In today’s Journal
* The Novel Wrapped, But
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Well, the first Wes Crowley gap novel, Assignment: Brownsville, wrapped as a short novel at 36,000 words. Per usual, I ran a spell check and sent it off to my first readers.
The thing is (as I keep saying), every novel writes differently. No more than maybe five minutes after I sent this one out to my first readers I experienced the overpowering urge to pull it back and add a chapter (late in the story) in which the POV switches to the bad guy down in Matamoros, Mexico.
Sitting on my couch, I “saw” and “heard” a full scene unfold as the guy arrived home after participating in some unsavory activities to learn some bad new that enraged him.
I’m not sure why my subconscious didn’t hand me that down around Chapter 24 or thereabouts during the actual writing of the novel. But the pull of my subconscious is strong, so I’ll write that over the next day or two.
Not that doing so will make the story “better,” but it will definitely make it more complete.
Just a bit of trivia about process—Switching PsOV is a technique I finally learned by reading Stephen King’s The Stand. I’ve always read tons of stuff, and when I read something that blows me away, I dog-ear pages and go back to re-read passages to try to figure out “how he did that.” I focus a lot on King because in my opinion he’s the only truly masterful (Stage 5) novelist writing today. (There are others I enjoy, but he stands out.)
I had planned to take a couple of days off to do nothing at all and maybe catch up on my reading and doing a few chores around the house. But when the subconscious calls and you’re a writer, you pretty much have to respond. (grin)
For anyone who’s watching the numbers, I crossed over the half-million mark of fiction words yesterday with 11 days left in June. Maybe this will be the year. (grin)
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “China wants to build a sustainable human presence on Mars. Here’s how.” at https://www.space.com/china-plans-mars-base-with-astronauts.
See “Dean Koontz” (podcast interview) at https://open.spotify.com/episode/3T9yy0ysIfxs9k1NkpgWAr?si=mF5X9TiiRNCdN1H-Y8I77Q. Thanks to Scott K for the tip.
See “A Signpost Along the Road” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/a-signpost-along-the-road/. A great post.
See “Sarcasm and the Snark Mark” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/06/sarcasm-and-the-snark-mark.html.
See “How Stories Change When They Move From Page to Voice” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/how-stories-change-when-they-move-from-page-to-voice/. And see PG’s take.
See “On Not Letting Ambition Take Over” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/on-not-letting-ambition-take-over/.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 400 words
Writing of WCGN: Assignment: Brownsville (novel)
Day 1…… 2890 words. Total words to date…… 2890
Day 2…… 3178 words. Total words to date…… 6068
Day 3…… 3124 words. Total words to date…… 9192
Day 4…… 2977 words. Total words to date…… 12169
Day 5…… 1001 words. Total words to date…… 13170
Day 6…… 3791 words. Total words to date…… 16961
Day 7…… 3569 words. Total words to date…… 20530
Day 8…… 1607 words. Total words to date…… 22137
Day 9…… 1744 words. Total words to date…… 23881
Day 10… 3491 words. Total words to date…… 27372
Day 11… 4318 words. Total words to date…… 31690
Day 12… 2224 words. Total words to date…… 33914
Day 13… 2491 words. Total words to date…… 36405
Total fiction words for June……… 45988
Total fiction words for the year………… 500477
Total nonfiction words for June… 12040
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 118270
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 618747
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 9
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 62
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.
I loved that post ‘On not letting ambition take over’. I find this is something you and DWS keep saying over and over again in so many different words, sometimes quoting other creatives who say exactly the same thing in their own way. I’m only just beginning to understand that the art of creating a body of work is truly is as simple and as difficult as that. Inherently simple, made difficult.
Absolutely, Anitha. The main thing is to write what you’re passionate about, what you truly want to write, and to have fun with it. In every case, writing should be a joy.