Musings & Thoughts for Thursday, October 12, 2023, or: Ambivalent Anniversaries and Tough Writing Choices

Late Morning, Thursday, October 12, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, there, Constant Readers. I hope you’re having (or that you had, if you live on the far side of the International Dateline, where it’s already Friday the 13^th) a good day. I’m hoping that my day will be, at the very least, productive, and I will try my best to make it a “good day,” too.

Today is the 521^st anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, which used to be a national holiday in the entire U.S. but is now only observed officially as “Columbus Day” by 16 states and American Samoa; other states, territories, and the District of Columbia now set aside the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in memory of the many Native American peoples that suffered the consequences of European colonization of the Americas. (In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, today is also a national holiday; it’s known in Spain – and a few other countries, including Colombia – as El Dia de la Raza.)

On Writing and Storytelling: Decisions, Decisions

I still have not decided whether I will write Chapter 12 – a Jim-and-Maddie chapter set in March of 2000 – as an epistolary chapter consisting of an exchange of emails between my two “adult Jim era” protagonists, or just keep on telling the story in the same style I’ve used throughout much of Reunion: Coda.

As of last night, I was leaning more toward epistolary style, but as of this writing, I’m having second thoughts. I have used some epistolary techniques before, particularly in Reunion: A Story, but in small doses and never as the main storytelling device for an entire chapter. Telling a story solely through emails can be done – Matt Beaumont has written two bitingly witty novels. Including 2000’s e: A Novel – as a collection of email exchanges between executives and staffers at a London advertising company – as a modern version of the epistolary novel.

But even though telling a story in a format that mimics a real email correspondence looks simple, it requires a combination of careful planning, self-confidence (especially if it’s your first go at it), and decent writing skills. Currently, based on how I feel about my non-writing life these days, of those three prerequisites, I only have “decent writing skills.”

Right now, I am somewhat reluctant to give up on the “epistolary chapter” idea, but the more I think about it, the more likely it is that I will use the same writing style for Chapter 12 that I’ve used throughout the rest of Reunion: Coda. I’ll make my final decision, though, after my midday rest break.

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