aliensoul77
from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall.March 25, 2012 - 2:51pm
I'm going to write fan fiction based on a popular TV show. That's okay, right?
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestMarch 25, 2012 - 3:43pm
Haha Liana... Nice!
Chester Pane
from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazMarch 25, 2012 - 3:55pm
@Richard: You know, I wouldn't have been all that surprised. Pissed and envious, yes. Surprised, not one bit.
Americantypo
from Philadelphia is reading The Bone ClocksMarch 25, 2012 - 3:59pm
This seems like just as good a place as any to post this.
Sooooo, I am back from my trip to Gettysburg, from the haunted bed and breakfast where ghosts were lacking as well as wifi, and cafe barristas simply shrugged their shoulders when you tell them their internet isn't working. Instead I had to watch the first round unfold via my phone, feeling bitterness, frustration, anxiety, as it went from being a slam dunk, to tied, to broken in my favor, to tied AGAIN, then broken in Liana's favor with little expectation of another vote tying it up again. And I lost.
But, that's okay. Because at the end of the day I wrote a new story in under a week that I'm proud of and it garnered half of your favor as well as a few "best of" votes. In a way, maybe that's where I belong- the favorite of some, but not so favorite of others. Horror/subversive writing can be like that sometimes, and maybe I was taking on more than I could chew with such a low word count.
At any rate, I realized something in this first round, and that's that I LOVE to write. And I don't need a contest to make me want to sit in front of a typewriter everyday, or prizes, or whatever else. Sure it would be awesome to win one of the top four spots and get that Litreactor mug, but now that I'm out, I find myself still wanting to sit down and write EVERY day because that shit is just in my wiring. And I think it's in all of your wiring too, otherwise you wouldn't be here at this site, where, in its onset, there were no contests, no Litreactor mugs, no gift baskets from Nikki that will surely have something that could get you arrested under the right circumstances.
Anyway, I'll get to the point- while I still feel that unshakable urge to write all the time, some of you might push yourself a little harder with some added incentives, and if I can't spar with any of you in the next couple of rounds, the least I can do is vote, cheer you on, discuss a few stories, and provide additional incentives to drink that extra cup of coffee when it's three in the morning and you haven't found an ending to your short story yet. So I've decided to submit some prizes as well to whoever makes the top four.
First place will get an ax I bought in Gettysburg, a print out of the full version of "The Executioner's Son" (which LOST this thing if that shows you how hard it is to make it to the final round) and a copy of Story Magazine that features a chapter from Fight Club before it was published. Also it's signed by Chuck Palahniuk.
Second through fourth prize will be a mini switch blade and a copy of one of the four stories I plan on writing in the next month, none of which will be work shopped here, but hopefully I'll find homes for all four in the coming months. So you'll get to read something of mine before anyone else does, if that floats your boat.
Attached are pictures of both prizes, and what I'm currently using my mini switch blade for.
By now you've got your prompts. So get to it.
Moderator
Utah
from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryMarch 25, 2012 - 4:00pm
To be honest, with not knowing who got what prompt and knowing I won't be seeing who wrote what before the voting is over...I feel blind and impotent.
Glad I don't have to pound Profunda this round, because I might not have it in me.
Americantypo
from Philadelphia is reading The Bone ClocksMarch 25, 2012 - 4:00pm
Also if Danny wins, he'll get a cock pic. But ONLY if Danny wins.
wickedvoodoo
from Mansfield, England is reading stuff.March 25, 2012 - 4:04pm
Bill, you rock. That is very generous of you. Such a gentleman too.
I liked your story. Definitely in my top 5 of the round.
wickedvoodoo
from Mansfield, England is reading stuff.March 25, 2012 - 4:15pm
In honour of my new avatar profile picture (Martin Noirtin) I am going to put out my own little prize on offer.
Inspired by the hat in my new picture I will send my 1st ed. hardcover of this book to whichever writer knocks me out of the competition. I like this book. So in order to keep it I have to win, right? Some self-motivation.
But yeah, I shall mail it over if you beat me. It's a fun read, a hardboiled, pulp noir novel. It's in 2nd person perspective and it rocks. This guy teaches at Brown university and has published a fair few novels.
.
March 25, 2012 - 4:18pm
Well since Richard is doing a prize for the victor who beats him, I'll send him a hardcover of any book he wants.
Profunda Saint-...
from Calgary, AB is reading Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy SeriesMarch 25, 2012 - 4:29pm
Mini switchblades are pretty much the best thing ever. Where did you get such a thing?
