In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* The Writing Bundles Kickstarter
* A Bit of Silliness
* Yesterday
* Today
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” Ray Bradbury
According to Dean Wesley Smith, the Writing Bundles Kickstarter has hit the third stretch goal and is closing in on the fourth.
As a result, everyone who backs the Kickstarter with at least a $5 donation will get
* the First Quarter of Tips of the Week lecture, a $50 value
* an electronic copy of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s THE FREELANCER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE
* an electronic copy of THE FIRST TEE PANIC, a great example of creative nonfiction, PLUS
* the REFRESH AND RENEW workshop, a $300 value about helping your writing move into the future and making more money with your writing.
If you haven’t supported the Kickstarter yet (or even if you have) I hope you’ll consider pitching in a little (or a little more) to help them reach the next goal.
To see the Kickstarter, click https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/403649867/writing-bundles. Thanks!
A Bit of Silliness
I’m not a big fan of the term “pantser.” To me it is derogatory, and it’s at least an exercise in misunderstanding. Oddly, those who use it most often are native English speakers, though I suspect they’re only feigning fluency in the language.
pantser, n. 1. A bully. 2. Specifically, one who removes the pants of another, usually with a swift, downward jerking motion, without permission or warning and usually in public.
But I digress. Let’s look at an equally silly term, although one that is at least actually descriptive.
plodder, n. (in fiction writing) 1. One who meticulously plods through a manuscript, having first plodded through an outline, presumably to exert absolute control over every aspect of something as unimportant as a fiction (something that has not yet happened and will never happen except, maybe, by sheer coincidence).
While I’m playing, another term I find ridiculous is “organic writer.” I assume some writer came up with the term, probably to deflect being called a “pantser,” but I wonder whether he or she really thought it through.
organic writer, n. 1. presumably, a writer created without the use of pesticides. 2. a writer who subsists purely on bovine excrement or other forms of manure.
Okay, that last one might actually be appropriate for some of us.
In case you’re wondering, I prefer the term “writer.”
Yesterday, I wrote for three sessions and got just over 3600 words (see Day 7). I was going to come back for a fourth session, but I got sidetracked and called it a day.
The novel’s running along fine. It practically writes itself. The only “problem” I’ve noticed with this one is that I have so many POV characters I have to remember to switch among them relatively frequently.
But really, that’s a nice problem to have. Earlier yesterday, I remembered one of those and went back to insert a new Chapter 12 (I was on Chapter 16 when I remembered). As I said, the book’s writing itself. All I really have to remember is who gets to be the center of the next scene. (grin)
Today, per usual, I’ll write. Frankly, I can hardly wait to get back to it.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See PG’s take on “The supply chain for book publishing is being changed by Coronavirus too” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-supply-chain-for-book-publishing-is-being-changed-by-coronavirus-too/. The title of this one should actually read “big publishing” rather than “book publishing.”
See “got imagination?” at https://prowriterswriting.com/got-imagination.
See “The Decade Ahead: Second Quarter” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/the-decade-ahead-second-quarter/.
The Numbers
Fiction words yesterday…………………… 3606
Nonfiction words today…………… 600 (Journal)
Writing of The Good of the Galaxy 2 (novel)
Day 1…… 6138 words. Total words to date…… 6138
Day 2…… 4514 words. Total words to date…… 10652
Day 3…… 3633 words. Total words to date…… 14285
Day 4…… 3181 words. Total words to date…… 17466
Day 5…… 3224 words. Total words to date…… 20690
Day 6…… 3954 words. Total words to date…… 24644
Day 7…… 3606 words. Total words to date…… 28250
Total fiction words for the month……… 65020
Total fiction words for the year………… 273002
Total nonfiction words for the month… 20750
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 101900
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 374902
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 4
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 12
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 49
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 208
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31