Don’t You Hate It?
Flat Tire
Don’t you hate it when you finish changing a flat tire,
and you suddenly notice that you parked in the next row over.
Doodle
Raising A Toast
Sometimes crummy, sometimes great. That’s life.
50-Word Story
Antique Toys In The Attic
Top: Hurry up. It’s almost showtime.
Tin Truck: You think I’ll be on?
Electric Train: Doubt it. Too common.
Tin Truck: Shut up, Lionel.
Dolly: Stop fighting. It’s starting.
The antique toys all sat on the window ledge, and looked through the neighbor’s window as she turned on Antique Roadshow.
Story
Sleepwriting
Artie’s curse
Arthur Goodpen was a writer. Although his method of writing was most unusual. Each night, Artie put a notebook and pen on the nightstand by his bed. Each morning he awoke to a completed short story written in his own handwriting in the notebook. Yet he had no recollection of writing the story.
Artie consulted a doctor and asked him if “sleepwriting” was possible.
“Certainly. People tend to do things they normally do when they sleepwalk,” Doctor Chekuout said.
Artie started posting the short stories online. They are quite good. It would be a shame to waste them, he thought. He was correct. He soon had a large following who loved his stories and waited daily for the latest one to arrive. The stories caught the attention of a publisher who offered him a book deal. A compilation of the already posted stories plus another book with 50 new stories.
Artie was excited. He had dreamed of writing a book all his life.
That night, Artie set out the notebook and pen as usual. He laid his head on the pillow and started thinking about how great it would be to be a famous writer. His mind wouldn’t shut off, and he couldn’t go to sleep. It was a long sleepless night. There was no short story in the notebook the next morning.
The next night was worse. He started worrying about not being able to fall asleep. Which, of course, kept him awake. The next day he went to the doctor. The doctor gave him some sleeping pills. They worked. Apparently, too well. Again, there was no short story in the notebook that morning.
Artie contacted his publisher, who said, “You’re a writer. Just write the stories while you’re awake.”
It seemed logical. He tried, but the sleeping pills made him groggy, and he couldn’t focus. He quit taking the pills, but he still worried about not being able to sleep or write. He turned out half-hearted efforts his publisher immediately rejected. After two months of poor writing and little sleep, the publisher canceled the books.
Since he wasn’t posting any new stories online, Artie started losing his fan base. He tried posting some of the stories he wrote while awake, but they were received poorly by his readers, and he quickly took them down.
That was it. He knew it. His writing career was over. He quit writing and took a job at the local zoo gift shop.
Artie loved the animals, and after several months he began to forget about writing. At least for most of the day. He started a romance with Lisa, who was a veterinarian at the zoo. After a year of dating, they married. Life was good.
There is more to life than writing, Artie thought as he sat with Lisa on the beach during their honeymoon. He was correct, of course. It seemed Artie had finally reconciled himself to the fact that he wasn’t a writer anymore.
The next morning Artie woke up to find a completed short story on the nightstand by the bed. It was written in his own handwriting on a hotel notepad. And it was good.
Happy Monday.
Mark
Nice doodle! I wish I could write in my sleep. I'm far more likely to be up half the night writing a chapter or short story that won't leave me alone until I get it onto the page!