In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the day
* On Process
* Today
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
Via the Passive Voice, “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” Italo Calvino
“Wayne Gretzky said, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’ The core of any unusual profession … is embodied in that quote: You can’t succeed if you don’t try.” Kristine Kathyrn Rusch
On Process
Yesterday I mentioned I thought the WIP was stalled. I opened it this morning, looked it over, and realized it no longer matters to me. For me, that’s a definitive sign: it’s stalled. Not a big deal. Just blah.
I thought about reading the whole thing over from the start, hoping that might jar something loose and the story might take off in a new direction. But I cycled through the whole thing only a few days ago. If it was going to unstick itself, it probably would have done so then.
As I wrote yesterday, I won’t devote a lot of time to messing with something that isn’t working. That’s the good pressure (vs. overwhelming bad pressure) of having goals. I might finish this one someday, but not in my current set of goals. For now, it’s just in the way.
So this morning I set Algae Prime aside. If it appeals to me in the future, I’ll finish it then. If it doesn’t, I won’t.
The only saving grace at this point is that the title (or something close to it, something it’s hinting at that I haven’t quite gotten) still intrigues me.
So I’ll think of what I’ve accomplished up to this point, I’ll count my blessings that this sort of thing happens to me only very rarely, and I’ll start something new.
Today I started and all but finished a new short story, tentatively titled “Chattering Pig.” But if I left that title in place, only military infantry guys would understand it. Tomorrow I’ll finish it (and come up with a real title), then begin another story.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Open content: 150,000 works from the museum collections of the city of paris, freely available” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/open-content-150000-works-from-the-museum-collections-of-the-city-of-paris-freely-available/. Need cover art? But be sure to read the entire post carefully.
See “Don’t Listen to the Naysayers (and Don’t Be One)” at https://harveystanbrough.com/pro-writers/dont-listen-to-the-naysayers-and-dont-be-one/. Yes, this posted in the Journal earlier, but it bears repeating.
See “The Dreaded Epilogue” at https://prowriterswriting.com/the-dreaded-epilogue/.
See “Mary Higgins Clark: Bestselling author dies aged 92” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/mary-higgins-clark-bestselling-author-dies-aged-92/.
See “Kickstarter Made It!” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/kickstarter-made-it/. Especially the few paragraphs that begin with “I actually think the videos about each story….”
See “The Year of The Cat” at https://kriswrites.com/2020/02/03/the-year-of-the-cat/.
See “Kat Martin and Larry Martin – Marriage Between Authors” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/02/kat-martin-and-larry-martin-marriage-between-authors.html. This is what a partnership in writing can be.
The Numbers
Fiction words today…………………… 3404
Nonfiction words today…………… 470 (Journal)
Writing of “Chattering Pig” (short story)
Day 1…… 3404 words. Total words to date…… 3404
Total fiction words for the month……… 6110
Total fiction words for the year………… 71654
Total nonfiction words for the month… 1970
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 33230
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 104884
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 47
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 199
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31