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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Okay everyone, so here is what we are hoping to do. As far as the slacker's go, collectively we have decided to advance our free writing skills by getting a challenge started and seeing how far we can make it go.You get one paragraph, leave it all on the paper. Rules are simple:
1) You have to build on what was written before you. Build on the paragraphs that others write. (Except the person who gets the opening paragraph, obviously they will set the tone for the others) Take the story wherever you want, so long as you carry it from where someone else left it.
2) You get one paragraph. Under 1,000 word count (Rough number, just want to stop the long winded individuals such as myself from getting carried away.)
3) Not going to just let people jump in on this. So the person who writes a paragraph, then choses the next writer from the available people who express interest. Those names MUST BE on this thread prior to being selceted.
Please respect this thread and the attempt we are making trying this challenge. It is open for comments and the like, but no derailing it with talk of aliens (unless they are part of the story)
Whoever takes over the thread for writing, please copy the story before you and add yours to it. (Highlight, ctrl + C, on the new post you set the cursor, then ctrl + V) I ask this so people won't have to skip all over to know if this story is any good.
That's it. All the rules I got for you. We are going to kick this off with the intro challenge. You have until Sunday (6/9/13) to post an intro. We will use the likes and dislikes on the post for judging. We will tally the likes/dislikes and announce the person who will be starting this off.
Good Luck and let's get Redonkulous!!!!!!!!!!
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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I want to write on this challenge.
That is all you need to have your name on the list. It will be up to the writer to choose who they want to follow them.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Do we write a short opening paragraph, setting a tone, or something that establishes a solid direction, which a limit of a thousand words seems to suggest? I am thumbing through my treasured volume of McKittrick Ros and I am endlessly inspired. Can we submit more than one entry?
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I want to write on this challenge.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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BTW, excellent job with the set-up.
My heart beats faster reading Ros' loopy prose. But I realize that a more modern treatment may garner the most votes, zombies, aliens, etc. So I am torn.
I would love to try several approaches, time permitting. Is there a limit on entries?
Actually, who's to say this shouldn't be a mash-up of genres? I can thrown in a few vampires and create social etiquette problems that Ros never dreamed of.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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No limit on the entries, and the word count is just to give an amount to shoot for. I am not going to count the words, but I will frown about pages of text too. I get really long winded, so I set that for me and others like me.
Opening is whatever. You can start an alien tale in space, and someone may build from that and take us to a fantasy realm, then another might get us back to the real world. So while the first paragraph will be important, it won't be controlling. The only rule there is, whoever the writer picks to pick up the story, must take it from where it was left. Easy, yet not so much.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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One more thought. You might want to wait a bit longer to slam shut the sign-up window.
I think that Brandi will want to add this to the bank of Featured Discussions. That's where it will really get noticed and gain recruits.
The more, the merrier, eh?
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Well I am not slamming the door so to speak. I do want to get this going though. What I meant about writing, or being chosen to write. So say you started. You would have LeeAnna and myself to pick from. Then as others add there name, they to can be picked. But If I just let it go willy nilly, then people won't get picked, friends will follow friends, and we won't have the true free write style.
Just like you can submit more than one intro, there is no limit to the amount of times you can write in the story. But let's say I stopped here, Then you could go up for names. When you post, there are sure to be others joining, the person you pick will be able to go up from there for names. So I left room for others to join, and a system I felt would be fair while not needing a moderator.
And if we need to hunt others down, then they are not really slackers huh? But yes, any are welcome. And I have been bouncing around to other threads to gain momentum. LeeAnna came here from there. I will jump around, but I don't want to stop this and wait for anyone.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Okey-doke, I guess.
I'm not quite following your argument. If people can join at any time, how does this prevent friends from picking friends? And, why is that a bad thing? A friend might be a friend because you admire his/her style.
Alantis, I was not the one who gave the thumbs down. Whoever it was, would you please explain your motivation? You owe us that, I think.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Okay, maybe the argument wasn't right. I am merely saying, if LeeAnna and myself have been here waiting for a turn to write, then someone comes along and they get picked, and this happens over and over again. It doesn't seem fair. So, if it were to happen now, then you would pick from those available. The next person would also have to pick from where the person before ended. This way, it gives those who have waited around an chance to write, and those that come late wait their turns is all I meant.
And for the thumbs down, I did say that was the grading system for this thread, so apparently, I am not well liked. Man, I am going to grab a bowl of worms and drown my sorrows.
I am not pointing myself and LeeAnna because of preference, we just happen to be the names on this thread at the moment. That is also assuming you win the first paragraph. It is all just for examples sake.
