200 — The Character Development of Harry Milks

Malcolm Assuage was Harry Milks.

It was Milks' pen name, his alter ego. Harry Milks didn't like the limelight; his nom de plume was the perfect vehicle for a camouflaged fame, a nice income, and the anonymity to womanize.

He hadn't always been a great writer. It was his character, Sterling Bando, who grew for him his literary chops in a series of 14 novels. Bando was a government operative who single-handedly won the cold war, stopped numerous crises, and brought down both despots and elected governments when they didn't move the West's narrative.

By the fourth novel, Bando was a household name, the stuff of bidding wars for movie studios, and--for Malcolm Assuage--a beautifully crafted character with an elaborate backstory, a chiseled physique, and tremendous sexual athleticism. Things Harry Milks could never be.

Such tropes never garnered Pulitzers, but the Sterling Brando character was described by critics as the type of character who could literally leap off the page.

Harry Milks awakened one morning hungover, as per usual, to see a strangely familiar man standing before the footboard of his California King bed. Startled, he defensively pulled the bedsheets up to his chin.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked with a panicked tone.

"Bando," the man with the Martini answeed, "Sterling Bando."

"Really--who are you? A fan? You want an autograph? I can do that. Just don't hurt me."

Bando smiled wryly. "Why would I hurt you? You gave me life. You did it so well that I've leapt off the page. Here I am." Milks swallowed hard. "You know, Vonnegut set his characters free in Breakfast of Champions." Bando quoted from the book,

"Thomas Jefferson freed his slaves. I am going to set at liberty all the literary characters who have served me so loyally during my writing career."

"Is that what you want? Freedom? To make your own way without me?"

"No," Bando answered.

"Then what?"

"I want to set you free, Malcolm Assuage. So you can be Harry Milks, full throttle. You've made yourself a fictional character."

"No fifteenth novel?"

"The world will continue to spin without Sterling Bando. But it needs Harry Milks."

"Why? Tell me."

"No. Buy the book."

_________

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For Thursday, July 18, Day 200 of the 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge

THIS MARKS, NOW, 200 STORIES in the can. I don't believe it myself. Crazy as a hundred $2-bills!

366 WORDS (without A/N)

Title-accompaniment photo was AI-generated but the prime directive was not.

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THE SISYPHEAN CHALLENGE GRINDS ON, 366 WORDS AT A TIME:

There are currently three surviving Vocal writers still participating in the insane 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge:

• L.C. Schäfer, challenge originator

• Rachel Deeming

• Gerard DiLeo (some other guy)

Each at 200 stories apiece, there are 600 new stories year-to-date! That's a LOT o'stories, Jack!

Read them. Support them. And stir, don't shake.