I'm not quite sure ... am I next?

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I need a few days to consider all that has come before. Bear with me. 

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Mike, are you under the impression that Pudge is a new character? Pudge is Lord Horatio Houghton's nickname, which he tolerated, because the alternative was Horror Houghton. 

Absolutely Mimi, I thought Pudge was Houghton's man-servant who physically evicted Esme for him.... oops.

I'll have a look back and see if this works. See what you guys think. Alternatively, in my section, we'll replace my mention of Pudge with 'Houghton's hunchbacked groundskeeper, Chester Bothem.'

Looking forward to see where this goes. Sister Maria Bludledder's name alone is fun.

G'luck,

FOOD FOR THOUGHT for whoever is up next.

I work at a compositor. We have a conference room full of hard copies of many of the books we've produced. I browse from time to time, often finding things, in this case a back cover blurb, that intrigue me, and I'll be thinking about the line below as I review what we have so far.

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"... a story of a young man's struggle to balance his human and demonic nature while achieving a sense of his own identity." 

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Honest to God, this has just come to me: Horatio Houghton wasn't called Horror for nothing. It was no schoolboy joke. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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This weekend is the annual Newtown CT library sale, a major highlight of the year for my husband and I. I'll be full of ideas in the next few weeks, as I peruse my El Cheapo treasures. 

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/11/2013, 7:33 AM--

I grab ideas, anywhere I find them. I've just read an article about a little known author and I pulled some stuff out of it. I'm starting to envision who Houghton is. I won't use any of this verbatim, but it will creep in somewhere: (some is already rewritten, accomplished on the fly, during my drive home from work.)

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... bloodless, arcane, and full of misanthropy and a perverse mischief that unsettled everyone unfamiliar with him, and unsettled those who knew him intimately even more.

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... lost, wayward, and murderous young man.

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An unfashionable enigma sitting in sitting in a ravaged armchair, forlorn, with a white winter face.

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… He raped easily and well. (Uh oh, that could go either way.)

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... buried alive in a tomb of books. (I can relate to that.)

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... sensuous lips, of a rich hue. Unnatural. Startling.

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… a supposititious child. “Is that old enough to be dead?” he wondered. “Am I old enough to be dead?” 

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... a poetic dreamscape where evil and naiveté collide.

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… to battle against “that deadly monotony of human continuity” in a magical void, where “innocence” is another form of corruption.

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I don't mean to overwhelm, but I'm dreaming big. We can let this go it's own way, but I will not be able to resist creating my own version. How's about we all do so (at a future point), and then reconcile the differing first drafts which have, after all, all been clawed from the same raw body of material? 

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Book by Committee. Can it work? I say, cross-pollination is a wonderful thing. And, a promotional tool, a news story in itself. Has it been done? Anybody know? 

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/11/2013, 7:49 AM--

Dreams are as big as you make 'em.  Once you get inside, there's always another room to explore.  

I wonder how you felt about this, since I could tell you were interested in writing about this yourself.  I'm glad you're feeling muse-bitten.  That's never a bad thing.  

I see a couple of options:  One, of course, is that you can simply turf us off of the project.  We can always play around with some other opening (Alexander's for instance.)  No big deal. 

Two:  You can write yours independently while we goof around with the collective project.  Since the odds are good we'll eventually run out of steam (especially without your input) you can pick the carcass of our effort for any bits that feed your novel, but otherwise just write your own damn book.  

Three: (and I assume you're picturing something like this)  We can really try to write a collective novel.  My guess is this is rarely accomplished. There are many writing teams out there, but I doubt they work by each randomly picking up the thread the last has left and running with it for a while.   Probably at least a little planning is involved.  Now we don't have to get all anal-retentive about it.  Part of the fun is obviously seeing where this story takes us.  But this was your baby in the first place, and you're obviously still invested.  You should feel free to offer some direction as to where you see the plot going.  I for one, have no problem following a little direction.  (So Houghton's more than a dithering dilettante, eh?  Good.  Clearly his sinister side has been detected by Sister Maria Bludletter, which is why she's interested in seeing what horrors he might accomplish for her.)  No doubt, anyone involved will have ideas about both the larger story as well as the individual scenes.  (Houghton cannot possibly aware of any of this. His evil is seeded deep within his nature, waiting for the proper stimulus to start growing.  The longer we sustain that, the better.)  Point is, someone should take responsibility for saying "Uh, no.  Listen guys..." when things seem to be going horribly awry or "Yes! Yes!  Let's all run with that."  when it seems we've hit a rich vein.   It only seems appropriate that you be accepted as the ultimate arbiter.   I'm sure you'll get plenty of argument and even some passionate pleading, but at the end of the day, there are always choices to be made.  

So, yeah.  This could be fun.  Maybe you should float some big ideas at us.  (I confess, I'm working a lot right now on two different books so I don't know how helpful I'll be, but that's the potential power of a group.  No one of us has to keep the ball rolling when it seems to be stuck in the gutter.  

Atthys

Ah! I have no big ideas at the moment. I hope someone else will move the ball a little farther down the field while I read and reflect. I do also agree that it is going to need a bit of direction, which will be difficult for me since that is not the way I work. 

