The Journal, Monday, October 15

Hey Folks,

Half the month is gone. I’ve written fiction only one day this month, and that was ill-advised. Still, it is what it is. I hope all of you are having a better month writing than I am. (grin)

But today all of that changes.

I’m feeling much better overall. I realized yesterday I didn’t get tired as quickly or as early in the day. I’ve learned new ways of getting dressed without assistance, and yesterday for the first time since the operation I was able to wash my entire body in the shower without assistance. Woohoo!

Maybe most importantly, I believe I’ve passed the point where I might inadvertently do something to dislodge the device-to-ticker wires the doc placed so carefully. Wouldn’t want to disrupt his handiwork, but neither do I want to let my newfound vigor go unused.

So today I’ll begin a streak of writing fiction every day.

I specify “writing fiction” every day vs. “writing” every day because the latter is easy. I’ve written almost every day through this entire ordeal and could easily have written every day if that were important to me. Writing fiction every day is a slightly more difficult endeavor.

Anyway, I’m excited to be back. Part of my resolve comes from an item in “Of Interest” today, though I disagree with some of the blanket assumptions pointed out in the OP.

However, the OP caused me to consider why writing fiction every day is important to me, and why I recommend it if it’s something that appeals to you. So here are my own reasons:

Topic: Why Writing Fiction Every Day Is Important

1. Production — For a writer, production of new work is important, and nothing enhances production like a positive routine.

2. The challenge — Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It’s energizing to me to challenge myself, and I’m always excited to see what I’ve accomplished when the dust clears.

3. Improving storytelling skills — The more often I write while practicing newly learned concepts, the more I understand and the faster my skills improve.

4. Cultivating awareness of story ideas — The more I write, the more I exercise the idea muscle. The more exercise it gets, the easier it is to use.

5. Developing and ingraining habits — Even as I practice new concepts I’m also repeating and reinforcing my use of previously learned concepts. The more I write, the more ingrained those concepts become. (For example, using all five senses in every new scene or chapter opening.)

6. Seeing the power of compounding in action — Writing fiction every day enables the power of a streak. The streak repays me by driving me to the keyboard. The more I write, the more quickly my numbers (of words and of publications) grow, and the better chance my audience will continue to grow.

7. More fun — The more I write fiction, the more I want to write. The more time I get to spend with my characters in their situations, the greater the sense of escape and the more enjoyable the writing becomes.

8. A sense of accomplishment — Few events in my life have given me a greater sense of having accomplished something than to realize I’m working on my 34th novel in four years. And when I’ve written only a few more short stories I will have written over 200 of them. And of course, the future is what we make it.
***

Getting back on the horse of Heinlein’s Rules 1–3 really isn’t all that difficult. Not if you love to tell stories. I will also endeavor to get back on HR 4, getting covers done and getting the finished work out there. (grin)

Not a huge day today, but I got back into the story.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Remember My Last Challenge?” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/remember-my-last-challenge/. I so admire this man’s candor.

See “A Million Indie Titles Were Published Last Year, and Other Nonsense” at http://www.thepassivevoice.com/a-million-indie-titles-were-published-last-year-and-other-nonsense/. Be sure to read TPG’s thoughtful and humorous take even if you choose to click through to the OP later.

See “Why A Daily Writing Habit Improves Your Life” at http://www.thepassivevoice.com/why-a-daily-writing-habit-improves-your-life/. See my take above.

See “I hate the new word processors” at http://www.thepassivevoice.com/i-hate-the-new-word-processors/. A timely reminder that the machine cannot displace the value of the human mind.

See “First Page Critique: A Plan of Change” at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/10/first-page-critique-a-plan-of-change.html. Maybe valuable if you wonder about foreshadowing. And if you can read through the comma splice the author put in her revision of the submitted work. Sigh.

Fiction Words: 1468
Nonfiction Words: 750 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 2218

Writing of Nick 3 (novel, tentative title)
Brought forward from September………… 21695

Day 10… 1736 words. Total words to date…… 23431
Day 11… 1468 words. Total words to date…… 24899

Total fiction words for the month……… 1736
Total fiction words for the year………… 338462
Total nonfiction words for the month… 7100
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 140196
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 479876

Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 7
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 11
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 33
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 6
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………………… 193

Days of writing fiction……………………………………… 1