On Writing & Storytelling: New Month, New (Meteorological) Season, and Persistent Writing Challenges

Late Morning, Friday, September 1, 2023, Lithia, Florida

“But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.” ― Stephen King, ‘Salem’s Lot

Another new month. Another new season. And…another quarter year begins.

Hi, everyone. Well, here we are on the first Friday of meteorological fall. Here in Florida, of course, we feel the seasons of the year differently from other regions of the U.S. that are not in the subtropical zone. Here, as we bid farewell to meteorological summer – traditional, or astronomical summer doesn’t end till Saturday, September 23 – it is still hot and muggy. Outside, the temperature is 83°F/28°C under sunny conditions. With humidity at a sticky 88% and a becalmed northeasterly breeze of 1 MPH/2 KMH, the heat index is 96°F/35°C. Today’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 91°F/33°C.

Action This Day

Since I didn’t get much writing done beyond yesterday’s blog post, my plan for this last regular workday of the business week is, of course, to work on Reunion: Coda. Ideally, I should focus on the third scene for Chapter 11 of the novel, which in theory is easy – it’s a “next day” follow-up of Scene Two and I know what’s supposed to happen. Heck, anyone who reads Reunion: A Story knows what happens because the entire chapter is a more detailed version of an event mentioned in the chapter Scenes from a Long Goodbye.

Well, in my writing journey with this novel – my first – I have discovered that the hardest scenes to write are the ones that seem to be literary “slam dunks.” I don’t know why that is…maybe it’s some kind of weird block, or maybe I overthink things too much and then tie myself in mental knots trying to describe the setting, characters, and situations as clearly as possible so the reader can “see” on the page what I do in my mind.

I also think that my worries about my future – both short-term and long-term – and the stresses of living in Florida smack in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season are affecting my ability to write fiction. Blogging, after all, is just an exercise in reporting or commenting on the news or reviewing stuff. I can write blog posts with far more ease than I do when I’m chronicling the life and loves of my protagonist, James Kevin “Jim” Garraty.

In any event, I need to find a way to break the stalemate with Scene Three and write the damn thing so I can move on to Chapter 12. I would prefer to do so by writing this part of Reunion: Coda as straight prose, but if I must resort to writing it first in screenplay format and then novelizing it, I will do so.

Well, if I’m going to give Scene Three another try, I better start my rest break now. So, until next time, folks, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.