The Journal: The Five Most Important Things

In today’s Journal

* Topic: A Question
* Thanks
* The novel
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

First, a shout-out to Bob B for his continued support (as verified by almost daily TalkWalker alerts) of my nonfiction books Quiet Your Critical Voice (and Write Fiction), Writing the Character-Driven Story and this Journal. Thanks, Bob. I appreciate it.

Topic: A Question

Or maybe a test, I dunno.

I was going to make a list (in my opinion, of course) of the Five Most Important Things writers should know, but instead I decided to ask you.

So in your experience as a writer, what are the Five Most Important Things writers should know?

A few caveats. I’m looking for five things…

1. Aside from a good grounding in grammar and punctuation. If you don’t have it, get it. This is fundamental to everything else.

(I almost added “and the nuances of the language” after “punctuation,” but I think recognizing the nuances depends on the devlopment of each person’s “ear,” on his or her sensibility to the rhythms of the language. The nuances are why a reader or another writer can be wowed by some writers and not understand why.)

2. Aside from Heinlein’s Rules, and especially (because this is about writing) Rule 1.

3. Aside from having a dedicated workspace/writing computer.

4. Aside from the freedom afforded by WITD.

5. Aside from the trust required to let the characters tell the story that they (not you) are living and the patience to let that story unfold. (And no, this isn’t quite the same as WITD, though in my experience trust and patience should be part of it.)

So aside from those five things, in your experience as a writer, what are the Five Most Important Things writers should know?

You can list fewer or more than five things, and you may either leave a comment on this post on the website at https://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-the-five-most-important-things or you may send them to me via email at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. (Hint: I suggest you go with what pops into your head.) I look forward to reading your responses.

As I so often am, I was wrong about the novel. I suspect it will wrap today. Maybe tomorrow, but probably today.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Is My Novel Too Long?” at https://mystorydoctor.com/is-my-novel-too-long/.

See “Updates On Some Classes” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/updates-on-some-classes/. I apologize for his repeated use of the P word.

See “Censorship Competition Heats Up” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/censorship-competition-heats-up/. The virtual book burning continues.

See “Kindle Vella Royalties, Content Guidelines and Publishing Process” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/kindle-vella-royalties-content-guidelines-and-publishing-process/. Just in case any of you are interested in a new way of publishing.

See “How the romance genre found its happily ever after” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/how-the-romance-genre-found-its-happily-ever-after/. Interesting trivia.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 450 words

Writing of Terra 2 (novel)

Day 10… 3272 words. Total words to date…… 33824
Day 11… 3439 words. Total words to date…… 37263
Day 12… 4266 words. Total words to date…… 41529
Day 13… 4449 words. Total words to date…… 45978
Day 14… 2757 words. Total words to date…… 48735
Day 15… 4729 words. Total words to date…… 53464

Total fiction words for April……… 53464
Total fiction words for the year………… 340541
Total nonfiction words for April… 9890
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 77290
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 417821

Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 6
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 60
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.