In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Rider Jones Wrapped
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“PG suggests that electronic books and digital commerce in physical books (for people who still want them) is inherently superior to the business model of the physical bookstore.” The Passive Voice
Rider Jones Wrapped
Well, the novel wrapped yesterday, and it wrapped so hard I could barely see there for a little while. Does a scene in your writing ever sneak up on you emotionally like that? I both hope so and hope not, and both for your sake.
And yes, I’m as surprised as anyone else that it wrapped so soon after I was unable to sense the ending at all at the start of the day.
To say that things happen quickly and often unexpectedly in my head is an understatement. And that understatement is only exacerbated by the fact that it’s the characters’ (not my) story and that they (not I) are the ones living it and making good (and bad) decisions in that world.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that often it’s all I can do to keep up as I and the characters race through the story. More often, I fudge and play catch up during the cycling session when the characters take pity on me and languish, waiting for me to finish recording what’s been done so far.
Anyway, after the novel wrapped I took a break, then cycled through the last few chapters. Then I ran a spell check, sent it out to my first readers and took the rest of the day off. I might take today off too, and maybe tomorrow. I need to think a little about what I want to write next.
I could continue the Rider Jones series (not probable at the moment). Or I could return to Terra 2 to write Book 11 in the SF Future of Humanity (FOH) series. Or I could check in on Blackwell Ops and write Book 8 in that series. Or I could write Book 12 in the Wes Crowley saga and finish that one off. Or I could write something else.
If you’re stuck for ideas for some reason and any of the above appeal to you, I’m amenable to letting others write in my worlds. If you’re interested, just email me.
Oh. My wife asked yesterday whether this novel was the start of a new series. My only answer is probably.
This novel spans the first 21 years of Rider Jones’ life. But Rider’s already in his late 30s or early 40s in the short story included in Bitter Mountain Moonlight, so that leaves a lot of room for adventures in the time span between those two writings and after the short story. So I guess we’ll see.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “5 Paying Literary Markets to Submit to in May 2021” at https://authorspublish.com/5-paying-literary-markets-to-submit-to-in-may-2021/.
See “14 Ways Authors Express Gratitude” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/14-ways-authors-express-gratitude/.
See “What’s in a Bookstore?” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/whats-in-a-bookstore/. See PG’s take.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 500 words
Writing of Rider Jones (novel)
the novella brought forward………… 17309 words
Day 7…… 3288 words. Total words to date…… 20597
Day 8…… 5145 words. Total words to date…… 25742
Day 9…… 2732 words. Total words to date…… 28474
Day 10… 4092 words. Total words to date…… 32566
Day 11… 2537 words. Total words to date…… 35103
Day 12… 2813 words. Total words to date…… 37916
Day 13… 3925 words. Total words to date…… 41841
Day 14… 4212 words. Total words to date…… 46053
Day 15… 4083 words. Total words to date…… 50136 (done)
Total fiction words for May……… 21662
Total fiction words for the year………… 392941
Total nonfiction words for May… 4100
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 88960
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 481901
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 8
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 61
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.