Where have you been?
Writing.
(Every day since Dec 15, 2013, I’ve been working on the fourth draft of a long (and getting longer) work-in-progress. The third draft had 52 chapters. It wasn’t a thing I could show to anyone because it didn’t make much sense. And the ending wasn’t there. It was there. It just wasn’t there. The third draft was around 95,000 words and 375ish pages. The fourth draft has 73 chapters. I’m 250 pages in. I’ve revised 14 chapters. It’s 500+ pages. I want to finish this draft by December 2015. I want someone else to be able to read it and understand what’s happening. I can do this.)
(I’ve also been working intermittently on a short story collection. It has six stories, all lengthy. It includes some experiments: a story about two sisters with an unhealthy bond—one works as a counselor, the other works [briefly] for NASA (100% done); a story about a woman who works in a meat packing plant and stops eating (99% done); a story that tracks a familial death drive over the course of three generations of women (100% done); a story about a guy haunted by his mother, tortured by his girlfriend, and worried sick about his grandmother (100% done, but 40% needs revision); a story about a flight attendant who wants to be a pilot and who regularly has sex with passengers (100% done, but 40+% needs revision) ; a fairly drastic revision of “The Mere Weight of Words,” retitled “Merely” (99% done). I’ll have to get both sixty-percenters up to at least 95% by May. I [think I] can do this.)
Editing.
(I’ve been working diligently on four books (not mine). Dolan Morgan’s story collection, That’s When the Knives Come Down (just published on Aug 20), Liam Day’s poetry collection, Afforded Permanence (forthcoming from AP in December), the fifth issue of apt (dedicated entirely to long fiction (yay!), due in January 2015), and Susan McCarty’s story collection, Anatomies (forthcoming from AP in Summer 2015!). It’s been really rewarding. These books are going to kick ass, if they’re not already kicking.)
Designing.
(I’ve designed the covers and interiors for Liam’s book and Susan’s book, and I’ve made the promo image for the October Literary Firsts reading. Soon, I will design apt 5. And that will be stunning.)
Revising.
(Some syllabi revision. More fiction revision. Just in case you’re wondering how revising differs from writing—well, that’s tricky. Because I revise as I write, the actions are inextricable for me. But even if I didn’t revise right away, every new draft comes with new sentences, or old sentences with new words. So I like to think of revising as an opportunity to write again or to write brand new. So I’m always revising. I’m revising everything. To quote Randolph, “I’m writing the second draft of my life.”)
