Musings & Thoughts for Tuesday, August 22, 2023, or: Summer Broils On…Writing Goes On, As Well

Late Morning, Tuesday, August 22, 2023, Lithia, Florida

“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realise that it is August: the summer’s last stand.” ― Sara Baume, A Line Made By Walking

Hi, there, folks.

So, here we are, just over three weeks into August – the last month of meteorological summer and one of the hottest on record. I don’t know much about Tampa’s history, much less its weather history, but I do know that in other Florida cities, including my hometown of Miami, the Summer of ’23 has been record-breaking and record-setting as far as the heat is concerned.

As I write this at 9:40 AM EDT, the temperature in my neighborhood – for the moment, anyway – is 81°F/27°C under sunny skies. When you factor in 79% humidity and a gentle 6 MPH/9 KMH east-northeasterly breeze, it already feels like 88°F/31°C. (It was 76°F/24°C when I logged on to my PC at 7 AM).

Today’s forecast calls for sunny skies, a high of 95°F/34°C, and only a 3% chance of rain. It’s going to be another scorcher here in the subtropics.

Thankfully, even though there are currently three named storms (Franklin, Gert, and Harold) churning out in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico, none of those is heading toward Florida. However, since late August and September are the “peak” of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the season itself lasts till November 30, we are not out of the woods yet.

Action This Day

It’s Tuesday. It’s a working day. I write on working days. So, of course, my plan of action is to work on the manuscript to Reunion: Coda after the requisite rest break.  

Yesterday was a good day for writing. Not a great one – I reserve that adjective for those rare occasions when I sit down at my desk and start writing with confidence and enthusiasm – and a clear understanding of what is supposed to happen in the scene or scenes I am talking about. Yesterday was not one of those days. It was more like, “Let me read what I wrote last week and see how I can add to it in a way that is both organic to the story and makes sense.”

I also use “great day for writing” when I produce over 1,000 words in one working session. (Stephen King’s daily goal is around 2,000 words. I try to match my goals to my abilities, including typing speed and stamina. If I hit 1,000 words per workday when I’m working on fiction, I call that a success. If I surpass my word count goal and match or even exceed Steve-O’s 2K mark, I call that “a truly wonderful writing day.”

Yesterday’s word count was around 555 words. I can’t be exact, because I inserted a few of the new words onto a previously written “graf” and thus blended fresh material with pre-existing material. The 555 words added – I believe – two more pages to the manuscript, though. So even if my Monday’s writing didn’t quite earn the “great” label, I still got things done. As I always say, any new words added – especially if the word count is more than 500 – are better than 0 words added.

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