He stares at the blank page, trying to think of the perfect first line. Once that’s down, the rest will flow. A masterpiece will be unleashed.

There will be acclaim, awards, royalties. Appearances at literary festivals

He stares at the blank page, for fifty years now, squinting more and more.

Brian Maycock’s short fiction has appeared in Planet Paragraph, 101 Words and The Drabble. He lives in Scotland.