The Journal, Tuesday, 7/21

The Day
Rolled out about 2:30 after a rough night babysitting an ulcer. Definitely no walk today.

Books 3 and 7 of the Wes Crowley saga came in from CreateSpace today. I order three or four copies of each major title I put out just to have a few on hand. Here are the covers of those two:

Marshal 150I got some pretty good writing done today, but not fully up to speed. Took a lot more time off to just sit than anything else. Still, advanced the novel. And I’m getting closer to the point where I’ll see the ending.

I did find out today that one of the lesser characters in the previous book is bigger than I first thought. And she’s bigger because she has a personal vendetta against Wes. That was kind’a interesting. Not sure yet why she has a vendetta, but I hope they’ll tell me in the next day or two. (grin)

So I did nothing today other than resting and writing, and all of the writing came in short bits here and there. It’ll be better tomorrow.

Topic of the Night: Writing Off Into the Dark, Part Two To Direct or Not to DirectCrowley 150
In yesterday’s post, I wrote that WOITD is writing without without allowing your conscious mind to “direct” every action of every character and every word that comes out of your characters’ mouths.

True dat.

So that means you have a choice.

Most of us have been taught that we’re supposed to study and plot and do character studies and outlines and Control The Snot out of our characters. Wrong.

How would you like it if someone else were controlling everything you did, everything you said?

Well, your characters feel the same way.

In a good marriage or a good friendship, the parties run through life together. They simply enjoy each other’s company and are there for each other. And as you go through life you get little snapshots and opinions of each other. Later, perhaps in memoir or when talking with another person, you convey your memories of that time.

It’s the same in a story. Exactly the same. Exactly.

The brave writer doesn’t “direct” anything. The brave writer, like the brave friend or lover, runs through life with her characters, exploring and experiencing the same things they do AS THE CHARACTERS experience them. And the writer writes down what the characters say and do.

Notice: The writer doesn’t DIRECT the characters to say and do certain things. The writer merely observes, AS she’s running through the story with the characters, and writes down what they say and do.

If you do this, if you trust your subconscious and write off into the dark, your characters WILL surprise you, I promise.

Practically every day mine do or say things that I had no idea they were going to say or do. Many times, as I’m writing, I stop, sit back from the computer and laugh out loud. And when the characters take me completely by surprise, I know they’ll do the same for the reader.

By the way, there have been some GREAT posts over at http://deanwesleysmith.com over the past few days on the business of writing. I hope you’re following his blog.

Today’s Writing
Fiction words: 1805

Writing of The Battle of Tres Caballos (Book 8)
Day 1…… 4125 words. Total words to date…… 4125
Day 2…… 2624 words. Total words to date…… 6749
Day 3…… 2766 words. Total words to date…… 9515
Day 4…… 1412 words. Total words to date…… 10927
Day 5…… 3441 words. Total words to date…… 14368
Day 6…… 1052 words. Total words to date…… 15420
Day 7…… 2486 words. Total words to date…… 17906
Day 8…… 3201 words. Total words to date…… 21107
Day 9…… 3186 words. Total words to date…… 24293
Day 10… 1585 words. Total words to date…… 25878
Day 11… 2178 words. Total words to date…… 28056
Day 12… 1730 words. Total words to date…… 29786
Day 13… 1083 words. Total words to date…… 30869
Day 14… 1784 words. Total words to date…… 32653
Day 15… 4018 words. Total words to date…… 36671
Day 16… 3116 words. Total words to date…… 39787
Day 17… 1678 words. Total words to date…… 41469
Day 18… 1805 words. Total words to date…… 43274

Total fiction words for the month…………… 34004
Total fiction words for the year……………… 439687

2 thoughts on “The Journal, Tuesday, 7/21”

    • Thanks Lynn. Good to hear from you. In a later post, I’ll probably put up all the covers in the saga.

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