In today’s Journal
▪ Delayed start
▪ I labeled one
▪ Topic: Letting It Fly
▪ Daily diary
▪ Of Interest
▪ The numbers
Sometimes the way my brain works annoys me.
I rolled out early this morning specifically so I could have fun (write) early, but I’m also a writing instructor.
So my brain gave that mentoring role priority. I’m not complaining. I just think it’s an interesting curiosity.
I took about an hour to respond to an email that should have taken a few minutes max. I mentally meandered around, eventually finding (I hope) the right words to convey what I wanted to convey.
Then a realization struck me right out of the blue — something I should have realized a few weeks ago — and I took close to another hour to write another email to another writer.
Just like that, the first two hours of the day were gone (again, not complaining) and I hadn’t even started today’s edition of the Journal, much less looked for items for “Of Interest,” etc.
***
I labeled one of the items “In today’s Journal” yesterday “A roundup of story starters.”
I shouldn’t have done that. I forgot how tightly most writers limit themselves.
In my mind, “story” is all-encompassing. It means “short story, novella, novel” etc.
But chances are, if you DON’T write “short” stories, you didn’t click the links and discover the possible story starters.
If you didn’t, I encourage you to do so. There are some great, creative-flow-invoking tidbits in those articles that will almost certainly pique your interest.
And to address another often self-imposed limit, despite the fact all the articles are from CrimeReads, the ideas they spawn won’t all go to a particular genre.
If you write fantasy, they’ll move you in that direction. If you write romance or westerns or SF or whatever, they’ll speak to you in that way.
The ideas are going into YOUR mind, so they’ll shape-shift themselves to suit what YOU need them to be for your chosen genre. Okay, I’ll shut up now.
Topic: Letting It Fly
This will be brief.
One of my mentoring students emailed me that she has decided, with her writing, to just “let it fly.”
I share it here for my other mentoring student and for all of you.
First, do I even need to say “Good, that’s perfect”?
But then she wrote, “[Because t]his is a first effort… there will more than likely be many changes and midcourse corrections.”
My response was this:
“No, other than normal copyediting (typos, etc.) there more than likely won’t.
“That your writing will ‘more than likely’ need ‘changes and midcourse corrections’ is some nonsense that you (like all of us) were taught by non-writers and by other writers who have listened to non-writers.
“Actually, once you learn to trust your subconscious — once you learn to trust your characters to tell their own story (and I’ll keep saying it until you get it) — your original voice will come through and you’ll begin to find your readership.”
All of that is true, folks.
Once you learn to truly “let it fly” and then not go chasing after it with a bag full of critical-voice doubts, you will have taken the first major step toward being a lagabout like me. (grin)
***
As I mentioned above, I rolled out at a little after 2 this morning and was in the Hovel by 2:30. Then I wrote two emails, checked for items for “Of Interest” and wrote the stuff above.
Probably no fiction writing today to speak of. I’m very excited about my new project and I really hope it takes off.
However, I have to give some thought to structure on this one before I begin writing in earnest. I suspect it’s going to be a series of short stories that, when taken as a whole, will also comprise a novel. Probably a long novel.
I’ll spend the balance of the day with my wife, helping her through the last dregs as she emerges from her illness.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
See “10-4” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/05/10-4.html. Chock full of gems. Read at least the first paragraph. Two or three times.
See Michaele’s “Who Can You Trust?” at http://prowriterswriting.com/who-can-you-trust/.
For some great pics of Dean and Kris, see “Another Great Year! Thanks, Kris!” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/another-great-year-thanks-kris/.
Fiction Words: XXXX
Nonfiction Words: 730 (Journal)
Total words for the day: 730
Writing of In the Cantina at Noon (novel?)
Day 1…… 1538 words. Total words to date…… 1538
Day 2…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX
Total fiction words for the month……… 1538
Total fiction words for the year………… 263008
Total nonfiction words for the month… 4040
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 115900
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 378908
Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date…………………… 6
Calendar Year 2019 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 43
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 7
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 193
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31