Sunday Serial, 280 x 70 by Gill James, 61 Same old, Same old, gin and tonic

 Introduction

This collection is a collection of seventy stories, each 280 words. They were inspired by the first picture seen on my Twitter feed on a given day. 

61. Same Old, Same Old  

Graham sighed. Another book. Didn't they say there was only one story? This story would follow one of Christopher Booker's seven basic plots, or he'd meet one of Joseph Campbell's thousand heroes who was following Christopher Vogler's journey. There would be a mid-point and a three act structure. The beats would be in the right places.

The cover was gruesome. There was blood spattered across a wind screen.

He flicked open the first page. So where was this inciting incident? And the growing complexities? When would the crisis point arise and would it be convincing? Would the hero get help from an ugly girl and would he live in the belly of the whale for a while? Would he meet the goddess?

It was a nuisance the way this critical mind of his keeps interfering. Why couldn't he just enjoy a book these days? Reading used to be his default activity. Now, though he felt under pressure to read a hundred books a year and review most of them. Where had the fun gone?

"Time to get the G & Ts ready," Louise called form the kitchenette of their small holiday apartment. It was her turn to cook and that half hour before dinner was sacrosanct.

He sliced the lemon mindfully. He put the slices in the glasses, counted to ten twice as he poured gin into the glasses then topped up the drinks with ice and tonic.

As he sipped his drink, sitting comfortably on the glorious terrace with sea views, he began to read. He stopped noticing the views and was soon absorbed in the story. The editor in his head shut up. This was indeed well written.   

About the author

Thank you for considering my work.  

Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.  

She edits CafeLit and writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation.

She teaches Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing.    

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