In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Gripes of the Day
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“[I]f an artist of any kind sits around waiting for inspiration, he’ll have a very small body of work. Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” Madeline L’Engle
Gripes of the Day
Gripe 1
“Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said and done, comes down to dollars.” Nicholas Sparks
Okay, first, duh. Do people never grow weary of stating an obvious fact as if no one’s ever said it before?
Second and more importantly, does Mr. Sparks actually mean writing “may be” art? So it also may not be art?
If he were cornered and asked by a person armed with an understanding of the nuances of the language and a modicum of common sense, I suspect and hope he would shrink back and say, “Well, no. Obviously writing IS art.”
If it isn’t apparent yet, I despise — no, I hate — the lazy, high-brow, haughty, smug, snotty, inappropriate use of “may be” when a person at least should mean to say or write “is” because the situation obviously demands it. Using “may be” when you mean “is” serves only one purpose: to avoid taking responsibility for stating the obvious.
And yes, I know any number of dictionaries will say “may be” is a perfectly appropriate stand-in for “is.” Most dictionaries, to my dismay, also say “likely” is fine to use as a synonym for “probably.” I suspect that’s because modifying the definition is (not “may be”) easier than teaching people that not all words that end in “ly” are adverbs and “likely” is actually an adjective that is synonymous with “probable,” not “probably.”
A long time ago when I was a Marine Corps recruiter, some general somewhere (or some lower-ranking officer trying to impress a general) came up with an ingenius way to increase the recruiting pool. At the time, the Corps required all potential recruits to be high-school graduates. But recruitments were flagging.
Instead of being honest and changing that requirement, said officer changed the definition of high-school graduate. If a person “sat through” twelve years of school and could provide transcripts to prove it, then that person was deemed a high-school grad and qualified for recruitment. Sigh. (No, as a recruiter I never took advantage of the new definition. Upright is not a matter of degree.)
Back to Mr. Sparks — Characters, in dialogue, speak however they speak and that’s fine. But the first time a narrator uses “may be” when he means “is,” or “likely” when he means “probably,” I close the novel, toss it in the trash, and find something more entertaining and less maddening to do. Like poking myself in the eye with a sharp object.
Gripe 2
“I had a lot of fun outlining the novel, but halfway through writing it, I realized that composing it felt too much like real work — like digging fence-post holes or working on an assembly line. I’d had all of my fun up front, in creating the outline, and thus the writing became drudgery.” David Farland, in “Plotting Your Story” (see “Of Interest” below)
In the quote above, Farland is referencing a once-upon-a-time moment when he was required by the publisher to create an outline which the publisher would then approve before he was allowed to write a Star Wars novel.
Note that Dean Wesley Smith, a contemporary of David Farland, also wrote Star Wars novels and also was required to submit an outline for approval. So he wrote the outline and submitted it. And when the approval came back, he threw the outline away and wrote the novel into the dark. The publisher never noticed.
As I’ve alluded to in other editions of the Journal recently, I’m always amazed when I come across a writer who gets as close as Farland does above to an epiphany and then misses it or pulls back.
In the quote, Farland states an obvious truth. Later in the article he does his best to avoid putting it into practice.
Now instead of plotting his novels, he plots only the first third, then writes. Then he plots the second third, then writes. Then the final third.
I understand from those who read his work Farland’s fantasy novels are excellent. I can’t help but wonder how much more excellent they would be if only he would let go and trust himself completely.
Don’t worry. “Gripes of the Day” won’t become a regular feature of the Journal.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Some Updates” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/some-updates/. In which Dean’s critical mind is showing a few times, proof that it sneaks up on all of us.
See “Plotting Your Story” at https://mystorydoctor.com/david-farlands-writing-tips-plotting-your-story/. No, I do not advise plotting your story. In fact, as if you didn’t know, I advise strongly against plotting your story. In my humble opinion, David Farland should read his quote above until he gets it.
See “The Differences Between Line Editing, Copy Editing, and Proofreading” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-differences-between-line-editing-copy-editing-and-proofreading/. Silly, really. With whatever editing you hire, don’t allow anyone to change the content of your book. Defend your work.
See “Editing: The Three Levels Of Hell” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/01/editing-the-three-levels-of-hell.html. Yawn. Stretch. Whatever.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 870 words
Writing of The Journey Home: Part 5 (novel)
Day 1…… 4179 words. Total words to date…… 4179
Day 2…… 4825 words. Total words to date…… 9004
Day 3…… 2746 words. Total words to date…… 11750
Day 4…… 4032 words. Total words to date…… 15782
Day 5…… 2873 words. Total words to date…… 18655
Day 6…… 2052 words. Total words to date…… 20707
Day 7…… 4313 words. Total words to date…… 25020
Day 8…… 3501 words. Total words to date…… 28521
Day 9…… 4209 words. Total words to date…… 32730
Total fiction words for January……… 35948
Total fiction words for the year………… 35948
Total nonfiction words for December… 9300
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 9300
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 45248
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 54
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 214
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31