Late Morning, Saturday, February 15, 2025, Miami, Florida
Good day! Here we are basking in the warm embrace of a winter morning in Miami. As I sit here, the thermometer reads a delightful 79°F (26°C) under mostly sunny skies. Unlike the blistering summer heat, today’s high will gently peak at 82°F (28°C) – a stark contrast to my life a mere year ago.
In Madison, New Hampshire, it’s also sunny, but a brisk 17°F (-9°C). Snow might blanket the ground, and had I stayed in the Granite State instead of leaving before autumn’s end, I’d likely be bracing the cold for a brief hike around Huttwil Drive, bundled in countless layers. Indoors would be my sanctuary for most of the day.
Now, Miami is home. Though I cherish some New England memories, I don’t miss the biting cold, nor the overzealous MAGA co-tenant on Huttwil Drive. The frosty weather I could handle, but the latter, not so much.
Adventures in Storytelling: Chapter 25 Gets a Second Scene!
On the writing front, Friday turned out to be quite productive, despite a twinge of Valentine’s Day melancholy – my fourth one without a special someone. Thanks to Thursday’s outline, I dove into the second scene of Chapter 25 in Reunion: Coda. Despite the outline, two and a half hours flew by in a whirl of writing, reading, and revising, demanding much mental might and energy.
The scene flowed smoothly, as it continued from Scene One and wasn’t overly lengthy. Having all the beats and character interactions pre-planned certainly helped. What took time and effort was weaving in sensory details, body language, and the protagonist’s inner turmoil. So, even though the scene wrapped up at 686 words – shy of my 1,000-word daily target – it devoured over half of my afternoon writing marathon.
As for today, I plan to take it easy. It’s Saturday, after all – a day for rest, leisure, and perhaps a cheeky nod to Jack Torrance’s mantra: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” While I may not be retreating to a remote hotel to write my masterpiece, a balanced approach is key. So, here in the sun-drenched embrace of Miami, I intend to blend a bit of work with a hefty dose of play. This way, I won’t risk ending up like Jack, lost in the maze of relentless labor. Instead, I’ll savor the warmth and creativity that this corner of South Florida has to offer.
A Certain Point of View, Too 
Comments
14 responses to “A Writer’s Warm Saturday in Miami”
Alex, I admire your discipline. I find the prospect of writing a novel intimidating. I am glad you are enjoying Florida’s warm, sunny weather once more.
Happy writing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Cheryl!
Writing Reunion: Coda hasn’t been an easy undertaking, but I set this “write a novel” goal for myself when I was 14. Self-doubt, a lack of maturity/consistency, and fear of failure kept me from doing this earlier.
I think that my decision to make Reunion: Coda a follow-up to a modestly successful novella was the right one. At least I had a firm foundation from which to build a longer, more complicated story. And at least a couple of readers said they want a sequel, thus solving the what do I write about? question. (Plus, I don’t want to let my journalism professor down!)
And regarding being in Miami: As pretty as rural New Hampshire can get during all four seasons, “rural life” and I aren’t a match made in heaven.
LikeLike
❤️
LikeLike
I remember your co-tenant being a pain in the butt I did not realize he was an overzealous MAGA co-tenant. That explains a lot. I have never met a zealous MAGA person whose intellect or personality I could respect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stuart (that’s his name) is a die-hard Trumper. He has this childish faith on the idea that “government should be run like a business.” He also says Trump “has real balls,” and spoke about Kamala Harris in racist, misogynist terms.
Worse still, he’s a Holocaust denier…which is one of the reasons why I didn’t try to befriend him or bemoan the fact that he blocked me on Facebook during a discussion on tariffs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow that is certainly a neighbor I would never want to have
LikeLike
I usually stayed on my end of the house and tried to avoid discussions about politics and history. He had, like most people, his good side. But he really didn’t want me there as long as I insisted on following New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services’ rules for receiving benefits.
I always find it ironic that “conservatives” talk big about “law and order” and doing things “legally,” yet they’ll try to look at loopholes in the rules. Stuart figured out that as long as his co-tenants aren’t listed on the lease, he could claim he was paying $1200 a month in rent when in reality he was only paying $600.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He certainly fulfilled all requirements for being called white trash as well as the neighbor from hell. I remember you saying some negative things about him but I never knew how bad it really was. You were certainly unlucky, and I understand why you had to get out of there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When I was living in Madison, I didn’t write about Stuart in detail in case he read my blog and decided to make my life more difficult than it already was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was probably a smart move
LikeLike
I meant it was a smart move that you didn’t say too much. Then of course actually moving was a smart move.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I resisted the urge to move as long as I could. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of packing and moving back to Florida. I also didn’t want to slow the momentum of writing my novel again. The offer of a room here was made in early April of 2024 because my friends from South Florida, both first responders, believed the rural environment and living with a smoker were not ideal for me. I told them then that I’d keep it in mind but that I wanted to stay. And, as much as I dislike cold weather, I was willing to stay…as long as Stuart dropped the issue of the lease, since I wasn’t the one who makes the rules for state assistance.
He was so petty that he often left my mail in our assigned mailbox. which is quite a long way from the house when he got his own mail. He even admitted it to me, so I’m not making it up or imagining things.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I may not react as badly to cold as you but the rest of the stuff you are saying makes me believe that you had to get out of there. A neighbor from hell is something that becomes unhealthy in the long run.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If only it had been a neighbor from hell, I could have tolerated my situation. In this case, it’s more like “fellow tenant.” (Roommate also sort of fits, though it’s not 100% accurate since he lived on one end of the house and I on the other.)
Looking back on my 10 months in Madison, aside from a few acts of genuine kindness that he did do close to the end of my stay, he did everything possible to get me to move out. He could have, if he had wanted to, help me settle in and unpack my stuff (which was one of my big concerns). But, no.
I’m still angry and sad that I had to move so soon after getting there. Maybe living in a rural area was a bad fit for this Big City fellow, but I wanted to make it work. And if there had been a different co-tenant who wasn’t a jerk, who knows? I might have stayed in Madison.
LikeLike