from Postscripts #11 / Summer 2007
Reviewed by: Martel Sardina

Stories that end in unexpected ways are a treat and “Waiting For Dawn” is no exception. Alan Southerland is an unhappily married journalist. He’s fallen into a rut at work and at home. When Alan begins an affair with the perfect woman, Dawn, she reminds him that he used to be a creative person. Alan once dreamt of being a novelist, but burned his manuscript after getting a scathing response from his wife, Janie. Dawn tells Alan that he has a wonderful imagination and challenges him to take a chance on his long forgotten dreams again.

Mikal Trimm does a wonderful job of showing us the contrast in Alan’s life, measured in terms, “before Dawn” and “since Dawn”:

Before Dawn, his days were brackets to the drudgery they encapsulated. Wake up, crapcrapcrapcrapcrap, go to sleep. Repeat process, ad infinitum. Since Dawn had appeared, though, time flowed more harmoniously; each moment with her stretched out to grasp the next, a daisy-chain of tranquility.

Trimm paints portraits of the characters not only by referencing their physical attributes, but also through the use of dialogue and internal dialogue to show the reader what the characters think of themselves and each other. These glimpses, especially the ones into Alan’s mind, cause the reader to identify with Alan and hope that he finds a way to get out of the life that he had “before Dawn” in order to find happiness. Trimm delivers a satisfying resolution to Alan’s quest.

“Waiting For Dawn” provides writers with an example of a well-crafted tale. The combination of quality writing, well developed characters, and an interesting plot will keep writers wondering how Trimm got it all right and readers wondering where they can find more of his work.

Purchase Postscripts #11 featuring Mikal Trimm's short story "Waiting For Dawn"