The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 81: Both were brought and he was once again left to work in peace.
Both were brought and he was once again left to work in peace. As the details were familiar to him, James found it easy to follow along. He also found it easy to see where things went awry. There was a consistent lack of attention to details. Vague notes about following up, but no actual reports where following up was completed. It was the sort of project that required a multitude of moving parts, each one supervised by a different group. Someone hat to keep an eye on all of them to make certain that schedules were met. If an issue cropped up, resources needed to be shifted around and schedules adapted. It was not the sort of project that managed itself.
It was the sort of thing James liked dealing with at the company. It required checking in with the various department heads, talking to them directly and being taken through each department to meet with the people doing the actual work. Large scale meetings were time consuming and ate into the work schedule. In addition it was sometimes a hindrance for all of the pieces to come together too early. Compatibility issues needed to be addressed but it was best for each team to work on their section unhindered by the others.
James signed and ran a hand through his hair. The project was a big one for the company and one that the various teams had been working on for several years at this point. He knew that if the project were to shift to another company, many of the people working on it would shift with the project rather than staying behind. It would further damage the company and its ability to secure other projects. Key people would move into competitor’s camps.
‘Not my company any more,’ James thought trying to distance himself. He could practically feeling past generations sitting in his head, their lips compressed into thin lines of disapproval. James felt a stiffening in his spine. Saving the company wasn’t his responsibility any more. His job was to safeguard the project.
The specters in his mind faded, but they didn’t completely retreat.
As he read, James took notes as to where things had started to go wobbly. Even before he made it through the files and reached for the list Morris supplied him, James was certain that he was aware of where the problems were located. As he took notes his mind worked through the issues tinkering with possible solutions.
By the time he opened the file, he had several scenarios to suggest depending on the issues raised by the file. James took a moment to stretch, standing up with the new file in hand. As he worked at his desk he had a tendency to lean forward almost bowing over the folders. Now he stood spine straight, lifting the folder in front of his eyes rather than bending to look it over. He felt something pop softly and release in his spine.
‘Too much time in one position,’ he thought. It was a common issue for him. Once pulled into a project he had a tendency to fully engage with it, forgetting all else around him. At least once a day he felt a small ache inhis back at the end of a work day.
‘Well I used to,’ he thought. His current job wasn’t engaging enough to pull him in. Despite diligently working through the files and finding the occasional amusement in some of the expenses others tried to claim, he wasn’t absorbed by the work.
‘It’s a temporary thing,’ he reminded himself.
Ten til Midnight 