Musings & Thoughts for Tuesday, October 17, 2023, or: Weather, Walks and Writing Challenges

Late Afternoon/Early Evening, Tuesday, October 17, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, all. It’s late afternoon – early evening, really, on a somewhat cook – by Florida standards, anyway – October day. The sun is still out but it’s already low over the western horizon, and the temperature is 70°F/22°C. It’s not unpleasant – in fact, it reminds me of the cooler temperatures in Sevilla, Spain when I arrived there on September 22, 1988, to participate in the Semester in Spain program hosted by the International College of Seville – but it’s cold enough to require at least a windbreaker if you’re going to go out for a walk.

True to my word – and seasonal habits – I have gone out for walks both yesterday and today during my midday lunch/rest period. So far, I have not ventured either too far or stayed out too long; I have to get used to even mild exercise little by little, otherwise, I get winded quickly and all too easily. But at least I do try to not be sedentary, and if the weather stays nice I’ll try to go out in the fresh air and sunshine a bit more.

On Writing & Storytelling: Chapter 12 – Back to the Drawing Board

Speaking of trying stuff…. I honestly don’t think that I can pull off the hat trick of writing Chapter 12 as an epistolary chapter that consists solely of the emails exchanged between Jim (who’s in New York City) and Maddie (who is on a work-related trip in London). I’ve tried, of course, because I thought it would be nice to try a different storytelling approach in Chapter 12, but so far all I’ve managed to write – in rough draft mode, obviously – is one complete email from Maddie to Jim:

Subject: Greetings from London!

Hi Jim,

Good morning! I hope this email finds you well and happy. I’m writing to let you know that we arrived safely in London this morning, after a long but smooth flight. The weather here is a bit chilly, but not too bad for early March.

We’re all a bit jet-lagged, so today we’ll just take a rest break at the Strand Palace Hotel in Soho. (I know you’ve probably been to London on research trips…have you ever been to the Strand? It’s quite a charming, elegant hotel.)

Speaking of sharing, I hope you received the parcel that I sent you via UPS before I left for the airport.  Let me know what you think of it when you open it.

I miss you so much, Jim. You’re always on my mind and in my heart. I can’t wait to see you again and give you a big hug and a kiss. Until then, take care of yourself and keep in touch.

Love,

Maddie

MaddieMusica*97@hotmail.com

Sent: Saturday, March 4, 2000 11:00 AM GMT

I started writing Jim’s response earlier today, but – even allowing for its being a rough draft version – it isn’t worth showing off here. I didn’t do a great job with the first version of Maddie’s email, either, but I spent quite a bit of time yesterday fine-tuning it until I was satisfied with the final product.

I could keep trying to make the “epistolary chapter” approach work, but I believe it’s going to take me longer to write Chapter 12 if I can only produce one email per day. I’m already behind schedule because of difficulties I’ve run into while writing the other chapters, and I truly want to publish Reunion: Coda in time for the holidays. I think it’s best if I abandon the idea of the epistolary chapter and just use the same narrative approach I’ve used in the previous 11 chapters.

And to think that there are people who think writing is “easy.”  In a pig’s eye!