In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Rain
* I had a great deal of fun
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“Story is more important than style.” David Farland
Another group of words that should be attached via sticky note to the edge of every writing computer everywhere. Right alongside “Story is more important than words.”
To use a builder analogy, if words are nails and the writing computer is the hammer, Story is the Taj Mahal.
“[L]ong before we dreamed of cities, I imagine we should probably have had a premonition, dreamed the sound of lonely saxophones on fire escapes.” David Searcy
Rain is a big deal for us in the desert southwest, and more precisely, in southeast Arizona. At tiny little St. David (roughly halfway between Benson and Tombstone on your map) we got 1.6″ of rain two days ago and 1.1″ of rain yesterday. For us, that is a deluge of biblical proportions.
I enjoy the meaty, deep-throated thunder and the overcast, much-cooler days and nights. In the Hovel with its 3-foot thick adobe walls, it’s easy to imagine sitting in a bunker and listening to devastation outside.
I won’t write it though, probably. My bunker has already made an appearance in several stories at at least a few novels.
I especially enjoy the quiet, feather-edged mental silence ushered in by the physical pattering of rain on the metal roof.
Unfortunately, we’ve been in a drought. Out in the desert (and even around the edges of my yard), away from a regular source of water, the mesquites and acacias and bird-of-paradise plants don’t even have beans this year.
I had a great deal of fun reading and leaving comments at The Passive Voice and the KillZone blog this morning. An enjoyable way to ease into the day.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “The Mournfulness of Cities” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/the-mournfulness-of-cities/. Beautifully written.
See “Hot People Unlearn Fatphobia and Stories+Spells for the Dog Days – the latest from Bookshop.org” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/hot-people-unlearn-fatphobia-and-storiesspells-for-the-dog-days-the-latest-from-bookshop-org/. Do yourself a favor and see PG’s rational take.
See “A Lot of Stuff for Writers” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/a-lot-of-stuff-for-writers/.
See “Exploding the 10,000-hour Myth” at https://mystorydoctor.com/exploding-the-10000-hour-myth-2/.
See “Turning Inspiration into Habit” at https://mystorydoctor.com/turning-inspiration-into-habit/.
See “Getting Great ‘Word of Mouth’ Advertising” at https://mystorydoctor.com/getting-great-word-of-mouth-advertising/.
See “Beyond Google: 6 Reliable Resources for Researching Your Novel” at https://prowritingaid.com/art/1576/research-resources-for-authors.aspx. Thanks to KC for the tip.
See “POP QUIZ ON ADJECTIVES” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/07/pop-quiz-on-adjectives.html. As always, in service of Story, sometimes it’s important to get the word order wrong. Witness “I Sing the Body Electric” vs. the corrected “I sing the electric body.” Strictly for fun, of course.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 430 words
Writing of WCGN 4: William J. Pinchot (tentative title, novel)
Day 1…… 1965 words. Total words to date…… 1965
Day 2…… 2624 words. Total words to date…… 4589
Total fiction words for July……… 51497
Total fiction words for the year………… 580176
Total nonfiction words for July… 13470
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 139250
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 719436
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 12
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 65
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.