On Writing & Storytelling: Getting Ready to Start a New Workday

Midday/Early Afternoon, Thursday, September 28, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, everyone.

Today’s post will, by necessity, be brief because according to my usual schedule, this is the time of day when I start my rest break, eat lunch, and relax for a while before starting work on my novel.

Yesterday, as you know, I started my workday with the idea that I’d focus my attention on writing “new words” and moving the fourth – and final – scene of Reunion: Coda’s eleventh chapter forward at least to the halfway or the two-thirds point. I had no illusion of writing the complete scene – even though I know that it’s one of the last (if not the last) Jim-and-Marty scenes in the novel and, since it’s essentially an expansion of a story point made in Reunion: A Story, theoretically easy to write.

Well, even though I worked on Reunion: Coda for much of the afternoon and into the evening, I ended up fixing sections of previous chapters that needed some fine-tuning in one way or another. In some parts of Chapter Nine I worked on Talking Head Avoidance Devices, which is a writing technique where I add physical and emotional beats to dialogue scenes to make them more compelling to a reader and avoid static scenery where two (or more) characters are reduced to “talking heads” exchanging quotations.

I also went back to Chapter 10 and revised a passage that was “just okay” quality-wise and made it a bit more interesting by following that sage bit of writing advice, “Show, Don’t Tell.”

Here is the passage in question:

As I step into my office, the air hangs heavy with the scent of old books and a palpable sense of academic gravitas. Fayerweather Hall embraces me with its historic charm, and a surge of intellectual energy courses through my veins. To the right, sturdy bookcases tower against the walls, crammed with volumes that hold the weight of history. They are my battlefield, my treasure trove of knowledge. Amongst the ranks of military history tomes, my three books stand tall and proud: Triumph in the Pacific, Lost Victory: Desert Storm 1991, and Uncertain Trumpets: Operation Market-Garden. Their spines (except that of Uncertain Trumpets, which has only been out for six months), worn and weathered like battle scars, share the stage with other revered works, a testament to my lifelong pursuit of understanding.

The shelves reach for the heavens, an endless expanse of stories waiting to be unearthed. Sunlight filters through the windows, casting ethereal rays that illuminate the meticulously arranged rows of titles. Dust particles dance in the golden beams. In my mind, I hear the echoes of Churchill’s defiant calls to arms (“We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be…”)  and FDR’s “Day of Infamy” address to Congress – “Yesterday, December 7, 1941…”. These words inspire me, remind me of the courage and sacrifice of those who fought for freedom and justice. They also challenge me, urge me to seek the truth and expose the lies behind the wars and conflicts that shaped our world.

As for today, I don’t know what will happen after my rest break is over and I start working on the novel. I would love it if Calliope would pay me a visit and inspire me to write all-new material for Chapter 11, but I know that sometimes it is better to approach writing projects with no preconceived notions and, as the famous Nike slogan puts it, “Just Do it.”

Well, that’s all I have to share for today, so I’ll close for now. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.