The Journal, Wednesday, November 21

Hey Folks,

I hope each of you in America will enjoy your Thanksgiving Day tradition tomorrow. For those of you who do not live in the US, I hope you will pass a peaceful and lucrative day of your own, filled with joy and productivity.
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Time for another gentle reminder. From time to time, I hit upon a URL that’s so useful, so informative, so educational for fiction writers of all stripes, that I add it to one or more of the Writers Resources links on my main website.

For a free education, please take time to visit http://harveystanbrough.com/writer-resources/. Then pick a topic and go to that page for a comprehensive listing. You won’t be sorry.

And if you find help there, consider making a one-time monetary donation by clicking the Donate button at the top of the sidebar on any page.

If you can’t make a monetary donation, please consider sharing this post (or any others) with your writing groups or writer friends.
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My son and his family decided not to drive down last night (it’s five hours) but to get some sleep instead and head down this morning. So back to the story. (grin)

I finally got to the novel at a little after 8. I read over part of what I’d typed yesterday, cycling a bit. Usually, when I get to where I stopped, I’m back in the story and sentences are backing up in my fingers, lunging at my fingertips, waiting to be released.

This morning was different. I drew a blank. Completely.

So I walked away for a few minutes. When I came back, I put my fingers on the keyboard, and typed the first sentence that occurred to me. A few sentences later I was back in the flow, with the story pulling me along. (grin) I’m still amazed at how well that works.

Pretty good day. I ended it by creating a reverse outline.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “A Happy Holidays Gift From WMG Publishing” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/a-happy-holidays-gift-from-wmg-publishing/. Take advantage of this, and spread the word!

See “Series, -Ogy, or Stand-Alone?” at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/11/series-ogy-or-stand-alone.html. Well worth reading two or three times.

See “Worlds to Live In: Atmosphere” at https://fromearthtothestars.com/2018/11/01/world-to-live-in-atmosphere/.

See “Setting: The Key to Speculative Fiction” at https://fromearthtothestars.com/2018/09/12/setting-the-key-to-speculative-fiction/.

There are many more valuable essays at Asimov’s blog, and most of them are suited not only to writers of SF but to writers of all genres. I encourage you to visit https://fromearthtothestars.com/ and scroll down. And yes, I’ve added it to the Writers Resouces page on my website.

From the Shooting Yourself In The Face Department, see “Canadian literary prize suspended after finalists object to Amazon sponsorship” at http://www.thepassivevoice.com/canadian-literary-prize-suspended-after-finalists-object-to-amazon-sponsorship/.

See “It’s Never Been Easier—or Harder—to Self-Publish” at https://crimereads.com/its-never-been-easier-or-harder-to-self-publish/. An invaluable resource. I added this one to my Writers Resources page.

Then, if you want, see “Six Steps of Self-Publishing (Mostly for Traditional Authors)” at http://www.libbyhellmann.com/six-steps-of-self-publishing/. (Referenced in the article above.)

Fiction Words: 3396
Nonfiction Words: 500 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 3896

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

Total fiction words for the month……… 67129
Total fiction words for the year………… 445659
Total nonfiction words for the month… 12250
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 163356
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 608765

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