In Today’s Journal
* The Stages of Any Story, Part 1
* How I Start and Write a Blackwell Ops Novel
* I’m a Little Excited
* I’m Pretty Well Aware
* The Numbers
The Stages of Any Story, Part 1
This is the first of two posts in which I’ll talk about the stages of any story. Today, because I’m deep in the Blackwell Ops world and writing the 42nd novel in that series, I’ll focus down on that as kind of an example.
There are probably gems for you in these two posts, so read them with an open mind but with an eye to your own work.
How I Start and Write a Blackwell Ops Novel
For my Blackwell Ops series, I open my BO template first and type in “Blackwell Ops” and the next number in the series. I save the file as Blackwell Ops ## in a new folder of the same name, and then I minimize that document.
Next I open a photo file folder of potential Blackwell Ops operative and browse photos of intriguing looking males or females I downloaded from a royalty-free stock photo site (for these I most often use Unsplash) until one of them appeals to me.
By ‘appeals to me’ I mean it usually comes complete with the POV character’s name, the character’s voice: gravelly, calm, pensive, harsh, sweet, etc. and usually with a region-specific dialect, and whatever else.
It usually also comes with the character’s skill set, stereotype, things s/he likes or doesn’t like, things s/he will or won’t do in his or her professional capacity as an operative, etc.
The above isn’t true for every Blackwell Ops novel. For my current novel, everything but the character’s name showed up as I viewed the ‘right’ photo. He told me his name halfway through the first chapter.
I drag a copy of that photo to my desktop and rename it “BO-## base” so I can glance at it if I need to. (I take the photographer’s name from the original photo so I can credit him in my back matter, then drag the original photo to my Used folder in my Unsplash folder.)
Then I click the new Blackwell Ops ## Word file, put the cursor under Chapter 1, my fingers on the keyboard, and start writing whatever comes.
Write whatever comes. That’s how you keep the writing fresh.
I’m a Little Excited
Although the current Blackwell Ops novel is the 42nd novel in the series, it’s also different from all of those that came before it. I mean, all of them are different stories, but this one is radically different in several ways. I’m excited.
I’ll let you in on a secret: Recently I’ve felt a little like I was in a rut with this series. I never tried to ‘think’ (conscious mind) of how to break out of that rut, but that quasi-fear remained in the back of my mind over the past few novels.
Then, when it was time (when I was ready), my creative subconscious and my characters took over and led me to this particular character. As a result, the current novel is so far out of that imagined rut that it almost feels like a new series or a one-off novel.
It isn’t a new series or a one-off novel. It’s only a different POV character with his own unique experiences, skillset, and outlook on life. As a result, his story is fresh and alive and very different from the other Blackwell Ops novels.
Even his arrangement with TJ Blackwell is different.
But you’ll be able to see that for yourself when I begin serializing it on May 1 on Your Morning Serial.
I’m even thinking I’ll probably post a new, albeit maybe shorter, installment every day. If you’re reading along or plan to, let me know your thoughts on that frequency if you want to.
Again, trust yourself and your characters. Write whatever comes. That’s how you keep the writing fresh.
I’m Pretty Well Aware
Nobody’s gonna send a guest post. I get it.
That doesn’t mean I’ll stop accepting guest posts, only that I’ll stop asking for them.
In the alternative, if you have any fiction writing- or publishing-related questions, feel free to email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. You never know how much your question might help someone else.
Talk with you again soon.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 690
Writing of Blackwell Ops 42: Sam Granger
Day 1…… 2873 words. To date…… 2873
Day 2…… 1873 words. To date…… 4746
Fiction for April……………………….. 52915
Fiction for 2025………………………. 319865
Nonfiction for April…………………….. 10220
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 91750
2025 consumable words…………….. 405105
Average Fiction WPD (March)……… 3528
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 8
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 19
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 112
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 289
Short story collections……………………. 29
Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.
Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.
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