dmjohnston3Dec 5, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 14So I've been stalled out for a while. Mainly it's due to other priorities - articles, my actual job, and some real-life events. But even...
dmjohnston3Nov 4, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 13There's this process by which I slowly begin to hate my own work. I didn't always have this, it was something instilled in me by...
dmjohnston3Oct 14, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 12I'm more than halfway through this project and I'm already back to questioning the ethics at play here. Am I misrepresenting someone who...
dmjohnston3Sep 29, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 11This afternoon, I finished writing a segment of EMPATHY that will definitely offend someone. I say that without pride, without boasting...
dmjohnston3Sep 20, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 10I'm sitting at 35,000 words and am - temporally speaking - 42% finished. From here, it gets harder, then easier, then harder again. It...
dmjohnston3Sep 16, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 09People love to talk about - and condemn - fiction as "escapist," suggesting that consuming it is emblematic of some sort of weakness....
dmjohnston3Sep 7, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 08I'm about a third of the way through this project, which means it's time I once again spoke obliquely about the content of this latest...
dmjohnston3Aug 23, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 07It's funny how real life can inform a work of fiction. One of the problems facing the protagonist of this story is the intrusion...
dmjohnston3Aug 15, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 06You get a blend of feelings when you're working on an essentially doomed project. On the one hand, it is certainly liberating - no...
dmjohnston3Aug 9, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 05All the things I've written about this project, and I've yet to say what it's about. I'm keeping mum about this for a reason, but I can...
dmjohnston3Aug 2, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 04It's amazing how easy this project has been so far. Even when I'm stuck on everything else I try to do, and I'm bashing my head against...
dmjohnston3Jul 22, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 03When people write fiction that's heavily inspired by their own life experiences - a technique commonly known as roman a clef - the usual...
dmjohnston3Jul 19, 20211 minEMPATHY - Writelog 02I've been keeping a diary in-character as the central player in this project. The entries are very short - blurbs more than anything -...
dmjohnston3Jul 16, 20212 minEMPATHY - Writelog 01I have a problem. I seem to be addicted to failure. A few years ago I said that the final revision of The Fabulist would be the last big...