5 differences between amateurs and pros

I don't usually post links, but this needs sharing:

THE 5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEUR NOVELISTS

By Brian Klems
The Writer's Digest
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-differences-between-professional-and-amateur-novelists

Excerpt:

"There’s no magical change you feel when your first book finally sells – the same doubts are still there, and definitely the same feeling that you’re a kind of crazy charlatan, trying to trade words out of your brain for money.

But for all that that’s true, the more writers I meet, the more I notice that there are some crucial differences between the professional ones and the ones who want to be professional. I hope that doesn’t sound condescending – every professional writer used to be an amateur writer, after all, and often the distinctions I
I’m talking about don’t have anything to do with talent as much as with attitude. These are the five that I’ve noticed."

To read the full blog, go here:
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-differences-between-professional-and-amateur-novelists

Rejected First Drafts

See me on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/TheWriteScott

Had some twitter fun this morning.  You sometimes see people coming up with the rejected first drafts of familiar lines or sentences.  I forced myself to stop at three.  This is the kind of thing I used to spend all day doing, and that way leads back to madness.

This started when I remembered  Ray Bradbury's great opening line, "It was a pleasure to burn."  Fahrenheit 451 was my first real science fiction novel, and every once in a while I'm reminded of it.  But enough from me.  Could the masters have started their famous works this way?

"It was a pleasure to burp."
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

"The hero of my own life? Nah. I'll just become the world's best magician."
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. Or do I? Mwuhahaha!"
Song of Myself - Walt Whitman

100 Word Story: Dearly Departed

Another 100 word story.  I wrote this back in 2009, when I was equally fascinated with micro fiction and zombies.  This was originally published at http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/scott-d-hughey/dearly-departed/

There's a better story than the one here, I think.  Maybe one day I'll take my time and explore what happens next.

Dearly Departed

By Scott D. Hughey

My wife moaned as she tried to bite me. Handcuffs held her fast to the bed.

I still loved her, and couldn’t bear to kill her. She’d begged me to when she was bitten. We had almost made it. I’d dropped the keys when the dead attacked. We retreated. Too late.

“Jake,” she’d said, her arm bleeding. “Don’t let me become one.” I promised– the first lie I ever told her. I loved her too much to let go.

“Till death do we part.” Was this death? Maybe sickness?

“I’ll protect you. I’m going to find you someone to eat.”

Hand Written Manuscripts

I love hand writing manuscripts.  The only issue is, I also despise hand writing manuscripts.

Getting to the computer to write isn't always an option.  Neither is using that as an excuse to keep from writing.  Enter the notepad format.

Writing out long hand actually has some benefits.  Usually it means I'm not on a computer, so fighting the many distractions is easier.  I can write pretty much anywhere too.  The writing itself seems to flow a little bit quicker in that format.

But you know what?  Publishers won't accept my handwritten manuscripts.  You can't blame them for that.  I wouldn't accept them either.

Typically, I can finish a short story or novel chapter quicker if I'm writing longhand.  It's not because of typing speed- I'm pretty fast.  It's just- I'm not limited to location, and sometimes the ideas fall onto the paper better in this format.

Then I retype.  Or is it type?  I try not to edit as I do this, but it's pretty much impossible not to tweak a little.  I'm a minimalist writer when it comes to first drafts.  Transferring a 2500 word story from paper to computer will usually add about 300-500 more words. Then in revising, I'll reduce that by about 100-200 words.  Or so.  It all depends.

All that to say, I love hand writing stories.  It's quick and I get strong stories.

And I hate it.  It takes roughly twice as long start to finish.  I wrote the last short story in about three days.  It took me that long to type it out again.

What's a writer to do?

Depressed?

Image Courtesy of MorgueFile.com

My wife asked me, "If you never make it as a writer, will you be severely depressed?"  I considered taking the easy way out and lying.  "Of course not.  I almost hope that I don't make it."

Instead, probably to her horror, I started talking until my brain found an answer.  I do that sometimes.

Leaving the definition of making it as a writer aside for another post, here is a close proximity to the answer I gave her:

I don't think failing would depress me beyond recovery.  Sure, it would be a huge disappointment.  Perhaps one of the worst of my adult life.  Yeah, I could see the lack of success sending me into a tailspin where I struggle to eat, or sleep.  I'd waste away.  Then there would be the mood swings, and the anti-social behavior, ending with me on the top of a cliff, pondering the meaning of it all.

