The List
October 15, 2024 by Harvey
In today’s Journal
* The List
* Short Day
* The Comet
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
The List
In yesterday’s issue of TNDJ, which you can read
I talked about writers getting together to support and encourage each other with writing and/or publishing challenges.
Shortly after I posted that, a professional, traditionally published, excellent short story author emailed me from England to let me know he wanted in.
This morning that guy is the only one on the list.
I’m a little confused. Or maybe aghast with disbelief.
There I was, standing in the path of what I thought would be a major tidal wave. So I expected I would at least get a little damp. Silly me.
I honestly thought writers would be crawling over each other to take advantage of this. I mean,
This isn’t a critique group.
The other writer won’t pick your work to pieces and tell you how s/he would have written it. I even suggested you don’t share or even talk about your work in progress.
This is a situation in which you and the other writer or writers can share what works for you in writing and publishing.
A situation in which you can challenge each other and hold each other’s feet to the fire to actually advance your career.
So you won’t have to listen to talking heads running your work down, and there will be no chance of conscious mind intrusion into your work.
Getting in on this will lead you only to greater things in writing and publishing.
It would be like having a penpal with benefits, the benefits being mutual growth in writing and publishing. Get it?
Mutual Growth. In Writing and Publishing.
So what’s the downside? What am I missing here?
If you’re a fiction writer, and
if you’re on the fence about this, or
if you think it’s a bad idea, or
if your dance card is full, or
if there’s something that feels off-putting to you
please email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com (in complete confidence) and let me know that.
Or leave a comment. If you can’t get through on Substack, you can always leave a comment on any post at https://hestanbrough.com.
I suggest you go into this in the spirit of helping a fellow writer.
It costs you nothing but a little time, and there’s no telling how much you might help someone else with his or her writing and publishing career.
And of course there’s no telling how much that other writer can help you in the same way.
I can only hope you’ll recognize the potential benefits of this. You will lose nothing and you stand to gain the world.
It’s always good to step out of our own 90% and focus on helping someone else.
To be honest, that’s exactly why I keep TNDJ going. It gives me a place to report and it helps me as much as it helps you or anyone else.
Please do yourself a huge favor and jump into this.
I won’t talk about it again. Tomorrow, I’ll get back to business as usual, talking about writing and publishing. That’s why you’re here, right?
In the future, I’ll simply email the name and email address of anyone who wants in to those who are already in.
At present, that’s three writers out of around 200.
Short Day
In other news, yesterday was a necessarily short day. We made a trip to Sierra Vista to put new tires on Mona’s car and have an alignment done.
A lot of customers were there. That made for a long wait and (of course) I didn’t bring my writing ‘puter. (blush) Oh well, live and at least consider learning, am I right?
By the time we got home I was out of steam, so it was a short day. My average wpd is still good though at 3229.
The Comet
We were also able (finally) to see the comet last night. We have mountains to the west, and I had previously followed some moronic “scientific” advice and looked for it between Venus and Arturus in the southwest sky just after sunset.
It’s actually about 10 degrees (about the width of your extended fist) “north” of Venus, almost due west, and only a little lower in the sky than Venus is. Check at about 40 minutes after sunset. Or don’t. But that particular comet last visited Earth around 80,000 years ago. Just sayin’.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
30 Buildings That Have Such An Evil Aura… Thanks to Ann S for this reference. Story ideas abound.
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
Fiction for October……………………. 45201
Fiction for 2024……………………….. 786709
Nonfiction for October……………….. 15820
Nonfiction for 2024……………………. 319410
2024 consumable words……………… 930158
Average Fiction WPD (October)……… 3229
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.
I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules.
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I'm definitely interested, but I'm in the middle of re-doing all of my covers. If you knew how my aging mind works with Affinity Photo and a new set of covers, you'd understand. (And here comes the head-shaking part for you, I'm pretty sure.) I'm revisiting all of them for the dreaded em dash, so there's that. (I can hear the lecture coming, but that's all right, too. It's all on me.) I'll own it. Perhaps it's my form of the dreaded writer's block.
Okay, add me to the list... I'm snowing myself under for winter, anyway, may as well add that!
I'm already in a pretty good writer's group, but it's different from what you are suggesting, so...I'll give it a shot.