The joy and the dread of something unfinished

Daily Writing

Several lifetimes ago, I was traveling on a train north of Wellington in NZ. I was leaning against the window as the train rolled onto a bridge and I could see the water of the river below. It was a pitch black void, rippling from the current of the water and the breeze that was blowing.

For whatever reason, that image has stuck with me since and today I used it as a launching pad for this piece. I don’t delve into the blackness of the water - another story idea to play with - but the idea of passengers living their lives while traveling as events happen around them.

It should be obvious what I have to do to finish this piece. Chuck Palahniuk wrote something on Substack the other day (here) about throughlines. Because I’m self taught, I have no clue what he’s talking about, but I understand the premise. In this case, I need to keep to the idea of something different happening to the passengers. First, though, I need to finish the story. I need to get the train to the other end of the line. While things happen around, and to, the remaining passengers. I would not hold my breath about their safety if I were you.

When I realised that I was reaching my quota for the day1 but I still had a lot of story to tell, I felt that pit in my stomach. How/when was I going to do it? What was going to happen to these people? Could I conjure something for each of them as they travel their hour towards home?

But then I felt that joy; that excitement from knowing I still had stuff to create. There is a story here. In fact, there are several. The lives of all the passengers are fair game. Now there are certain markers on each of them, including Carmen, that may or may not relate to what happens to them on this train. Carmen being a miscreant was not why she fell to her death; karma does not factor in. So if you think Trevor is going to face justice, you might want to look away. If I were a better writer, I might be able to find some kind of ironic fate, some Monkey Paw that works against them. Alas, right now, I got nothing.

Fortunately, I dont have to worry about it for a while. I have a stack of stuff (read more than a years worth of 1000-1500 word pieces written between 2016 and November this year) that is slated for the Short Form section before I even get to the things Im writing in December. So Ill let this one sit. Let Melinda and Felix and the others travel on this never ending rail line before I decide what their fates will be and which, if any, survive the night.

I spent more time than usual on this, taking 1h35 to crank out the 1954 words. Days like this I wonder if I can create something each day. I guess we’ll see.