Musings and Thoughts for Tuesday, August 20, 2024, or: Gray Skies, Cold Breezes, and Multiple Worries

Late Morning, Tuesday, August 20, 2024, Madison, New Hampshire

Hello, everyone. In my little nook of northern New England, it’s another gray and brisk day. The thermometer reads 62° F (16° C) beneath a blanket of clouds. Today promises to be predominantly overcast with the temperature peaking at 65° F (18° C), yet there’s no rain expected during the daytime. Small mercies indeed!

In many respects, today’s weather mirrors yesterday’s, affecting my mood and routine alike, though the probability of rain is now 21%, and the predicted high has dipped slightly.

Yesterday, the rain waited until well after dusk to make an appearance, giving me enough time to enjoy two strolls along the quiet Huttwil Drive in the afternoon. I needed the exercise; I couldn’t map out the outline for Chapter 19, Scene Five’s fourth vignette, and I felt swamped by my imminent move back to South Florida. To escape the house and calm my thoughts, if only briefly, I ventured outside twice.  

On Writing and Storytelling: Action This Day

As I noted before, yesterday’s attempt at writing Reunion: Coda was a complete wash. My mind was preoccupied with concerns about the upcoming move, but the real culprit was the smoke detector in my office. Its battery died, and the infernal “change battery” alarm beeped sporadically until my housemate mercifully silenced the blasted device this morning.

Late in the afternoon, I uploaded the first trio of vignettes for my scene into the Kindle Create app. My reliable Beta Reader, Denise Longrie, had given them her stamp of approval. Along with some tweaks from yesterday, almost all of Scene Five is now nestled within the Kindle Create file that holds my novel.

As expected, my goal for today is to tackle what eluded me yesterday: crafting a thorough outline for Vignette #4. If I nail that by early afternoon, I should be on track to pen the scene itself. However, should those annoying move-related distractions persist, I’ll resort to those writing exercises from “How to Write a Romance”—a perfect way to hone my narrative prowess and ease my nerves.

Isn’t this a straightforward plan?