Porn Novel Writing

I'm written the first 40 pages of my porn novel, Happy, and it's coming along. I've been calling it a "porn novel"--even though it isn't, not really, anyway. I guess that's my shorthand way of saying "a novel based on my experiences in Porn Valley."

The first section focuses primarily on Xerxes Xavier, the novel's main character. He's 34. He was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia. I've been redacting his occupation, although if you read this blog you may be able to figure out what he does from previous ruminations. Suffice to say, he lives in Virginia for a reason. Of course, the story takes him to Porn Valley, which is another world, and story, altogether.

In the second section, the lens pulls back a bit, beginning to interweave the stories of other characters, among them William Randolph Hearst IV, who is the editor in chief of the San Francisco Times, and Lucy, who is a reporter. Lucy, I suppose, is me. But Xerxes is me, too. So it's hard to say.

Sometimes, I think the novel is about the death of my father. Sometimes, I think it's about love. Sometimes, I think it's about madness. All I know is that the scene I wrote today stars a French midget chanteuse. And what is one to make of that?

I've got more to write--about waterboardings, flashpoints, suicides.

(Video via Boing Boing)