The Black Work

Chapter One: “Writer’s Hotel”
The narrator is the ‘boy in the bubble’---
The writer who lives in an electric wheelchair with plexiglass cover, which fits the size of his body. His sole passion is to write. For this reason he lives from hand-outs on the streets of Seattle. A street person living in a Ritz-Carlton wheelchair which he calls ‘the writer’s hotel’. He only needs to sneak away from the writer’s hotel when he needs a bath/shower at the Commodore Hotel every third night with money earned on the streets as a ‘handicapped person’ (which is a lot!)

The electric writer’s hotel was of course paid off with funds from the sale of a manuscript about the Writer’s Hotel which, of course, does not exist. So he had to create his own.

What was it about this transparent egg on the streets that called to him?

Chapter Two: Dr. Groff
Family Treatment Center mental health clinic ($$big bucks$$) where the writer had become a patient and ward of the state. The idea was to get “inside” and write a novel about madness. He meets up with a character who is “wild” but whose family and society will not accept as wild (the native self).” Diagnosed with a paranoid aggressive disorder. Treated with a wonder drug. Drug works…but character is alienated from their authentic existence. Must….get back.

Chapter Three: The Volunteer in the Clinic
Big money potential for Dr. Groff, outlaw psychologist, mail order Ph.D.
Powerful, dominant blonde. Three main sources of money:
1. Welfare
2. Private cash- she is very charismatic (theatrical), financial grants (from persuasion): her lover.
3. Clients’ work- McDonald’s, car wash, office cleaning, etc…
“Lieutenant”: Dr. Groff’s passionate daughter.

Chapter Four: Group Therapy (other characters)
The beautiful cocaine addict, borderline personality who snorted up $100,000 of government money whish she won in an incident where a municipal bus rolled over her foot on First and Pike, near the market.

The writer in group therapy, 9 others, volunteer staff from the University.

Chapter Five: Patient X. (hero)
Writer falls in love with the lieutenant, quits taking meds. Escapes the clinic and begins life on the streets in the Writer’s Hotel.

Chapter Six: The Writer’s Work: “The Mad Factory”
A system governed by the truly mad where “sane” people are forced to conform with mad protocols in order to win affection…final scenes of the writer sending out his maunuscript---will he remain on the streets any longer?