Hey Folks,
Sorry I took off yesterday from posting the Journal. The first day of a copyedit is always the most difficult with the most concentrated effort. As a result, I totally spaced posting an edition of the Journal.
So to today… Well, I’m writing again.
The current copyedit is a long one. It will probably take me the better part of two weeks, and I didn’t want to go that long without writing. In fact, on my recent two and a half-day camping trip, I was already jonesing to write on the morning of the second day.
So this morning I went out to the Hovel early. I messsed around a little. Then an image popped into my mind, and a first line.
I opened a Word document, typed the line, and didn’t look up for around 1300 words.
I should mention this is not another Stern Talbot PI noir mystery. It’s some sort of action adventure thing, and it will be a novel. The implied scope demands that much.
The story has something to do with a world in which there is combat, search lights, safehouses, and people who are willing to help the wounded. Oh, and thus far, it takes place in Versailles, France.
I know the interior of the safehouse is shabby, and I know the appearance and approximate ages of the only two characters (currently), a man and a woman. I also have a strong sense of a multitude of other characters waiting in the wings.
Otherwise I have no idea what this is or what it will be. I’m strictly writing off into the dark, cycling as I go. As my friend Dan would say, I am in Hebben.
This is a bit of a departure, too, because it wasn’t born from any idea I’ve had before. It just came trudging through the door and said “Write me.”
Sometime later today, I’ll return to the edit. I told the gentleman I’d turn it around in two weeks or less. My idea is to write until I find a place to leave a good jagged edge, a place that will be easy to continue writing tomorrow morning, then move over to the copyedit. And of course, I’ll try to hit my unofficial daily goal of 3000 words.
Anyway, I’ll detail out that writing/copyediting process here along with the other stuff I do.
***
I wrote for the first few hours of the day along with some other things I had to do and stopped at 10 a.m. with around 2100 words. Then I thought I’d better return to the edit for awhile.
I edited from 10 until 11, then went to the PO for a break, then edited until 1. When I did the math on the edit, I realized I was one-fifth of the way through it on only the second day of editing.
That made me feel more comfortable about switching off with my own writing. I like to get edits done and back to the client as quickly as possible, but I also have to feed my urge to write. So we’ll see how that goes.
Ended the day with a cycling session and a little over 3000 words. Plus 20% finished with the copyedit. I’m a happy camper.
Back soon.
Of Interest
In a wake-up call for a slacker like me, see “Story Ten Done… Ten Days” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/story-ten-done-ten-days/. And of course, check Tuesday’s post while you’re there.
See John Gilstrap’s “The Truth About Silencers” at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/04/the-truth-about-silencers.html.
For some writing opportunities, see Jeanne Gassman’s blog at https://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com/. Note: Please read carefully. I haven’t vetted these.
Fiction Words: 3081
Nonfiction Words: 610 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 3691
Writing of Versailles (novel, tentative title)
Day 1…… 3081 words. Total words to date…… 3081
Total fiction words for the month……… 17037
Total fiction words for the year………… 130578
Total nonfiction words for the month… 4910
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 38670
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 211028
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