Emma Kok, and Writing Fiction and Learning

In Today's Journal

* Quote of the Day
* "An Example for All of Us"
* Thoughts on Writing Fiction and Learning
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

"I used to buy into the myths wholeheartedly. ... That was literally all I saw as a high schooler and college student who wanted to be writer. ... I'm slowly but surely starting to break free of them. My current novel is coming along at a rapid clip!" Natalie K. in an email

"An Example for All of Us"

For anyone who missed my earlier mention of this in Of Interest a few days ago, here's a full version of then 15 year old Emma Kok singing the French ballad "Voila," complete with an introduction by conductor Andre Rieu and the audience reaction afterward.

Heartwarming. Here's "Voila" by Emma Kok. You don't want to miss this.

Thoughts on Writing Fiction and Learning

I didn't expect to post anything today, but this is really down in the weeds. These thoughts are also up to the minute, so they belong here.

In fact, because my first reader is looking as forward as I am to seeing how Blackwell Ops 36 turns out, these thoughts started as an email to him this morning.

Then I thought, Wait. Why not share this with those who follow TNDJ? Maybe it will help a few of them. And Russ reads TNDJ faithfully, so he'll also see what I was going to send in that aborted email.

As you all probably know, I always allow the characters to tell their own story, the story that they, not I, are living.

Way back in Blackwell Ops 31: Jack Temple (Dec, 2024), Jack and his professional contact were immediately attracted to each other. That exploded into a loving, intimate relationship.

Fast forward a month, and I'd written and published what I thought was probably the end of their story in Blackwell Ops 33: Temple's Way (Jan, 2025).

But I personally missed those two characters (and them being together) so much that I decided to write Blackwell Ops 36: Temple's Dream, an 'alternate history' novel in which their relationship did not end.

Basically, even while writing two other novels in the series, I hungered to return to and explore the lovely relationship between Jack and Camille Temple.

But somewhere along the way, things changed a little. Of course I won't go into details about the changes. Suffice it to say their relationship evolved (and is evolving) toward whatever future it will have.

Exactly like 'real' relationships in 'real' humans' lives.

And that's actually my point: How did I not expect that to happen?

From my personal perspective, I've lived a little over 72 years so far, and I've experienced all the same kinds of physical and emotional ups and downs as everyone else.

But more importantly, from my perspective as a writer and writing instructor, I write into the dark.

That means rather than trying to influence the story At All, I drop into the story with the characters, run through it with them, and write down what happens and how they react.

Again, it's Their story, not mine.

I know that. I've known it and preached it for eleven years.

Yet when Blackwell Ops 36 went in a direction I didn't 'expect' (owing to what I expected the novel to be going in), yesterday my own stupid critical mind tried hard to intervene.

I had to catch myself, remind myself I'm only the uninvolved Recorder, and remind myself it's their story, not mine, and that whatever happens, simply happens. (Stay out of it, Harvey!)

Fighting that little internal battle took up almost a full day of my writing time. And for part of that day (about three hours), I was frozen solid and unable to write a word. That’s what critical mind will do for you.

Fortunately, I finally realized what was happening:

I was trying to force the story to be what I wanted it to be and to go in the direction I wanted it to go. Pure critical mind.

So I backtracked to where the story 'went south' (according to my critical mind), deleted about 1200 words, and started over at that point. (At the end of the day I did not count those 1200 words in my totals.) So yesterday I actually wrote well over 4000 words, including those I cut.

Fortunately I've been doing this for so long that throughout that painful process I was confident I'd be back on track soon, but it was still something I had to muddle my way through.

The lesson?

No 'real' authentic life is all hearts and flowers, whether yours, mine, or those of our characters.

But if you stick to your guns and remember it's the characters' story, not yours, and that you must let it unfold as it will (just as you must do with your own life) it will be the authentic story it was meant to be.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

How to Live and Write in a Foreign Land (Part I)

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………… 810

Writing of Blackwell Ops 36: Temple's Dream

Day 1…… 2476 words. To date…… 2476
Day 2…… 1484 words. To date…… 3960
Day 3…… 2837 words. To date…… 6797
Day 4…… 4223 words. To date…… 11020
Day 5…… 3366 words. To date…… 14386
Day 6…… 3123 words. To date…… 17509

Fiction for January…………………… 104702
Fiction for 2025………………………. 104702
Nonfiction for January……………….. 28360
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 28360
2025 consumable words…………….. 133062

Average Fiction WPD (January)…….. 3878

2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 2
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..... 106
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 274
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.

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