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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I want to write on this challenge.... I think.
Mike
BTW I was reading through this thread and came to Alantis' last comment and saw the 'Random with a capital R' thumbs down. When I stopped laughing I almost added another thumbs down, purely for badness. We could really give someone a complex, if they make a perfectly ordinary comment and get like 20 thumbs down. 
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Now I understand better, and I agree. But we can fine-tune this as we go along.
I like you very much, and you and Perry are a real boost for the site. And I think this game is going to be exceptional fun.
Michael is defending you in Frankly Forthright - is that the name? - I'm having a senior moment. And I agree with everything he's said. I had precisely the same reaction but didn't spit it out, cause I'm one of the transgressors.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
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Perfect, more bodies. Mimi was worried that it wouldn't gain a following.
I am not sure the last part of the comment was on topic, and since I am trying to get my thread policing badge, I want to make note of it so the powers that be will notice me and stick one by my name. Hope I don't have to sit around for a year to catch the next one.
'Nough said there.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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And thanks Michael...See I went off topic so you could get your badge as well. I do appreciate the words, I just didn't want to compound the problem with more.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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I would consider joining in here, Alantis, but . . . the one paragraph limit stops me. Instead of a paragraph, I would suggest you set a min/max word limit: min = 100 words; max = 1000. Something like that . . .
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Well now you cannot run off Carl, I did actually say 1000 words max, but of course I wouldn't count words. That is the guideline I want to follow so that we don't allow the long winded authors, like myself, to run away with the story. So since you brought up the 1000 words, and that happens to be exactly what I wrote earlier, I will count you in? Would be a pleasure to have you.
(NOTE: Have a look at rule #2)
Remember, Sunday night is the deadline for the intro paragraph. So please do not miss the chance to kick this off with us in style.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I do think you should go with Carl's suggestion. He is a definite 'we want him along for the ride', if you don't already realize that.
And I do also think that the start deadline pushed back would be a really good move, to allow us a bit more time to craft and polish a more ambitious piece, and to see who else we entice to join.
But, it's up to you. I'll have something to show by Sunday night if that's what you are set on, and whatever material I can't tame in time to meet the deadline will sneak in later.
__________________________________________
Ah! You wiggled in here as I was writing. I see Sunday night still holds. I'd better get my ass in gear.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Okay, so let us make it simple then....Since I said the thread would use the like and dislike tags for voting, we should do just that. Remember though, if the vote is to have things stay the same, then it will need to close on Sunday night.........
LIKE (If you want to keep the deadline the same for the opening paragraph to be posted, which is Sun. 6/9/13)
DISLIKE (If you want it to move to next week 6/16/13)
Make it easy.......and I won't even vote Mimi.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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In case you don't get what I'm doing here, I'll spell it out.
We need forty hits to get this contest into the 'Active Discussions' line-up. We're twenty-one short. Get a-yakking.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Brandi!
The Summer Writers' Club is hogging four prominent slots up front. The Summer Slackers' Club demands equal space.
Us Class Clowns are surely a lot more fun.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Actually, I was not a class clown. I was a quiet, introverted, teacher's pet A-student. I make up for it now. In a way. I'm still an introvert, except for online.
My plan for tonight is to get a few glasses of wine in me and write my entry opener for this little game here. Bear in mind, when you read it, that I wrote it sloshed. I will, naturally, think it brilliant. I hope I still think it brilliant when I wake tomorrow morning.
Ha! Do I have CYA covered, or not?
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Hey! I take umbrage at the idea that all of us writer's clubbers are somehow admirable little ants compared with you lazy grasshoppers! I come from a long line of loafers.
The fact is, up until a few weeks ago, I had written almost nothing new for over a year. Yup. A monumentally unproductive year, fueled not only by laziness, but also by crippling self-doubt. I know from slacking, believe me!
The last few weeks have been heartening (writing again AND liking it) but I am, like the recovering alcoholic, not cured. There is no cure but writing, and that wagon is always ready to buck me off. So I am going to keep on keeping on as long as I can, but it ain't easy for me. Diligence is learned behavior (for some of us, anyway).
I look forward to seeing what you all produce here.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Atthys - Glad you decided to drop by. Wish we could lure you over to the dark side. Who wants to be a "productive member of society?" PAWSH, such a bore. We are loads more fun, and TM on slacker's, so don't try to steal it. (All jokes of course)
It would seem that Mimi is taking this over with all over her writing, but I do want to point out to anyone who is following the thread, there is a point to this, and I am sure once some of the headaches get worked out, we will have something. Sadly, if I was to vote on the changing of the deadline, we would have a tie. Not the sort of turnout I was hoping for. So this may take a moment to get off the ground, unless Mimi, turns out something good in her drunken writing style. I have my piece, but I am going to wait and see what the deadline holds as for voting.
