Musings & Thoughts for Tuesday, June 4, 2024, or: Sorry I’m Late!

Late Morning/Midday, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire

Madison Summer Almanac

Hi, everyone. It’s another lovely – if perhaps lonely – early summer day here in my corner of New England. As I write this, it’s almost noon, and the current temperature is 74°F (23°C) under sunny conditions. With the wind blowing from the south-southwest at 4 MPH (7 Km/H) and humidity at 51%, the feels-like temperature is 84°F (29°C). Today’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 80°F (26°C). Tonight, the skies will be mostly clear. The low will be 54°F (12°C).

On Writing & Storytelling: A Dreadful Case of the ‘Slows’

As you can see, I’m considerably late in my daily routine. I woke up before eight this morning and had a reasonably good breakfast. Nevertheless, I am afflicted with a dreadful case of the “slows.”  I sat down at my desk around 9:15 AM, but I couldn’t get started on this blog post until it was past 11:30. So, now it’s almost time for my usual midday break…which means that instead of resuming work on Reunion: Coda at 2 PM, I’ll probably be back here at my desk between 2:30 and 3 PM.

That’s still within my “Window for Creativity,” but I’m still concerned. Yesterday I didn’t write anything for Scene Four of That Moment Divine (aka Chapter 17) in Reunion: Coda. I tried my best to get that scene started, but all I could do was envision a vague concept of Maddie posing in a certain way on Jim’s bed after they’ve made love, and Jim quipping that she looks like a modern-day version of the subject of a painting by Francisco Goya.

As I’ve said in previous posts about writer’s block and the frustrations that come with it, I’m not thrilled about unproductive days – like yesterday – or starting a workday at a later time than I want. I want to finish Reunion: Coda this summer, and since there aren’t many chapters left to write, I know I’m close to achieving that goal. But I get frustrated when I have “bad” writing days or late starts.

I don’t know if it’s tiredness, depression, or just the fact that Reunion: Coda will be my first novel, but it’s getting harder, not easier, to write this book. The closer I get to the story’s climax and denouement, the more difficult it is to pluck the words out of the ether and write them on Microsoft Word. It’s the mental equivalent of driving a car into a muddy country lane – I feel l am stuck and my mental wheels are spinning uselessly, not moving forward. (And when I manage to make progress, it’s painfully slow.)

I’m not giving up, though. I want to finish Reunion: Coda and share Jim’s story with you guys. He’s such a great character and I love his journey. I hope you do too. If you haven’t read Reunion: A Story, the novella where Jim first appears and remembers his high school crush, you can get it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, or you can ask for it at your nearby bookstore. It’s a short and sweet story about nostalgia, regret, and hope that leads up to Reunion: Coda. One Amazon UK reviewer said it was a “lovely lyrical book and excellently written.” You can check out a sample from the Kindle e-book edition at the bottom of this post, and see for yourself why Jim is one of my faves.

Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for more news on Reunion: Coda.