Talking To A Writer

 "I want to be published," Hugh said. "I need to be. I dropped out of college to do this and what do I have to show for it? Nothing. A bunch of stories that sit around and collect dust." He took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled heavily. 

 Brie was sitting next to him drinking a can of Budweiser and admiring the noonday sun. She had been published multiple times and yet never really spoke about it. The only time Hugh or anyone else had heard her ever speak about it is when they asked her what she was thinking of when she wrote a particular story. Even then, she would usually say something like, "I don't really remember. I just remember writing it." 

 "How'd you go about getting published?" Hugh asked her, stamping out his cigarette and lighting another. 

 "It just kind of happened," she said. "I wrote a story for a class in college. My professor loved it, gave it to one of his friends who gave it to their boss who gave it to a guy that published it for me." The one thing Hugh liked about Brie is that her fame didn't seem to change who she was. She remained the same aloof friend he remembered from high school. 

 "Do you have a goal in mind? A number of books you want to publish? Awards you want to win? Classes you want to teach?" 

 Brie looked away from the sky and into his eyes. "You ask a lot of questions to someone with no answers," and looked back at the clouds. 

 "I need to get published," Hugh mumbled. 

 "It's not as big of a deal as you might think," Brie answered. "It was never my goal to get published. I just wanted something I had written to be someone else's epigraph." 

 Hugh thought about this. Thought maybe, if he didn't want it, it would happen. He stopped trying as hard as he had been and eventually became a banker. 

Reviews

[brianna vega]

love it

[jenniewren (J.W. Bouwma..]

a perfect pause of a conversation.. i love how nonchalant she was, and how earnest and frustrated, nearly frantic he felt.. i'm sure her serenity grated on him..

incredible characters. you make me know these people as if they were me

[Tim M]

You can feel the urge in Hugh and the passive slackening in Brie here, perfect symbiosis. I also like that Hugh's point of view is much more emphatic about "needing" to be published, as if it will solve some enigma he can't on his own.

[Carrie Lynn]

...and earned more money than she ever would as a published writer :)

You definitely nailed this girl's air of nonchalance, which I like in contrast towards his desire and worry. I love that her only goal was to be someone else's epigraph--a lofty dream ironically. But really the last sentence is what made me like this piece. I'd like to read more about these two characters before this scene.