LeeAnna - You are welcome to try for the first paragraph as well. As is everyone else on this thread. I know it is Mimi and I who are doing most of the discussions, but if you have an interest in writing on the story, grabbing the opening paragraph will set the stage for all others to come. AND that privilege is not promised to anyone. So if you can jot it down, then do so and be ready to submit. ALL ARE WELCOME.
If you are just catching the thread, and don't feel like following the "jibber-jabber", I had set the deadline for (6/9/13). It was suggested that I give it more time. So the option is (6/16/13). Using the likes and dislikes for that, but you will have to travel back to my earlier post to vote. Cuz even I forgot which was for which.
Having said that, I do want to say thanks for everyone making this the most commented on of my 14 threads that I follow. Sort of proud of that, even if it is "random nonsense" as someone called my earlier posting.
I AM A SLACKER, AND PROUD OF MY "WORTHLESS MUTTERINGS"!!!!
Sorry had to say that.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Hey, I look forward to writing a paragraph. So far I have something about a fat, talking dog. Don't know why. It just popped into my head. Maybe it'll come to something once I put down my Rocky Road ice cream and Skyrim. I've decided to take the rest of the day to be lazy after I had a Murphy's Law day at work. That's what I call it when everything decides to break on a busy Saturday.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Skyrim??????Holy Mary Mother Of God.........that is the best in the series. You know they are doing an online version that is set some 1000 years before Skyrim? If not, it is www.elderscrollsonline.com. All you have to do is watch the cinematic trailer and you will be hooked. Well I was anyway. You are probably my new BFF. We might have to start a new thread on just Skyrim. I could go on and on about the rich lore, well and game play, but 800+ books in game full of lore to read..........Anyway, if it amounts to a conversation, I will start the thread.
Sorry to the thread police....
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Atthys ... self-doubt? I know it well. So why not throw something together for this challenge? For shits and giggles. A break from your serious stuff.
Huh! Am I nuts? The more who decide to give it a shot, the worse are my chances to come out on top. Am I a fool?
Don't answer that.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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MY ENTERY FOR THE CONTEST
Hiding in the shadows, the solitary figure was trying desperately not to move a muscle. He was stocking his prey, and he had never been so close. He was watching the last place he had seen the beady eyes of the scoundrel that had plagued him at every turn. He would have his vengeance this night. He stilled his breathing and checked the weight of the wood axe in his hands. Slowly the creature appeared, and he could feel his heart racing. Just another few feet and he is mine! He thought to himself as the furry devil slowly made its' way out of hiding. It was so close he could smell the stench of it. He could wait no more, and lunged out with a ferocious attack that would should of surprised his opponent and delivered the man victory, but it was not so. As he lurched out of the shadows, he tripped in his drunken attempt, and fell face first on the floor. The wood axe went scattering across the ground and far out of his reach. For a moment, the mouse only started at him, he knew it was taunting him, before it scurried off into its hole once more. It had even secured the cheese he had tried to bait it with. "Argh, ye slimey varmint. I will have ye in me stew someday, I promise ye dat!" He yelled after the mouse in the slurred speak that only too much wine can cause. "You stupid old fool, you could have killed yourself. Why must you torment that poor creature so?" He heard a female voice yelled from the other room. "I is the one tormented by dat ball o' fur. He haunts me in my dreams, and ev'ry wakin minute." He tried to yell back as he attempted to haul himself off the floor. "Ye be wise to be on de me's side. That pest will eat us out o' food for winter ends if'n we don't stop him. An de be breedin' like roaches. Soon it'll be havin' youngins to feed an we'll be starved." He had succeeded in getting up off the floor and dropped himself, unceremoniously into the soft chair he called his own. His head was starting to swim, but he wasn't done waiting. He released his axe was across the room, and he let out a sigh. He knew there was no way he was going to make it over there to pick it up. He threw his head back with his glass and swallowed down the last of his wine.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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So for the record, that is 500 hundred words....1000 could be a novel. But I have added mine. For anyone else who is planning a try at this, this will be a good indication of what we are doing. Technically, you could write twice as much as this, and I would accept that for this challenge. Please hold the voting till I actually close it. I do not someone to have advantage (namely me) over anyone else who is planning on weighing in.
