Try a Meet-Cute

August 9, 2024 by Harvey

In today’s Journal

* Try a Meet-Cute
* The KindlePreneur
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Note: I said in yesterday’s Journal I would be back no later than Monday. I didn’t say I wouldn’t be back sooner than that. (grin)

Try a Meet-Cute

If you want to write fiction but you’re having trouble pulling the trigger on it, don’t write fiction.

Instead, sit down and write what happened between or among two or more characters in a scene in their story, the one they’re living.

You don’t have to write it “well,” much less “perfect.” Just write that one scene. Just have fun.

Since your intention is not to write a whole story, your critical voice probably won’t interfere.

The scene can be between or among “real” people or it can be between or among characters in your mind:

• If the scene is part of the story is playing out across the street in your neighbor’s yard, that’s fine.

• If it’s part of a story you viewed at a minor traffic accident as you drove past slowly, that’s fine too.

• If it’s playing out strictly in your mind, hey, so much the better.

That’s exactly what one of my mentoring students is doing. And it was her idea, not mine.

Her main genre is Romance, but she’s had difficulty writing for the past couple of years.

So she’s going to write a “meet-cute” scene, always part of a romance story.

If she were an action-adventure or thriller writer, she might witness and write a scene in which co-conspirators meet to plan.

Or she might write the scene that is the prelude to an incident or battle, or the scene that is the incident or battle itself.

If she were a writer of detective or PI or a police procedural stories, she might write the scene in which the call comes in. Or the scene in which the protagonist arrives on-site.

You get the idea.

If you want to jumpstart your writing, you can write only a scene—whatever kind of scene you love to write, the kind of scene that excites you, that’s fun for you.

It it’s that kind of scene, you’re only having a bit of fun. You aren’t setting out to write A Whole Story, so chances are good your critical voice will leave you alone.

And if the scene runs, keep writing and just keep having fun.

That’s all fiction writing is anyway: a human with a laptop (or pen or pencil and a legal pad) having fun.

The point is, anyone can do this. And it’s only an exercise, not a whole story, so it won’t threaten (and thereby invoke) the critical voice.

The KindlePreneur

I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned this recently, but if you aren’t following Dave Chesson, the kindlepreneur, you probably should be.

In exchange for your email address, he will give you fourteen free resources, plus discount coupons (and reviews) on Publisher Rocket, ProWritingAid, and Scrivener, as well as two free webinar courses: one on Amazon Ads and one on MailerLite for Authors.

All of that is on This VIP Page. (If you click the link and it doesn’t come up, go to his website and enter your email address for full access.

I don’t agree with everything on his site, but I do endorse him overall. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t recommend him.

Talk with you again soon.

The Numbers

The Journal……………………………… 550

Writing of Blackwell Ops 27: Sam Gentry

Day 1…… 3004 words. To date…… 3004
Day 2…… 2111 words. To date…… 5115
Day 3…… 1726 words. To date…… 6841
Day 4…… 2092 words. To date…… 8933
Day 5…… 1306 words. To date…… 10239

Fiction for August…………………….….… 10239
Fiction for 2024………………………….… 488878
Fiction since October 1………………… 742289
Nonfiction for August……………………… 9480
Nonfiction for 2024……………………… 256490
2024 consumable words………………… 695722

2024 Novels to Date……………………… 11
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 4
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)……………… 93
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 241
Short story collections…………………… 29

Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing are lies, and they will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

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