Americantypo
from Philadelphia is reading The Bone ClocksMarch 25, 2012 - 4:48pm
I got the mini switch blades in Gettysburg (one buck per blade!). They don't close. But then again, what good is a knife if it's not open?
Chester Pane
from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazMarch 25, 2012 - 5:52pm
Thanks Bill,
I don't think I recall you ever having a proliferation problem that is for sure. Thanks for the extra incentives, the bounty pool thickens. And like MG said, you are a fine gentleman. Keep the horror coming.
C.
Martin, that looks good. Though I doubt I will have the chance to win it off you.
Bekanator has my writin' hand all aquiver.
Renfield
from Hell is reading 20th Century GhostsMarch 25, 2012 - 6:08pm
Every single one of the Round 2 matchups is* super exciting.
(*or is it "are?" fuckin GRAMMARrr)
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterMarch 25, 2012 - 6:30pm
Chester: Good to know my voodoo doll is working.
wickedvoodoo
from Mansfield, England is reading stuff.March 25, 2012 - 6:34pm
Is it a wicked voodoo doll? I do hope so. The best ones are.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestMarch 25, 2012 - 7:23pm
At American: Great post buddy. Hopefully I can drop into the top four and earn one of those prizes.
@Wicked: Dude, I HAVE to go against you, and of course beat you, becaue I WANT that book! I've been meaning to pick it up. So, you have to keep winning, until you meet me...
Richard
from St. Louis is reading various anthologiesMarch 25, 2012 - 7:27pm
i'd love to have that Coover.
and thanks, Dakota, that's very generous of you. certainly ups the stakes, yeah? wow.
Nick Wilczynski
from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. MartinMarch 25, 2012 - 8:46pm
@Moon,
I'm afraid I'll be taking it off his hands a bit earlier than that.
Liana
from Romania and Texas is reading Naked LunchMarch 25, 2012 - 9:17pm
Typo, you're too cool! That's so awesome of you. Hey, but if a girl wins, is she supposed to learn to fight with those knives? I'm not saying it's not a useful skill.
But seriously, this was a crazy fight - and I'm still half expecting someone to say we're tied again. You know your story was good. Tell us when it gets published!
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterMarch 25, 2012 - 9:34pm
If I win I'll use my knife to fight off anger rapists.
Renfield
from Hell is reading 20th Century GhostsMarch 25, 2012 - 9:40pm
^for some reason that made me laugh out loud ridiculously hard. Maybe because that was my same thought regarding the knife. Fuck them rapists, the angry ones doubly so.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestMarch 25, 2012 - 9:55pm
@Nick: Then I'll be having to take it off you...
Nick Wilczynski
from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. MartinMarch 25, 2012 - 10:01pm
Fine, I've got a couple rounds before that would even be possible, if the stars align you shall have your chance.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestMarch 25, 2012 - 10:12pm
Haha... Okay. I can already see my stars aligning. Look out, Liana...
aliensoul77
from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall.March 26, 2012 - 1:01am
An axe, signed Chuck Palahniuk and a cock pic. You people better watch your backs! I want that cock axe! I will lay in a pool of blood with Nikki's tarot cards, a litreactor mug and typo's cock pic.
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterMarch 26, 2012 - 1:05pm
How's everyone doing with their prompts so far?
I didn't like mine at first, but I've got about a thousand words down of a story that I definately wouldn't have penned without my prompt. I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Chester Pane
from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazMarch 26, 2012 - 1:18pm
Braggart.
Let's just say you're about a thousand words ahead of me. If I had a thousand words I'd be done.
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterMarch 26, 2012 - 1:23pm
I'm still freaked out, considering you had this same problem the last time and you still managed to pen a win in what...two days?
Moderator
Utah
from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryMarch 26, 2012 - 1:24pm
It was under a day.
Jason Van Horn
from North Carolina is reading A Feast For CrowsMarch 26, 2012 - 1:29pm
I got a LitReactor mug and sticker from my brief tenure on the site. :P
wickedvoodoo
from Mansfield, England is reading stuff.March 26, 2012 - 1:39pm
Good snag Jason. Those mugs do look good.
@ Bek
Hmm, I am doing okay, I think. Spend most of last night pondering and made a real start today. I have to really shoot from the hip this time, am planning to get most of the first draft down tonight if I can. Gonna be a late one. Not got much spare time after tonight so really gotta grind. I shouldn't even really be here posting.
The prompt is a tougher one than I got last time IMO. I think I have a story here though. Maybe.
