Be Kind – The Process

Be Kind is story number fifty in the #52ShortStories challenge.

**SPOILERS BELOW. If you have not read the story and want to be (hopefully) surprised, come back to this when you’re done.**

We all have those guilty-pleasure movies. One of mine is Roadhouse starring Patrick Swayze and you can often find it airing on any given cable network on any given Saturday afternoon. If you haven’t seen the movie, Swayze plays a kung fu-trained, philosophy-minded bouncer named Dalton who comes to work at a small-town bar that needs shaping up.

For those who have seen it, the connection between Be Kind and Dalton’s catchphrase is obvious. I took his beliefs one step further, essentially turning them into the foundation of a future religion which is abided by bouncers in a Mad Max-type setting. I really enjoyed writing in the voice of Ernie on this one and I also discovered that I inadvertently return to certain names for my characters. I had another Ernie in The Owl His Anthem.

Here’s the general scratch file:

• Be Kind scratch file

And the daily journal entries:

• Wednesday, July 11th
• Thursday, July 12th
• Friday, July 13th
• Saturday, July 14th
• Sunday, July 15th – Skipped
• Monday, July 16th
• Tuesday, July 17th

-Phillip