of this month, I will have written 758,856 words of fiction on December 31. Cool, right? With just a little over 2 hours per day.

What’s even better, since I started the challenge on January 6 to write 10 novels in 150 days, I’ve written 33,696 words of fiction in the last 12 days, an average of 2,808 words per day (again, not counting today).

If I can maintain THAT average (3 hours per day) through a 365-day period (Jan 6, 2019 through Jan 5, 2020) I will have written 1,024,920 words of fiction in a calendar year.

Amazing, the difference 800 words a day can make.
***

I finished Stern Talbot PI: The Case of the Mourning Widow this morning just before 6 a.m. It will release on March 15. Then I headed up to the house for breakfast and a shower. (grin)

Today is one of those rare times that those who pay any attention to the numbers below will see two “Writing of” entries. First for the last day of the Stern Talbot novel and then for the first day of the Blackwell Ops novel. Both were today.

Shortly after I got back to the Hovel at 7:30, I started prepping to write the next Blackwell Ops novel that’s been burning in my mind for the past two weeks. Woohoo!

By “prepping” I mean gathering character descriptions into a series bible, coming up with new title character names, etc.

And then writing, of course. (grin)
***

From my friend, Dandy Dan Baldwinovich

For those inclined to be so kind, my new book is out and I would appreciate the efforts of anyone willing to share the link with his or her friends and associates: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L5WXBJB/

(My Note: If this book were fiction, I wouldn’t promote it to you. But it’s nonfiction and very interesting, especially if you’re into ghosts or the old west. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean.)

As a thank-you for helping promote the work, Dan offers a free short story to be released to an unsuspecting public later this week. To get your copy, email Dan at baldco@msn.com.
***

I finally started writing Blackwell Ops 2 at 10 a.m. It will feature Charles Claymore “Charlie” Task as the primary operative and narrator. If any of you have read Confessions of a Professional Psychopath, that name is familiar. Yep, the same guy who started his previous novel with the immortal lines,

“Of the three wingback chairs in my library, only one is upholstered in human skin. There’s a reason for that.” (grin)
***

A great day today, partly because I chose not to take a break after finishing the first novel of the challenge.

But wow is this Blackwell Ops novel twisted. In a psychological way. I’m not sure I want to read it. (grin)

Talk with you again tomorrow.

Of Interest

See “Nate’s Big List of Free & Paid Book Promotion Websites” at https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/01/21/nates-big-list-free-paid-book-promotion-websites/.

See “Learning How to Learn Fiction – Introduction” at https://phillipmccollum.com/learning-how-to-learn-fiction-introduction/. This looks very interesting. It also looks (to me) like he ‘s putting together a book on the topic. (grin) You might as well get it here a slice at a time.

See “Why “Self-Promotion” Is B*******” at http://www.thepassivevoice.com/why-self-promotion-is-b/. Mostly for PG’s intelligent take. The OP boils down to the rantings of a spoiled (it seems to me), brand-new baby author.

Fiction Words: 5048
Nonfiction Words: 790 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 5838

Writing of The Case of the Mourning Widow (novel)

Day 1…… 2784 words. Total words to date…… 2784
Day 2…… 3250 words. Total words to date…… 6034
Day 3…… 2507 words. Total words to date…… 8521
Day 4…… 1049 words. Total words to date…… 9570
Day 5…… 2459 words. Total words to date…… 12029
Day 6…… 2723 words. Total words to date…… 14752
Day 7…… 1355 words. Total words to date…… 16107
Day 8…… 3151 words. Total words to date…… 19258
Day 9…… 2803 words. Total words to date…… 22061
Day 10… 3070 words. Total words to date…… 25131
Day 11… 4460 words. Total words to date…… 29591
Day 12… 4105 words. Total words to date…… 33696
Day 13… 2643 words. Total words to date…… 36339 (done)

Writing of Blackwell Ops: Charles Claymore Task (novel)

Day 1…… 2405 words. Total words to date…… 2405

Total fiction words for the month……… 40392
Total fiction words for the year………… 40392
Total nonfiction words for the month… 15170
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 15170
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 55562

Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date………………………… X
Calenday Year 2019 Novellas to Date…………………… X
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date……… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 37
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 7
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 193
Short story collections…………………………………………………… 31