In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Thanks to Matt
* Joy Fielding
* The last item
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“Any coincidence is worth noticing. You can throw it away later if it is only a coincidence.” Agatha Christie, via The Passive Voice
“[M]ost writers make less than ten thousand dollars a year, so you shouldn’t even be thinking of money. The odds are stacked against you, so you really need to love what you do. You need to be comfortable, even look forward to, spending hours every day—I recommend at least four—alone in a room with nothing but your computer and your imagination.” Joy Fielding
Thanks to Matt for recommending the herb rhodiola rosea to help ease the withdrawal symptoms from stimulants (in my case, caffeine and nicotine). I tried it and it works for me. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I recommend trying it.
I love the quote above from Joy Fielding. I took it from the article that is the subject of the second link in “Of Interest.” Some good, straight-forward information in the first half, much of it quotable.
Re the last item in “Of Interest” today, I’m not big on bloggers or instructors who address the readership or class as if we’re all 6 years old. What’s gained by all the schmoozy, cutesy crap? If you need to do that to keep your readership, I suggest your readership isn’t worth keeping.
How about respecting your audience as the professionals they are, or at least are trying to become? Seriously, giggle-giggle, wink-wink over homicide investigation techniques? Maybe it’s just me, but if I were in a classroom and the instructor was giggling and guffawing as he presented this information I’d wonder just how unhinged he was and whether maybe he did the murder himself.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Bobby Fischer and the Hero’s Journey” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/08/bobby-fischer-and-the-heros-journey.html.
See “What’s the Secret to Writing a Bestseller? Hint: There Isn’t One.” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/whats-the-secret-to-writing-a-bestseller-hint-there-isnt-one/.
See “When should writers return to old, abandoned work?” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/when-should-writers-return-to-old-abandoned-work/.
See “Academy Instructor Detective Sergeant Dilly Pickle: Homicide Crime Scenes” at https://leelofland.com/academy-instructor-detective-sergeant-dilly-pickle-homicide-crime-scenes/. If you can wade through the juvenilia, there’s some good info here.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 370 words
Writing of WCGN 5: Tentative Title (novel)
Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX
Total fiction words for August……… 6933
Total fiction words for the year………… 623282
Total nonfiction words for August… 6520
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 152950
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 776232
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 13
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 66
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: In this blog, I provide advice on writing fiction. I advocate a technique called Writing Into the Dark. To be crystal clear, WITD is not “the only way” to write, nor will I ever say it is. However, as I am the only writer who advocates WITD both publicly and regularly, I will continue to do so, among myriad other topics.
I’m glad you found it helpful Harvey. That herb was a God-send when I was cutting back on caffeine.
“I’m not big on bloggers or instructors who address the readership or class as if we’re all 6 years old. What’s gained by all the schmoozy, cutesy crap?”
I would have thought that more grown adults would resent being talked to this way, but I often find myself alone in this opinion. I don’t get it… but I don’t get a lot of things that are popular, so who knows?