"Paul Westerberg" is a story that I have had in my had for 25 years and now, I finally have the opportunity to write it and share it with all of you. While I won't share any specifics to the story's inspiration until after the entire tale has been released, I will say that writing it has provided me with all manner of surprises.
This story began being written in earnest on October 31, 2011 inside of my Moleskine notebook. Basically, during rest/nap time periods at school, I would attempt to write something and keep myself marching forwards during that specific time of day. Some days were highly productive while other days did not produce much more than a sentence and during the Summer months over the last two years, nothing was written at all due to my working schedule. But, I kept pushing myself, trying to find that inspiration and tone all over again while also trying not to think about things too terribly much and just allow the characters to speak through me, in a way. And I am happy to discover that there have been a few lines of dialogue here and there that have indeed surprised me, as if they just arrived rather than being written. It's almost as if the characters were standing over my shoulder advising me on what they would actually say if they were real people. I experienced this very same sensation while writing "Bailey Undertow" years ago, so I figured that if it can happen again, then I must be on the right track.
The actual story itself is quite simple. Boy meets girl at Memorial Union during a freak blizzard as they are each waiting to take a bus back to Chicago for Spring Break. The two strike up a connection, meet again upon returning to school and decide to have a date when...well, I shouldn't spoil already. There's nothing shocking but you'll just have to read it for yourselves.
What has surprised me is that for a story that is so simple, it is amazing with how long the story has become. I first took a tiny swipe at writing this story back in 2004 when I first thought it would carry a third person narration. The only thing I wrote was the following:
"With its typical unpredictability in late March, the weather took a sudden dive sometime in the afternoon, making students quickly change from cargo shorts to sweats and jeans between classes. By early evening, there was an obvious chill in the air and on this Friday in particular, Tracey Wolf sat outside on the front steps of Memorial Union as he watched students quickly dash in and out, not yet used to (or willing) to accept the dropping temperatures."
Since 2004, I completely changed my mind and decided to try something really different: a dual, first person narrative in which the boy and girl in question would each be narrating the story from their unique perspectives, as well as alternately. This was a technique I loved in the novel Talking It Over by Julian Barnes and I thought this story could actually succeed with this way to tell the story, especially as I also thought that it would help me figure out some motivations for my leading lady, motivations that have confounded me for years.
As I stated earlier on this site, I am trying my best to keep things simple as far as the characters are concerned. By doing so with this story, I have surprised myself with having simple reasons for complicated behaviors reveal themselves to me so nothing becomes too fabricated and everything remains plausible and understandable.
So, this story is told from the respective points of view of Tracey Wolf (the boy) and Heather Harrison (the girl) and like the novel as a whole piece, this story is about self-perception, self-consciousness, social anxiety, the enrapturing nature of one-to-one conversations, the games we all play when wanting to attract another person and how we sometimes make the most intensely felt connections with other people when it seems as if we will never see them again. Hopefully, all of that comes clear to you through these two introspective individuals and while Tracey and Heather do take turns telling us the full story although there are sections where Tracey performs most of the narration because I wanted the reader to fall for Heather in the same way that he does.
In regards to sections, the story is divided into three (or maybe four) parts. The first part is "The Blizzard," the second part is "The Bus" and the third (and possibly fourth) all take place back on campus after Spring Break. I am concurrently writing the story in my Moleskine and typing the previously written sections on the computer. At this time "The Blizzard" and "The Bus" are completely written and "The Blizzard" is completely typed and ready for posting, although it runs about 20-21 pages, so I have to figure out how to split that up a little. The last sections are chugging along nicely and I am able to see the light at the end of this lengthy literary tunnel.
As for the title, well, it is yet another musical reference as there is nobody in the story named "Paul Westerberg."
The real Paul Westerberg is a legendary alternative singer/songwriter/musician who fronted The Replacements and also has enjoyed a career as a solo artist and even scored the Cameron Crowe film "Singles" (1993). When I was first thinking of titles for this story, Westerberg's solo track "Love Untold" immediately came to mind but then I felt it would signal too much of what may/may not occur. So, I went in a slightly different route...
Paul Westerberg's music was heavily influenced by the band Big Star (whose music heavily inspired me with titles for two of the stories in this novel) and one of The Replacements' most well known songs is "Alex Chilton," a track celebrating the famed Big Star singer/songwriter/guitarist. So, in tribute, and in trying to capture the bittersweet spirit of "Love Untold," I have named this story..."Paul Westerberg."
And the first installment will arrive at the start of September...
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