Hello! It’s been a while. Back in September of last year, I promised monthly writing updates and never delivered. But to be honest, there wasn’t much exciting in my life in regards to writing. The update would have read:

“Answered emails. Tweeted articles. Read submissions. Struggled with WordPress. Read help articles on WordPress. Continued to struggle with WordPress.”

That’s about it.

Babou 691 has really filled my time. I’m not complaining. It’s been an immensely rewarding experience. My dream of the past decade has come true and I couldn’t be happier. Still, I’ve been itching to write for some time, and finally, I’ve found the right project.

A couple years ago, I wrote a novel (whose title I will redact and simply refer to as THE THEATER). Though one of my better “constructed” novels, it was also my safest. At the time, I sent it into the Eraserhead Press open submissions and promptly received a kindly worded rejection. “Unfortunately, this book isn’t strong enough,” it said and I completely agreed with that.

I chalked it up as a learning experience, put aside THE THEATER, and started other projects. However, in the last six months, the book has returned to my thoughts. So I took that simple, weak manuscript and let my mind go wild. Soon the safest thing I’d ever written was now my most ambitious.

Rather than edit what I already have, I’ve decided to do a complete rewrite. I’m keeping many of the characters, a handful of scenes, and the overall idea of the original version. Other than that, it will be a brand new book.

I’m still organizing notes and putting together an outline, but I can tell you it is not only my most surreal project up until now, it is also the most experimental. It goes far beyond my current skills as a writer, using techniques and concepts that I still don’t fully grasp. But I think, because of that, it will be my strongest work yet.

I’ll be a tease and not elaborate on what it’s about, but I hope to reveal it bit by bit in these writing updates—a partial synopsis here, an excerpt there. You just have to keep coming back.

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I thought I’d share what I’m consuming these days:

WHAT I’M READING: I just finished Revolution of the Mind: The Life of André Breton, a fascinating biography of the “Pope of Surrealism.” I’m not much of a nonfiction reader. However, I adored this book, despite the fact that it showed how petty so many of my heroes were. In the mood for more history of Surrealism, I’m currently reading Dalí’s autobiography The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí.

WHAT I’M WATCHING: I was a huge fan of the show Stargate SG-1 in my early teens, and seeing it on Netflix, I decided to re-watch it for nostalgia’s sake. It isn’t as good as I remembered, but I’m still having fun.

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And finally:

I know I’m self-promoting here, but Babou 691 has put out some great articles lately. Am I biased? Perhaps. But I genuinely love the content our talented team of contributors is putting out. Check it out here!

Also, if you have an idea for an article or a series of articles for Babou 691, let us know! Here’s our submission requirements.

I look forward to seeing you next month!

Tchau,

Zé