Carl - So I wish I could change the intro to this page. I meant the 1000 words, I just did not realize how many that would be. So refer to what I said about 1000 words, and not the paragraph.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Here is my entry, for now. If the deadline is extended, I will continue to fiddle with it.
_____________________________________________
“Ruination!” he shrieked, wildness in every aspect of his person.
Lord Houghton, above all else, above his renowned wit, above his fine breeding, above his meticulously turned out person, his almost preposterous elegance, known for his grace under pressure, was clearly, astonishingly, not in control of himself.
Beads of sweat on his brow and the rumpled linen of his gold-flecked waistcoat showed him to be a mass of moist anxiety. His thin-skinned hands, streaked with veiny indigo, would not be still. He kept wringing them in apparent agony. A sigh, notable for its trembling, heartfelt depth, escaped his compressed lips.
If one were to cozy up to him, the distinctive odor of gin would have been found to hover about him. Instead of the suave master of Houghton House, he looked the most luridly disarranged denizen of the lowest swill shop in London. His speech, usually of the best buttermilk fashion, reverted to the raw provincialisms of his rural minority, which he had worked tirelessly to expel from a cultured, man-about-town patter.
He lowered himself into a large wing-chair, which seemed to enfold him in its kindly embrace. He gripped the quilted arms, as if to rise, as if ashamed of seeking shelter from the storm of misfortune that had pounded away at him for nigh onto six months. Six months in Hell is how he viewed the series of hideous events which had lately engulfed him.
When had disaster struck with such decisive frequency at any man of such sterling reputation, generous civility and pious leanings?
Yes, he had evicted his crippled sister-in-law from the safe haven of the Kent estate, but that had been in strict accordance with his legal rights. No, he had shown no mercy. Why should he have? That monster had been the cause of Bertie’s death, of that he was quite sure. The once sweet face behind the silk masks - she was never without one now - eaten away, he imagined, by the syphilis that she had contracted on the ill-advised excursion to Istanbul in defiance of his brother’s wishes, held power over him no longer.
She had decamped – there was no other way to put it – in the company of a certain Madame Rosignol, who pretended to assist her endeavors with the drawing of charts, the reading of palms, and so on. The fraud had a hundred silly methods, and poor stupid Esmé was enthralled by every one of them. She was under the woman’s spell, which hinted at an indecent connection, and had returned to the marriage bed only upon receiving news of her husband’s precipitous decline, which showed every sign of ending badly. She’d scurried home to see what she might extract from the estate before push came to shove, a will was settled, and the locks changed, her unsavory advisor in tow.
Pudge, he had been a thickish child and the name had stuck, had arranged a mean lodging for her in a particularly sad street of Camdentown and had hired two brutes with a cart to transport her scanty personal belongings to the site. With his lawyer at his side flourishing a formal notice of expulsion and a smirk which he could not allow himself to enjoy, he had confronted her with great correctness, bid her quit the grounds now devolved to him, and vowed that rash longing for that which could not be should never trouble him again.
He had slept easily that night, but that was his last night of peaceful repose. From that moment his world had started to collapse around him. He wondered if he were not going insane.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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I have been to the dark side, all too often. One shouldn't tempt the chronically feckless.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Go for it, Atthys. Damn, this is fun!
I've served up a tasty nonsense: a fool of a swell, a grifter fortune-teller, a syphilitic relation, dark arts, loose ladies, hints of madness, what more can you ask? This is as open ended (and full of comical possibilities) as it can be. Which is what we want, right?
I confess that I have not souped this up to the extent that I had intended, due to the time constraint. I had to write it tonight. My husband and I have plans tomorrow.
If I get a second try, I will aim for more of that marvelous McKittrick Ros flavor, a compositional style that is both straight-faced and staggeringly looney. The woman did it with (apparently) such ease. That was talent!
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Mimi (and everyone concerned) I have to concede to public opinion. I just went back to the likes and dislikes on changing the date. There are now 3 dislikes, and 0 likes. So we will move the finish date for our intro paragraph to 6/16/13. I will leave it with this warning, I am not willing to sit idly by for another push on the date. I am not mad, on the contrary, I am pleased that we have some interest. I am saying this because one of the main things I worry about is that the interest in this will become stale and we will lose momentum. That is the only reason I throw that in here.
