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So glad you have signed up to receive the For Random Learning Comes Newsletter! This is the one hundred and sixth edition. I'm trying to be a little more consistent in getting this out to you every two weeks or so.
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I have written one poem this week for you, and it's called Endurance. This special quality is possessed by only a few of us here in Florida, during the sweaty summer months. I hope you enjoy venturing out into the summer garden with me, and observing the creatures in various stages of wilt that you may find there!
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My novel stands at 34,477 words. Don't know exactly where the extra three words came from. I didn't add much to the word count this week, but I did do a bit of overview, printing out the compiled version of my manuscript and reading it over.
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There weren't too many blatant punctuation errors, and it seemed to read reasonably smoothly, so I was happy about that. For some reason the compiled version was a bit short of the original, and there were no page numbers, so I also printed the rough draft version (single spaced, no paragraph indents.)
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I expect to run out of toner any day now.
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This second version ended up being about 110 pages long, so it would be at least twice that long in the double-spaced version. It's not nothing! If I write another 65,000 words or so, it will probably be about 600 pages total. Better get cracking!
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This exercise also allowed to me to tease out the plot holes and "hanging chads" as I've come to call them, the ideas I began to talk about but never really came back to. Listing these items out, as well as general ideas for the rest of the manuscript, made me feel as if the novel is finally starting to take shape a bit. It's nice, when the various threads are so plentiful, that the scenes seem to weave themselves.
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The tough part is finding the time. In addition to the usual appointments, laundry, dishes and cooking these past two weeks, I had
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- a WordPress meetup about Search Engine Optimatization (SEO),
- a Saturday FWA (Florida Writer's Association) local meetup on Plotters and Pantsers (me: definitely a pantser) which included lunch with a dear friend and
- a poetry reading on Mother's Day.
I was sad to have missed an open mic, celebrating a just-published zine, also scheduled this week. Oh well, you can't do everything.
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I really enjoyed my kids coming over on Mom's Day and giving me a lovely tea party/cheese party with a wide variety of scones and cheeses. Yum! I didn't even have to do the dishes!
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Not to jump the gun or anything, but I've been seeing a lot of interesting book launch ideas online. For example, someone rented out a dining room in a restaurant for the night and had the chef cook dishes, inspired by her novel. I'm torn, myself, between a tea party theme and a Vienna Waltz theme. I suppose I'll just have to write two books! I'd probably better finish this one, first, though.
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I also had the privilege this week of setting up some technology that "we" ( read that "I")can't seem to do without. Immediately afterwards, I found myself watching an old dramatization of War and Peace, start to finish, in which many of my favorite British actors are basically children.
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I guess that's a pretty serious media addiction. I attribute it to the fact that I had a ton of kids and realized early on, that silence was at a premium. When reading is utterly impossible, streaming may have to do.
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The weather is getting more and more sticky and hot around here, and my poem reflects how we must all settle in for the long haul. But no one is complaining, after such a fabulously long spring ! Well, maybe me, but no one else.
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Have a great couple of weeks! And if you know of anyone who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, please forward it and send them to my website, to sign up!
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So Close and Yet So Far
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This essay discusses the Semiquincentennial celebration and compares it with Fourths of Years gone by.
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Drawing
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A poem on redistricting, the drawing of new districts to serve the ruling party's political purposes, with the blessing of the Supreme Court and with enthusiasm unchecked by either the people's will nor the State's Constitutional provisions.
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Attempt
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A poem describing the swirling emotions on and offline provoked by the attempted assassination of President Trump at the dinner for the press. Caveat: I do not doubt the attempt on his life was real. P.S. The photo is an attempt at beauty.
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Approaching May 1st, 2026, Anniversary of The Great Fire, Jacksonville, FL
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A poem about a very dry spring in Florida which calls to mind the terrible fire which consumed Jacksonville early in the 20th century.
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Smiles
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This poem analyzes the loss of reputation of the US in the eyes of its closest allies, and the attitude it projects, about that loss.
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