Hello everyone. Today kicks off the first of our bimonthly updates for The 10M Project. If you’re not familiar with this group initiative (and what I hope is a nascent movement for dedicated fiction writers), I’ll direct you to the introductory post. Details for joining up are there. I’m also happy to have you along for the ride as simply an interested reader or as a writer who takes inspiration from us to follow the path on their own.
Some Housekeeping Details:
This project is evolving fairly quickly right before my eyes, and we have 7 writers on board already. I want to use this as a platform for promoting the hardworking authors who participate, but I also want to be generating some healthy competition, so that we are all really pushing ourselves. As such, I’ve decided that the leaderboard here will consist of the Top Ten writers who make the most progress in a given update period. This allows those starting from lower word counts to still get the top spot if they have a burst of creative output and remove the intimidation factor of playing against (but ultimately with) writers who are starting with high word counts.
Currently we are at 7 people, as I said, so you’ll get full details below for each of us. When we surpass 10 writers, for those below Top Ten I will include just your numbers for the update period as a list below the main content. Top Ten participants will get the VeryAwesomeSuperArtisticGraphTM posted, along with links to whatever work they want you to check out. So let’s all shoot for that top spot every couple of weeks! Every word is a word closer to mastery. And also I just need to catch Frank Kidd. This means war!
The Leaderboard:
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Super villain whom I’m hellbent on destroyingWriter extraordinaire Frank Kidd takes the top spot this update with a tremendous growth of 14k words. Way to go Frank! You can read Frank’s excellent short story work at and our joint project , especially check out his newest sci-fi called “The Nomads”, it’s stellar. Additionally, I know Frank has some killer novels in the pipeline for you and I’m hoping to get my hands on those ASAP. Yours Truly: Despite my grueling schedule that I’ve detailed in my Daily(ish) Journals, your ‘umble host managed to crank out a 5513-word short story I’m rather proud of for
called “The Remnant”. One reader said it was “like Cormac McCarthy wrote The Parable of the Sower”. High praise indeed. Hope you’ll check it out. Additionally, you can get my novel Dream House on Amazon.- : The essayist par excellence has really been showing up with the fiction goods lately. Zack is a beyond skilled writer with a totally unique voice that deftly spans genres. For fans of old school adventure with a supernatural twist, you must sample his “Thralls of the Unspeakable City”. Simply no one is writing like this now, and you’re going to love it.
- : My inspiration and early de facto mentor is always making moves and this month saw the release of his fantastic short fiction collection Grind: And Other Strange Stories. Pick up your copy on Amazon and read the title story over at P3. Frank is a genre unto himself, giving cathartic voice to the corpo-imprisoned spirit of our times.
- : The man of many names, published children’s author, purveyor of fine pulp action and pointed parables, is hard at work on the latter over at his tremendous page. These are stories for kids (and adults!), each illustrating a moral lesson from the book of Proverbs, a la Aesop’s fables. You don’t want to miss these weekly bits of soul food. Head over and subscribe.
- : Monsieur Franklin is a powerful and needed essayist, delivering timely and weighty cultural critique at his substack page, as well as essential parenting wisdom for traditional fathers at his inimitable page. You’re going to want to pay attention to everything he writes. In addition, M.A. seems to be sitting on a wealth of fiction work, which I for one hope to see published and widely read ASAP.
Vanya Bagaev: You need to be reading Vanya’s fiction, point blank. There is not a voice out there as original as his, a mind so wildly inventive and yet so entertaining and impactful. I recommend you devour every word of fiction he has produced at Nova Nevedoma, but I especially want to highlight his newest novella, the totally brilliant, experimental, and mind-bending romp known as Deleted Scenes from the Bestselling Utopian Novel. This is the good stuff. Vanya has been on holiday and I know for a fact he’s going to be in the top spots of this leaderboard when he gets home. The man is putting out incredible work at a blazing pace. Pay attention.
See You Soon:
We’ll be back with more words in two weeks, and more stories for you to enjoy. We all hope you find this project inspiring and also invite the daring and committed to join us.
Happy Writing!
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