TROUBL

Turning Jacob began as a short play composed in one act with a bunch of scenes. I thought about presenting it on stage with characters, lighting, backdrop, and everything else. But, I formed it into a short story, a long short story, with chapters. And I liked the end result.

Turning Jacob is the first narrative I ever completed. Of course, I had started some other projects, but they never turned into anything. Without the prompting of an instructor or class assignment, I sat at my brown desk and wrote. I can’t remember how long it took. I estimate, considering the length and cast of characters, about 2 months in all. To be quite honest, I’m generally a slow writer–whatever that means–because writing is a slow process. And I didn’t start from scratch. The characters and setting were taken from my Oakland neighborhood, and the plot was a conglomerate of childhood experiences, a collage of reminiscence. So, all I had to do was document my memory and form a story. I always tell people that writing, fiction for me, is nothing more than documentation. The story moves in my mind. I hear the characters talk, cars move; I smell Jacob’s cigars. I simply still frame the scenes, write what I see, and press play again. I love to write. It’s the only occupation where a person is allowed leisure to work and where only one employee is necessary.