In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* If I may wax
* I knew better
* Someone asked me
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“I will be glad to see 2021 arrive so I can get back to getting back to being uninterrupted by all the crapfulessness going on.” Anonymous
Me too, brother. Me too.
“Yet another reason to prioritize writing: Probably nobody ever has broken an arm while at the keyboard.” My tongue-in-cheek version of being ‘supportive’ to a writer friend who broke her arm while doing something other than writing
“I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool ya
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the lord of song
With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah.”
Leonard Cohen, Verse 4 of “Halleluja”
If I may wax a little personal for a moment, the last quote above is probably my favorite series of words written in the English language. They speak to me personally.
Separate of the rest of the song, that verse alone could be titled “Confession of an Honest Man.”
When I last heard the song, I had a mental image of songwriters all around the world slapping their pens to their desks with a disgusted sigh. May we all write with that honesty and to that degree of clarity.
I knew better when I wrote yesterday that I ‘planned’ to take time off between now and the end of the year. This morning I’ll create the cover for The Journey Home: Part 1 and get it up for pre-sale and for publication on January 1.
Yesterday, I did get the promo doc done for all three The Journey Home books, I did get the first readers’ input applied to Part 1, and I did find the cover illustration for Part 1.
But more on that cover:
One of the big things I’ve learned about book covers is that for fiction (novels and short stories), most often the cover art should be an illustration, not a photograph. Photographs are better for non-fiction.
My friend, novelist, poet and desgigner extraordinaire Robert J. Sadler agreed to design a cover illustration for The Journey Home: Part 1. He got it ready for me overnight and it was in my inbox this morning. I am a very fortunate guy.
If you visit his site (also in “Of Interest”), click the Novels tab to see all the novels in his Michael Grant Black Book Investigation mysteries. To see Robert’s art, click the Art tab on his website, or visit Fine Art America at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-robert-sadler/shop. Frankly, his personal website is more appealing.
So this morning I’ll put the cover together and put that one up. After that, I’m going back to writing. By which I mean I’ll re-open my creative subconscious for business. I’ve no doubt I’ll start The Journey Home: Part 4 today or tomorrow.
I was stupid to think I should put off writing in order to publish things. Without the feeling of those keys moving under my fingers, I’m a nervous wreck. And being nervous makes me want a cigar. So if you think about it, I’m writing for my health. (grin)
Someone asked me recently, in light of how “fast” and how much I write, “But what do you do for fun?”
I shrugged. “I write for fun.”
“No, I mean what do you do to relax, to get away from writing.”
“You don’t understand. Writing IS how I relax. Pretty much everything else is a chore. Writing is fun.”
I wish the same for all of you.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Year End Half Price Workshop Sale” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/year-end-half-price-workshop-sale/. Linking to this for the sale.
See “Robert J. Sadler” at https://www.robertjsadler.com/.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 640 words
Writing of The Journey Home: Part 4 (novel)
Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX
Total fiction words for December……… 97285
Total fiction words for the year………… 549816
Total nonfiction words for December… 18000
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 203210
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 753026
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 9
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 13
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 54
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 214
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31