Charles Jensen | Writer

And I don’t even have to go to the mall (although I will anyway).

I’m telling myself to write a collection of short stories, each with a title corresponding to the titles of the tracks on Madonna’s Like a Virgin album.

I’m currently writing “Like a Virgin.” I’m about halfway through.

Other tracks, in case you need reminding:

Material Girl
Angel
[Like a Virgin]
Over and Over
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Into the Groove
Dress You Up
Shoo-Bee-Doo
Pretender
Stay

I’m a fan of structure. Anyone who tries to make plans with me knows that my weekend is booked by Wednesday. I’m interested in structure beyond the form of the text, but more in the form of the project. I just started reading Salvador Plascencia’s The People of Paper, which is a structural book akin to another favorite of mine, Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.

And just as I warned everyone, once I started reading fiction again, I started writing it.