In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* The TNDJ Challenges Report
* Anybody Can Write
* My Dedicated Writing ‘Puter
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“That actually came to 2 short stories and I’m at the tail end of a novelette. Lots of fun. It also erased almost all of my critical mind because I am forced to get a lot more words on the page which leaves no time to second guess myself.” Chris Ridge re this week in the Run With Harvey Challenge
The TNDJ Challenges Report
The whole point of these challenges is to have fun and grow as a writer.
There is no cost. Feel free to jump in at any time.
Participating in any challenge is a way to drive yourself to the computer or legal pad and write fiction. It’s also a great way to build and maintain a streak.
As if writing more and better fiction isn’t enough, I even offer prizes. To see those, please visit The NEW TNDJ Challengeshttps://hestanbrough.com/the-new-tndj-challenges/.
Bradbury Challenge
The only requirement is to write at least one short story, short-short story, or essay per week.
During the past week, the following writers wrote these new stories:
- Erin Donoho “The Homebody” 1200 Literary
- Vanessa V. Kilmer “Dirty Laundry” 3201 Contemporary
- Christopher Ridge “Saltwater Blood Feast and Surf” 3052 Horror/Sci-fi
- KC Riggs “Blue Moon 3502” Magic Realism
- Dave Taylor “The Poor Sisters of the Open Prairie” 3461 Paranormal
- Frank Theodat “The Girl in Glass” 1600 Weird Fiction
- Mattie Fern Worrix “Would You Like Fries With That?” 3955 romantic comedy
The Stephen King Challenge
The requirement is to maintain an average of at least 1000 words per day as you proceed through writing a novel or novella.
- Jacob Hawes “Crystal God 2” Fantasy. This week 7374. To date 20156.
The Run With Harvey Challenge
The requirement is to maintain an average of at least 2000 words per day. The words can go into any short or long fiction or both.
- Christopher Ridge 14,282 words this week.
Congratulations to all of these writers.
Anybody Can Write
I received my copy of Roberta Jean Bryan’s Anybody Can Write a couple of days ago. I read it cover to cover.
I recommend it for pretty much any fiction writer. But I especially recommend it if
- you want to write but don’t think you can, or
- you want to write but don’t know how to start, or
- you write but you have trouble continuing or finishing, or
- you spend more time thinking about writing than writing, or
- you spend more time thinking up reasons you can’t write than writing, or
- you’re a procrastinator, or
- you have strong critical-mind issues.
If your issue is critical mind, you might also find my Quiet the Critical Voice and Write Fiction an excellent companion volume.
Quiet the Critical Voice is on sale right now for 25% off. Visit here to order it. To get 25% off, during checkout, apply coupon code MHGUD585KD.
I got my “Like New” hardback copy of Anybody Can Write from Thrift Books through this Amazon link for only $5.98. I’m sure it’s also available through eBay.
My Dedicated Writing ‘Puter
Yesterday, owing in part to a friend mentioning she was working on getting a dedicated writing computer, I broke out my former writing ‘puter and plugged it in.
Turns out it was a time capsule. When it opened, a Word doc was already open. It was Blackwell Ops 39: More Paul Stone, and I was 24,614 words into it when I abandoned that computer for another one. (Probably while I was revamping the Hovel.)
Turns out that novel wrapped on February 16 with 34,320 words, so the switch happened on February 11 or 12. Kind’a cool.
Anyway, I set that little ‘puter up again to the right side of my business computer (this one) so I could use it at least for short stories.
Maybe I’ll even get another external monitor and use that ‘puter again for novels too. (grin)
The idea behind having a dedicated writing computer is that you don’t do anything else on it, so there are no distractions. Additionally, when you sit down and open it, that cues your creative mind that it’s time to play.
It is especially helpful if you’re trying to create a habit of writing every day. Once the habit is established, any computer is fine.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Dr. Mardy’s Quotes of the Week: Imperfection
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 730
Writing of “Ten Cents on a Dollar”
Day 1…… 1965 words. To date…… 1965
Day 2…… 1441 words. To date…… 3406
Day 3…… 1085 words. To date…… 4491 (now it’s done)
Fiction for September……………… 25560
Fiction for 2025…………………….. 559709
Nonfiction for September.………… 17240
Nonfiction for 2025………………… 203490
2025 consumable words………….. 755585
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 14
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 32
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 118
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 302
Short story collections……………………. 29