Reunion: Coda Progress Update and Writing Tips

Morning, Saturday, November 2, 2024, Miami, Florida

Hi, Constant Readers.

Well, it’s still dark outside as I sit at my desk in my bedroom in South Florida. The sun won’t rise until 7:30 AM (a bit over an hour from when I’m writing these words), but the temperature is already at 77°F (25°C) under light rain, at the start of what promises to be a humid subtropical day. Today’s forecast for the Miami area calls for light rain showers and a high of 84°F (29°C). Needless to say, this is a sharp contrast to the weather in the area I called “home” for 10 months; in Madison, New Hampshire, the temperature is 44°F (7°C) under cloudy conditions.

I was getting used to that cold climate, and I enjoyed going out for walks twice a day – when it wasn’t snowing, anyway – because the scenery around the house where I lived was gorgeous. (It might have been even nicer if I’d seen the attractive neighbor who lived across Huttwil Drive from me up close, but I think I only crossed her path once, and that was only a week and a half before I left the Granite State.)

So, here I am, back in Florida, where the humidity hugs you like a clingy ex, and the rain is just nature’s way of saying, “Welcome home!” At least I can console myself with the fact that shoveling sunshine is a lot easier than shoveling snow.

On Writing and Storytelling: An Update on Reunion: Coda

Yesterday marked the first day of actual writing on the manuscript for my upcoming novel, Reunion: Coda after a move-related hiatus that lasted nearly a month. Even though I wasn’t feeling at the top of my game, I managed to stick to my weekday schedule (blog in the morning, lunch and rest for two hours at midday, then work on Reunion: Coda for four hours in the afternoon). I was still tired from the 10-day road trip from Madison to Miami, so I only planned to sketch out the second scene for Chapter 20 and leave the fleshing out of the outline for Monday.

That was my intention, and it was based on my experience with recovering from the Tampa to New Hampshire move last December. That road trip was briefer (three days instead of 10), but I think the stress of moving to terra incognita (for me, anyway) and the negative circumstances around the move took a heavy toll on my writing mojo. The moving boxes might as well have been labeled “Writer’s Block” because that’s exactly what seemed to be inside them.

As I sat down at my desk, staring at the blinking cursor on my screen, I realized that the cursor was mocking me. “Is that all you got?” it seemed to say. So, I gave it the literary equivalent of a karate chop by diving headfirst into my mental notes and writing not just the outline for Chapter 20’s second scene, but the actual 955-word scene.

It wasn’t easy; I spent my entire four-hour afternoon writing shift working on Scene Two, building it up one sentence at a time until I produced something I was happy with. I was aiming for a 1,000-word scene and, given my fondness for Jim-and-Maddie interactions that subtly showcase their growing connection without veering into overt romance, that’s precisely what I crafted. After three drafts and a lot of keyboard clattering, I managed to conjure a scene that pleased me by the time 6 o’clock rolled around, even if the word count was shy of 1,000 words. But hey, quality over quantity, right?

So, where do I stand on the novel on this first Saturday of November 2024?  Here are the latest statistics!

• Number of Chapters (Overall, Including the Prologue): 20 (19 completed, one in progress)
• Number of Pages: 459
• Number of Words: 113,946

I like to follow Stephen King’s advice – given in his wonderful book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft – to work on writing projects during a regular workweek (Monday-Friday) and take the weekend off to rest and recuperate. Of course, this sage wisdom often gets ignored because my brain seems to have a direct line to plot ideas precisely when I’m supposed to relax. Imagine trying to enjoy a lazy Sunday while your mind insists on delivering a literary epiphany. So, like a moth to a flame (or a writer to an unfinished chapter), I often find myself hammering away at the keyboard, despite Mr. King’s well-meaning suggestion. After all, who am I to argue with an overactive imagination?

However, I’m still worn out from both the marathon trek down the Eastern Seaboard and the emotional rollercoaster of reacquainting myself with South Florida’s unique charms. I suppose there’s little risk of me succumbing to temptation and working on Scene Three of Reunion: Coda’s twentieth chapter today. After all, even a literary gladiator like me needs a respite from the battlefield of words now and then.