In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* I’ve updated the mentorships
* Topic: Heinlein’s Rule 2 — You Must Finish What You Write
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“At some point in the next 1,000 years, nuclear war or environmental calamity will ‘cripple Earth.’ However, by then, ‘our ingenious race will have found a way to slip the surly bonds of Earth and will therefore survive the disaster.’ The Earth’s other species probably won’t make it, though.” Max de Haldevang, quoting Stephen Hawking in Quartz magazine
“In fiction, emotional release is boring. Drama lives within a character’s efforts to keep his emotions in check–to plow forward despite the pain. We’ve seen it at funerals as sons and daughters struggle to get through their eulogy….” John Gilstrap
I’ve updated the mentorships I offer. If you’re want to invest in your writing with one-on-one instruction that will vastly improve your craft, visit https://harveystanbrough.com/the-writing-craft-mentorships/.
If you want to write but seem unable to get started, or if you want specific, one-on-one instruction on Inventory and Sales or Licensing, click https://harveystanbrough.com/non-writing-mentorships/.
Topic: Heinlein’s Rule 2 — You Must Finish What You Write
Much as I talk about being an adherent of Heinlein’s Rules, I haven’t been for awhile.
Immediately after I posted yesterday’s Journal entry, it struck me that I’d finished “Turnaround,” the short story I started earlier in the month.
Why was that significant? Certainly not because of the story itself. After all, even though it was great fun for me to write, it’s only another few minutes’ entertainment for the reader.
But it was significant because it dawned on me that all I did was “decide” to return to the story, read through what I’d already written (while allowing my character to touch it as I went), and then type the next sentence.
And that’s what I did. I let the character led me through to the end of the story, as I knew he would. (That “trust” thing from the October 19 post.)
So I re-learned a couple of valuable lessons:
1. Just Type the Next Sentence really is an invaluable piece of writing advice. It works when the story bogs down or gets stuck, and it works when you just leave a story for awhile for whatever reason and then come back to it.
2. If you want to be a writer, first you have to make a conscious decision to write. And then you have to sit down, put your fingers on the keyboard, and write. (Or as my grandma would say, “You have to put feet in your prayers.”)
If you write into the dark (see the second October 19 post), you trust your subconscious mind — your onboard storyteller — and write what you’re given. It’s wonderful, primarily because when you WITD, you don’t have to switch back and forth from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind.
For the past couple of months, I haven’t been a writer. I’ve been a student. Now maybe I can be both again. To that end, I’ve added a new project below to practice finishing what I start. Not that I’ll begin it immediately or move forward on it rapidly. I haven’t even written the opening yet. But I will. (grin)
Again, any patrons who would like to read any of the short stories I wrote while I was on a break from writing in general, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. I’ll send them to you, free, in PDF format.
For now, back to school.
Talk with you later.
Of Interest
See “2020 Holiday Spectacular” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/2020-holiday-spectacular/. As of this writing, this has already funded, but I still encourage you to read the post. They’re offering an exciting new workshop as well as a lot of other rewards.
See “The end of the general trade publishing concept” at https://www.idealog.com/blog/the-end-of-the-general-trade-publishing-concept/.
See “On Nurturing Writers” at https://mystorydoctor.com/david-farlands-writing-tips-on-nurturing-writers/. Yes! What he said.
See “Writing In The White Space” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/10/writing-in-the-white-space.html.
See “C:\ Thinking in an http: World” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/c-thinking-in-an-http-world/.
See “Two New Books and a tawny owl in a pear tree” at https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2020/10/two-new-books-and-tawny-owl-in-pear-tree.html.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 670 words
Writing of The Ark (novel or something)
Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXX
Total fiction words for the month……… 4415
Total fiction words for the year………… 339609
Total nonfiction words for the month… 9990
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 160380
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 499989
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 5
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 13
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 50
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 214
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31