In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Topic: Despite the playful
* Wow. The novel
* Yesterday I mentioned
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“Don’t get so obsessed with writing advice that you fail to write.” JR Murdock
“But how do I do this? How can I type words to a story when I’m not sure what’s happening?” JR Murdock
(Harvey, in the back of the classroom, arm raised, hand waving frantically: “Ooh, ooh! Pick me! Ask me!” (grin))
Topic: Despite the playful, tongue-in-cheek jab immediately above this paragraph, reading JR Murdock’s post this morning (see “Of Interest”) reminded me to include this occasional disclaimer: In the Journal, I’m only telling you how I write (WITD), which is all Dean Wesley Smith did for me. It is not the “only” way, but it far surpasses the alternative.
If you want to try it, I believe it will work for you. If I didn’t believe WITD would work for you, I wouldn’t hawk it so much, and more than likely I wouldn’t use it myself.
That being said, much depends on how much you really trust in your own abilities, or in the reverse, how much fear and doubt you harbor. Only you can know that.
I’ve been writing novels for only 7 years, but I’ve been writing for well over 50: poetry, essays, articles, classes, blogs and fiction. So maybe when I found Dean I was ready to take the next step and believe that it was all right to trust myself. Trust really is the key to being prolific, or at least to being easily prolific, and a good storyteller.
WITD isn’t about (as detractors will try to tell you) only slapping words on a page and then publishing them without a thought for whether the story or how it is presented is any good.
WITD practitioners still “edit,” albeit in creative voice (cycling), and they still put out their best effort at their current level of craft. They just don’t allow themselves or others to polish their unique, original voice off the work before they publish it.
But the question was, “How can I type words to a story when I’m not sure what’s happening?” In case you’re wondering, “Harvey’s” answer would be “I don’t want to know in advance what’s happening. The characters know what’s happening, and that’s all that matters.”
Wow. The novel finished yesterday morning in a quick 365 words. That included me cycling back through the final chapters. Then I ran a spell check and shipped it off to my first readers. Then I took the rest of the day off and mostly vegged-out with TV.
I was actually sorry to be finished with the novel so quickly. I liked most of the characters, and enjoyed even the ones I didn’t like. I might have to revisit that world again.
As I think I mentioned earlier, the novel was based on the short story I wrote for Dean’s Shared Worlds anthology. So if (when) I publish it, I’ll go through it again first and change the name and location of the town and a few other things about it so nobody can claim copyright infringement in the future.
But for now, I’ll leave it alone. I’m just happy it’s out to my first readers. It will be interesting to see their reaction.
So anyway, today I’ll start something new and tomorrow there will be a new listing beneath Numbers.
Yesterday I mentioned you can still sign up for Dean’s Shared Worlds class. I recommend it. Frankly, I’m amazed he’s still letting people in. If you write a few good stories, you can earn back more than it costs to join the class, plus you get the learning experience.
However, I should also add that Dean can be very condescending, and that’s putting it mildly. To say he can be condescending is like saying if you stand in the path of a tidal wave, you might experiece a little moisture.
So I listen closely to what he says, but I ignore how he says it. I mark his gristle up to the fact that he deals every day with a lot of brand-new baby writers (BNBW), most of whom believe they know better than he. They want him to say the same things they hear from almost every quarter, and Dean’s too honest to give them that.
It’s a standard hallmark of BNBW that they think they know everything about the craft when in fact they know almost nothing at all. It isn’t really their fault. The thing is, they don’t have a clue about how much they don’t know.
So Dean finds himself repeating things he’s learned over the years (and he’s still ignored by BNBW) and that sort of thing has to wear on him. I’m not trying to excuse his behavior, just doing my best to explain it.
So if you do jump into the Shared Worlds class, be ready to hear some things from him that will sound condescending, or even “insulting” and “derisive,” as a writer friend put it.
But if you’re a professional, you’ll obey his instructions to the letter. BUT (and this is key) IGNORE the way he says them. Just write and submit a good story already and earn yourself a few hundred bucks.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “Libby is stuck between libraries and publishers in the e-book war” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/libby-is-stuck-between-libraries-and-publishers-in-the-e-book-war/. Ooh! See PG’s take! (grin)
See “20 Poetry Markets Seeking Submissions Now” at https://www.authorspublish.com/20-poetry-markets-seeking-submissions-now/. For those overwhelmed by the incredible poetic prowess I displayed in yesterday’s post, here’s a link for you. (Sorry, sometimes HS is so overcome by PG’s third-person witticisms that he endeavors to try one himself.)
See “How I write so darned fast – Part 4” at https://jrmurdock.com/2014/02/25/how-i-write-so-darned-fast-part-4/. Contains links to Parts 1–3.
See “When Characters Talk – Interview with Author Assaph Mehr” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/02/when-characters-talk-interview-with-author-assaph-mehr.html.
See “Ten Rules for Fantasy Maps” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/ten-rules-for-fantasy-maps/.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 990 words
Writing of The Portals (formerly reported as How “Best” Is Defined)
Words brought forward……………………………………………… 6997
Day 1…… 5644 words. Total words to date…… 12641
Day 2…… 5799 words. Total words to date…… 18440
Day 3…… 6237 words. Total words to date…… 24677
Day 4…… 5620 words. Total words to date…… 30297
Day 5…… 4877 words. Total words to date…… 35174
Day 6…… 6147 words. Total words to date…… 41321
Day 7…… 0365 words. Total words to date…… 41686 (done)
Total fiction words for February……… 61803
Total fiction words for the year………… 159170
Total nonfiction words for February… 11880
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 37210
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 196489
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 3
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 1
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 57
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 215
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31