Page 26, Line 26 by Lindsey Dawson
(Writers from 26 created 260 word stories inspired by Page 26, Line 26 of a randomly chosen book, either fiction and non fiction.)
“Nevertheless, he saw that handshake as the identifiable moment when his life changed,” read Simon from his speech notes.
“Nevertheless? Too long a word,” said his media trainer, Miriam. “You’re working up the crowd for the Prime Minister, Simon. Voters have a reading age of ten, and that goes for their intelligence too. What are you trying to say?”
“That Chris is a man of the people. That he cares for the sick and downtrodden. And that story about how he shook the mangled hand of a tree feller who’d lost his fingers – it shows he’s got heart. Most of us would feel a bit, well, icky about shaking someone’s stumps. So, how should I start that sentence? With a ‘by crikey’?”
“Hell, no. Only if your audience are old-age pensioners. You don’t need to use extra phrases. Keep everything plain and short. And powerful, of course. I’m assuming there’s some kind of heart-warming point to your speech – as in Chris finding the guy a new job that doesn’t need ten fingers? Or is he announcing a boost in payouts for people injured at work?”
“He keeps trying to raise that, but as you know, big forest owners are feeling a bit annoyed after copping so much grief about the damage done by slash.”
“So the handshake – all a bit meaningless, huh? A pat on the shoulder? A muttered sorry or two, and then nothing? Not good enough, Simon. Find out if Chris has been seen cuddling any babies whose lives were saved by bigger hospital budgets. That might work.”
(Inspired by Line 26, Page 26 of ‘One Good Turn’ by Kate Atkinson.)