Re: To Whom It May Well Fucking Concern
Subject: THE BASTARDS SCREAM FOR QUAKER OATS
Greetings,
In the past month, I have been frequently blogging, in regards to historical events, modern day occurrences, my day to day life here in Chicago, and whatever happened to have crossed my mind at that particular moment in time and space. It's an interesting junction, my mind in time and space, and the fact that two possibilities occur simultaneously screams out for further documentation. At some point, however, the non-stop train of gibberish must run its course, and when it does, the inevitable letdown for what occurs is a stupefying low that not even the brightest of the bright uppers can remedy.
In other news, grape fruit went on sale at Dominiks.
I have also kept you abreast of my recent writing endeavors beyond this blog. This has been primarily focused for the time on my (as yet untitled) fantasy novel that has been ten years in the making, but one month in the writing. As of that one month mark, however, I am 52,000 pages in, and nearly through Part III out of five parts. (The last two are going to be two bitches in a hand basket, however, so the first draft will still come in at around 120,000 words, and be finished by the end of February.) At this point, the major kinks in the narrative are working themselves out, the characters speak for themselves, and I have the through line working. OK here.
The River of Doubt is slower going, but I never expected to start grinding that particular bastard out until March. As it stands, that one is also on track, and the roughest of rough formulas for an outline will be constructed if not tomorrow night, then at some point in the coming week. AT WHICH POINT, expect a rough draft to be under way during March (a.k.a. when I take a break from the epic fantasy novel so as to recharge my mind for the second go round.)
BUT (and this is crucial) we are not through yet.
One of the greater advantages to not having that crazy of a social life is that my downtime is phenomenal. I am free of the burdens of cable television, popular noise, and most high priced booze. The lower end stuff gets me through the late hours of working, such as tonight, where I figure to be up until 4 am writing. Without the calming influence, I fear that I would go mad. (I call it my 8 hour day, and the last time I tried one, it turned out 8,000 words. So with that in mind, it bears repeating that I enjoy having multiple projects to work on.)
With all of that said, I can also formally announce that I have begun work on a second novel, a modern day parable/auto-biographical/gonzo retelling of the last two years of every male twenty-something in America. It's the kind of project that used to be called the 'great American novel' but which was sold downriver as soon as James Patterson and Glenn Beck took over the publishing empires of the world. To my mind, no one has further destroyed or done more damage to the potential of a progressive American dream than that Aryan fascist who turns out lies faster than people can believe them. Which is saying something.
Anyways, the second book is under way. It's feasible to work on so many projects at once because A) It's largely culled from the similar writings I've been doing in this blog, so I can assemble it on the fly, B) It's so episodic in nature and the through-line is more of an inevitable descent that I can skip and jump around the narrative in the first draft just to try and shake some sense into the god damn thing. Seriously, I have copy notes up on my walls, it's that bad. C) It'll be effectively half the length of the fantasy novel, and it's much easier to write because I know the characters on such an intimate user-friendly basis. (I know my characters in the first novel, but I'm still layering them constantly. You should see my journal where I take my notes.)
SO, in the future, with this blog, you can expect what might be called a "sneak preview" of the narrative to come, as I churn out copy for this blog every Tuesday/Wednesday without fail. There will be more two or three part series coming, just solely on the basis of some of these stories are too large to tell within one 3,000 to 4,000 column style blog entry. The names will remain the same as I have changed them to suit my needs, out of a misguided attempt to shelter the innocent from further torment. The places will be adjusted to suit the needs of the story. But the message remains the same, in that the last three years have crippled any sense of optimism that our generation once possessed, and its retrieval is of the utmost importance if we are to adjust to anything beyond a feeble understanding of the Great Cosmic Shadow Dance called Life.
As for the rest of the works, they're coming. There's a long form play in the brewing regarding the Good Doctor, as I've promised for several years now. I almost understand the man enough to take him and run with it. We're close. So god damned close.
In the interim, while the inevitable is being discussed, my associate, Mr. ____________, will be handling all of my calls. I suggest electronic mailing, as we can only afford so many phone lines in a given time frame. My associate is fond of oral destruction.
OK for now,
JTC
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