A Diary of Days
In Today's Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Writing Tip of the Day
* A Diary of Days
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
"Anyone who writes mysteries or contemplates doing so, or who even reads them, will benefit from reading Murder for Pleasure [by Howard Haycraft]. I recommend it heartily." Frank Gruber
Writing Tip of the Day
For me, as for many of you, it's easy to lapse into writing only the visual, what the POV character physically sees in any given scene.
For me, it's also natural to record the POV characters unspoken thoughts and even the emotions of the other characters in the scene as illustrated in their facial expressions, body language, etc.
However, it's a good idea to include ALL sensory input—visuals as well as sounds, tastes, smells, textures, etc.—at least once in every major scene. That's how you pull the reader deeper into the scene, how you ground him in the scene.
But I don't always remember that. Most often, I include the 'other' senses (especially the smells or scents and the ambient and other sounds of the scene) during cycling.
Sometimes I do that during routine cycling. Sometimes, I'm writing in another scene or chapter, and I suddenly think, "Wait. Did I include scents and sounds back in Chapter 2?" And I cycle back and do that.
As I've often said, it's a good idea to Take Your Time to be sure the reader will experience the scene with as much depth as the POV character and you experienced it.
For more on taking your time, key "Take Your Time" into the search box at the Journal website.
A Diary of Days
Longtime readers of TNDJ are aware of my typical day. I offer the following as an example for newer subscribers who might be interested:
I'm 72 years old. In the past I've been an oilfield hand, a dishwasher at a truck stop, a working cowboy and a rodeo cowboy (bull rider), a US Marine, a police officer, a proofreader at Macmillan Computer Publishing (today, Pearson), and a few other things.
Today, writing fiction and publishing TNDJ in an attempt to pass along what I've learned about writing over the years are pretty much my life.
Here's my more or less typical day:
I get up when I get up, usually between midnight and 3 a.m. I make my two mugs of coffee, then head out to The Hovel and my work begins.
I answer emails, check a few sites and read a few newsletters, then write and publish the current issue of the Journal. If I've already written it, I clean it up and publish it, then prep one for the next day if an idea occurs. Then I do any other admin stuff I need to do.
Because I'm prolific, roughly every 10 to 14 days, that "admin stuff" includes publishing my latest novel through Draft2Digital.com and Amazon. Then I upload it to my discount online bookstore at Payhip.com.
Which reminds me—to look at any or all of the covers and descriptions of my fiction or nonfiction books, visit StoneThread Publishing.
If you're thinking about buying anything, save a buck or two and visit my Payhip store.
All of that usually takes me up to 5 a.m. I take a break, eat my morning meds and breakfast, and usually play Spider Solitaire for a half-hour or so.
Then I go back to whatever I was doing before until I take another break at around 7 to go up to the house to let my bride know I'm still doing that annoying 'breathing in and out' thing, get a shower, and change clothes.
Then I go back to The Hovel.
The Hovel is a thick-walled adobe shack, about 10 feet by 20. It's about 150 feet outside my back door, and primarily it gives me a place to report. When I walk into The Hovel, my brain clicks into Writer Boy gear (aka Yer Uncle Harv).
Through the rest of the day, after each hour or so of writing (1200 +~– words) I take a break to check emails, visit the house if necessary, etc.
I try to write at least 3250 words of publishable fiction per day. While I'm writing fiction, if I happen to realize something I think would make a good topic for TNDJ, I often stop and make notes for the next Journal, and if the mood strikes me, sometimes I write the whole thing. Then I go back to the novel.
I can do that because I write into the dark, meaning I just follow the characters through the story, write down what happens, and then write down their reactions to what happens. Shrug. It's a living. It's also the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Eventually the clock reaches noon and I get a little sad because I know the rest of the day is going to flash past. In the afternoon, I might write 1500 words per hour. (That isn't 'fast.' That's still only 25 words per minute.)
I've always been annoyed that I have to sleep—something is going on in every minute around the world, and when I sleep, I miss it—but I haven't found a viable workaround. For much of my life, I got by on 3–6 hours of sleep and functioned just fine.
But as I said at the top, I'm 72 years old. These days I typically close up shop at around 3 or 4 p.m. I typically eat supper at around 5, watch a couple hours of TV, and am in bed by 7 or 8 in the evening. I'm always anxious to get that over with so I can get back to the Hovel and whatever story I'm working on.
If you're new to TNDJ, you might want to check out these links:
Oh, and here's My Bio. It's always a good idea to vet the expertise of people who are giving you advice.
That's it. Questions are always welcome at harveystanbrough@gmail.com. But please limit yourself to the topics of writing, publishing, and goofy crap like the stuff above.
Yesterday also I derived another short story from the current novel. Of course, the words won't count separately in my totals, but that's another publication.
Of Interest
INK & GRIT - "This is the Way I Make My Bread" by [Pulp Writer] Frank Gruber Just in case you didn't get more than enough 'this is my day' above. Great stuff from a master.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………… 1080
Writing of "The Incredible Crystal Rae"
Day 1…… 2175 words. To date…… 2175 done
Writing of Blackwell Ops 39: More Paul Stone
Day 1…… 2789 words. To date…… 2789
Day 2…… 3308 words. To date…… 6097
Day 3…… 2019 words. To date…… 8116
Day 4…… 4404 words. To date…… 12520
Fiction for March…………………….. 24029
Fiction for 2025………………………. 209860
Nonfiction for March……………........ 8030
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 61960
2025 consumable words…………….. 265310
Average Fiction WPD (March)……... 3004
2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 5
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 11
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..... 109
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 281
Short story collections……………………. 29
Disclaimer: 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.
Sounds like a great routine. Your work ethic is inspiring