On Writing & Storytelling: Why, Yes, I AM Working on a Sunday Afternoon. Why Do You Ask?

Late Morning/Midday, Sunday, September 24, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, all.

I’m going to make this a “quickie” of a post; I am off to a late start with my blogging, and since today will be a working writer’s day for me, I need to take a quick rest break before I go back to the business of writing more new material for Chapter 11’s Scene Four.

Still Grappling with ‘That Scene’ in Chapter 11!

Yesterday was one of those “the glass is half-full” days where, despite a ponderously slow start, I did manage to crack the code, if you will, of that particular scene that is kicking my ass writing-wise. I accomplished this by using the same approach I used for a conversation between Jim and Maddie in an earlier chapter; I wrote it as a scene in a movie using screenplay format just to get the dialogue and basic scene setups out of my head and down on paper (or, if you want to be literal about it, on Microsoft Word).

Had I been able to start writing at a more decent hour – say, like 2 PM rather than 5:15 PM – I would have been happier with my output from the two hours or so of writing that I managed to do yesterday. I can’t say I would have finished the scene at the end of the work session. I might have, sure, if I’d been in better shape physically and mentally, but it is more likely that I would have gotten to the two-thirds or even three-fourths done mark.

I don’t believe that I am in good shape, physically, mentally, or emotionally, though, so not only did I start later than I usually do, I also wrote far less than I planned to, and in a different format that will require a complete rewrite before I add the scene to the “master document” of the Reunion: Coda manuscript.

Action This Day: There Shall Be No ‘Sunday is Fun Day’ Today

As soon as I publish this on WordPress, I’ll just pretend that it’s not Sunday and follow my usual writing day’s routine of taking a midday rest break, then resume work between 1:30 and 2 PM till I either complete the extremely rough draft of Chapter 11, Scene Four or get tired and stop for the day.

As I’ve pointed out so many times before, I can’t figure out why the fuck this particular chapter has been so difficult to write. I mean, basically all this chapter was supposed to do was expand on this bit from the first book in the Reunion Duology:

I blinked with surprise when Mrs. Quincy’s words resounded in my mind. A snippet of visual memory flickered before me like an old newsreel: as our teacher was giving us an explanation of why she was leaving before the Spring Concert in May, I was gazing at Martina, who sat with the altos and sopranos across the chorus room from my seat in the bass section. She didn’t notice; she was paying attention to Mrs. Quincy. Our teacher’s announcement had caught us all unaware, and on Marty’s face there was shock and disappointment. I looked around the room; everyone had a stunned, what-are-we-going-to-do mien. Some of the girls wept unabashedly.

 A substitute teacher, a semi-famous concert cellist named Mr. Abner, came to class the following day and tried to keep things going. We dutifully attended class and tried to follow our routine of vocal exercises and practicing the last pieces Mrs. Quincy had selected for the Spring Concert, but our hearts were not in it.

Diaz-Granados, Alex. Reunion: A Story: A Novella (The Reunion Duology Book 1) (p. 20). Kindle Create/ADG Books. Kindle Edition.

Well, as much as I told myself that I knew the characters and situations as well as I knew the layout of my former home in East Wind Lake Village down in South Florida, my theory that I’d only spend a couple of weeks on this particular chapter was proven incorrect. It’s been over a month since I finished Chapter 10, and I’m still only 75% done with Chapter 11. Damn…I thought getting close to the end of a novel would be easier, and not this mental quagmire I’m in now.

Anyway, enough dilly-dallying. I have a rest break to take, lunch to eat, and a manuscript to grapple with later, so I take my leave of you. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.  

A Reminder

Do you like free stuff? You know, like getting a $3.99 e-book for the low, low, low price of $0.00?

If you are not a member of Kindle Unlimited (where your membership fee gives you access to any Kindle book in existence) or if you have not bought the Kindle edition of Reunion: A Story, Amazon and I are offering free copies of the e-book in an offer that started on Thursday and ends on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. (If you already have the Kindle edition of Reunion, you can use the offer to send a copy to anyone you know that has an Amazon account and either a Kindle-compatible device or a PC/mobile phone Kindle app.)

As I said, this free e-book offer is still in effect, but it expires soon!