Hey Folks,
No Journal for yesterday. We did a lot of yard work and other necessarys, and I did some editing but that’s it. There was nothing even for the “Of Interest” section.
I did receive an email yesterday from Kris Rusch. Her website is being migrated from one ISP to another and the RSS subscriptions didn’t migrate with it, at least not yet. That just means for now it’s better to check the site manually. Which you can do at http://kriswrites.com.
***
If you use dictation for your writing, PLEASE be sure to read it over afterward (preferably aloud) before sending it to a proofreader or copyeditor. No dictation software is perfect, and some of them substitute “did you mean” words for the word you actually said (like “French” for “fridge”), fail to capitalize the first word of sentences in dialogue, etc.
***
For years, possibly the most common statement I’ve made in teaching writing is to Question Everything. I’m more than pleased to see Dean passing along the same advice in his post today (it’s in “Of Interest”). The guy is spot on, in my opinion.
There are a lot of gems in his post today. Some are practically buried. I recommend you read it two or three times, and if something he says makes you feel uncomfortable, Do That.
Also in today’s “Of Interest,” there’s a post by Clare Langley-Hawthorne on selecting titles.
For me, most often the title of a novel comes from a particularly memorable phrase that suits the work itself. Usually it comes from the manuscript, and sometimes from another’s novel in the same genre.
In the case of the latter, sometimes the title presents itself in whole cloth, but more often the phrase in another’s work stimulates thought that eventually suggests a title.
For example, the eventual title of my current WIP might well come from a pair of phrases from a Jack Higgins novel I just finished.
Either way, I seldom search for a title. More often, it presents itself as a small jolt of literary electricity.
I’ve read that Papa Hemingway recommended using phrases from the bible for titles, which he did on occasion.
And Dean, as we all know, starts with a title (title as trigger) and starts writing.
For short stories, often the title “appears” first and I write the story based on the title. Of course, sometimes a short story wants to expand and become more, sometimes with the same title. But when that title isn’t expansive enough, I go back to a phrase from the novella or novel.
***
This morning I pre-scheduled three more promo posts re my novels over on the main blog. That brings me up through September 25.
I hope these promo things are doing some good. What more can I do beyond giving away free review copies of my books? Sigh.
Around 7, out to the Hovel to cycle a bit more. I realized sometime over the weekend that as the basis for a longer (and separate) novel, the novella doesn’t have to remain intact. Duh. After the cycling, I’ll write awhile. Then this afternoon, I’ll do more on the copyedit, report my numbers below and post this poor, disjointed little edition of the Journal.
Finished the little bit of cycling I had to do in the first hour. In altering the first part of the new novel, I cut around 260 words and added some for a net gain to just over 200 words.
Took a short break for breakfast and then went back to the Hovel for session two.
After another short session, I had to deal with what turned out to be a minor emergency (whew!) in New Mexico via email and chat, and by then I was out of writing time.
Of Interest
See “Forcing the Help” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/forcing-the-help/.
See “A Title by Any Other Name” at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/08/a-title-by-any-other-name.html.
See “Rhyolite Ghost Town” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rhyolite-ghost-town. Maybe a good story setting/idea.
Talk with you again soon.
Fiction Words: 1611
Nonfiction Words: 680 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 2291
Writing of Nick Spalding 1 (novel, tentative title)
Brought forward…… 17778 words
Day 1…… 1449 words. Total words to date…… 19227
Day 2…… 1611 words. Total words to date…… 20838
Total fiction words for the month……… 38957
Total fiction words for the year………… 287254
Total nonfiction words for the month… 12950
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 111236
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 398240
Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 6
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 11
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 32
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 6
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………………… 193