The Daily Journal, Monday, March 4

In today’s Journal

▪ Update on Pro Writers Writing
▪ An experiment
▪ Daily diary
▪ Of Interest
▪ The numbers

The contributors to Pro Writers Writing have begun scheduling their posts. We’ll kick the site off “live” on Monday, March 18. I hope all of you will subscribe.

More than likely, I’ll reference some of those posts in my Journal in the “Of Interest” section. But I won’t reference all of them.

If you subscribe, you will definitely find some things that work for you but that I might have skipped over.

UPDATE: Terry Odell (http://terryodell.com), whose posts I have featured in “Of Interest,” has joined us as a guest contributor in Pro Writers Writing! This is excellent news, in part because now you won’t have to listen to my stuff twice on Sundays. (grin)
***

I’ve come to realize I’m allowing this Journal to take priority over my fiction writing, and that’s just crazy. (grin) I’m not sure how long that strange mix-up in priorities has been going on, but it’s true.

So I’m going to run an experiment over the rest of this week to see whether I can make the early hours of the morning (say between 2 or 3 and 8) more productive re fiction writing.

Of course, I’ll let you know how it goes just in case it helps in some way.

In theory, I should be able to knock out at least a couple of thousand words before 5 a.m. and another couple of thousand before my wife leaves for work. (Maybe I should make those goals.)

If I can do that, the main body of my daily writing would be done early, and that would leave the rest of the day for more writing or chores or whatever else I need to get done, including the Journal entry.

So we’ll see.

If I’m unable to assume that new writing habit by next weekend, I’m thinking of shifting back to a more “normal” schedule, going to bed later and getting up later.

(“Normal” for me means bed by 10 or 11 and getting up at 5.)
***

Rolled out just before 3 this morning, but spent the first SIX-PLUS HOURS of the day in various pursuits, none of which were writing fiction. Ridiculous.

Finally to the novel at 9:30. Actually, to research on the novel. (grin)

A bit of a short day today. I’m calling it at a little after 2.

Talk with you again tomorrow.

Of Interest

See “Dear Serial Killer…” at https://www.suecoletta.com/dear-serial-killer/.

See “Writing Commercial Fiction – Superstars Recap 6” at https://terryodell.com/writing-commercial-fiction-superstars-recap-6/. (Note that in point 6 Jeffrey Deaver says “Never let your characters control your story.” Wow I’d like to ask him what he means by that.

See “Citizen’s Police Academy” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/03/citizens-police-academy.html.

See “Free Fiction Monday: Blood Trail” at https://kriswrites.com/2019/03/04/free-fiction-monday-blood-trail-2/.

See “Computer Stories: A.I. Is Beginning to Assist Novelists” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/computer-stories-a-i-is-beginning-to-assist-novelists/. Actually, not really. Not yet. But an interesting article.

Fiction Words: 2514
Nonfiction Words: 500 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 3014

Writing of Blackwell Ops 4: Melanie Sloan (novel)

Day 10… 1235 words. Total words to date…… 26680
Day 11… 3140 words. Total words to date…… 29820
Day 12… 1698 words. Total words to date…… 31518
Day 13… 2514 words. Total words to date…… 34032

Total fiction words for the month……… 8587
Total fiction words for the year………… 167645
Total nonfiction words for the month… 3830
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 55050
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 222695

Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date………………………… 3
Calendar Year 2019 Novellas to Date…………………… X
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date……… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 40
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 7
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 193
Short story collections…………………………………………………… 31