First fifty

I have fifty pages in the draft of my novella now. These are fifty published-format pages, not manuscript pages. Some time ago I stopped writing first drafts as double-spaced manuscripts and changed to a 6x9 published page format. I like seeing what the book looks like in print from the get-go. This coincided with my departure from the commercial marketplace. I no longer had to play by their rules.

At any rate, later today I will print what I have so far, take out the red pen, and do a leisurely read-and-polish session. Input the corrections and carry on.

The story has taken so many surprising twists and turns that it's barely recognizable from its conception. Thematically the same, or mostly similar, but several new characters have appeared, one especially important, who were not part of the impetus for all this. I find these surprises exciting and challenging.

My characters are:

• Carlton "CJ" Jones. Retired professor of history. Specialist in 19th C. Native American history. Has written books on U.S. policies of genocide. A recent widower. Depressed by his loss, even more depressed by the state of the world. Plays guitar in folk group, the Old Fogy Folk Trio. My protagonist.
• Matt. CJ's friend and colleague for many years. Retired avant-garde artist and art professor. Banjo picker in Folk Trio. Eccentric, recently obsessed with amateur porn sites on the Internet. Where he meets:
• Cheyenne. College student. Fiddler who will replace deceased fiddler in Folk Trio, changing group focus and name to Matt's college group, Diseases of the Soul. Runs Internet college porn site, promoting "green sex."
• Molly. Best friend of CJ's deceased wife. Has eyes on CJ.
• Kayla. Molly's granddaughter, in and out of mental hospitals, who believes she and CJ were soul mates in a previous life.
• Dr. Peters. CJ's shrink.
• Adam. Matt's son, who wants him committed to a rest home.
  

"Sodom and Gomorrah" by Rebeca Pittman

These characters surely suggest the kind of trouble they can get into. The story is told with titled vignettes. Working title, Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jones.