In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Update on my construction woes
* Better than usual
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“A successful runner doesn’t see the finish line in a race; he sees ten yards beyond it. That’s his goal and the visualization keeps him moving beyond the expected end. A good writer does the same thing – pushes beyond the obvious limit to ensure a successful conclusion.” Dan Baldwin in “The Long and Short of Endings” (To subscribe free email baldco@msn.com.)
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” Andy Warhol (via Dan Baldwin)
“You don’t regurgitate plot. You give them the elevator pitch. And if you can’t answer in three sentences or less, chances are you’ve lost a sale.” PJ Parrish
“Coming up with a headline or slogan for your story is a great clarifying exercise. It makes you think beyond mere plot and deep into that sweet spot where story, character and theme mesh.” PJ Parrish
Yup. Same applies for the art of writing.
Update on my construction woes
Well, I’m no engineer, but I managed to figure out a Y gate and got’er done. (Yeah, I like Larry the Cable Guy. Sue me.) It took ’til mid-morning because I tied the fence sections to the t-posts correctly. It’s an art form.
Still some work to do, but just bits and pieces here and there, so I can do those on successive mornings without wearing myself out and having to rest for the balance of the day.
Today I’ll write and attend the remainder of Dean’s “Covers 101” workshop. I enrolled but have been so busy with other things I forget about the workshop at times and lagged behind.
Better than usual “Of Interest” items today with links for the quirky and/or horror, links for SF and for fiction writers in general.
Of Interest
See “The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mary-toft-gave-birth-to-rabbits. A solid basis for a horror story or two.
See “25 Themed Calls for Submissions” at https://www.authorspublish.com/25-themed-submissions-calls-for-october-2020/.
See “Very Impressed…” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/very-impressed/. Covers 101 is a good basic class in design elements for covers. Something to consider.
See “Looking For Your Story’s Heart? Try To Write Its Headline” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/10/looking-for-your-storys-hearttry-to-write-its-headline.html. I would add only that you can do this after the story is written (in case you’re WITD). And this post includes an exercise.
See “NASA is testing the first of its new moonwalking spacesuits” at https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-spacesuits-tech-underwater-photos.
See “Did NASA detect a hint of life on Venus in 1978 and not realize it?” at https://www.space.com/life-on-venus-pioneer-13.html.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 450 words
Writing of “Turnaround” (short story)
Day 1…… 1092 words. Total words to date…… 1092
Day 2…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXX (done)
Writing of Blackwell Ops 8 (novel)
Day 1…… 1653 words. Total words to date…… 1653
Day 2…… 1043 words. Total words to date…… 2696
Day 3…… 1711 words. Total words to date…… 4407
Day 4…… 1221 words. Total words to date…… 5628
Day 5…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXX
Writing of Body on the Beach (novel, working title)
Day 1…… 1135 words. Total words to date…… 1135
Day 1…… 1409 words. Total words to date…… 2544
Total fiction words for the month……… XXXX
Total fiction words for the year………… 335194
Total nonfiction words for the month… 2140
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 152530
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 487724
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 5
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 12
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 50
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 213
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31