Writer’s Shop Talk: Copyrights and Writer’s Block: My Saturday Saga

Early Afternoon, Sunday, February 9, 2025, Miami, Florida

“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here.”–  Sue Monk Kidd

My Not-So-Restful Saturday

Although I began yesterday as one of my two days off from work, I found myself preoccupied with thinking about and working on my manuscript for Reunion: Coda.

I suspected, of course, that my weekend agenda of diving into a thrilling scenario in Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age would be derailed by my manuscript musings. The thought of making up for the “lost” writing days when I didn’t start Chapter 25 after wrapping up the previous one was too tempting to resist. Don’t get me wrong, I love my weekends, filled with the joy of a good book or the challenge of a strategic game. Yet, those in-between chapter pauses? They’re like speed bumps on the road to finishing Reunion: Coda.

I had a few reasons for deciding to work yesterday. The biggest one was that I was excited to get my Certificate of Copyright from the U.S. Copyright Office for Reunion: A Story, which is the first part of the Reunion Duology! I found out it was on its way when I checked my email and saw the Saturday summary from my Informed Delivery subscription, which I checked early In the afternoon. It made my day, but it also served as a call to action.

From Copyright Joy to Writer’s Block: A Day of Creative Highs and Lows

I tried hard – maybe a bit too hard – to start Chapter 25. Despite my excitement about the arrival of my copyright paperwork, fresh material eluded me. Not even a rough outline for the first scene made it onto the page.

It wasn’t until early evening, after I had received and opened the precious envelope from the Copyright Office, that I found an alternative way to work on Reunion: Coda and soothe my worries about my low output for the week. Somewhere between 7:15 and 7:30 PM, I checked my primary email account and found a delightful notification: my Beta Reader, Denise Longrie, had reviewed the “Beta” draft of the manuscript and left her recommendations for improvements.

Though I could have waited until today to dive into Denise’s Beta Reader notes, the allure of her feedback was too strong. Typically, my creativity wanes after sunset unless I’m already on a roll. But this time, I was fueled by a surge of determination, even past my usual Writer’s Prime Time, and on my day off no less. So, I metaphorically rolled up my sleeves and plunged into the task.

For the next three hours, I meticulously reviewed Denise’s comments on the Google Drive draft, editing and refining the master file on Microsoft Word. Some of the changes were a breeze, especially when it came to deleting problematic dialogue or character actions. With those, I simply read through the specific bits Denise flagged as unnecessary or tonally off, deleted them, and then seamlessly wove the narrative or dialogue back together.

The most challenging part was implementing Denise’s suggestion to relocate a particularly favored character interaction. It wasn’t poorly written, but its timing within the scene’s chronology was off.

I had to move the part where my protagonist, Jim Garraty, interacts with a colleague a few paragraphs down. It seemed like a piece of cake, but I quickly found out that it needed some careful tweaking to keep the flow feeling right. So, with a good vibe and some determination, I jumped into it and wove the dialogue into its new spot until it felt like it had always belonged there. It turned out to be a fun little challenge! I ended up working on revisions and edits until 11 PM, and by the time I wrapped things up, I was pretty worn out! Since I want to be well-rested and ready to tackle the new workweek with enthusiasm and energy, I’m going to take the rest of this lovely, warm, and sunny Sunday off here in South Florida. Time to relax and enjoy the day!