In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Info-packed “Of Interest” today
* Today and critical mind
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“That which horrifies me interests me, and those things that horrify me the most sometimes become a book.” Douglas Preston, suspense author (with Lincoln Child)
I like to think what I pass along in “Of Interest” is good every day, but today is a little special.
During some research yesterday I stumbled on Strand Magazine. They have a blog. Within that blog they have a “Writing Tips” category. A lot of the “Of Interest” section today is devoted to posts in that category from Strand.
I’m always excited to find a new (to me) source of knowledge. As always, take what works for you and leave the rest.
But I encourage you not to be a genre snob. For example, even if you have no interest in writing mysteries, you might find some great ideas/gems in the post on mysteries. I’ve learned 99% of everything I know about writing fiction from picking up bits and pieces here and there, filtering gems from piles of rubble.
Rolled out late at 3 this morning. I wish I could get it right.
I most often go to bed at 7 p.m. When I get up at 1 (6 hrs), I’m a little groggy and I feel like I have time to fill, and frankly, I most often fill it with nonsense. When I get up at 3 (8 hrs), I’m also a little groggy and I feel rushed. When I rise at 2 (7 hrs), I’m wide awake and it feels just right. I’ll keep working on it.
I put together the stuff above, read some of the articles below and browsed a few others, went to the house to release the hound, and finally got to the novel at 5:30.
By the way, as it sometimes does my critical mind tried playing havoc with me this morning. As I walked to the house, I reconsidered a scene I wrote yesterday. That scene might make some readers uneasy. Maybe I should back up and take the story in a different direction. (Translated: Maybe I should force my will on the story.)
Fortunately, I recognized it for what it was. I reminded myself to leave the scene alone and leave it in-place. To Just Write The Next Sentence. And I reminded myself that I don’t know what role that scene might play as the story continues to unfold. Only my characters and my creative subconscious know that. And it’s my characters’ story, not mine.
In MY story, I was on my way to let the pup out of his kennel. In THEIR story, the characters are doing what they do. Duh. My only job is to provide the physical fingers the characters need to put their story on the page. Then I muttered aloud, “It’s worked well-over 250 times before, Stanbrough. Whaddayou, stupid? Leave it alone.”
Just so you know, even after you learn to Trust your subconscious creative mind, the CM still never goes away, but it does become easier to recognize. After that it’s up to you to make it go sit in its corner and be quiet.
Some cycling (I do a lot of that in this very psychological WIP) and a little over 1000 words later, I’m headed to the house for breakfast.
Pretty good day today. It isn’t noon yet and I have well over 4,000 words.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “March Workshops Available” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/march-workshops-available/. This is much more than just about the March workshops.
See “9 Time Management Tips For Writers” at https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2020/02/13/9-time-management-tips-for-writers/.
See “How the Earliest Crime Scene Investigators Identified Murder Victims” at https://crimereads.com/how-the-earliest-crime-scene-investigators-identified-murder-victims/. Great if you’re writing a story set in the early 20th century.
See “The Art of Collaboration” at https://strandmag.com/the-art-of-collaboration-2/. This is strictly coincidence, I swear. (grin)
See ALSO “The Art of Collaboration” at https://strandmag.com/the-art-of-collaboration/. Again, this is strictly coincidence. (grin)
See “The Ten Best Ways To Find And Develop Story Ideas For Mysteries” at https://strandmag.com/the-ten-best-ways-to-find-and-develop-story-ideas-for-mysteries/.
See “Writing Tips: 5 Tips for Building a Page-Turner” at https://strandmag.com/writing-tips-5-tips-for-building-a-page-turner/.
See “Karin Slaughter’s Killer Writing Tips” at https://strandmag.com/karin-slaughters-killer-writing-tips/.
If it isn’t a repeat, see “Worldbuilding: Crime and Fantasy Books Have More in Common Than You Might Think” at https://crimereads.com/worldbuilding-crime-and-fantasy-books-have-more-in-common-than-you-might-think/.
Explore the “Writing Tips” category at https://strandmag.com/category/writing-tips/ but be prepared to be sucked down a very enjoyable rabbit hole.
The Numbers
Fiction words today…………………… 4866
Nonfiction words today…………… 730 (Journal)
Writing of The Three-Year Turn (novel)
Day 1…… 3570 words. Total words to date…… 3570
Day 2…… 4026 words. Total words to date…… 7596
Day 3…… 4251 words. Total words to date…… 11847
Day 4…… 2117 words. Total words to date…… 13964
Day 5…… 3139 words. Total words to date…… 17103
Day 6…… 3191 words. Total words to date…… 20294
Day 7…… 3220 words. Total words to date…… 23514
Day 8…… 4866 words. Total words to date…… 28380
Total fiction words for the month……… 37969
Total fiction words for the year………… 103513
Total nonfiction words for the month… 9870
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 41130
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 144643
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 5
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 47
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 201
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31