So I just finished writing the longest manuscript of my life. 130,000 words! Sadly, that's all I can say about it. Well, not all. I think it's quite good, and it was a real change for me. There, now that is truly all I can say about the work.
It was fun to work on an enforced timeline, so I'm going to do it again. I got 130,000 words written and edited and off to the agent in 8 1/2 months. That's pretty good! So in order to keep striking while the iron is hot, I started a new work, a comedy/thriller set in the early 60's. It follows a 17 year old outcast from southern California to nightclubs in Berlin and Turin. I've got the title but I'll save that for now. But thanks to a friend who acts as an unintentional muse for me (something he accepts with great pride), I have the opening line which captures both the sense of despair and voice of a 17 year old awkward teen:
"I woke up literally in the middle of the night thinking I'd missed a joke."
As opening lines go, I think it's terrific.