It’s pushing 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). The humid New York City summer permeates my mind as much as my body. Everything feels slow and heavy. Even my fingers are slow and heavy on the keyboard.
The other day I completed a draft of a story that takes place in late September, integrating the detail of the feeling of sudden darkness as the sun drops below the horizon, bringing an early end to the day in the world outside the bar where the story is set. Was there a little wishful thinking involved? Maybe?
The lethargy of mid-August is sticky, like a wet bathing suit that’s hard to peel off your skin. The only thing that might be worse is the icy cold indoors. This time of the year, public places crank the air conditioners up too high, turning cafes and shops into refrigerators. I can’t help but think of a morgue. It’s often that cold!
So back in my semi-hot apartment, where I the lights are low and the ceiling fan is running 24/7, I keep my “summer float” going. I’ve been rethinking and rewriting that would-be addition to the Candy’s Monsters series. The latest idea for a tangent—a much needed ‘Red Herring’—is taking longer than anticipated. Is it the heat? A little, yes. But it’s also the challenge of adding a new suspect without leaving visible seams where the addition has been made. I don’t want the new branch of the tree to appear to be new so, although it didn’t grow along with the rest of the story, it has to read as if it were there from the start—or, at least, from the mid-way point in the story when this new tangent begins.
Why am I adding something new when I thought the first draft was done back in February? Because my alpha reader gave me a good set of notes and I’m listening to him. Trusting a test reader is another step along the way. It took me a while to figure out how to address the issues he noted and now… I’m finally making my way to the next step! Slowed by the heat and by the need to perform this delicate fiction surgery. It should be ready for a beta reading by the first frost.
The cats like to catch a breeze on the windowsill while I write.
