The Daily Journal, Sunday, June 23

In today’s Journal

* Happy Anniversary
* My first readers
* Daily diary
* Of Interest
* The numbers

Happy Actual Anniversary to my wife, who’s put up with me for roughly 60 years, ever since June 23, 1984.
***

I turn out so much work so often my first readers are somewhat overworked. I hope they’ll continue to provide input as they have so graciously for the past several novels, but I’m calling for backup.

If any of you would like to serve as first readers, please email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. I’d like to have at least 5 or 6 first readers so I can spread the load a bit more lightly.

The requirements are simple:

1. Just Read.

2. If something pops out at you as you read, jot it down and let me know. Those things might be

* repeated or wrong words (waste for waist, etc.)
* any inconsistency (character wearing a blue coat going in and a brown coat coming out, character name change, etc.)
* misspellings
* information that strikes you as erroneous
* and anything else that stops or confuses you.

In other words, don’t “look for” things. Just suspend your sense of disbelief, read for pleasure and note things that pop out at you. Just as you do when you read anything for pleasure.

There are specific things I don’t want too. For more information, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com.

You get to read the story before anyone else does. I also include your name in the credits and send you a free copy of the finished product. And there are other perks.
***

After a fairly long shopping trip to Sierra Vista yesterday and very little sleep the night before, I crashed for ten hours last night.

Rolled out at 3 this morning, my mind racing. I started and stopped this Journal entry three times this morning. My mind is all over the place. (grin)

I’m thinking I need to

* start a newsletter,
* put together the nonfiction book on Critical Voice
* apply the input from one first reader to my previous novel
* put together a few issues of my monthly magazine
* read (aloud) the novella I just finished (vs. sending it to my first readers, who are overworked and besides, they have their own stuff to work on)
* view/listen to the Learn Along videos and
* start a new novel.

Because after all, I need to publish and promote the stuff I’ve written.

(My subconscious whines) “But if I don’t write new stuff I won’t have anything to publish and promote.”

And writing is fun. The other stuff, not so much. But it has to be done. Everybody says so. (grin)

I (probably) won’t write any fiction today, so I’ll just leave this here for now. I’ll come back later and let you know about the day.

I read the novella I just finished to my wife. It was a quick read. I liked it. She liked it. Tomorrow I’ll put together a cover, get it out to my donors and get it on the publishing schedule.

Wow. I got involved watching a baseball game and almost forgot to file the Journal today. Oops. Anyway, here it is. (grin)

Talk with you again tomorrow.

Of Interest

See Dawn Turner’s “Write What You Want to Read – Introduction” at http://prowriterswriting.com/write-what-you-want-to-read-introduction/. Absolutely great post.

See “Quick Saturday Post” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/quick-saturday-post/.

See “Writing In Medias Res” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/06/writing-in-medias-res.html. A few gems.

Fiction Words: XXXX
Nonfiction Words: 580 (Journal)
Total words for the day: 580

Writing of ()

Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month……… 45233
Total fiction words for the year………… 351338
Total nonfiction words for the month… 23010
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 178570
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 529908

Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date…………………… 7
Calendar Year 2019 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date… 1
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 44
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 194
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31