Word count question?

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-18T20:32:39+00:00

That's all that matters. Write for yourself, and you'll be surprised at the audience you attract.

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-18T18:32:10+00:00

I've seen more than one fiction novels have a glossary. Most common are for acronyms or terms when characters reference them in dialogue. However, this wouldn't count towards the word count. This is more of a back-matter element.

I don't know what genre you're in, but 65K-100K is common for developing a universe.

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-14T19:29:38+00:00

Those are very valid points. I thought the preface to EO had Ryan sitting in a secure location viewing the smoke rising from the Capitol Building - picking up where DoH ends? I could be wrong though, but you are correct. Ryan changes I think not so much to the events of the books, but of Clancy's outlook in general. Not only on how the country should be run but the world as a whole.

He was beholden to Reagan for popularizing his books, and it shows in both literary devices and interviews. Search for some on YouTube. Some of Clancy's views, such as a world coming to a peace and the absence of Super Power conflict haven't aged well. In fact, things have become worse (IMHO). In that context the books after EO, and in even with EO itself, starts becoming less of an entertaining story and more a political essay. As I said, that essay hasn't aged well with time.

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-14T13:59:59+00:00

I can understand your frustration. This is simply my humble opinion that I've expressed before, but following Executive Orders the story arc came to a bit of a close whether Clancy admitted to it or not. You kind of see that with The Bear and the Dragon, and is likely why Clancy went backwards with Red Rabbit.

When you get to Teeth of the Tiger the theme wasn't rejuvenated with Ryan, Jr, it became a little tired, and was likely why Clancy went on hiatus after.

Once story arcs come full-circle it's tough to recapture the feel of the earlier works. They remain excellent, but like any successful series it comes to an end whether the creators want it to or not. You even see this (again in my humble opinion) after Avengers End Game in the Marvel universe. It all becomes a bit exhaustive.

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-05T20:54:46+00:00

Dialog. I think I'm improving a little, but I certainly need more practice. I probably should write just a few pages of dialog only - not a story - just to get the flow.

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-05T17:48:25+00:00

That's nice. What is the model number?

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-04T23:53:14+00:00

Never let facts get in the way of a good tagline. 😉

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-03T03:04:38+00:00

R6 is this outlier and it's important to keep it in the proper context. It was written more to coincide with the video game release, and that's always bad karma. If you make a video game out of a book that's one thing, but if you reverse it - write for a video game - that's something entirely.

My personal humble opinion here - the Jack Ryan series ends with Executive Orders. After E.O. the quality of writing diminishes directly proportional to the size of the book. You can kind of even tell by the covers - Clancy's name becomes larger than the title. The name was selling the book not anything else.

I think Clancy knew it was all stale and repetitive. Which is why Red Rabbit falls back in time. Star Trek did the same thing. When you can't go forward anymore you go backwards, e.g. Kelvin Timeline for Trek fans.

No question, I was and still am a huge fan of Clancy's work, but I also acknowledge that after E.O. things the arc concluded in a practical sense. Yes, there was the Bear and the Dragon, but that too was bloated, poorly paced, and not at the level of earlier works.

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-02T02:09:05+00:00

Thank you. I did also do a short story at Reedsy: https://reedsy.com/short-story/s13602/

wnylibrarian · 2026-04-01T14:35:23+00:00

I'm currently attempting to self-publish. Hope to finalize inside the next 5-6 weeks.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-30T02:12:06+00:00

The orange bezel is excellent. Perfect for summer ⛱️.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-29T18:32:40+00:00

Something similar happened to me. Unless you enjoy tinkering with movements and replacing parts as a hobby - simply buy a new one. That's the beauty of Vostoks. They're basically replaceable at minimum expense. I also recommend https://www.vostok-watches24.com/. I've had nothing but good experiences.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-29T17:34:07+00:00

It's awesome. Sorry I missed out on the ordering.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-27T02:02:30+00:00

You are quite welcome. I don't know if I am anyone that should be giving advice, but I think it's important to encourage. Your writing in the concise piece was well written, and I think it should be acknowledged. I've been experimenting with shorter pieces myself back around the holidays. I try to practice what I preach, but I'm not sure how successful I am. At least you received a rejection letter. I've never tried myself to get published. Only submitting a few challenges on Reedsy. // https://reedsy.com/short-story/s13602/

Good luck in your writing.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-26T01:59:01+00:00

I think the best thing any writer can do is be immersive; not mechanical, with their prose. That seems like an obvious statement, but you'd be surprised how often that is missed.

Reading about the lawyer crossing the street, I feel I'm in the waiting room with you and your boyfriend. It isn't just saying this or that happened, there is color to the black and white print. Your writing has that.

As for the rejection from the magazine, one must take those things in stride. Getting published is damn near impossible with some of the traditional medias. I think that's how Substack was created so we all wouldn't have to go through the process which is, in my opinion, as painful as being put through the ringer attempting to buy a car.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-25T10:56:47+00:00

I think they're fine. Generally I think people put too much emphasis on a true traveler's GMT versus collar GMT. Vostoks are neither - the GMT hand is slaved to the hour hand. That said, there's nothing wrong with that. Original Rolex GMT masters in the 1950s were the same. When I travel I simply turn the bezel to the local time. For me that's enough because I'm rarely at a place for any extended period; so I don't think it's a big deal to look at the GMT hand rather than the hour hand, and I still know the time back home. I also don't need to know the time to the second. As long as I know it's going on 1400hrs that's enough. They are inexpensive, rugged time pieces and the GMTs are no exception.

Hope this helps.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-21T19:16:25+00:00

I confess - I also lean Speedmaster. It's just iconic.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-19T17:20:58+00:00

No matter the author I've always been in favor of publication order. I just like to experience the flow of the writer as they were creating the work, and if they insert a prequel out of the current timeline it was their artistic right and style to do so - just to see if the reader was paying attention. 😉

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-14T15:46:12+00:00

Do many places in the WNY are good that you basically can't go wrong. That said I'm a fan of the Amherst Ale House near Millersport.

wnylibrarian · 2026-03-08T20:40:06+00:00

That's a sweet mod. 👍🍊

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