On the occasion of the announcement of Dick Cheney’s book deal, The Washington Post is inviting its readers to offer their proposals for the first paragraph of the memoir.
Sample: “Undisclosed Location, Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009: Well, the baton is passed. Our work is finally done. Eight years, one devastating terrorist attack, two wars and one recession later, it’s finally time to relax. It’s been an amazing ride. George and I can certainly say, ‘We did it our way!’ Or really, if you want to get technical about it, my way. Well, best of luck to this new crew. They’re going to need all the help they can get. Or as I was saying to Lynne the other night, it’s going to take an ‘extraordinary rendition’ to get us out of this mess. And with this bunch coming into office, you can bet it’s going to be torture. Ha-ha!”
If you’re inspired to contribute your own proposal–the Post will print the best–send it in quickly: the deadline for entries is July 2.
Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.