Writing radio spots, headlines, blog posts etcetera pays the bills, but does it feed the soul? That implies that my fiction writing DOES feed the soul. And does it?

Well, not always, because sometimes my fiction writing is, pardon the expression pure shite! But every once in a while you’ll cast your eyes over a piece you always thought would be right at home in your toilet, and are…surprised! Here’s an excerpt from an unpublished/unread/unproofread/uneverything novel I wrote in November 2005:

Dave sat as still as he could at the boardroom table. In his experience, a fidgeter never closed the deal. It showed a lack of confidence. And if there was anything he knew, it was that confidence won the race.

Jack sat across from him. Jack was a fidgeter. Right now, in fact, he was twiddling his pen, sliding his blank notebook around the tabletop and glancing back repeatedly at Jennifer, who was in the corner calmly filling a glass. Jack either didn’t want to be there, had something important to get back to, or had to go to the bathroom. It was odd to see the owner of a company in that state.

Dave knew more than a month ago that Jennifer is the real decision-maker. Her tone of voice on the phone gave it away. But more than anything else is her power move. Getting water and making everyone wait. Carefully choosing the right size glass from the tray on the credenza at the back of the room. Checking for water spots, and rubbing the odd one off. But he also learned her weakness; insecurity. The huge stack of folders in front of her seat at the table gave it away. It shouted “I’m important! Look at all the work I’ve done!”

Yes, this would be a classic case. Open and shut, signed on to the silver benefits plan, game over. Dave patiently waited until all the players were facing him. Jennifer finally sat down. And Dave took control.
“Thanks for meeting with me Jennifer, Jack. I appreciate the time you’ve taken out of your busy day to discuss your staff benefits. As I was telling Jennifer on the phone…” he was cut off by the gentle ring tone of his blackberry. Dave swore in his mind. He’d just won the bloody thing in the summer at a vendor conference. He barely knew how to work it, really used it for his personal e-mail. He liked being undisturbed by work when he was on the road. He was regional sales rep of the year for the last six years running, good Christ, and if that didn’t prove he didn’t have to be tethered to head office he didn’t know what did.
But having a cell phone or anything on during a client presentation was just bad policy. It was disrespectful, it interrupted the flow of the meeting – even at the beginning – it interrupted the flow of his thoughts (like it was doing right now), and it was just irritating. But the worst thing, at least the very worst thing for him, is that he wasn’t sure how to turn it off. He never got the button right, and right now it just kept ringing, it seemed as if at 1,000 decibels, and he couldn’t reach it right away in his pocket, and then it slipped, and then he fumbled it onto the table, and then the cover was stuck… he was sure something intelligible was coming out of his mouth to cover the gaffe, but he couldn’t be sure of what it was. The panic was starting to boil in his head like a red temperature gauge rising, rising. He sensed rather than saw Jennifer and Jack look at each other. He was turning this presentation into a gong show.
All you had to do was reach into your pocket and turn the damn thing off. Or leave it in the car! You couldn’t even do that, could you slick? came the voice in his head – oddly sounding like his wife.

“Sorry… one second… just got this…” he heard the words flail out, each word the arm of a drowning man splashing and just missing the O of the life preserver.

The thing I like about this excerpt is it paints a picture of a character. You know a little bit about what’s important to him, how he is at his job even the fact that the job defines him to some extent.

I’ll have more excerpts in the future. For now, write an excerpt about someone in your life that is caught at an uncomfortable moment.