The writing schedule that works is the one that works (Monthly update #2)

Plus: All about me, pro wrestling, His House

I’m slowly realizing that I’m never going to be “professional.” Or behave professionally, or whatever.

A couple years ago, I decided that my ✨true calling✨ was writing novels (or, to put it another way: if I’m going to make zero dollars writing, I might as well write what I want to write), so I stepped away from all the contract work and columns and social media work I was doing and started spending all my time writing fiction.

At the time, I was convinced I needed to be ✨professional✨ about this stuff, so I held myself to writing ten pages (well—2,500 words¹) a day, no matter what I had to do to get there. Under that system, I managed to crank out three novel drafts in about a year. Unfortunately…they weren’t good. Turns out that the “ten pages no matter what” system produces plenty of writing—but not, y’know, quality writing.

This is a problem, because I promised my agent a novel by this fall. That…isn’t going to happen, but it would be nice to have something for her by the spring, and it’d be nice if it were something I could be proud of. So how do you crank out quality writing?

Ironically (?), I’ve found myself returning to the system I used ten years ago, back when my oldest daughter was a baby, I was stuck at home with her, and I was taking my first fumbling steps toward ✨getting serious about writing.✨

These days, like back then, I just get up as early as I can, and immediately start working on my novel. I work on the thing till I can’t stand it anymore (a highly scientific measurement, clearly), and then I tell myself, “Sure man, you can quit—after you finish this page.” Then I keep working until I get to the bottom of the page—and then I ask myself if I know what the next sentence is. If I do, I have to keep going. Then I keep working, once again, until I can’t stand it anymore, and the cycle continues. It’s a way of coaxing pages out of myself, and it usually works.

Once I actually quit, I take a break to work out, do some housework, read a book, etc., but after about an hour of that, I have to get back to writing—not always the novel, but something. And I go back and forth like that till the end of the day.

I don’t know if I’d recommend this system to anyone (it’s…kind of a sloppy way to get things done), but it seems to be working, for the moment. I’ve been at it since mid-June, and I’ve got 100 pages that I’m at least somewhat happy with. That’s…not great, but it’s something. If there’s a lesson here, it’s that the best system is whichever one gets the work done right.

Anyway—I’ll have something for you all (meaning, my agent) in the spring! Maybe. Who knows. 🕹🌙🧸

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Poll of the moment

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In case you missed it: ⬅️I watched BuzzFeed’s terrible new horror movie so you don’t have to

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Two years ago: Read this to get a free copy of both my books

This one is currently pinned to the homepage here, so most of you have probably already seen it, but in case you haven’t, and you’re wondering who this “Luke T. Harrington” guy is, here it is again.

Back in late 2021, it seemed to be a bit of a thing for Substackers to write posts introducing themselves to the world, so I jumped on that bandwagon, and—as a bonus—offered to give both my published books away to everyone who signed up to receive the thing in their email inboxes.

I’ve since made the deal permanent! So tell your friends, etc.

1. So, wait, who are you?

I’m a writer. I’ve published a couple of books. My name is Luke T. Harrington, and the “T” is important.

2. Wait, why is the “T” important?

Because of this guy.

3. Yeah, that makes sense.

Mmhmm.

4. Anyway, what would I know you from?

I’ve had a foot in a few different fields for a while now —

5. Wait, you have three feet?

Um — yes. (…Read more here!) 🕹🌙🧸

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Stuff I’ve been enjoying lately

Y’all ever watch a movie that could make you jump out of your skin one moment and sob like a baby the next? That’s what His House is.

Originally released to Netlflix in October 2020 (but somehow I didn’t hear about it till a few weeks ago), His House tells the story of a pair of Sudanese refugees struggling to adjust to life in London—and who are increasingly convinced their government-provided townhome is haunted by a witch they’ve brought with them from Africa.

It’s legitimately scary in the usual horror-movie ways (some very smart jump scares here), but just as vital to its success is its unflinching honesty about the horrors of war and the refugee experience. There are no heroes or villains in this film, just desperate people doing what they need to do to survive, along with some government bureaucrats who know the system is broken and are sincerely trying to do the best jobs they can within it. In some ways, the witch comes off looking the most morally defensible here, which is an accomplishment in itself.

I don’t want to spoil any of the twists and turns in the plot, so I’ll just say: Watch it. It’s on Netflix, so unless you’re one of those weirdoes without Netflix, you’ve got very little to lose, aside from your sanity and your ability to get through a day without crying. 🕹🌙🧸

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Favorite comment of the month

Speaking for those of us who religiously read the footnotes, and for wrestling fans everywhere, that joke simply cannot be the reason Buzzfeed stopped responding to you. That's not just a tame wrestling joke, it's THE tame wrestling joke, which every single person makes. Sure, it's (probably) not as funny as how this guy phrased it:

ryanlongcomedy

A post shared by @ryanlongcomedy

but there are knock-knock jokes with more edge than that. —Thadd 🕹🌙🧸

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Push those funky free books, white boy

Hey, thanks for reading! If you’re new to this newsletter, here’s how it works: everyone who signs up to receive it in their email inbox gets free e-book copies of both my published books, plus you get entered in a monthly drawing for a free signed paperback copy of each! Why? Because I like you.

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• Ophelia, Alive: A Ghost Story, my debut novel about ghosts, zombies, Hamlet, and higher-ed angst. Won a few minor awards, might be good.

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…plus:

• a monthly update on my ✨glamorous life as an author✨ (i.e., mostly stories about me lying around the house, playing videogames, petting my dogs, etc.)

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Congrats to last month’s winners, nemoinfinite and rnelsonntea! (If you are rnelsonntea, please reach out to me! I’ve emailed you twice, to no response!) I’ll run the next drawing on Dec. 1! 🕹🌙🧸

1. The thing about “pages” is they’re easy to cheat on—just write a long column of two-word dialog snippets (“‘What?’ he said. ‘Never mind!’ she said,” etc.). So I go with the industry standard, which is 250 words ≈ 1 page.