Writing Exercise 045

This week's exercise was a dare from a member of the Dead Pete Society.
For privacy reasons, let's just call him Pete. So Pete dared me to write a short character sketch of how he would appear in a novel. And so I did. Of course I ran this through Pete before I dare publish it on here.

2016/10/17 – Pete: “Write a short character sketch of how I would appear in a novel.”

Pete is stuck with a wife he doesn't love, a dog who bites back and thieves his sleep, a son in high school and a house devoid of happiness. While his broken marriage drags on for years, he finds himself still loving the woman he had had more than a decade ago – a woman he had let go before he got married to another. But instead of daring to pursue this love again he flirts and seeks fleeting adventure, choosing pleasure over passion. Ambitious and a perfectionist, Pete excels at his job, yet he struggles to attain the licences he needs to apply for what he'd rather do – leave the state and start anew. But despite all the frustration he finds the creativity to write fantastic stories and compose beautiful music. One day, as his world crumbles, he decides to forsake it all...