Willow began to write the story—the account of the epic adventure, the accident, the betrayal and the resolution.
The first draft was long, tedious and boring.
Willow tightened up the second draft. She changed some character names and details to protect the guilty parties.
Willow showed it to a friend from work, a guilty party we’ll call Mario.
“This story is less true than what happened,” Mario said.
“I cut out two months of the story because it muddled the message,” Willow said.
“But you added a character I don’t even know,” Mario said.
“What, you think I’m going to make it obvious to everyone that Yoshi buried Princess Peach?” Willow replied.
“But who is this Donkey Kong you caught hiding in the supply closet?”
“You would be surprised how many men in that company hid their way to the top,” Willow said. “It’s an aggregate of several people. They all post those annoying quotes online to make it look like they’re gladiators, but none of what they post is true.”
Mario collected his thoughts. “It’s a great story. I want people to know it’s true.”
“Let’s go publish it and find out how much fiction people can accept,” Willow said.