And also, I am hoping that some others will jump in and explore the challenge and submit a few more writings. So with the deadlines moved, even a slacker, of any level, should be able to drink some wine, ale, mead, or whatever spirits allow for the mind to go numb and the words to flow, and jot down some lines for this challenge. Thanks for all who are, or will, participate in advance.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS (6/16/13)
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I have actually gotten another BC member hooked on Skyrim. Although, I have discovered that my fear of dwemmer ruins still plagues me from my Morrowind days when I was but a wee lass.
On, topic. I will have my paragraph posted soon, but in the mean time, like tomorrow, I will post this all over twitter so our lovely admins can help spread the word.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Do so, LeeAnna. Spread the word: Anything goes. Do your worst, tee off in any direction you care to, and leave the rest of us to Play it as it lays.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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I would very much like to write on the challenge!
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Oh, you are very welcome, sir! (I'm channeling Jane Austen, can you tell?) I await your bit of brilliance with great glee.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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So to clarify, we all post an opening, we then vote, winning opening starts it, and that writer chooses the next writer, so on? May I suggest a rule that every interested person must be picked once before anyone gets picked twice? even if just for the first go round?
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I agree with that, and I'm sure Alantis does also.
That is exactly what I had figured it would be. Everyone gets their chance to go rogue, as rogue as they have it in them to be.
That's our challenge, folks. Take us to wonderful, weird-ass places. Astonish us! And, delight us.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Alexander - while that wasn't technically a rule, I had hoped that people would be respectful enough to follow it. But since spoken, it shall be placed into law. (laughing) Welcome to the challenge and thanks for being a part. I am hoping that this will not take a ton of policing, hate the word, but that it will just turn into a flowing mess that sort of follows some topic someone picked at some point, but mainly I want this to be fun and full of laughs for all of us. NOT some huge argument. So welcome again, and I look forward to seeing what you have to offer the challenge.
Remember all, close for opening paragraph is 6/19/13. Have them ready. And keep within 1000 words, but no one is really counting. Most important, have fun.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Yes, logic should drive this. The story should make sense (of some kind) but I really view this challenge as an opportunity to explore, or to spark, ideas that we may want to expand upon in a solo project, to try them on for size.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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The Summer Writer's Challenge with a daily deadline makes me cringe. The Summer Slacker's Challenge, with less pressure, is more fun and more inspiring. For me, anyway.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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I agree whole-heartedly. I am looking for some laughs, I am looking for ways people can take characters from just some random spot and creatively write them somewhere else, introduction of new faces to explore with/within the story, the inventive minds of the people on this site, and mainly the sense of community and writing styles we enjoy here. I may have to store the chapters in a public book for people to reread if they want, but this could turn out to be the most fun I have had writing in some time. For me, writing has never been a job I went to, it has always been a hobby I enjoyed doing. That is what I want to go for with this challenge.
Some last words of advice (like I am qualified to advise anyone) make sure you check you apprehension and self doubt at the door. Write what makes you smile, cry, laugh, or best yet, wet your pants. And I promise, I will check the judgment for you, so you can feel free to write.
(Was that pretty inspiring or what? WOW, I impress myself sometimes. LOL)
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Ha! It's not forty-nine we have to beat. It's forty-eight. And this throw-away post makes it forty-three for us. Five to go!
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I'm either going to get us up on that sucker, or I'm going to get myself kicked out of Book Country. Which will it be?
Christ! I'll be forced to jump back on my book, to my husband's delight. He's on my back all the time about it.
If I ain't around Sunday night when you get back, it's been swell knowing you.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Take it away, you Redonkulous Rascals! I'm handing this ball off to you guys. Run with it!
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Well if that is all we need....
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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A couple of posts from me should add to the total.
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Joined: 5/27/2013
Posts: 108
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Because this is going to be my new writing assignment. And in the spirit of being a true slacker, I am going to leave the honorary 48th spot to someone else. I do hope this goes well. Thanks to everyone who has come along.
The deadline is still 6/19/13 for the opening paragraph. So please do not miss it. It will not stop anyone else from joining and writing later.
I do want to point out though, the first three authors, including the first paragraph, are all going to come from the list of people who are here when this closes. So I hope that is incentive for you to claim the forty-eighth spot? Of course, if Mimi and I get booted, then I hope someone carries on the torch.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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That's the spirit, Alantis! If we get booted, you can find me any old time on Bookkus, as mimis.
Atthys, ol' buddy, ol' pal. Lend a hand, eh? I read your post in Summer Excerpts on page 2 and I absolutely loved it. That's good a an easy payback, i should think.
Even if all you say is, Mimi, stop making a damn fool of yourself.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Well, that makes 48 to 48. WTF, I'm going for broke.
Geronimo!!!!!!!
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