In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* One more note on The Ark
* My internet connection
* Early feedback on The Ark
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“Many great projects go through a stage early on where they don’t seem very impressive, even to their creators. You have to push through this stage to reach the great work that lies beyond.” Paul Graham (thanks to Phillip M. for the tip)
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Mark Twain
“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka’ but ‘That’s funny…’ Isaac Asimov
“Semper aut discere, aut docere, aut scribere dulce habui.” (I always took delight in learning, or teaching, or writing.) Bede
All quotes above taken from http://paulgraham.com/quo.html.
One more note on The Ark before I move on to the next novel. There might be a lesson here for others. As I wrote to a friend, “It was a really weird feeling when I finished [The Ark]. I felt like it was just slowing down (as they sometimes do) and then I realized nope, it was a romance and it was almost at the end.”
The writing had slowed a few times before and I’d simply written the next sentence, then the next, and the writing picked up again. I figured this was no different.
So this time again I wrote the next sentence, then the next and the next. And the realization came over me that I’d reached the end. The story had come full circle to the beginning. I wrote maybe two more sentences and it was done.
By the way, here’s the quote that I’ll add as the epigraph at the beginning of the book:
“[E]ither a nuclear confrontation or environmental catastrophe will cripple the Earth at some point in the next 1,000 years. However, by then our ingenious race will have found a way to slip the surly bonds of Earth and will therefore survive the disaster.” Stephen Hawking
I’ve used an epigraph in only a few of my novels, but this one seemed perfect for The Ark. If it looks familiar, I used a similar quote as a Quote of the Day in the October 21 post. Anyway, I’ve found that epigraph also refocuses me on the direction of the series I’ve entered into with The Ark.
My internet connection is spotty at best recently. My ethernet connection to the modem at the house is failing, and WiFi is extremely weak because of the distance (about 100 yards) and the Hovel itself (3-foot thick walls). So if I disappear for a day or two, that’s why.
I was shocked but very pleased to receive feedback already from one of my first readers. Russ J. who wrote, “I just finished breezing through The Ark, and absolutely loved it! … I started it because I couldn’t fall asleep last night, thinking that if I just read for a while I might be able to, but having begun it I couldn’t put it down.”
He did find one mistake, a typo, which I quickly corrected. Thanks, Russ! But now I have to get over myself and write the next one. (grin)
Once my internet problems clear, I’ll probably move the official posting time for the Journal back to an earlier time of day. I’m in the habit of getting it out early, and delaying reporting of my fiction numbers to the next day isn’t a big deal. And I’ve found pushing the Journal to the end of the day puts unnecessary pressure on my fiction writing.
Plus I’ve gotten input on when I release the Journal from only one person, who basically said she doesn’t care when it comes as long as it does. (grin)
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Early Work” at http://paulgraham.com/early.html. Thanks to Phillip M. for the tip. I’ll be exploring Paul Graham’s website further.
See “Save Time on Social Media” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/11/save-time-on-social-media.html.
See “The Limits of the Viral Book Review” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-limits-of-the-viral-book-review/. From PG’s take, “PG is, unfortunately, reminded of the precursors to mass movements and hatreds generated by Hitler and Mussolini over 70 years ago.”
See “Here’s How Lenny Kravitz Creates…” at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/331038. Again, thanks to Phillip M. for the tip.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 730 words
Writing of (novel)
Day 1…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX
Total fiction words for November……… 31622
Total fiction words for the year………… 394900
Total nonfiction words for November… 8780
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 174620
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 569520
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 6
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 13
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 51
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 214
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31