When I was a teenager I discovered a short story writer by the name of Harlan Ellison. His writing changed me forever, though I’m by no means able to enthrall quite like him. He’s the reason I consider myself a writer first, a lawyer second.
Ellison did this sicko stunt and wrote for a period of something like 24 hours (perhaps it was longer) in the window of a Los Angeles bookstore called A Change Of Hobbit. He might have done it more than once, but I remember thinking how cool it was.
Years later, I realize how tough it is to squeeze out a blog post or short article while sitting in front of my laptop. The endless hours trying to find the right word … the editing … the joy of completion. Still, it remains a solitary endeavor. I send my words out into the ether, hoping that it strikes a chord.
So as I was saying, Ellison wrote in the window of a bookstore. People came by, watched him work at his typewriter (you do remember those, right?) as day turned into night and back into day.
Out of this experiment came a series of very short stories titled, From A To Z In The Chocolate Alphabet. Some were strange, some funny, all imaginative.
A few days ago I came across my copy of Strange Wine, the collection containing the Chocolate Alphabet stories. And I wondered whether there was a bankruptcy alphabet I could write on.
At the same time, I’m mindful of the fact that November 1 begins the annual NaNoWriMo, which the site describes as, “a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30.”
Out of this, an idea was born. Let’s write one per per day, with each discussing a single topic in bankruptcy. Tie them all together with the alphabet theme. And though I won’t be sitting in the window of a bookstore, the fruits of my labors will be on display for you here.
Some will be short posts, others likely longer. Editing will be minimal, so I’ll be asking my friends and colleagues to help me out by commenting on each post to fill in the gaps of what’s written.
We’ll begin with A, end with Z, and have some fun along the way.
Ready? Come back tomorrow for the first entry.
Image credit: urbanmkr
Jay S. Fleischman, the Managing Attorney of our Southern California office, speaks regularly at national events on the subjects of credit, debt, bankruptcy, and consumer protection. 
David B. Shaev, the Managing Attorney of our New York office, has been a bankruptcy lawyer for over 35 years. 