But severely depressed?  Not as such.

Okay.  Let me try that again.  Here's how I really answered:

In all seriousness, not making it as a writer would be hard.  Not giving it a real effort and trying would be much, much worse.

And honestly, if I put the hard work into it that I've been discussing here on this blog, I'm having a hard time believing I won't make it.  (That's the writer's ego talking.)  Sure, it'll probably take longer than I'd like, but dedicating myself to the craft, and sitting down to do it every day will surely pay off.  One day.

Strangely enough, I also have daily doubts where I wonder if I'll ever be any good.  (That's also the writer's ego talking.  We're a fragile bunch.)

Double Date: A 100 Word Story

Here's another drabble from 2011.  This originally appeared at http://www.weirdyear.com/2011/02/21511.html

I hesitate sharing my older published works here, because I'm egotistical enough to believe my writing has drastically improved since then.  Still, they're fun and they provide a quick blog post.

There's a much better story here then the one I wrote.  At the time, I felt beholden to fitting everything into 100 words.  (I love 100 word stories.)  Maybe someday I'll revisit this concept, and look for the actual story instead of looking just for the joke.

Double Date
By Scott D. Hughey

I share bodies with my disembodied twin brother. Usually I’m in control, except when my pulse races. We shouldn’t date, but Julie Valentine was worth trying.

Things went well until we kissed. “I had a great time Trevor,” she said, leaning across the couch. I tried to kiss her but he finished the deed.

“Call me Nate.”

Julie giggled, thinking it a game. Now we’re all going steady. She thinks of Nate as my wild side. Maybe he is. All I know is I’ve never been kissed. Without practice, I’d probably stink at it. Better Nate than Trevor, I suppose.

100 Word Story: Alienated

This story, along with another by me, appeared on weirdyear.com back in 2011.  I'm glad to see they're still around.



Alienated
By Scott D. Hughey
A matter transporter could revolutionize life as we know it on the planet. Or, it could be used to play immature pranks, such as transporting me to work. Convenient? Yes, except I was drying off after a shower at the time.

"Honest boss, an alien did this to me." The conversation got awkward after that. When I got home, the alien was still laughing.

I always assumed if aliens visited here, they’d either take the planet over or save us from ourselves. It never occurred to me they’d be such jerks.

The sooner he goes back to Earth, the better.


http://www.weirdyear.com/search/label/Scott%20D.%20Hughey

Why Write? There Are No Stories In My Head!

"Why write?"  It's a common question among writers.  The answers are vast, but I hear a common one from several wordsmiths:

I write because I have stories in my head, trying to get out.

This bothers me.  It's not troubling in the sense that I think these writers are wrong.  I just wonder if I'm missing something.

The stories are there in a sense, I suppose.  I can track them find them (wherever they're hiding) and write them down.  While crafting a story, I've experienced the thrill of the story seeming to create itself.  Yet, until I sit down and figure out what to write, they're not bouncing around trying to get out.

Not really.  I have ideas, but that's not the same thing as stories.  One key to storytelling is to identify the good ones.  That, it seems, is the easy part.  Crafting that idea into a compelling story is the real work.

So why do I write?  This is not going to be an exhaustive list.  Nor is it a list.  You get one reason today, the closest equivalent I can find to the "stories in my head" reason.

I write because I love story.  Hmm.  No.  Let's call it Story.

Anybody here know who Grant Morrison is?  Ah yes, I see the comic book geek in the back with his hand raised.  At his best, he is one of the most creative writers ever in the comic book industry.  At his worst, he is infuriating to read because only he knows what's happening.

He wrote a fascinating book about his life and comic books.  In it (and it's been a while since I read it, so allow me to get it wrong) he describes the realm of story.  How it's out there, connecting all things fiction and true together.  And it's completely wacky too.

Yet, when I'm writing, and it's working, I can see where he's coming from.  Well, not the part about how the drugs helped.  But the part about Story.

I write, because I love Story.  And stories.  They are powerful, full of truth and intoxicating in their effect.  I write, in part mind you, to experience Story first hand.

Are the stories in my head?  I don't know.  I just know that I love looking for them.

Guest Post by C.C. Dowling: Three Lessons to Keep Your Readers Up At Night

@CCDowling
www.ccdownlingauthor.com

My critique partner, Scott—who’s great, by the way (no, he didn’t pay me to say that, but he should)—asked me to write a guest post for his blog.

