I've been at work on a new novel since April while working a 40-hour/week job. I will never do that again. Not only have I been ungrounded for months, I've practically ignored all other aspects of my life. Work, write, racquetball, Alice, work write, eat, write, work, racquetball, Alice, write, shower, write, work, write, brush Sandy, write, work, send an email to someone, write, work, write, work, sleep, work, write...Needless to say, I can't wait to finish this thing. It's called The Arrival (and departure) of Martin Martinez, Future President, and it's all narration, most of it anyway. I write in the mornings and evenings before and after work, and sometimes during lunch or between rushes. Fifteen minutes here, an hour there. It's no life, that's for sure, at least not for me. It's not sustainable. I'm not happy when I'm not grounded.
All the chapters are on paper, all 36 chapters, each over 1,000 words long with the whole thing coming in at around 40k, but the last 12 chapters in particular need a few more passes, and the middle section is thick with explanation and short on excitement. In other words, there's so much left to do.
I was hoping to finish by August, then September, now October. I really hope to send it off to Sam on November 7, the day after the election. It's about a famous 21st century president who first gets into politics as a ten-year-old boy during the 2012 presidential election between Obama and Romney. He comes from a Republican family, so he's rooting for Romney to win, even though Obama pulls it out...at least in the book he does. The race was looking so good until Obama's lackluster debate last week. I still think Obama will win, but anything can happen. I've learned a lot writing this book. More than anything, I've learned I really do enjoy sitting down in front of a computer and banging out words all day. I never thought that would happen. It just sort of snuck up on me, like so many other things these days.
