Joe College, Part 2 (2021 revision)

When I started this project, it was intentionally casual, intended to be a slight personal distraction, built on the premise of writing a raunchy campus comedy (Van Wilder, Animal House, etc.) with a gay protagonist.  That changed when I figured out Matt Canetti and Chris Riis.  They felt too big and too human, the characters' interactions were too genuine, and the whole project sprawled.  Here we are, thirteen bittersweet years later.

I've been re-reading parts of the story over the summer, both with an eye toward what I'll need to do when I eventually revise it, but also to reconnect with the early chapters as I bring this to a close.  The last couple of years have been rough for everyone.  It's brought too much cynicism into my outline for the end.  I needed to get back in touch with my guys.

Some of it holds up pretty well!  The second part does not.  Because it was written with an eye to raunch and mild amusement, the voice was a mess, Joe faced no consequence for his misdeeds toward Andy, and important details were glanced over.  The sex passages felt mechanical, joyless.  Some of the dialogue was atrocious.  And it wasn't even funny.  Joe didn't display the idiosyncrasies I later discovered.  Andy Trafford seemed empty.

About a month ago, I started playing around and overhauled the second part in a few days.  I've been rereading and tweaking ever since, not just because I'm being neurotic, but because it felt nice to spend time with these guys.  Like exiting a time machine and having new adventures with old friends.  

The original chapter two embarrasses me.  The new one does not.  Hope you enjoy.