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The Future of Chapter Three
by
Daniel W. Kneip
(AND WHY I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IT)
Funny how I find time to do everything else in a day but write. I swore
this weekend would be spent negotiating chapter three. Harley finds the
gun. Leonna scrambles for the border, three loose chickens in her trunk.
Mr. Balm wrestles his way out of the wheelchair and down the hall.
Do you know how ridiculous it all seems? I think I know what horror I’ve
now gotten myself into and would rather live out the fantasy of writing
than actually be doing it.
For example, yesterday I had a million excuses not to write. Today,
nothing short of a million and one.
The sun edged its way into the sky over my apartment. These rain clouds
have persisted for weeks, finally breaking. Becky asked me what I’d been
up to. She hadn’t seen me all weekend. I lied and said I went to the
shoreline to volunteer my time and strength to fill sandbags.
What nonsense. Why do I do it? I’m not even embarrassed for the lie. It
was easy. But I’m a writer. Lying is what I do.
“The dark tornado funneled and touched down mightily, ripping through the
shed, chewing a path of destruction.”
What tornado? There is no tornado. It’s a lie. It’s a trick. It’s
story, a view of it hard to grasp. Make-believe.
Harley finds the gun stashed in the most curious place: the toaster oven.
What gun and who the hell is Harley? God, if I know.
My writing is shit now. Look what I’ve done. I’ve captured idiotic
people in ridiculous scenarios. I’m really at the point where I’ve got no
more lies to tell. The storyteller that once brewed here, I think, is
gone.
Bastards come knocking on my door and ringing on my telephone, “Where’s
the pages? Can we get the pages?”
Never thought I’d say it: I've lost my touch.
I slept till noon today. Only got up because I got to thinking about food
and the ballgame on television. I didn’t even brush my teeth all day.
Couldn’t even fit it into my schedule – too busy, avoiding writing. What
a shame.
Game ran till two, I did some light house keeping till three, spent
countless minutes staring out my peephole at the family living across from
me. There’s a fat Mexican family that lives there and they had a bunch of
their fat friends over for who knows what, but probably dinner.
Super nice people though. She’s a cleaner and he drives a truck, I think
he said some sort of disposal truck for the city. Oh, if I only cared.
At first, I thought they were interesting only to later realize I was
merely using their company for filler. Why write when I can be out
yucking it up with the neighbors?
He offered me a shot of tequila, can you believe it? Very nice man.
Opened a brand new bottle and poured me a shot. Extremely hospitable, the
both of them.
To think that I was only amusing them to keep from writing. Hmm..
Okay, so I’m rotten. I have no friends. I have no life. Everything
happens outside these damn, yellowing walls and I would be lucky to be a
part of it if only my writing didn’t hold me back.
I made supper, watched a movie. Had a nap. Actually, I curled up with a
pad of paper and a pen and soon fell asleep thinking about why in the
world Leonna had three chickens in her trunk.
Honestly, I think I’m thinking too hard. Though when I woke up, I found
scribbled, nearly indistinguishable, on the tablet these words: bladder
infection.
Not sure where that came from. One possible thought process - Leonna
stops the car on the side of the desert road, aching to relieve herself.
The most annoying clucking echoing through the car. Wincing, she hurries
over to a bush. There is no traffic and she wouldn’t care if there was.
She squats and pees, barely, and it burns horribly.
Plot point.
Just one more problem for the woman. I know she dies in the end. Leading
up to that point should be fun, but is it?
What happened to the fun? The formula is so worn and ragged, it kills me
to even consider following the dramatic guidelines. No, not on this one.
I'm committed to thinking it up as I go along. It's an exercise.
All I know is Leonna dies in the end. Hell, I might kill her in chapter
five. Bleed to death. She deserves it for the nightmare she’s put those
chickens through!
Oh well. Maybe I’ll write it next weekend. The forecast calls for rain,
so I’ll have a good reason to stay indoors and focus on my negotiations.
I just hope the neighbors keep quiet.
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