It’s now late afternoon (almost 5 PM Eastern Daylight Time) here in the Tampa Bay area on Monday, June 19, 2023. It’s also hot as hell outside according to my Weather app. Currently, the temperature is 90°F/30°C under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 62%, the heat index is 99°F/37°C – definitely not my idea of “let’s go out for a walk” weather.
After trying – and failing – throughout much of last week to start Chapter 10 of Reunion: Coda (I’ll probably come up with a better title at some point in the pre-publication process), I managed to write the first scene for it. Chapter 10 is, per the pattern I’ve followed since I started this project back in mid-March, a Professor James Garraty story rather than a “Jimmy” Garraty one set in 1980s high school, and, in a new twist, it actually shows the protagonist/narrator at work in Columbia University.
The scene, as it stands now, is rather rough – so rough that it’s in the “scratch sheet file” and not in the official first draft file – and I’m not quite ready to even show a snippet of it here as “proof of life.” I didn’t do a word count, either, so I have no idea if I wrote 500 words or more today. I’ll check all that stuff tomorrow; I’m tired and need to relax for a while, so my workday, as it were, is over.
I did start the scene off with what I hope is a reasonable depiction of how Jim teaches in class and how his students respond to the lessons he imparts in his lectures and reading assignments, so I am a bit pleased with my output. I’m not saying the scene overall is great as executed, but at least the beginning looks solid. (It’s the end of the scene that worries me – it just runs out of steam at the end. At least, that’s how I see it now.
Well, I need to take a Rest and Recreation break; I went to bed late, woke up early, and even though I had a decent breakfast and lunch, I’m tired and sleepy. I need to get my mind off the story till tomorrow and “chillax” for a while, perhaps by watching a movie, listening to music, gaming, or reading a book.
Until next time, then, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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4 responses to “On Writing & Storytelling: Breaking News! I Kicked Off Chapter 10 Today with a First Scene”
Gotta feel good, hey, Alex? Especially with the time spent just trying to get going. Been there a million times.
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Yeah. I was (and still am) surprised when I got stalled after I wrote the third scene in Chapter Nine. I struggled for a few days with a fourth scene for Nine, decided it wasn’t worth the hassle, then attempted to move on to the next chapter.
Situations such as this are why I get so pissed when people who don’t write (or even read for pleasure) say I “have it easy” because I don’t have a nine-to-five job and just “write.” Last time I checked, writing was listed as an occupation. It’s not my fault that traditional publishing is so hard to break into, nor that self-publishing is such a gamble as to what readers will like or buy. For me, this is work…and it’s hard and all-consuming at that.
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Indeed, Alex. And, even though it is work, you’re pursuing your passion and not many people can say the same. Good wishes to you brother!
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I think that “pursuing my passion” is possibly why I get some pushback from people who dismiss writing as a profession. Apparently, it’s not “work” to them if I enjoy what I do.
Also, have you considered buying a copy of “Reunion: A Story” for either J or yourself? It’s my first work of written fiction (I do have a few produced scripts that are also fiction, so I try to make that distinction when I talk about my writing.)
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