The Journal, Sunday, November 25

Hey Folks,

I was in touch with Dean. He assured me he’s dealing with a problem he’s never encountered before as he attempts his challenge to write 10 novels in 100 days while coming off a major life roll and tries to get into shape.

I’m not ashamed to admit I was probably wrong in my musings yesterday about his dilemma. It isn’t difficult to be humble in the presence of greatness.

He and Kris are working through the problem. I have no doubt they’ll succeed in discovering and overcoming whatever it is. He also assured me he’ll keep us posted.

Topic: A Preliminary and Premature Obituary

You won’t be surprised to know I regard Dean Wesley Smith as a mentor, a kind of personal hero.

Had I never read his daily blog posts (or his series and books on Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing or his book Think Like a Publisher), I probably would still share in my weekly big blog over on the other site what I know about the nuances of the language.

I would still share what I know about punctuation, sentence structure, the use of fragments, realistic dialogue, characters, dialect and POV. And I would almost certainly still offer my services as a conscientious copyeditor.

But if it weren’t for Dean’s willingness to share his personal ups and downs in his daily blog post, this Journal probably wouldn’t exist. At all.

I probably also never would have attempted Harlan Ellison’s “writing in public.” And I might not have learned and been able to share anything at all about Story or Writing.

I wouldn’t have gleaned the tons of gems I’ve found over the years in his daily blog.

And most importantly from a purely selfish, personal standpoint, I wouldn’t have written nearly 200 short stories, 7 novellas, and 35 (soon to be 36) novels.

In short, I probably would still be a poet, but only a wannabe fictionist.

As with all great instructors, not all of what Dean shares is original to him. After all, he had to learn it too.

Think about it. There was a time when Hemingway or Shakespeare or Hammet or Chandler or Márquez (or Smith or Stanbrough or You) didn’t even know the alphabet existed or how to create a capital letter A from two longer lines and a shorter one.

Without Dean’s posts, I might never have stumbled onto Heinlein’s Rules or learned to trust my subconscious. I might never have learned to trust my characters to tell their own story.

I might still be struggling to “figure out” everything in an outline first and then force myself to write and rewrite and polish my manuscript until there was nothing left of my unique, original voice.

I might still be worried about my own “style” or “voice” instead of simply allowing it to flow. I might never have learned to allow my characters to entertain me before they entertained my readers.

And I’d be poorer in so many ways I don’t even want to try to count them.

Thanks, Dean.
***

To the Hovel at 3. I spent the first few hours on administrative endeavors. I probably will write today, but if so it will be a keep-coming-back day.

At the beginning, I wrote most of the stuff above. I also updated my writer’s website over at http://harveystanbrough.com. Mostly I revised my Patronage page and added it back on my website. (If interested, take a look at the new rewards.)

After I originally took that page down a week or two ago, a well-meaning friend emailed me to say I should leave it up so folks would at least have the option. Made sense to me.

Anyway, I added a few more rewards. Each reward tier now is worth a lot more than the patron will spend each month.

I also decided to add the final statement to the end of this and future Journal posts. Hey, you never know. (grin)

To the house for a break at 6:30. My son and his family got away at 9:30, and I headed back to the Hovel at 9:45. It feels like it probably will be another short day.

Nope. In fact, today will be a non-writing day. I’ll spend the rest of today with my wife and babies.

Talk with you again tomorrow.

Of Interest

See “What I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing” at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/11/what-i-wish-id-known-when-i-started-writing.html. I added this one to my Writers Resources page.

See “Some Writing Goodies” at https://kriswrites.com/2018/11/24/some-writing-goodies/.

Wow. See “One Writer’s Personal Struggle with Pain” at https://www.suecoletta.com/one-writers-personal-struggle-with-pain/. Even through the personal stuff, Sue Colletta manages to deliver some gems on writing.

See “Thanksgiving: Black-Eyed Peas, Pigs Feet, and the Trip South” at https://www.leelofland.com/thanksgiving-black-eyed-peas-pigs-feet-and-the-trip-south/. Not so much about crime here as Southern cuisine this time.

To check out a rising Pulp star, See “Chapter One – Everything is Broken” at https://tonydwritespulp.com/2018/11/25/chapter-one-everything-is-broken/.

Finally, for a laugh over an incredulous (at least to me) situation, see “Girl Scouts Sue Boy Scouts for Trademark Infringement” at http://www.thepassivevoice.com/girl-scouts-sue-boy-scouts-for-trademark-infringement/.

The article excerpt leaves me wondering exactly what the GSUSA wants: the “right” for girls to join the BSA or the right to segregate the genders. The OP continues with “In the event the case proceeds, GSUSA seeks monetary damages and a permanent injunction against the Boy Scouts’ use of their trademark.”

Not surprisingly, however, they do not ask that the BSA return to recruiting only males to their ranks. Can the GSUSA have it both ways? Common sense would say not. But probably, in our bizarro world, they can.

Fiction Words: XXXX
Nonfiction Words: 910 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 910

Writing of Dread (novel, tentative title)

Day 1…… 3706 words. Total words to date…… 3706
Day 2…… 3023 words. Total words to date…… 6729
Day 3…… 4479 words. Total words to date…… 11208
Day 4…… 5909 words. Total words to date…… 17117
Day 5…… 3396 words. Total words to date…… 20513
Day 6…… 3363 words. Total words to date…… 23876
Day 7…… 2427 words. Total words to date…… 26303
Day 8…… 0587 words. Total words to date…… 26890
Day 9…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month……… 73506
Total fiction words for the year………… 452036
Total nonfiction words for the month… 14660
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 165766
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 617552

Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 9
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 3
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 11
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 35
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 7
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 193
Short story collections…………………………………………………… 31

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