Writer’s Shop Talk: ‘Real Life Doesn’t Make Sense; Fiction Often Has To’

Early Afternoon, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Miami, Florida

It’s a warm late December day in South Florida; it’s 81°F (27°C) under mostly cloudy conditions. It looks like this will be how the rest of the day goes; when I went to bed last night, the forecast called for light rain in the early morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon. But Mother Nature changed her mind, and we can now expect the current conditions to last the rest of the day.

I don’t have much to report: I’m still trying to figure out how to start Reunion: Coda’s twenty-second chapter; yesterday’s afternoon writing session didn’t produce anything – not even an outline for a scene. As annoying as that is, I’ve come to terms with the notion that it takes time to come up with good writing, especially when writing fiction…and even more so when writing your first novel. Some days, Calliope can be generous, even voluptuously so, and the ideas flow like honey. But when my Muse is uncooperative, well, it’s like trying to squeeze water from a stone while a monkey steals your pen.

Writing made-up stories is hard work, even when I know my protagonists and supporting cast members as well as I do Jim, Maddie, Marty, Mark, Henry Townsend, and everyone else in the pages of the Reunion Duology. Even knowing (vaguely) how I want the tale to end, there are days when I have no clear storytelling path from Point A to Point B, not even after tying up a major subplot (the business between Jim and his wayward student Miguel Hernandez). With that out of the way, I now need to finish Jim and Maddie’s story and wrap up the few loose ends related to Jim’s first love, Marty, believably and enjoyably. (I keep reminding myself of a saying I read somewhere on the interwebs: “Real life doesn’t make sense, but fiction often has to.” )

So, here I sit, armed with my desktop PC and a can of Coca Cola strong enough to wake a hibernating bear, waiting for inspiration to strike like a bolt of lightning. Or at least a mildly energetic spark. Wish me luck!