Given the Ability to Split My Soul
October 19, 2024 by Harvey
In today’s Journal
* A New Short Story
* Bradbury Reminder
* Given the Ability to Split My Soul
* The Numbers
A New Short Story
“Blue Bell and the Roses”went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. It’s a great story (strictly my opinion as a reader). Go check it out.
As always, if you enjoy it, please tell Everyone. If you don’t, shhh! (grin)
Bradbury Reminder
Today is Saturday. Just a reminder to get your story info in to me before the Journal goes live on Monday.
Remember, if you finish a story earlier in the week, you can send it to me early too. It never hurts to avoid pushing the deadline. And everyone is free to jump in at any time. There is no down side.
Given the Ability to Split My Soul
This thought hit me recently as I listened to an enduring Joe Walsh rock tune: “Life’s Been Good.”
Given the choice or ability to split my soul/spirit into several human lives, I would have done it in less than the space of a heartbeat.
Why? So I could have explored all my different passions and affinities. Consider it kind of a pre-birth bucket list. Then (as long as I’m dreaming here) I would have arranged for all of those humans to meet and compare notes.
Your own list probably will differ. I can speak only for myself.
In strictly alphabetical order, in those different lives and guises I personally would have experienced a successful life/career as a(n)
archaeologist (in the field)
botanist
construction guy
cowboy (on a working ranch)
expert marksman with firearms
explosives technician
farmer
forest ranger
instructor
landscaper (design and installation)
linguist
Marine
mechanical engineer
meteorologist (storm chaser)
mob wiseguy
motorcyclist
novelist/writer
Oglalla Sioux warrior
oral storyteller
philosopher
photographer
physicist
playwright
police detective
police officer
sailor (US Navy)
sketch artist and painter (mood/style of Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia)
songwriter/singer/on-stage entertainer
space explorer
structural engineer
Do you have a similar list in the back of (or on the edge of) your mind? Professions or activities that seem always to be there with either “It would really be great to…” or at least “What would it be like to…?” attached to them?
If we have friends who have lived or are living those experiences, we can draw on them for revelations up to a point, but there’s no substitute for experiencing those lives or professions ourselves.
That’s exactly why I give myself over to my characters when I’m writing fiction. I serve only as their fingers on the keyboard. That’s also why I get all nitpicky and draw the distinction between the story being “my story” or “the characters’ story.”
Even when I’m writing about characters who are experiencing something I’ve experienced personally, I’m not living it in the moment.
By that, I mean although I’ve experienced the reality of participating in eight of the items on my list, I’m experiencing only two of them in my present life.
Time takes no notice of silly human dreams and desires. The universe moseys past, it’s hands in its pockets. If it notices us at all, it wonders what all the fuss is about.
In my present life in the current moment I’m sitting at a keyboard offering up some insights as a fiction writing instructor.
At other times in my present life I’ll sit at the slightly more amenable keyboard of my writing ‘puter and convey what’s going on around my characters and me as we race together through their story, which is unfolding in real time just the other side of the screen.
What’s on this side of the screen is my life. What’s on the other side of the screen is the characters’ story. And the dividing layer is immeasurably thin. Think of the dividing layer between the leather and the shine on a pair of shoes.
So as fiction writers we get to experience snippets of our characters’ lives by a kind of osmosis—similar to the way we get to experience a good friend’s life—and we get to do so without suffering the consequences.
Of course, there’s a major tradeoff: We also experience those lives without enjoying the benefits.
I wish for all of you many lives in one.
Talk with you again soon.
The Numbers
The Journal……………………………… 710
Writing of Blackwell Ops 29: John Quick
Day 1…… 1781 words. To date…… 1781
Day 2…… 3792 words. To date……. 5573
Day 3…… 3087 words. To date……. 8660
Day 4…… 3545 words. To date……. 12205
Day 5…… 2667 words. To date……. 14872
Day 6…… 1665 words. To date……. 16537
Day 7…… 3073 words. To date……. 19610
Day 8…… 5593 words. To date……. 25203
Day 9…… 1963 words. To date……. 27166
Day 10…. 3557 words. To date……. 30723
Fiction for October……………………. 60797
Fiction for 2024……………………….. 802305
Nonfiction for October……………….. 19700
Nonfiction for 2024……………………. 323290
2024 consumable words……………… 949634
Average Fiction WPD (October)……… 3378
2024 Novels to Date……………………….. 14
2024 Novellas to Date……………………… 1
2024 Short Stories to Date………………… 18
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..……. 96
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………. 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………..… 255
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.
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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I often wish I could clone myself (similar, but different from what Harvey is proposing). I want them all to still be brain connected to me, so that I as primary can have them do what needs to be done, but the WAY I would want it done. And I would get the feedback so that I could know it was finished and get the satisfaction/benefit from that. (Yes, I know, very selfish of me, but it's why I only want clones of myself, and not free-willed ones at that! Otherwise it would be the worst kind of slavery.)
I figure I need about 6-8 to really get things running well in my life.
1. to cook nutritious meals and snacks for me/hubby and animals and to clean up after, and do the shopping.
2. to clean the house and car, do laundry, declutter as needed, do simple repairs, mending/sewing.
3. to exercise me and the animals, do training for animals, go riding the motorcycle with hubby, and do hiking, swimming, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities for great health and getting into nature.
4. to do errands, volunteer work, teaching, coaching, talking to friends and family and nurturing relationships with patience. Taking time for the hand-written letters and cards and keeping up with all the goings-on of kids/g-kids/sibs/etc
5. to attend conferences, zoom meetings, educational opportunities and programs, absorb the knowledge, analyze it and summarize it and then put it into best practice. Also to do meditation, journaling, spiritual progress, and read books and watch movies for the creative renewal.
6. to write the calendars, stories, games, art for kid's books and comics, etc that I dictate (straight from my brain - we are connected) Do tech support for hubby and organizing computer programs, output, books and magazines, in a way that it's easy to find again when needed.
7. to do business and marketing, publishing art and stories, keeping up with anthologies, building and maintaining websites, setting up POD for art and writings, organize and attend signings and gallery shows and interviews, run the podcasts, record and publish the youtube channels, go over contracts
I could get away with that. Two more would let me split a couple so that they didn't have so much work to do. That leaves Primary Me:
Doing arts, writing and crafts that I want to do for personal enjoyment, overseeing and collating what they send to me. Spending time with hubby and animals, enjoying life and doing beauty and health routines and discovery.
So, yeah, very selfish of me.
But, There really aren't a whole lot of other "jobs" that I want to be doing besides the ones listed above, that I already either have done or are doing bits and pieces anyway. Maybe small-time homestead/ranching so I could have horses, but I would need another clone for all the work parts!
So, I agree that living vicariously through characters is the next best thing!