In today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Yesterday
* Topic: Why I Don’t Talk Much About CoVID-19
* Today
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“If it’s not on the page, your reader doesn’t know it.” Nathan Bransford
Yesterday, I got sidetracked for awhile by a new (to me) source for royalty free photos. See Visual Hunt at https://visualhunt.com/ (via Jane Friedman).
The daily word count continues to decrease (see Day 4, sigh). I’ll have to see whether I can do something about that. (grin) It has nothing to do with the novel. The novel is running along fine.
Topic: Why I Don’t Talk Much About CoVID-19
The short answer is because I’m a writer and this is a blog about writing. And frankly, there’s more than enough information and misinformation out there about the virus without me adding to it.
I have my own thoughts on both the virus and the generally panicky reaction to it, but I’ll keep those to myself. I take responsibility for my own life (yes, that’s legal) and strive to control only my own actions and reactions. What others do is up to them.
That being said, yesterday a subscriber and patron sent me a link to a blog post on reader behavior per CoVID-19. I appreciate that (and the link is included in “Of Interest” below), but please realize this is only one of many, many takes by experts on reader behavior.
The ones I’ve read, all from reputable sources, range from “not buying/reading at all” to “reading a great deal more.” And that goes for print books, ebooks and audiobooks. So I’m just saying, take any such posts with a grain of salt.
I’m not saying I don’t believe the sources are sincere. I’m sure they are. I’m just saying there’s a lot of conflicting information out there, so I recommend you don’t hang your hat on it.
As always, just write the best story you can write at your current skill level, put the best cover on it you can, write the best sales copy possible, then publish it and forget it.
The virus will continue until it doesn’t. The societal effects, both reactions and overreactions among readers and in all other walks of life, will continue until they are no longer seen as necessary.
Today, as always, back to the novel, and what a wonderful escape it is! I love that world. (grin) It contains monsters and dangers you can actually see and feel.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Refusing to Go to Bed Before Midnight” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/refusing-to-go-to-bed-before-midnight/. About halfway down, a wise take on B&N.
See “How to Start Blogging: A Definitive Guide for Authors” at https://www.janefriedman.com/blogging-for-writers/.
See “How Long Is a Moment?” at https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/moment-time-physics-philosophy-linguistics-neuroscience.
See “Are Actual Love Letters Better Than ‘Love Texts’?” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/are-actual-love-letters-better-than-love-texts/.
See “Sincerity and Song” at https://hughhowey.com/sincerity-and-song/. Thanks to Scott for the tip.
See “How Reader Behavior Is Changing During the COVID-19 Crisis” at https://insights.bookbub.com/reader-behavior-changing-covid19-crisis/. Thanks to Bob C. for the tip.
The Numbers
Fiction words yesterday…………………… 3181
Nonfiction words today…………… 500 (Journal)
Writing of The Good of the Galaxy 2 (novel)
Day 1…… 6138 words. Total words to date…… 6138
Day 2…… 4514 words. Total words to date…… 10652
Day 3…… 3633 words. Total words to date…… 14285
Day 4…… 3181 words. Total words to date…… 17466
Total fiction words for the month……… 54236
Total fiction words for the year………… 262218
Total nonfiction words for the month… 19020
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 10070
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 362388
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 4
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 12
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 49
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 208
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31