The Journal: On Solitude, and Openings

In today’s Journal

* Quotes of the Day
* On Solitude and Dismissive Attitudes
* Openings
* The Numbers

Quotes of the Day

from my Did She Really Say That? file

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” Jodi Picoult (via The Passive Voice)

Note: Whatever the reason, I absolutely LOVE solitude, not that it would do any good to tell Ms. Picoult that, given her self-centered, audacious assertion that “no matter what they tell you,” they are lying and she is correct.

I feel pity for Ms. Picoult in her solitude, but her dismissive attitude sums up why she must endure it. It isn’t the world, Ms. Picoult; it’s you.

I wrote another opening yesterday, this one for a different novel. But like the one I wrote the day before, I didn’t like it either so I trashed it too.

My openings are all 800 to 1200 words, so that’s around 1600 to 2400 words I wrote and then tossed out. No biggie. Words to a writer are like nails to a carpenter. If you find a box of bent ones, you toss them out and get another box.

Really, I think I haven’t been in the mood to write the past couple of days. I’ll keep showing up each day and the story will come when the characters are ready.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Heroes and Anti-Heroes” at https://mystorydoctor.com/heroes-and-anti-heroes-3/.

See “Writing In Public” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/writing-in-public/.

See “AI (Artificial Intelligence) for Authors” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/02/ai-artificial-intelligence-for-authors.html.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 280 words

Writing of (novel)

Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for February……… 61803
Total fiction words for the year………… 159170
Total nonfiction words for February… 12600
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 37930
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 197209

Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 3
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 1
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 57
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 215
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31