In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* I’m not back
* Topic: Browsing for Information
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“As a child I’d run into Wilde’s witticism ‘The only true talent is precociousness.’ I took my writing seriously, and it seemed to pay off.” Samuel R. Delany
In the early part of the movie Twister, Bill keeps saying, “I’m not back.” It provides a quiet comedic undertone. Which is a little how I feel this morning. I’m not back. But I found a few things I hoped you would see and I had a thought I wanted to share about browsing the Internet for info on writing. So here you go.
Topic: Browsing for Information
Several days ago I provided a partial list of URLs that I recommend browsing on a daily or almost daily basis. But I also mentioned that many of those sites offer bad information as often or more often than they offer good information.
At the time, by “bad information” I meant the same tired old clichéd advice you can find practically anywhere. The same advice you’ve been hearing most of your life. The same advice that has never worked. Most who read that stuff do so only to delay the actual writing. And really, that’s about all it’s good for.
And by “good information” I meant advice that piques your interest and that you have NOT heard pretty much your whole life. This is usually advice that empowers you as an individual (teaches you to trust yourself and your creative subconscious) and advances your skills as a writer. It’s often either a whole new way of doing things or a new take on a specific aspect of writing (scenes or hooks or cliffhangers or endings, for example). Most who read that sort of thing do so because they’re excited to learn and absorb something new they can then apply to their work. Or they find something interesting that can benefit them in other ways.
I’m always (a-l-w-a-y-s) in the latter camp.
When I browse those (and other) sites first thing in the morning, as each site opens, I glance at the title of the current offering.
If the title doesn’t grab me — usually because it’s the same regurgitated BS I’ve heard a thousand times before, like “Seven Steps to Writing a Blockbuster Novel” (Reedsy often falls into this category) — I hit the Back button on my browser and click the URL of the next site I want to check.
But if the title DOES grab my interest — say something like “One Tip for a Powerful Ending” — I read the first paragraph or two and give the writer an opportunity to teach me something new and earn a new devotee or to run me off.
1. If reading the article gives me a sense of moving forward, advancing my skill set as a writer, I continue reading.
2. But if I feel like I’m standing still (revisiting something I already know), or moving backward (as when a well-written title disguises something I’ve already tried and dismissed) I skip the rest and move on to the next URL I want to visit.
In other words, I visit those sites almost every morning, but I read only what’s unique. I don’t waste time reading new versions of the same old stuff.
Talk with you again when I can.
Of Interest
See “Losing An Art Form In Book Sales” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/losing-an-art-form-in-book-sales/.
See “Traveling… Oh, My….” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/traveling-oh-my/.
See “One Tip for a Powerful Ending” at https://mystorydoctor.com/david-farlands-writing-tips-one-tip-for-a-powerful-ending/.
See “Samuel R. Delany, The Art of Fiction” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/samuel-r-delany-the-art-of-fiction/.
See “How to and (Especially) How Not to Write About Family” at https://www.janefriedman.com/write-about-family-memoir/. FWIW if you’re interested in writing memoir.
See “What’s in a Name?” at https://prowriterswriting.com/whats-in-a-name/. And answer the question. (grin)
The Numbers
Fiction words yesterday…………………… XXXX
Nonfiction words today…………… 630 (Journal)
Writing of (novel)
Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX
Total fiction words for the month……… XXXXX
Total fiction words for the year………… 309655
Total nonfiction words for the month… 3360
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 119480
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 429135
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)………………… 208
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31