A picture had gelled in his mind of a disheveled street beggar sitting cross-legged on a busy intersection holding up a cardboard sign bearing the words WILL WRITE FOR FOOD.

Yeah, now wouldn’t that be something? He smiled at the mental image, imagining the looks on people’s faces at such a peculiar sight. Will WRITE for food? He paused, daydreaming over his laptop for a moment if there would be the usual types that hate giving handouts with a purple passion approach him with the offer “if you’ll write me a short story I’ll buy you a hamburger.” And…and…and would the beggar then (as everyone knows beggars are prone to do) have a funny way of finagling out of the whole deal and asking for cash instead?  

 Nah, he decided as he back spaced the whole silly mess off his computer screen into oblivion to start over. Surely he could flesh out something more worth while than that! Yeah, because even WILL WRITE FOR BEER would be a better idea, he realized. At least, as they say, it would be closer to being honest.