Musings & Thoughts for Thursday, June 13, 2024, or: The Course of Writing a Novel Never Runs Smooth….

Late Morning, Thursday, June 13, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire

Madison Summer Almanac

Hello, there. It’s a lovely early summer day in my part of New England. It’s getting warmer by the day, at least for us Northerners. The sun is shining and the thermometer reads 72° F (22° C). It’s not too humid, only 55%, and there’s a gentle breeze from the south at 3 MPH (5 Km/H). It feels like 82° F (28° C) on my skin. The forecast says we’ll have a sunny day with a high of 82°F (28° C). Tonight, the sky will be mostly clear and the temperature will drop to 61° F (16° C).

On Writing & Storytelling: Still Stuck on Writer’s Block Island

Writing was a struggle for me yesterday. Maybe it was the gloomy sky, my sour mood, or just sheer tiredness, but I’m still stuck where I was on Friday – 17 chapters in, 390 pages, and a whopping 98,243 words on paper (including the title page). I had an awful case of “The Snails” and procrastinated on starting my novel-writing session, so that made things worse. And no matter how hard I pushed myself, I couldn’t even flesh out my outline for the first scene of Chapter 18.

I think there are many reasons why I keep running aground, so to speak, on the island of Writer’s Block. The dullness of my routine and the lack of human contact are big issues. Gloomy weather days that trap me inside also drag me down. And this month the sales of Reunion: A Story have been a big fat zero, despite rave reviews like the ones by bloggers Patti Aliventi and Pooja Gupta. Nobody has bought a copy – Kindle e-book or paperback – in June. That’s a bummer, and it does deflate my balloon, so to speak, when I’m writing the sequel that quite a few readers of Reunion: A Story requested.

Action This Day

My friend from my college student newspaper days, Rogers Perez, took this picture of me in early October 2015 near my former home in East Wind Lake Village. This was my “rough draft” for my Indiana Jones “cosplay” for that year’s Cobra Halloween Party. (I ended up buying a more expensive costume replica a week after this photo was taken.)

I refuse to let go of my dream of becoming a successful author. I understand that writing is a long and arduous journey, and that I have to face the hurdles and hardships that come with it. I also believe that I have a story worth telling, and that there are readers who are eagerly waiting for the sequel to Reunion: A Story.

The view from the Kindle Create app, Wednesday, June 5, 2024

That’s why I’m resolved to follow my schedule and train myself to write every day, no matter what. I’m setting a goal of getting the first scene of Chapter 18 started by the end of this week, and I’m going to start my afternoon writing session at 2 PM sharp, with a confident attitude and some lunch in me. I’m also going to seek feedback from my beta readers and fellow writers, who always give me constructive criticism and motivation. And I’m going to remind myself of why I love writing in the first place – because it’s my passion, my outlet, and my way of expressing myself.

I hope that you, my dear reader, will continue to support me on this journey. If you enjoyed Reunion: A Story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or recommending it to a friend. And if you haven’t read it yet, please check it out – it’s a heartwarming tale of friendship, love, and self-examination. Every purchase, every review, every word-of-mouth counts, and it means a lot to me. Thank you for being part of my journey.