The Next Book To Emerge From The Pages Of SITD?

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

I’ve often thought about writing a book.  I started one in college – the draft has long since disappeared.  I write blog posts that could be expanded into a book.  And I know a couple of people who’ve written books, I could get tips and advice from them.  But every time I start, it turns into a lot of work and I am not known for my patience.

Maybe a book of short stories centered around a common theme, like “The Martian Chronicles,” self-publish on Amazon and retire on the royalties? Still too much work.  What if I crowd-sourced it?  What if Shot In The Dark readers each took one story idea and ran with it?

Story One: Chad is a 20-something White male who suffers from mental illness but won’t take his meds because he doesn’t like the way they make him feel.  When the voices in his head get too loud, he does crazy stuff that gets him arrested.  But by the time of his commitment hearing after the 72-hour hold, he’s back on his meds and coherent, his parents swear he’s gentle and kind, his ACLU lawyer argues he’s not a threat to himself or others, and the judge releases him.  Until one day when he’s off his meds, a girl in a coffee shop snubs him as a “nobody” and moments later he sees CNN talking about somebody who shot up a school who’s now famous.  The voices convince him to pursue fame by committing his own massacre.  How he plans and executes the crime . . .

Story Two:  Patricia, the mother of one of the people Chad killed, is media-savvy and politically connected.  Her incessant television appearances produce a groundswell of Right-Thinking people who convince the President to issue an Executive Order repealing the Second Amendment and appointing her Gun Czar with authority to rid the United States of privately held firearms.   How she plans and executes the seizure . . . .

Story Three: Charlie, a farmer near St. Cloud, who owns shotguns for bird hunting and rifles for deer hunting, hears about Patricia while eating breakfast at the local diner but thinks little of it until Deputy John pulls his squad car up to the farmhouse saying “I’ve gotta take your guns, Charlie, it’s the law.”  What happens next . . . .

Story Four: Dante, the owner of a recreational pharmaceuticals distribution franchise in Frogtown, sees Patricia on the television while eating lunch at White Castle and frowns.  How will he defend his territory from poachers and his profits from thieves?  How he circumvents the law . . . .

Story Five, Six, Seven – you get the idea.

Joe Doakes

Hmmm.

Writing a book via semi-crowdsourced blog posts?

It’s almost crazy enough to work

5 thoughts on “The Next Book To Emerge From The Pages Of SITD?

  1. This whole train of thought derails at one precise moment:

    I have yet to see a TV in a White Castle.

    Sorry, JD. Start over.

  2. I’d have to write it under a pseudonym though. Because shit would get very very dark

  3. Oh, and while I am not all that great at creative writing/creating content, I AM well versed in the English language (altho not to the level of Mitch – I never went to college for any language at all). Despite my best efforts to resist it, my high school did manage to cram a decent English education down my throat. I hereby offer my services as an editor/proofreader to anyone, gratis.

  4. Lacks literary quality. It would have a better chance at a Booker if it featured a brain damaged hero who saw manifestations of the Trinity everywhere he looked, and who had a girlfriend who looked pregnant but really had a stomach tumor.
    They’ll have forgotten all about Ironweed by now.

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