In today’s Journal
* Update on Heinlein’s Rules Stuff
* From B&N Press
* Nothing in “Of Interest” today
* The Numbers
You’ll remember my recent 5-post treatise on Heinlein’s Rules, which was based on the actual responses I provided to a series of questions from another writer. If you missed it, you can find the first post at https://hestanbrough.com/the-journal-awhile-back-an-introduction/.
I provided that series while maintaining the author’s anonymity, but now she’s outed herself.
Becca Publisi, the person who interviewed me about Heinlein’s Rules and then decided not to use (most of) the interview emailed me again yesterday. She needed a post for her blog, so she’d decided to use a bit of what I told her.
She emailed to give me the opportunity to read what she’d written (the part that included my quote) and correct it if I wanted to. I read it, but I didn’t bother to correct anything. I’d already responded once and she chose to take my response out of context. It’s fine. I’m not annoyed. It’s what I’m used to.
In the interest of the transparency you will always find here in the Journal, you can find her post—”One Path to Success: Heinlein’s Rules of Writing”—at https://writershelpingwriters.net/2021/03/one-path-to-success-heinleins-rules-of-writing/. She was at least gracious enough to link to my author site and to the HR series on this Journal, so that’s something.
One note: As you will know if you read my series, my comment re “having one technique in mind as you begin each story” (her Amendment 1 under HR 3) was all about learning and practice. It had nothing to do with revision or shortening the revision curve. I felt a need to add this note even though the bit about learning and practice is right there in the quote—where of course it was ignored as she turned the topic back to revision. Sigh.
As you also know, I don’t revise or rewrite—those are both functions of the conscious, critical mind—and I don’t recommend doing so. Revision and rewriting are a result of bending to the fear that your own unique voice isn’t good enough. Which is bullshit.
You can be the first to leave a comment on the post if you want. Again, I didn’t bother. I’ve been in this war for a long time. I’ve learned when to cut my losses.
From B&N Press—I also received this in an email yesterday. Thought I’d pass it along. I’ve included their original links.
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Nothing in “Of Interest” today. The more I read from my usual sources, the more depressed I got. Especially in this new world, it seems that whether lightning strikes is a matter of who you know more than it’s about studying and learning the craft and working to be rewarded with what you want.
That’s it for me today. My escape awaits. I’m going back to the writing ‘puter. Pretty good day yesterday. I’m hoping for more of the same today.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Nada
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 530 words
Writing of The Journey Home: Part 9 (novel)
Day 1…… 2019 words. Total words to date…… 2019
Day 2…… 3650 words. Total words to date…… 5669
Day 3…… 3760 words. Total words to date…… 9429
Day 4…… 2834 words. Total words to date…… 12263
Day 5…… 2959 words. Total words to date…… 15222
Day 6…… 3394 words. Total words to date…… 18616
Day 7…… 2727 words. Total words to date…… 21343
Day 8…… 3436 words. Total words to date…… 24779
Total fiction words for March……… 61767
Total fiction words for the year………… 260775
Total nonfiction words for March… 17760
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 63790
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 324565
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 5
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 59
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.
You appear to be tangling with a writer of a bestselling series of 8 writing references. But has any bestselling fiction arisen from these techniques? Let’s hope so.
I couldn’t find any fiction credits for Puglisi or Ackerman.
I know James Scott Bell and other big guns reviewed the technique books.
Outliner brainstorming tools. Useful during H1 WITD? Hmm. Read them occasionally and hide them while actually writing? Maybe?
I too chose not to challenge her on her platform.
Not tangling at all really. My position was overrun long ago. There are millions of Them out there and only a few of Us over here. And yup. Never written a novel (that I could find) but is a “book doctor” and more than happy to tell others how to write novels. It’s head shaking. Being even an unintentional scam artist does not make one a master of anything other than the scam.