I gotta admit, I was excited. No one’s ever asked me to write a guest post before. And then, the panic set in. Crap! People are going to expect that I have something to say.

As any good writer would, I spent hours (seriously, only ten minutes) searching for just the right quote by other writers that could epitomize my experience thus far. You know what I learned? No, no, besides that fact that people say a lot of crap.

Yeah, I learned that finding the right quote is harder than you might think. That, or I’m just not an efficient search engine guru.

What I am good at is creating stuff out of thin air—or the voices inside my head that won’t leave me alone until I write them down. I should be able to come up with something clever. Except, I haven’t.

That’s the thing about writing. It’s a process. Kinda like life. Sometimes things pop in, and they’re amazing. Other times, you struggle to find the right words. But everything, whether it’s easy or labored, takes hard work, dedication, and that special spark called passion.

When I was a kid I knew, with absolute certainty, two things:

1. I would be a singer, and make enough money to change the world
2. I would be a writer

I find it funny—and depressing—how, even at seven years old, I knew money was somehow not attached to writing.

Here’s the thing you need to know about both of those aspirations…they’re a craft. Yeah, I paid good money to my writing coach (worth every penny, by the way) to learn that one.

So, for this article, I’ll impart to you three hard learned lessons I’ve discovered while on the path to becoming, what I hope, is an amazing author who inspires people, changes the world, and pays her bills on time.

Lesson #1: Writing is a Craft.

Photo by Walt Stoneburner (License)

Have you ever picked up a book and started reading it a few hours before bedtime, only to find yourself up at 2:00 AM on a work night just to finish? Or the other thing happens, where you get one chapter in (if that far) only to discover you couldn’t be less interested? Both have happened to me, and just about everything in between.

Ever wonder what makes them so amazing, or suck-tastic? I didn’t either until I tried to become a writer. You want the answer?

That’ll be $100. No, seriously. And that’s a discount compared to what I paid to tell you what I’m about to for free.

The super long complicated answer is that it’s a lot of things. That’s when I’d go into telling you about voice, characterization, story structure, grammar, passive vs active, showing vs telling, etc…. And then you know what? Two years will have gone by and you’d still be reading this article and it wouldn’t make any sense. Okay, maybe a little sense. But not much. At least, that’s how it happened for me.

I spent a good two years playing with, and learning, these concepts in order to get a feel for them. It wasn’t something I could simply read about and understand. I had to try and fail—miserably, I might add—in order to get it. Just to be fair to you readers, I still have tons to learn. It’s exciting to know I’ll keep getting better. You should feel that way too. You don’t have to, but it helps.

The short answer to why you can’t sleep at night when reading a good book is craft.

Writing is a skill that must be honed. I’ll give you a few ways to do that. Keep in mind this is, by no means, a comprehensive list. Scott’s only giving me so many words for this article, and there’s other stuff I want to tell you, so…

1. Read what you want to write. There is no way around this. Reading what you want to write gives you a sense of language, structure, themes, and pacing for your genre. Plus, when you write your dreaded query letter, you need to have amazing comparison titles for your work. If you haven’t read in your genre, how will you know where your book fits on the shelf?
2.  Butt in chair. This is my writing coach’s motto. Even if you’re writing crap, or not working on your main manuscript, you should be writing something. Athletes practice. Musicians practice. Authors practice.
   
3. The hardest and most important thing in your manuscript is the opening. That’s what people will read first—aside from the jacket cover and customer reviews. This is how you’re introducing your story. If you want to know how to do it well, grab 5-6 best sellers in your genre and study them. Read, re-read, and re-read again the first paragraph, page, chapter. Outline it. What works? What doesn’t? What hooked you? What kind of language did they use? How was the setting described, or character emotions? Did you want to read more? Why? Now, go and do the same thing for your story.

Lesson #2: Writing is Rejection

As I mentioned before, when I was a kid I wanted to be a singer. The cool thing was that I came from a musical family who nurtured that side of me. So, from the age of two all the way until I took a vacation from school when I was twenty-one, I pursued a music career. (Yes, I went back. Yes, I got a degree. No, it isn’t in English or Writing.)

I gotta tell you, music is all about rejection. When you take the stage, you’re putting your talent on the line for everyone in the audience to judge. It’s rough when they don’t like you. It hurts. It’s personal…at least, it was for me. But I was good at it—good enough to make it into a prestigious music university. I loved it. And music gave me something that no amount of rejection could take away. It gave me a voice.

