My first thought was "O. Henry is Bill's inspiration. That's why he writes the kind of stories he does." Then the raven tapping made me think of Poe, but I dismissed that thought, so the ending snuck up on me. Great story!
O. Henry went to jail for embezzlement (where he apparently found his pen name to replace his real one, William Porter). I hope your guy doesn't end up emulating him that way.
I may be reading too deeply into this, but to me this story is about the weight of desperation and what that weight can do to people. Harry clearly wanted to be more than what he was. The next Stephen King, the next O. Henry, the next Edgar Allen Poe. Instead he was unemployed. And while his work had been published, it wasn’t accepted by any “respectable” institution, at least according to his wife.
When you work so hard but get little to no reward for your efforts, it can be easy to become superstitious. Maybe if you buy this popular notebook brand, you’ll be famous. Maybe if you buy an expensive pen that was owned by someone more famous than you, you’ll absorb their talent. Maybe if you drink the ink, your books will sell.
It’s not stupidity that drives a person to be like this, it’s a reaction to having your dreams unfulfilled for so long that it makes you insane.
Harry wanted to be a writer, and thought, like many others have thought, that it was the equipment, not the skill, training, education and even failures, that would do it for him. He would have been better off reading Stephen King's book, On Writer, than buying that pen.
Brilliant twist at the end Bill! This is one of your finest stories. Loved it!
Thank you, Jilly. I'm happy you liked O. Henry's Pen.
My first thought was "O. Henry is Bill's inspiration. That's why he writes the kind of stories he does." Then the raven tapping made me think of Poe, but I dismissed that thought, so the ending snuck up on me. Great story!
Ah, I like that! I'm glad you enjoyed O. Henry's Pen, Virginia.
Loved the twist at the end.
Thank you, Linda. I'm glad to hear that.
Loved the twist ending; that was worthy of Poe and O. Henry!
Thank you for your kind words, Michael. I'm glad you enjoyed O. Henry's Pen.
Oh, how I love O Henry and you’ve done a brilliant job with this story, and the nightlight story. He would love these!
Thanks so much, Ann. These were fun stories to write and I'm glad you enjoyed them.
O. Henry went to jail for embezzlement (where he apparently found his pen name to replace his real one, William Porter). I hope your guy doesn't end up emulating him that way.
I'll whisper in his ear to be careful. (I didn't know that about O. Henry -- interesting!)
Oh to hold that pen in my hand and dream....
Great twists!
Thanks, Tree. I enjoy writing twisty stories and am happy you liked this one.
Awesome story. One of my favorites so far.
Thank you, David! I'm very happy you enjoyed O. Henry's Pen.
I may be reading too deeply into this, but to me this story is about the weight of desperation and what that weight can do to people. Harry clearly wanted to be more than what he was. The next Stephen King, the next O. Henry, the next Edgar Allen Poe. Instead he was unemployed. And while his work had been published, it wasn’t accepted by any “respectable” institution, at least according to his wife.
When you work so hard but get little to no reward for your efforts, it can be easy to become superstitious. Maybe if you buy this popular notebook brand, you’ll be famous. Maybe if you buy an expensive pen that was owned by someone more famous than you, you’ll absorb their talent. Maybe if you drink the ink, your books will sell.
It’s not stupidity that drives a person to be like this, it’s a reaction to having your dreams unfulfilled for so long that it makes you insane.
I like your interpretations.
Harry wanted to be a writer, and thought, like many others have thought, that it was the equipment, not the skill, training, education and even failures, that would do it for him. He would have been better off reading Stephen King's book, On Writer, than buying that pen.
I haven't read that book by Stephen King yet, but I really should!
It is. I recommend it.
Bravo, Bill. A classic! I loved it.
Thanks, Mark. I like both O. Henry and Poe.
Never would have thought of that ending. Of course that cause of death was never known either!!
Thanks, Deirdre. I had fun writing O. Henry's Pen, and especially the ending. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Love the twist at the end! Made me laugh. Just brilliant!
Thank you, Christina. The twist surprised me, too.
ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
Thank, Brent! O. Henry's Pen was a fun story to write.
I can tell! Great job. BTW, how long have you been posting on substack? I just discovered it myself.
I published my first story on Substack on March 25, 2021. If you're curious, here is my first one: https://billadler.substack.com/p/the-power-of-patience.
Thx. I'll be going back thru ur fiction. I hope to build the same sincere and active community of friends and readers you obviously have!
I don’t know what goes on in that mind of yours but keep it up.
Thank you, Kathy. I like to write and I'm very happy you're enjoying my stories.
My husband and I both read your story .What a great twist at the end. It made us laugh. Just loved it.I am such a big fan of your stories.
Thank you, Pauline. I'm very happy to hear that. I didn't know how O. Henry's Pen would end until I got there. I'm glad you liked the twist.
Great ending! I know I keep saying it but I really do enjoy the Sunday morning stories.
Thanks so much, Dan. O. Henry's Pen is one of my favorites.