The Story

He began the story without knowing how it was going to end.  That was not his main problem.  No, not at all, in fact his main problem probably would not reach an ending;  he was having trouble with the bridge between the beginning and the end.
  The beginning was easy, syrup in the mouth, all that was needed was a few opening words.  Words to greet the reader into the comfy climaxes of the story, to lower down the reader's mind onto a page.  That was all it took.  A few gentle words to coo the reader in.  After that came the increasingly difficult follow up, to take a reader's hand and to walk them through a journey of delight and amazement.
  This could have been achieved in several different ways.  First, he could introduced a hero, the main character of the story whom the reader could follow the misadventures of the plucky fellow.
  Second, he could have introduced a minor character who ends up as a significant symbol of human goodness.  In some sense the writer has already put into practice the first suggestion as the hero of this story is none other than the writer himself.  His particular adventure is, at the moment, to finish this story as it is delaying his drinking time down at the Calf & Hooves.  So far it isn't much of a story but the writer is optimistic that this story shall turn out well, and not ill, as in his previous attempts.
  The writer would like to clarify that this is not a tortuous procedure for him, but a stimulating one.  It is a task that he very much takes a lot of pride in, just as any craftsman takes pride in his work.  His pleasure comes from carefully selecting words that does service in sentence, both in sound and meaning.