So, when it comes to writing, I should be a seasoned pro at rejection, right? Right?

Yeah, no. Dead wrong. In fact, getting rejected for my writing was like 1 x 10⁶ times worse than getting rejected on stage, or at an audition.

There was a point in time when I was “in the trenches,” so to speak, where I was actually depressed from doing what I was most passionate about. I was depressed because I wanted so desperately to be good at writing, but I knew I wasn’t. The story I told myself is that I should feel sad, and angry, and hurt, and desperate about my writing. That everyone struggles. After all, isn’t that what makes me a good writer?

Stick with me. I’m getting to the point and to the tasty, crunchy bits at the bottom of the box.

So here’s the answer you may or may not like. Yes. And no.

Being hungry and passionate and aware that I need improvement makes me better at what I do, every day I do it. The depression and endless pit of despair doesn’t.

Every time I got a critique back that basically told me my writing sucked, I’d get despondent, dejected, withdrawn. I’d question if I was good enough to do this. Maybe I should just quit? A lot of people do. That’s why less than 1% of stuff written gets published. [Fact check: I just made up that statistic. The actual percent is probably less.]

Here’s what you should keep in mind:

WRITING IS HARD! If it wasn’t, everyone would do it, right? You know what, scratch that. Just about everyone does write. Let’s rephrase.

BEING A SUCCESSFUL WRITER IS HARD! There, that seems more accurate.

It’s okay to struggle to get better. It isn’t okay to lock yourself in a dark room and cry for three weeks straight with nothing more than a roll of toilet paper and a tub of ice cream.

Now, here’s the nugget that flipped my frown upside down.

If you look at every critique and rejection as an opportunity to get better, to learn something, to collect your “NOs” as a friend of mine would say, suddenly, everything gets exciting.

That’s it. It’s that simple. A shift in perspective makes everything better. And that goes for life, not just writing. If writing is your life, then you’re ahead of the game.

I’m not saying you won’t feel disappointment. You will. I’m saying it’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning.

Lesson #3: Social Networking

I know. I rolled my eyes too, for about a year. I was one of those hold-outs when it came to Twitter. I felt like Twitter was the Borg and I was resisting assimilation. I’ll admit, I’ve made fun of the word “Tweet” and enjoyed Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon’s Hashtag parody.

Follow CC here: @CCDowling

But here’s a secret, in case you didn’t know. There’s an amazing community of writers/editors/agents/publishers all available in one hundred forty character or less. What I’ve learned is that almost everyone is supportive and wants to help you succeed. Every critique group I’ve participated in has come from contacts I’ve made on Twitter. I’ve learned about contests, agent, publishers, and all kinds of stuff I probably would have never found on my own if it wasn’t for this social media tool.

It’s a tool. Use it!

And guys, Twitter is just one option. One! There are so many more avenues I haven’t explored. Explore them. Then come back and do a guest post for Scott so I can learn about them.

So, there you have it. Three things I’ve learned on my writing journey that have made me better at my craft and propelled me forward in doing what I love.

What are some of yours?

---

C.C. Dowling lives in America’s finest city, San Diego, with her toddler (who plays in the yard with Faeries), her husband (the financial shaman), her Aussie (with mesmerizing blue eyes), and a pet dragon (who is the real reason the neighbor’s dog barks incessantly at night).

When she’s not working in the field of neuroscience, she’s writing fantastical short stories and novels about blood-drinkers, shape-shifters, soul reapers, and demons hell-bent on redemption. You can find her on Twitter at @CCDowling, on Facebook, and on the web at www.ccdowlingauthor.com.

For more information about her amazing writing coach (who is responsible for the information in lesson #1) please visit http://www.mcallistercoaching.com

Frasier, Humor and Conflict

So help me, I thought I blogged about the Frasier television show a month ago.  Turns out I didn't.

I'm tempted to try and make a tossed salad and scrambled eggs pun here, but I'll spare you.

Here's the thing.  I decided several months ago to watch every episode on Netflix.  The decision had nothing to do with writing, this was for pure entertainment.


The show grew better every season.  Almost every episode.  I didn't think to ask why, after all I hadn't started writing in earnest again yet.  But, when the time came to craft stories again, I wondered two things.

1) Why are the shows so good?
2) Why are they so funny?

