Navigating the Narrative
One of the joys of reading unsolicited manuscripts is discovering the patterns and trends that rise from the writerly collective unconscious. And in 2020, the message was clear: writers were writing about writing — or, more accurately, about not writing.
Of these meta narratives, one struggling protagonist won our hearts: the cursed and cursing narrator of ‘Dark and Stormy’ by Mike Gillis.
The pain of the quiet pen is personal, for sure. But take heart, dear writer, for, as you’ll see in this excerpt from Issue 29, Winter 2021, you are not alone!
‘Dark and Stormy’
by Mike Gillis
It was a dark and stormy night.
Well, not exactly stormy. More mildly drizzling. And given that there was a full moon, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t quite dark out, either. It’s more accurate to say that it was poorly lit. Fine. But “it was a poorly lit and mildly drizzling night” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, now does it? Doesn’t quite conjure the wonderful picture of a dark and stormy night. Also, pardon me for trying to give you a little dramatic suspense, your royal highness. Why does everything have to be a perfectly accurate picture of reality? Aren’t you reading this to escape from your woebegotten life for a few measly hours?
For Christ’s sake.
Well, anyway, it was a poorly lit and mildly drizzling night (happy now?) and our protagonist was taking shelter in a ditch off the side of the road. Okay, it wasn’t quite a ditch, either. I guess a culvert? Is a culvert more exact here? I’m actually not sure. Or is it a storm drain? Hold on a second — let me just flip the dictionary open and check it out. This’ll only take a second.
Culver’s Root … culverin …
Okay, great. Here it is. “Cul-vert: a drain or covered channel that crosses under a road, railway, et cetera …” So, no, that’s actually not the right word, come to think of it. He’s more in a tent. Yeah, a tent. That’s the ticket. Honestly, I don’t know why I was thinking culvert or ditch. Those are way off. But what are you going to do, get angry at me? Like this is so easy?
To find out what happens next, pick up your copy of Issue 29, Winter 2021!
Mike Gillis is the head writer of The Onion. His writing has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, ClickHole, and the Chicago Quarterly Review. He was born in Maine, went to school in New Hampshire, and, as of this writing, is alive in Chicago.
And now it’s your turn …
Notice how the protagonist in ‘Dark and Stormy’ is wrangling words on the page? Well, we at Pulp Lit know the struggle is real! So here’s your chance at a head start for our next contest.
Opening 1 April, The Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize boasts a zippy top-prize of $300 and publication in Pulp Literature Issue 33, Winter 2022! Click here for more details and to enter.
At just under 1000 words, ‘Dark and Stormy’ is a fabulous example of flash. To read it and the winning entries from the 2020 Hummingbird, pick up Issue 29, Winter 2021 today!
And for updates on all of our contests and goings-on, sign up for the newsletter!
Discover more from PULP Literature
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Leave a Reply