“Honey, this opening line doesn’t cut it. The protagonist, Leo comes across as a man prone to stress, apprehension and self doubt,” says Mary Margaret, Johnny’s wife of twenty years, after she finished reading the first draft of his latest story, The Tale of Sarah Marie Bass. “Remember, Leo lacks scruples and feeds his oversize ego with a double dose of arrogance.” Thanking Mary Margret for her critique, Johnny went back to his desk and began to revise the story: The name is Leo Pride and I write a human interest column under the tagline, The Merry-Go-Round, published weekly in the Red Clay Country newspaper. Of course it goes without saying; my writing style is par excellence. Many of my readers frame their favorite articles, which I have autographed, and hang them on their living room walls for posterity. On the other hand, someone needs to teach the illiterates, in Red Clay County, to respect my writing and stop lining the bottom of their parakeet cages with my articles.…show more content… The barking, wind bag suggested I had lost my creative edge, because my column read like a fill in the blank narrative. In his distorted judgment my writing lacked originality, intrigue, and that certain je ne sais quoi that held the reader’s attention. The asshole blindsided me when he says, he wanted that kind of article on his desk Monday, at four sharp, or I could seek employment elsewhere. Needless to say, my dignity was insulted, but before I could respond the dimwit suggested I travel to Port City, at company expense, and find a person of interest to breathe life into my monotonous column. Of course, I accept the offer without
