On Writing & Storytelling: Sometimes the Writing Muse Smiles Down at Me, Sometimes She Doesn’t….

Hi, there.

Well, it’s early afternoon here in Lithia, Florida, on Friday, June 23, 2023. It is a hot (87°F/30°C) early summer day in the Tampa Bay area. It doesn’t look like we’re going to see too many rain showers or thunderstorms around; the forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 89°F/31. Of course, this being summer in the subtropics, there’s always a chance that a storm might make its way here from the Gulf of Mexico. We’ll just have to see, won’t we?

As for Your Humble Correspondent: If yesterday was a productive one in the context of the novel, today has been…disappointing. I’ve been up since 6:30 AM, I’ve had breakfast, showered, gotten dressed, and all that, and all I’ve managed to do in the seven hours – writing-wise, anyway – since I woke up is start this blog post.  

It’s possible that I wore myself out a bit more than I realized while writing yesterday’s revised version of Chapter Eight’s third scene. After all, as much as it might shock non-writers, sitting at a desk for hours on end with only a few breaks and zero human interactions is tiring, both physically and mentally. I wrote 2,335 words (the equivalent of six 8X11 pages) in eight hours. And even though I am happy with the result of my hard work, I was exhausted by the time I hit Save File on the Alpha (first draft) version of Reunion: Coda’s .docx file.

I’m not surprised, then, that my brain rebels at the prospect of tackling Chapter 10 today. That was on my Action This Day list for my last workday of the week. I mean, I want to at least expand the existing scene I already have saved on Word, but I don’t have the energy to do that.

Now, it’s still relatively early in the afternoon, so maybe if I take an hour-long break to read a book (it’s too hot and sticky outside to go for a “commune with my Muse” stroll), I might write a few hundred words in the manuscript afterward. If not, I’ll just take the rest of today off and work on the novel tomorrow.

Ugh. Whoever thinks – or says – I have it “easy” because all I do here is write stories and blog posts clearly doesn’t understand that writing is hard, and that “author” or “writer” is a job title.

Anyway, I do need to take a break, so I’ll close for now. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.