The Journal: What the Journal Is Not

In today’s Journal

* What the Journal is not
* Why I didn’t post yesterday
* The Numbers

This Journal is not a political blog and it will never become a political blog. Nor will I ever ambush you with political commentary here.

You come here expecting to read my ramblings about writing fiction and, to a lesser degree, nonfiction and poetry and my personal life as a writer. And that’s what you should find when you get here.

Why I didn’t post yesterday

Some will notice I didn’t post at all yesterday. There are two reasons for that: One, I’m currently and seriously reevaluating the worth of this Journal. And two, I was too annoyed to post an entry. I was too annoyed even to write much fiction, and folks, that’s going some. I couldn’t turn off my mind and let go. So yesterday was a non-writing day. I lost a whole day for nothing. And days are precious to me.

I hope to finish the novel today, and for me, that’s what matters. I almost didn’t post a Journal entry today either, but I finally decided to get the annoyance off my chest.

Don’t worry. I won’t go into detail. I’ve already done that separately and privately in two documents totaling a couple of thousand words.

I was annoyed because I opened two blog posts from people I’ve long considered friends. And in both cases I stumbled into a political-statement ambush.

I promised not to bore you with details, so here’s my writing advice for the day:

If you write a blog about “[insert particular topic here],” then I suggest you keep your implied promise and write about that. I also suggest you stop assuming everyone will welcome little political asides in your blog posts. Some won’t, and it will cost you readers. Like me.

Yes, I know where the delete key is, and yes, I know where the unsubscribe link is. But both of those options occur after the ambush, don’t they? The delete key and the unsubscribe link are the equivalent of a corpsman or a medic or a fire-department paramedic tending to you wound. But they can only bandage it. The damage has already been done.

Enough said. Now I’m going to escape back into my novel. With any luck I’ll finish it this morning and start something else. Anything to stop putting up with this inane covid- and politics-infested bizarro world.

Talk with you again soon probably.

Of Interest

See “Will We All Be Grunting Soon?” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/01/will-we-all-be-grunting-soon.html. I’m glad to see someone else is concerned with the dumbing down of America.

See “Freelance Fight Goes National…” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/freelance-fight-goes-national-must-know-info-on-the-abc-test/. Any freelancers out there? Be concerned. Be very concerned.

See “Free Lecture: How to Write a Memoir that Wins Over Readers and Publishers” at https://www.authorspublish.com/free-author-lecture-the-4-pillar-framework-for-writing-your-memoir/.

See “Melinda Gates Donates US$250,000 to New Carol Shields Prize for Fiction by Women” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/melinda-gates-donates-us250000-to-new-carol-shields-prize-for-fiction-by-women/.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 490 words

Writing of The Journey Home: Part 5 (novel)

Day 10… 3547 words. Total words to date…… 36277
Day 11… 3630 words. Total words to date…… 39907
Day 12… 1782 words. Total words to date…… 41689
Day 13… 5490 words. Total words to date…… 47179

Total fiction words for January……… 50397
Total fiction words for the year………… 50397
Total nonfiction words for December… 12890
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 12890
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 63287

Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 54
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 214
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31