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I write fairly aimlessly, letting the winds of inspiration buffet me as they will. (Can't you tell that from Sly?) I proceed as if I'm crossing a brook, hopping from stone to stone, advancing a step, achieving a measure of stability, and looking around for the next likely foothold. I'm not a chess player, strategizing several moves ahead, I'm all the gratification of the moment. I have a (loose) end game, sure, but I'll trust in the benevolence of a (supposed) almighty to show me the way before I resort to an outline which I will invariably trash. (Like most, I was taught about the guy in the sky watching over, but the odd received wisdom didn't take root in my already skeptical nine or ten-year-old brain. Years later I overheard my parents discussing how I almost failed my first holy communion test, which I was not aware of. I was unimpressed with religion even then.) My husband loves that story. He takes great pride in the fact that I have been an independent thinker all my life. 

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I do relish the concept of a group project, for there will be better ideas than what I come up with. Others will have expertise in areas that are foreign to me, tarot, for instance. I am not adverse to either course, either switching to Alexander's opening, or continuing with this one as the well-parented apple of the communal eye. 

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Let's have some more opinions.

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/11/2013, 1:05 PM--

Hey all, I have PMed Carl to see if he's still in.  If not, we'll start a new rotation with all the currently interested (and I suggest Mimi get first go). 

If anyone wants to start a seperate round robin novel with the other prompts (if we do that, I say we do both other prompts) that will give rotation so that everyone involved will have something to work on more often. 

Mimi, our current story is working on the current events. I would say if you want to work on a novel of Lord Houghton's early life, go for it as a seperate novella or novel, and maybe for your turn on this current one, throw in some occasional flashbacks that modify the current story? And then we can see about testing out book countrys publishing features?  I wonder if they have collab multi author novels figured into that system yet?

At this point, may i suggest an ending goal? after, say, 30 chapters, we make a final rotation to come up with the ending?

Carl is out! he pmed me. However, I feel stupid. I didn't realize it was Mimi's prompt, I thought it was Alantis's. 

So, 

Alantis                    Mimi Speike    X                LeeAnna Holt X                   Michael R Hagan X

I believe that means that Alantis should have a go before we come back around to Mimi?

Also, in that case, Mimi, I would say feel free to shut us off if you want and keep the novel for yourself, since it was your prompt. We can move to the others if that's the case.  Or, like I said, we can do this one as a collab future story while you write his school life?  Up to you. 

Hi

For my part, I'm just happy to go with the flow.

I'll keep an eye on the story as it develops and write a chapter when asked, if asked.

Either way, best of luck guys.

Mike

Yeah, girl. This is getting to be depressing. If it weren't for the Paragraph Pile Challenge (which Alantis started, and was keen on) I'd be tempted to sit it out until fall, then check back to see if this site is running properly again.

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Don't worry, I won't bug out yet. There are a few diehards left, thank God, or this would be a wasteland. 

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/12/2013, 1:12 AM--

Just saw Alexander's post regarding Carl.  God, I hope he just meant out of this particular project, not out of BC altogether.  I can relate to people bailing, the site has definitely become less fun, but where would I go for my Reed fix?  

I still have hopes that they'll remake the site more like it was before.  I believe their hearts are in the right place, but in the process of making it look more slick and professional, they've made it kind of awkward and less friendly.  Kind of like when the Barnes and Noble took over your favorite independent bookstore, and suddenly it just wasn't yours anymore.  

Anyhoo, I hope Carl isn't leaving altogether.  As far as Houghton's Harrow goes, however the four or five of us want to progress, its fine with me.  Despite my dissatisfaction, I'm not planning on bugging out either, because I like the community.  So, write away Mimi.  Let's see what happens.  

Atthys, as long as you hang on here, I will too. 

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It's a crying shame what they've done to this site, and I think it will be a long process rebuilding it. I've definitely been weaned off the delights of the forum, to a large extent, due to the aggravation involved in the oepration. But not off the people, especially certain bright, informed, and entertaining voices, including yours. 

I'm not going anywhere. The people on this site are worth trying to navigate it while they rebuild some of the old features, like our everything dashboard. (They are doing this for sure.) It's nice having admins who actually try to listen. If I remember right, the IT guys can only work on the site when they aren't doing things for Penguin because BC is essentially borrowing them. It is a lot faster, which is nice.

So, I'll be here. This project is a nice way to get over my "plan everything" neurosis. I'm forced to go with the flow.

I'm also up for publishing it at the end if you all want to.

LeeAnna, publishing has been in the back of my mind from the first. I envisioned a rambling plot and a superbly loopy style, a sly delight with the flavor of Amanda McKittrick Ros, whose astonishing triumph (of sorts) was the result of her confidently clueless excess. Now I think we need more discipline. I will be able to better evaluate our situation after the next round of turns.

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I am so glad you are here, also.

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/12/2013, 7:34 PM--

I wish we could advertise this post better too, Mari. I nag people through twitter and google when I can.

