Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 27-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Submission guidelines: Please state the primary objective of your manuscript.
The primary objective of my manuscript is to secure a literary agent so that I can concentrate on writing.
It was Christmas 2010 when I was laid off from my $10-an-hour job at Curves, the gym for women who hate gyms. As a single, middle-aged (if I live to be 102 years old), experimental fiction writer, I was one swift kick closer to the gutter. I panicked and went into survival mode. I decided to write a novel that would sell. Fuck experimental. Just for once, I wanted to use my writing skills to make some money. I allowed myself one month to complete the novel, aiming for 10,000 words a day.
My secondary objective was to impress my new boyfriend, also a writer. I don’t know how I came to believe that out-doing men and bragging about it is the way to win hearts, but I do remember one summer in Lincoln City, Ore., when I was 13. I’d suggested a competition at the swimming pool with a high-school football player twice my size. Who could hold their breath longer? He dove in, and I watched his wiggly, underwater body twist and turn against the wall. He surfaced mid-pool. One-and-a-half lengths. I simply had to hold my breath longer. It almost killed me, but I won. I had a crush on him, you see. I went the whole two lengths to impress him. To my surprise, he wandered off with a somewhat unconvincing swagger. Broad shoulders, muscular back, dripping wet. He cracked his knuckles loudly and blew water out of his nostrils. One at a time.