Several answers exist to these questions.  The excellent cast is one obvious answer.  But, from a writing standpoint, what were they doing so well?

I decided conflict, and specifically escalating conflict, answered both questions.  Stories with no struggles or obstacles are not stories.

Every Frasier episode has at least one problem.  The problem gets worse.  Triumphs turn into setbacks in the blink of an eye.  There may be resolution by the end of the show, but you can bet that things will get worse before they get better.

No matter what genre, style or medium you want to write, you could do far worse than turning to this old sitcom as a case study in rising conflict.

The same goes for humor.  There are several types of comedy, so don't think this is intended to cover all of it.  It's a good rule of thumb though: to create humor, have your characters act as if they are in a drama.  It is trivial when Frasier has to walk the dog for his father, rather than see the entirety of the throat singing concert.  However, he makes it seem like the end of the world, because to him it is.  Hilarity follows.

This really hit home during the the Season 6 Episode, Three Valentines.  It opens with Niles setting up for a date in Frasier's apartment.  Everything is perfect.  But wait!  His pants are not perfectly pressed.  No matter, he has time.  He has time to iron them.  In doing so, he finds a loose thread.  While fixing that he cuts himself.  The blood makes him pass out.  The situation continues to escalate, setting up the climax perfectly. By the time Niles sets the couch on fire, it's the only possible outcome to the series of events.

And even then, the conflict hasn't finished growing.  It gets even worse.

Oh, by the way.  Spoiler alert.


Conflict.  You can learn it from this show.  And don't tell me how it ends please.  I'm only on Season 9.

Resolution and Goals Update

How are those resolutions working out for you?  Has anyone lost any weight?  Given up smoking?  We're not quite a week in yet.  Don't tell me you've blown it already!?

Good for you if you haven't.

I'm thrilled to be at 5500 words so far this month/year.  Last night, I almost took the night off.  After all, there's a day off built into my 6000 words a week goal.  I felt like I could use one.

Guess how many words I'd have written if I took a night off every time I felt like it?  Remember, I love the process of writing as much as the result.  Go on, guess?  That's right.  0.

However, I'm convinced that the vast majority of successful writers are successful because of their work ethic.  It even says so on pages 3-4 of my Christmas present (Crafting Novels & Short Stories.)  "What usually separates good writers from bad ones (and often, published writers from unpublished ones) is a strong work habit.  That's it.  That's the real secret.  Real writers work hard."

So I wrote, and that was even before I read the above quote.  As usually happens when sitting down reluctantly for a writing session, I managed to break through a scene problem.

All that to say, I'd encourage you to continue pursuing your goals.  Especially your writing goals.  Don't regret not working towards fulfilling them.

Twitter? Oh No!

Let's go ahead and get this out of the way.  You can follow me on twitter here: @TheWriteScott

Against my better judgement, I created the account to network with people in the writing and publishing industries, and to promote this blog.

Why was I against doing this?  Am I a twitter hater?  Can I not figure out the point of 140 character messages?

Far from it.


I gave up twitter almost a year ago.  Maybe I should have marked the date.  "Hi, my name is Scott and I'm an addict.  I've been tweet free XXX days."  Well, make it 0 days now.

I had more twitter accounts than I can remember.  Some had dozens of followers.  Some had hundreds.  Two or three of them had thousands.  Low thousands, but thousands nonetheless.  Parody accounts, hobby accounts, serious accounts targeted at certain subjects, zombie related accounts.  You name it.

What was that?  Ah, yes.  Role playing accounts.  So you've heard of them.  Before I discovered those I was getting pretty bad, but they were the ones that dragged me down.  In role playing accounts, you either create a character or assume the role of a character, you find others who like to role play and you make stories together.

It's almost completely, but not entirely, exactly unlike the thrill of writing.  It wasn't writing.  It wasn't craft.  Still, this was during a time that I wasn't pursuing professional writing, and to a small extent, the creative outlet helped release some of my creative energy.  Probably because of this, and any joking aside, it became a serious addiction.

I knew I had it bad when I asked my wife one day if she could drive us to the restaurant.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm in a wedding."
"You're what?"
"It's okay, it's not mine.  One of the people I role play with asked me to create an account so I could be the best man in his wedding."
"You're crazy," she said.

I'm just glad she didn't ask what I was doing the day before during the bachelor party.

