Musings & Thoughts for Wednesday, February 28, 2024, or: Inching Forward with the Manuscript…and More Closely Watched Packages Are On the Way….

Late Morning, Wednesday, February 28, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire

Hi, folks. It’s a gloomy, wet, and cold day here in northern New England on this penultimate day of February 2024.  Currently, the temperature is 40°F (4°C) under cloudy conditions. With humidity at 95% and the wind blowing from the west-southwest at 2 MPH (4 KM/H), the feels-like temperature is 46°F (4°C). Today’s forecast calls for light rain throughout the day and a high of 45°F (7°C). Tonight, we can expect a mix of light rain and snow. The low will be 20°F (-6°C). Oh, and we’re under a wind advisory, effective after 3 PM EST.

On Writing & Storytelling: Reunion: Coda Progress Update

Despite another agonizingly slow start to my workday, I managed to add some “fresh words” to Goodbye, Farewell, and Adios, Reunion: Coda’s 13th chapter (and the last chapter featuring Jim Garraty in his teens). Again, I didn’t reach my goals of either finishing the scene or writing 1,000 words (or more); I didn’t even complete the vignette where Jim turns in his cap and gown in this segment that depicts Jim’s graduation from South Miami High School in June of 1983; by the time I reached that part of the story, it was well past 6:30 PM, the sun had set sometime before, it was chilly in my office, and I was hungry and tired.

I must admit, though, that the vignette looks – so far – pretty good, and I like the conversation between Jim and Mrs. DeVargas, his (now) former English 4 (AP) teacher, who’s at the drop-off point for the rented caps and gowns and checking off the grads’ names on her list as they turn their stuff in so they can receive their diplomas sooner rather than later.

(As I recall, I couldn’t get my diploma until I turned in my Algebra I textbook, which I’d forgotten to return on our last day of class. The rule seemed to be that if students had any outstanding obligations to the school, be it a textbook that had been left at home at the end of the school year or unpaid late fees, we couldn’t get our sheepskins until we’d taken care of our “debts.”)

The still incomplete vignette with Jim and the oft mentioned but not quite-seen Mrs. DeVargas (she’s an off-screen character in Reunion, and I believe she’s also seen in a dream sequence where she has no dialogue) is a nice bit of writing, if I do say so myself. It’s not complete yet, and I’m not sure if I want to feature it here – even in its rough draft form – cos…of course I want you to buy the finished novel!

After adding 655 new words to the manuscript yesterday afternoon, this is where I stand with Reunion: Coda as of this morning:

• No. of Chapters (Including the Prologue): 13
• No. of Pages (Rough Draft Only): 188[1]
• No. of Words: 78,760

Wednesday: Action This Day

As I write this, I’m waiting for the UPS delivery truck to arrive with my latest Amazon order: a hardcover edition of How to Write a Romance: Or, How to Write Witty Dialogue, Smoldering Love Scenes, and Happily Ever Afters, which is not exactly a detailed “how-to” book but rather a journal with prompts and exercises that help writers exercise their creativity, along with inspirational quotes by Avon Books romance writers that (hopefully) contain helpful advice and nuggets of wisdom on writing romance fiction.

Just to be on the same side, I also ordered a more conventional “how-to” book titled Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels (How to Write Kissing Books) by Gwen Hayes. I’m sure I’m too far along with Reunion: Coda to benefit from this book’s advice, but I figured it might be a good idea to get it before I start the Big Finale with Jim Garraty and his new love, Madison in the Spring of 2000. I bought it on Monday, so Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels won’t get here until tomorrow.

I’m also, by the way, expecting to receive a new paperback edition of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, which will replace the now-battered Scholastic Books edition I’ve owned since I was a ninth grader at Riviera Junior High School many moons ago,  and a 90-day supply of Vitamin D gummies (Amazon Basics brand).

Aside from that, I don’t have much to tell, so I’ll take my leave of you and get ready to begin my midday break. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.

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[1] Note: This page count is based on the first draft’s current page size settings, which are set to 8.5”X11” and not the recommended page size for Kindle Direct Publishing paperbacks (6”X 0.14” X 9”).