Musings & Thoughts for Tuesday, June 11, 2024, or: The Curse of Writer’s Block Strikes Again

Late Morning, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire

Madison Summer Almanac

Hi, folks. It’s another cold and potentially wet early summer day in New England. The current temperature is 67°F (19°C) under cloudy conditions. With humidity at 61% and the wind blowing from the east-southeast at 3 MPH (5 Km/H), the feels-like temperature is 79°F (26°C). Today’s forecast calls for scattered rain showers throughout the day. The high will be 72°F (22°C). We can expect partly cloudy skies and a low of 52°F (11°C), tonight.

On Writing & Storytelling: Block: 1, Writer: 0

I had a rotten writing day yesterday. I got up way later than usual and felt like a slug with no spark. I had a good breakfast and two mugs of Maxwell House Original Blend coffee, but that didn’t cure my case of “The Slows.” My normal two-hour break in the middle of the day was useless, too, partly because I was worried about how late I was running, but mostly because the weather was awful and I was feeling blue. So, when I finally parked myself at my desk at 3 PM to write, Calliope (my Muse) was AWOL.

I tried hard to focus and imagine how the first scene of Reunion: Coda’s Chapter 18 would look like, but I got nothing. The house was chilly and breezy, and I felt very depressed because I had a desire to write, but the more I pushed myself to think of a way to start the new chapter, the more uninspired I felt.

Once More Onto the Breach

Regiments was my escape around five o’clock. I try not to game when I’m supposed to work; it messes up my flow, and I have a deadline for Reunion: Coda in a few months. But…with nobody to chill with, a partner to share my feelings (or hug and kiss), and not much else to do, gaming was a good way to relax and refresh my brain.

I wanted to spice up the battle like I did on Sunday, so I picked Medium difficulty again, but this time I gave myself 10 extra minutes instead of the usual 30. I can beat the AI Warsaw Pact force on Regiments, but Bird’s Eye Games has been improving the game for its first paid DLC, Winds of Change, so it’s harder to get Total Victories in short skirmishes lately.

The extra 10 minutes paid off; I won a Total Victory over the AI’s “Red Force” and killed more of them than they did me. But the Warsaw Pact kept fighting until the end, trying one more – but feeble – counterattack to take back one of the Objective Zones near the NATO airfield I had freed from Soviet and Polish forces.

That win gave me a boost, but a small one. I’m still stuck in the same place with Reunion: Coda (17 chapters done, 390 pages, and 98,423 words), and I’m itching to make some progress soon.

Writer’s block – it sucks.

Action This Day: Are You There, Calliope?

But today is a new day, and I’m hopeful that Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, will grace me with some of her divine inspiration. Maybe she’ll whisper in my ear the perfect words to finish Reunion: Coda, the sequel to my novella Reunion: A Story. Maybe she’ll show me how to bring the characters to life, how to weave the themes of nostalgia, regret, and forgiveness, how to craft the ending that will satisfy my readers and myself. Maybe she’ll help me break through this frustrating block and unleash my creative potential.

I don’t know if Calliope is listening, but I’m going to try my best to woo her anyway. I’m going to sit down at my keyboard, open my document, and write. I’m going to write whatever comes to mind, without judging or censoring myself. I’m going to write until I find the flow, the rhythm, the magic. I’m going to write because I love writing, and because I believe in my story.

Thank you for reading this blog post, and for following my journey as a writer. If you haven’t read Reunion: A Story yet, I invite you to check it out on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore. It’s a short but powerful tale that introduces the characters of Jim Garraty, his best friend Mark, and Jim’s crush Martina Elizabeth, aka Marty. It’s a story that explores the bonds of friendship, the pain of lost love, and the possibility of redemption. And if you have read it, I’d love to hear your feedback. Please leave a review on Amazon or in your blog or, if you prefer, comment below. Your support means the world to me. Stay tuned for more updates on Reunion: Coda, and until then, happy reading!