I gave it all up.  Deleted the twitter app off my phone.  Deactivated many of the accounts, the ones I was active on anyway.  And I felt... free.  Sometime later my mind cleared up enough to pour some of the energy into real writing.

I love twitter.  I hate it.  This time I intend to use it as a tool for networking first and promotion second- and nothing more.  I'm proud of myself too.  I didn't know it was possible to be active on twitter and tweet less than 10 tweets in a weekend.  I've got one more hour though.

Hopefully I'll see you on @thewritescott

Never Let Go (of your dreams)

I participate in an online writer's community.  Sometimes I do it for the support.  Other times, as it becomes a means to procrastinate, I wonder why I do it at all.

Still it's mostly a great place for interaction with like minded people, and the distraction that it's become is entirely my own fault.  I suspect I'll have to give it up one day.  In the meantime, it occasionally provides me ideas for this blog.

Very recently, someone asked if anyone there has ever felt like giving up writing.  I responded, and thought it would make for a good post over here.  I've shared part of these thoughts in early posts here.  Hope everyone enjoys.

Q: Do you ever feel like giving up writing?

A:

In middle school, high school and college I wrote poetry.  Lots of it.  I tried my hand at stories a few times and didn't know how to do it.

After college, I continued to write poetry, but only sporadically.

Shortly after that I decided to try fiction.  It's where my heart was.  I spent several weeks writing a dreadful short story.  I sent it to a magazine, got a personal rejection and quit.  Once or twice a year, when inspiration struck, I'd write another poem.

(I did a lot of professional writing, Training and IT material and the sort.  I was very good at it, but it wasn't MY writing.)

I picked up the pen two or three times after that, giving a good try at it, but always looking for shortcuts.  (For instance, I still LOVE micro fiction, but I decided I was a micro fiction writer because I thought it was easier.)  My writing got better each time, but when I hit the wall or experienced what I thought was writer's block, I gave up.

This time around, I'm pouring more energy and effort into it.  Based on several things (critiques, my own enjoyment, the ability to finish a story) I can see dramatic improvement.  There are days, and sometimes several moments within days when I think I'll never be any good.  I write through those moments.

I fear that if I give up, or even take a substantial break of more than a day or two, I will never pick up writing again.

Something interesting.  I've always read.  I've always wanted to write, whether or not I'd admit that to myself.  Since college, I've always felt like I'm supposed to be doing something to fill my free moments.  It's like when you're supposed to finish a paper or study for a test but you feel guilt because you went to Waffle House with the guys instead.

For the first time, that guilty feeling is gone now that I'm writing.

I still think about quitting sometimes, but I can't afford to give in to those thoughts.

(I still write poetry for pleasure, but only when the inspiration strikes.  I write fiction (most) every day because that's what I want to do.  If the inspiration isn't there, then by golly I write until it catches up with me.)

Math? Writing Goals? What!?

In my last post, I mentioned some New Year's Goals.  That was a big step for me.  Usually my resolution is not to make fun of other people's resolutions.  Usually I break it within the first few days.  You know, just like everybody else does.

But I've been setting goals with my writing.  Most of them have been short term goals and they've helped me focus on what I need to achieve.

So, I declared in my last post that I wanted to achieve a "Race" score of 60.  That's a solid goal that will have me writing all year.  But, how can I break that down on a shorter basis?  Better yet, how can I do that within a system that is already working for me?

Last night I spoke with a friend about this, and we talked about breaking it down.  There's several paths to 60.  To put some arbitrary numbers to it, let's call it 50 short stories and 2 completed novels.  That's a lot, especially for a guy that's only a third of the way through his first novel.  But stick with me.

I've kept track for two months of my daily word count.  For anyone that wants to know, I wrote 27,000 new words last month.  3000 words shy of my stated goal yes, but the accomplishment still felt good.

I yearn to be more prolific, but I understand what it takes to write at that pace.

Typically, I'd like to put out 7000 words a week.  That's 1000 words a day, but not every day is going to be
like that.  So assume I take a day off of writing each week.  (I won't, but let's build that into the system.)

So- 6000 minimum words a week.  For 52 weeks.  That's 312,000 words if I make the goal.

Figure 60,000 words for each of the novels.  That leaves 192,000 words.  Divide that by 50 short stories.  That's 3840 words, which is a pretty good size short story.

Throw in the work I've already put into the first novel and the "Race" score of 12 I currently have and this goal is looking more and more achievable.

Not every writer enjoys math, but man is it working for me.