The Desmond Saga

Written by Jonathan Leusden with Claude

The Desmond Saga is a work of fiction and exaggerated humor. Names, businesses, places and events have been changed or invented, and the municipal ordinance in this story is invented.

A man owns a coffee shop on West Temple. He teaches third grade. He has been to Cambodia. On the sidewalk outside the shop stands a dog waste receptacle that, according to page two hundred and twelve of the municipal code, belongs to him, and he has been emptying it every Tuesday without telling anyone.

This is documentary comedy about civic duty and the people who quietly perform it. The narrator keeps a solemn face and reads a city ordinance with the gravity of a funeral. It is a funny story about dog waste, and the narrator will not admit that it is funny.

The chapters

The first chapter is on the way.

More chapters are on the way.

How this was made

I wrote it with Claude, using the same method as the Barth Saga and the Sire Saga: a project archive holds what has happened, a style guide holds the voice, and Claude drafts against both. Names, businesses and places were changed, and the ordinance is invented. If you want a setup like this for your own writing project, that is part of what I do through Takeoff Consulting. More comedy: The Barth Saga, The Sire Saga and Claude Comedy by Jonathan Leusden.