Insecure Writer's Support Group: True Character

Alex J. Cavanaugh  is hosting the first Wednesday edition of  2012.  Be sure to check out the many talented authors and bloggers who continue to offer their best advice, as well as their strongest shoulders. 

True Character

Len and Ken knew each other their entire lives, yet they were as different as night and day. While Len was quiet and unassuming, Ken was loud and braggadocios. Len worked hard and was a natural athlete. Ken befriended the other athletes by inviting them to parties, and driving them around in his flashy car. Len kept to himself and spent most of his free time working after school and on weekends.

Their paths seldom crossed until college

They both attended the same prestigious university; Len was on a journalism scholarship, while Ken's family had connections in all the right places. Though Ken had no experience, he worked under Len as a writer for the school paper.  Len worked very hard to become editor, and was pressured to hire Ken, as his parents were contributors to the university. Len patiently took Ken under his wing until he was eventually able to become an alternate sports reporter. Ken was thrilled to have access to all of the sporting events and activities that followed, while Len was doing double duty making sense out of his stories.

After graduation, Ken landed a job as a sports reporter for a local television station. Len worked as a high school English teacher, and was writing a novel in his spare time. They ran into each other when Ken was covering a championship basketball game at the high school. Len politely introduced him to his beautiful fiancee who was also a teacher. The next day she broke off their engagement.

After Len completed his novel, he was invited to appear on Ken's news program. where he was filling in for the weekend anchor. Since the story took place in their college town, Ken intimated that he was the inspiration for his novel. Somehow he received an early edition and recited quotes as if they were his own. This caused quite a scandal at the high school, resulting in Len's dismissal. Eventually, a legal team was able to clear things up, but it left Len bankrupt in the process.  

While Ken's star was rising, Len worked as a handyman and a tutor to get by. After completing a rigorous job, he was rushed to the hospital when a pipe burst. He quickly recovered from surgery, but was sent to a rehab facility for extensive physical therapy. There he would visit other patients to read them poetry or short stories. He became very close with an older man who lost his sight. One day he asked him who wrote the wonderful stories, and was amazed that Len was the author.

The blind gentleman told Len to bring him everything he had ever written. When Len obliged, he set up a meeting with the editor -in-chief of a renowned publishing empire. The man was thrilled to help Len, as he felt closer to him than his own grandson who never came to visit. The editor-in-chief offered him the position of associate editor, with large stock options in the company. Len couldn't thank his friend enough, and continued to see him as often as possible. He didn't realize his connection with the publishing empire, until he received his first paycheck. The kind and generous billionaire was none other then Ken's maternal grandfather.

-Julie Kemp Pick