Local Novelist Discovers San Angelo History

“Why San Angelo?” asks Joe Weaver in the title of his third entry to National Novel Writing Month. So far, he’s got over 8,000 words to answer it, now he needs only 42,000 more to meet the goal of the challenge.

Weaver used to write a weekly newspaper column with the Chamber of Commerce Director in Pampa, Texas. After a recent move to San Angelo, friends and family have been asking him why—a question he also poses himself—thus his book is taking on that stream of consciousness.

As of yet, Weaver seems to be right on target, “Right now I have logged over 8000 words, but I’ve written a few more than that,” he said.

This is Weaver’s third go at NaNoWriMo—he’s stated that he did the first one on a challenge, the second to prove he wasn’t one-book writer, but moving to a new place and encountering new experiences has inspired round three.

Instead of a typical novel, Weaver is changing things up a bit with a series of essays, or ‘streams of consciousness,’ inspired by San Angelo.

“It’s written like Salinger’s book, but much better,” Weaver laughed, “I hated ‘Catcher in the Rye.’”

So far, the Chicken Farm Art Center has enchanted its way into the ‘Wrimo’ project, along with Fort Concho and a few other historic details in San Angelo.

Next on the agenda, downtown San Angelo, “I have not written about downtown yet, but I am enthralled with it,” said Weaver.

Weaver plans to check out more history books and get to know more people to inspire his ‘stream of consciousness,’ and answer the question “Why San Angelo?”

As far as advice to other ‘Wrimos,’ Weaver says, “Just try to get words on paper.”

According to Weaver the best way to go is just by writing, you can clean it up later.