Challenge,  On Writing

Story Was Interesting Writing…

January 8, 2022 /

I Have No Idea If It Works…

Of course, I never do with any of my stories. This one today started around noon this morning. I found a great title I really loved…

“The Sharp Arrow of Timing”

What a great title. Combined part of one title “Sharp Arrow…” and part of another title “…of Timing.”

So I started typing no idea what the story was going to be and up popped Poker Boy. Super.

I did about four hundred words and then got sidetracked with Friday business and went off to lunch and then back and wrote another thousand words and then had two naps. Yes, two. An hour break between them. And during dinner and later watched the last two episodes of Kobra Kai.

So tonight I came back around 11 pm and wrote another 1,500 words in two sessions, finishing the story at about 12:15 am, which was sooner than I had started a couple of the stories the last two days.

I got done at 3,000 words and not one bit of that title fit the story I had written. Not one stupid thing.

The title got me started down the road, but it clearly didn’t drive.

So I wrote the title on a piece of paper to use tomorrow and changed the title to “The Birth of a Superhero: A Poker Boy Story.”

At some point that title will appear on a story very soon.

Seven stories in the first seven days…

1… The Curious Reasons for Death: A Mary Jo Assassin Story

2… Trail Guns Meet: A Thunder Mountain Story

3… The Beauty in a Puzzling Case: A Sky Tate Story

4… Death and Life in a Long Hot Day: A Marble Grant Story

5… And Blue Finds a Home: A Thunder Mountain Story

6… Kill for a Statistic: A Bryant Street Story

7… The Birth of a Superhero: A Poker Boy Story

About 21,000 words of short fiction the first week. I’ll take it. Got five covers to do.

Got one more project to finish before working on Patreon to get these stories up there in raw form.

7 Comments

  • Kate+Pavelle

    January 8, 2022 at 6:05 am

    That’s a nice streak, Dean! I’ll have to try your trick of mixing up existing titles. Titles and character names are often unnecessary stumbling blocks for me.

    • dwsmith

      January 8, 2022 at 11:59 am

      Phone books. I know, I know, they don’t exist anymore, but if you can find a couple, I take a first name and mix it with a different last name for characters. Easy. And makes the names real.

  • Philip

    January 8, 2022 at 6:52 am

    Dean, I can’t tell you how much energy it gives me to see you crushing this challenge. Also, I think this season of Cobra Kai was the best yet. Now that it’s over, I’ve started watching Yellowstone, a neo-noir western, and I highly–HIGHLY–recommend it.