The Journal, Sunday, April 29

Hey Folks,

Well, I’m officially under the weather. I thought it was just allergies. By all accounts, the season is worse this year for some reason.

But mine’s developed into a full-blown (no pun intended) head cold. I did get more sleep last night than I’ve had in the past few nights combined, but it was still spotty at best.

No writing today. I have one major chore that I can’t put off (clearing some drain pipes) but otherwise I plan to rest and read today.

Some thoughts on the WIP…..

I have two short stories in the novel/collection WIP that are great as short stories but won’t be anything else. Frankly, that’s what I wanted and expected. I’d forgotten how much my subconscious prefers to write novels.

But it does. As a result, I have one short story in the novel/collection that wraps nicely as a short story but also consists of the first five or six chapters of a novel.

I have one short story that I started a few days ago and set aside to finish later. That one will wrap as a short story only, and that’s fine. But it’s one that I have to be in a particular mood to write (time period, setting, characters, etc. require it).

The one I started two days ago and added a little to yesterday, though… it’s the opening for a novel, but no way is it going to wrap as a short story. If I force it, I’ll lose the long story that it wants to be, so I won’t do that. When it’s finished, it will be a noir crime/detective novel with a female lead, my first.

So when I go back to the WIP (I hope that will be tomorrow) it will be to write a brand new short story and another intermission. Then I’ll be about halfway home with the WIP.

I’ll go ahead and post this (very) early so I don’t forget later. Hope you all have a great day.

See you tomorrow. ​

Of Interest

Incredibly, Dean continues to close-in on his challenge. See “Two Story Day” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/two-story-day/. It still isn’t the same as doing it in a single streak, but still, it’s a pretty big deal.

If you’re a crime/detective/intrigue/suspense writer you might want to visit http://crimereads.com/ and see what they have to offer. You can also subscribe to their weekly CrimeReads Brief newsletter. It’s free and very interesting.

Fiction Words: XXXX
Nonfiction Words: 410 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 410

Writing of The Storytellers
Brought forward………………………………………………………………… 1304

Day 2…… 2966 words. Total words to date…… 4270
Day 3…… 4475 words. Total words to date…… 8745
Day 4…… 1718 words. Total words to date…… 10463
Day 5…… 3825 words. Total words to date…… 14228
Day 6…… 3328 words. Total words to date…… 17556
Day 7…… 3899 words. Total words to date…… 21455
Day 8…… 1227 words. Total words to date…… 22682
Day 9…… 1135 words. Total words to date…… 23817
Day 10… 1108 words. Total words to date…… 24925
Day 11… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month……… 47745
Total fiction words for the year………… 161286
Total nonfiction words for the month… 15250
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 49010
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 252026

Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 3
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 30
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 5
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………………… 182