I guess my previous blog entry describes how this story came about, but I'll add some new facts about it.
The story's first line indicates the idea I had, with Jake sticking his finger into Laurie's mouth. I guess there are similar stories out there, but I figured this would be an interesting concept for me to try to get a new story out.
After writing the initial “chapters” of this story, I realized it was spiraling out of control. I introduced Cathy, and then had ideas for additional scenes, each of which was gradually becoming more intricate and convoluted, with any conclusion out of reach.
With a heavy heart, I decided to stop. It was destined for my "slush pile" (I never delete any of my stories) but I didn't have the heart to stick it there, never to be seen by anybody.
Now that I’m writing the third draft of a chapter story, I realized that my promise of a story a year ago was taking longer to materialize than I had anticipated. Knowing that my “short stories” are rarely popular, I decided to post this one as a sample of the stuff I start writing but never complete. Since the story isn’t “finished,” I understand that this will likely be one of my lower-scoring posts, but I’ve long since stopped caring about my story scores.
Regarding Scores -- An Aside
My favorite short story that I posted here is the one I call "Smitty," a parody of a short story by James Thurber. (My parody is here on StoriesOnline and has a dismal score.) I guess Thurber's work isn't very popular with the people that frequent this site, despite the fact that Ben Stiller made a movie from the original story, so I guess the parody seems kind of wasted on them. (This is not a complaint about my readers, by the way. Its that I'm an "OK Boomer" type of old-fashioned geezer that has different references than younger people nowadays.)
Anyway, whatever the reception that "Tricked" gets, I'll still be happy that I bit the bullet and posted it, even after promising myself never to post another short story here again.
As for my next "real" chapter story, it's still in progress, and isn't ready for publication yet. I promise that I'm working on it, and hope to get it to an acceptable state (by my own definition) soon, but I've learned that I am the most stern editor with regard to my work.
Anyway, I hope that some people enjoy my uncompleted (and abandoned) "Tricked" story in the meantime. I enjoyed rereading it as I edited and proofread it before posting it here.
Peace!
JiMC