u/hetobe

> The pen is mightier than the sword,
> but not the wrench.
> — Dandy Bowman

Five Dollar Wrench is the story of a woman who robs men by using a partner and various scams... and a wrench, but only as a last resort.

I'm posting the novel on Substack. Free, no catch. The point of the novel is that I'm trying to do something good, which is, warn people about the dangers of social engineering and misplaced trust. And hopefully, I'll do this by telling an entertaining and twisted tale.

Here's the blurb:

> His T-shirt said "Have Fun Staying Poor."

> She decided to make him poor, but her plan fell apart when she found a hand-written note where she expected to find cash.

> That's where it started.

> She's robbed hundreds of men and is responsible for the deaths of at least seventeen. Surely more.

> And she doesn't work alone.

> "We're gonna rob them all, and they'll never know who did it. They won't even know how it happened."

> Love is the key to your heart, but she has the key to your front door, and you've never met her.

> "I'm a ghost!"

> This is her confession. It comes with a Five Dollar Wrench.

In the novel, I credit XKCD as follows:

> The term "$5 wrench" originates from xkcd comic #538, titled Security, by Randall Munroe. In the comic, it refers to the use of physical coercion rather than sophisticated hacking to obtain someone's password.
> xkcd.com/538
> Within the cryptocurrency community, the term has been adopted more broadly, referring to the use of physical force to steal a target's coins.

In my novel, the narrator is explaining how she got somewhere. Yes, she. She's badass but also reckless.

She's talking about a guy she met on a train:

> And when I say "on a train," I mean it. We were hopping a ride on a flatbed, as we made our way across Northwest Indiana.

Is it at all realistic to ride on a flatbed? And do I need to change it to "flatcar?" I think "flatbed" will sound more natural to readers, but I don't want it to be wrong. Or is there some other way they might ride "on" a train that is realistic without needing to be wordy?

This is just one quick line in the novel, but it's at the beginning, so I want it to be right.

For context, this is the opening of the novel:

> The future is a promise.

> The past is just a lie.

> A guy told me that over a bottle of bourbon, on a train. And when I say, "on a train," I mean it. We were hopping a ride on a flatbed as we made our way across Northwest Indiana. He was a drifter, but I wasn't. I was just a girl looking for a way out of a small town.

> Then again, maybe I was. A drifter, I mean.

> Do it once? It's a thing you did.

> Do it twice? It's a thing you do.

> Do it enough, it becomes what you are.

> I winced when I took my first swig from his bottle, and he winked. I told him the liquor tasted evil. He said, "It's an evil world, innit? But not always."

> His name was Lester. The bourbon made him think he was profound. Youth made me think I was profound.

> I'm sure you know what I mean.

> I asked him what the promise was. The promise of the future. He said, "Fuck if I know what yours is. That's a promise you make yourself about where you're goin'. Only you know that. I'm goin' somewhere better, but not today."

> Thanks for the memory, Les. I hope you got there.

If you're curious about the story, I'm posting it on Substack. Free. No catch.