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Thanks, Mimi. We'll see what happens. I think it would be fun to showcase what a bunch of people on a writing site do together when they're not working on their own stuff. Or reviewing other people's stuff. Or being trolls or ego-petters. Who knows, we may attract more people to book country.

--edited by LeeAnna Holt on 7/13/2013, 1:03 AM--

LeeAnna, 

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I see that word, trolls, used often and I don't know what it means, other than those Scandinavian little people. Being trolls, can you enlighten me? I'm so out of it.

Hey Mimi... I'm excited, having finally found an I.T. question I know the answer to.

A troll is someone who goes around chat forums giving people insults and general grief that they would never do in person.

I'm so hip..... they do still say 'hip' right?

Mike

The thing thats amused me for a long time, while these days most people think the term troll is a reference to faerie tale Trolls that live under bridges (with a tie in to nerds who live on the computer in their parent's basements) , its actually a fishing term that was applied to usenet.

Trolling is a type of fishing where you move along in a boat with a bait hanging out behind you.  You "troll" along with your line dangling in the water until a fish snaps at it, and then you go to town.  Trolling originally, internet wise, were people that would say outrageous things, designed to anger and inflame, until someone rose up and took the bait, so to speak, responding to them, and start a full argument, for their own amusement. These days it just means any jerk online.

What they said.

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Trolls basically want to make your life miserable. They're just hurtful and hateful people. There are a lot of writing websites that have these kinds of people floating around more often than BC does. We're lucky here. Poor Laura dealt with one one on Authornomy, and the admins didn't do anything about it when he kept harassing her.

I have written a great deal of new material. I have expanded upon Pudge's psychology, given him a wife, possibly also deceased but I'm not yet sure, and created new complexities involving a double dose of matrimonial discord. Some of this will go into a prequel, prior to the opening scene of the challenge. I'll have something to show by the end of the weekend.

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And I've infused it with the spirit of Amanda McKittrick Ros, which is my natural bent, as anyone who reads my work can see. Her guiding principle seems to have been: If you are tempted to say something in a simple fashion, try to resist.

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/19/2013, 4:53 PM--

Alexander, I've been waiting for someone to ask what I'm up to. The answer at the moment is, I'm not sure.

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I've written a lot of material, and it's all over the place. And I've reverted to my idiosyncratic Intrusive Author voice, I've put my stamp all over it. I do intend for most of it to be a prequel, but I'm exploring ideas that will impact the post 'Ruination!' storyline. I am inclined to say, let's start again with your story. I fear I've become too possessive of mine.

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I've been bemoaning and bemoaning: what to do, what to do, what to do? What are your thoughts? 

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I honestly didn't anticipate this happening.

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/28/2013, 10:29 AM--

Aww. I was really getting into the story, but I understand. Our ideas are our babies after all.

I'll wait to see what everyone else wants to do.

I had a feeling you might be heading in that direction, Mimi.  

No problem.  But don't forget:  I own the copyright on the name 'Travestina'.

I'm kidding, of course.  

Thank you, Atthys,

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I feel really bad about this, but I'll get over it. I grant you ownership of the vampire nuns also. I'm heading in another direction and, I can't seem to control it, my roll-out of the story is just as convoluted as everything I write. I'm up to my old tricks, cogitating as part of the style (which is, of course, anything goes).

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I had thought that being part of a group effort would force me to get hold of some discipline. Maybe I can restrain myself if it isn't, as LeeAnna says, my baby.

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--edited by Mimi Speike on 7/29/2013, 12:51 AM--

http://www.bookcountry.com/Community/Discussion/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=8589935755

and we should totally start a roundy on the other prompt as well, but that's up to the prompt writer. Take it away mimi!

sorry mimi, the link should link now.

--edited by Alexander Hollins on 7/29/2013, 2:31 AM--

Alexander, am I to start on your story? I don't know what that first line is. It doesn't take me anywhere. Is it supposed to?

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I assume that's what you mean, and I will do it.

Gads, Mimi.  Don't feel bad.  It isn't worth feeling bad.  

And vampire nuns?  Well, alright.  That's really one of those ideas I could plug in almost anywhere.  I mean, what story couldn't use a horde of vampire nuns?'

Better yet, I was going in this direction until I pooped out: 

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Lesbian vampire nuns. Top that!

Okay.  How about lesbian vampire nuns who don't look like gorgeous hollywood starlets?

No, you're right.  That's going too far.

Hi Guys... Before you go with this train of thought, yo'al know there is a book/film called 'Lesbian Vampire Slayers' possibly even featuring some nuns amongst the baddies. (It's a comedy... I'm not highlighting porn )

How about Vampire nuns, feeding real dried flesh and real tainted blood mixed with wine for communion, on a co-ordinated national or global Mass... to infect the world with their condition.

Anyway, let us know how you get on, Mimi. When can we get a glimpse?

Best of luck,

Mike

P.S. Would Emily Pankhurst be proud of you yet?

You think big, Michael.  Gotta like that. 

I feel like it's been forever since I've been on here.

That said, I do like the idea of vampire nuns trying to infect the world on a mass scale.

Good God. Is it a year since we did this?

How's it going... where's we get to... wanna start over... where's everybody go?

Count off please, people.

Mike