Nick Wilczynski
from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. MartinMarch 26, 2012 - 1:53pm
I have a prompt. It's been screaming at me because it has very specific ideas about where it wants to go. Once I get a setting nailed down I'll be in business.
Time to take a walk.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestMarch 26, 2012 - 2:35pm
Gots me over 1000 words, but I'm at the point where I've begun to incoporate the prompt into the story and I'm having a hard time deciding where to go with it.
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterMarch 26, 2012 - 2:43pm
I'm a bit nervous at this point because it's starting to become clear that the story I'm telling is longer than 2500 words. The first round 2500 words seemed like plenty. Now it isn't enough.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestMarch 26, 2012 - 2:46pm
@Bek: I hear ya. This one I could easily push way over 2500 words. May have to write the Campbell's Soup Condensed version.
Chester Pane
from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazMarch 26, 2012 - 3:15pm
Good starts you guys!
Well, yeah, like Utah said that last one cut it a bit too close. I don't think that is a very good strategy. I would not recommend it. But that first round week was ridiculous with the number of non-writing related disasters going on.
Hopefully the muse will climb onto my brain sooner this time. I have the opposite problem that Bill has and that you are having this time Rebecca--a word shortage.
All of my stories always want to be Haiku.
.
March 26, 2012 - 3:24pm
Well my story is outlined, now to start writing..
Moderator
Utah
from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryMarch 26, 2012 - 5:25pm
@Chester: Nonsense. You did your story in exactly the right amount of time. No chance to second-guess yourself!
Jason Van Horn
from North Carolina is reading A Feast For CrowsMarch 26, 2012 - 5:49pm
Everyone needs to get finished tomorrow so they can go up Wednesday. I hate sitting on the sidelines and not being able to participate in some fashion. I want to vote dammit! :)
Bekanator
from Kamloops, British Columbia is reading Ugly Girls by Lindsay HunterMarch 26, 2012 - 6:01pm
@Jason: You could harass all the other lazy, non-voting LitReactors to vote!
Chester Pane
from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazMarch 26, 2012 - 7:22pm
Okay Utah, I guess you are right. It is just a bit nerve racking.
Thanks for staying involved Jason. I supposed by the end of this thing you will have plenty of us to keep you company.
It should be interesting to see how well the anonymity thing works as time goes on. Obviously the last couple of rounds should be obvious, or?
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersMarch 26, 2012 - 7:23pm
I was thinking about that. I mean, when it is down to only two people....I guess it depends on the people?
Nick Wilczynski
from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. MartinMarch 26, 2012 - 9:19pm
Sometimes I look at a thread and see I have the last post and I shudder to think of the asinine thing I typed there.
aliensoul77
from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall.March 26, 2012 - 10:07pm
I started my story but I don't like it so I'm going to start again.
Renfield
from Hell is reading 20th Century GhostsMarch 26, 2012 - 10:33pm
I came up with a line while swimming at the beach yesterday (where I also kept thinking I got a mouthful of seaweed but every time it ended up just being my beard,) and today I figured out what that line actually meant.
voodoo_em
from England is reading All the books by Ira LevinMarch 27, 2012 - 1:39am
I have wrote... NOTHING... Waaaaa! Panic Panic!
Well, thats sort of a lie, I did copy and paste my prompt on to a blank word page.
Moderator
Utah
from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryMarch 27, 2012 - 5:22am
You panic awfully early.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersMarch 27, 2012 - 5:28am
Nothing wrong with panic. Gets the blood moving.
Flaminia Ferina
from Umbria is reading stuffMarch 27, 2012 - 5:58am
Does anonimity work? It does with me. First round I didn't hit shit.
Good luck guys! This is going to get intense!
I'm going to write fan fiction based on a popular TV show. That's okay, right?
Haha Liana... Nice!
@Richard: You know, I wouldn't have been all that surprised. Pissed and envious, yes. Surprised, not one bit.
This seems like just as good a place as any to post this.
Sooooo, I am back from my trip to Gettysburg, from the haunted bed and breakfast where ghosts were lacking as well as wifi, and cafe barristas simply shrugged their shoulders when you tell them their internet isn't working. Instead I had to watch the first round unfold via my phone, feeling bitterness, frustration, anxiety, as it went from being a slam dunk, to tied, to broken in my favor, to tied AGAIN, then broken in Liana's favor with little expectation of another vote tying it up again. And I lost.
But, that's okay. Because at the end of the day I wrote a new story in under a week that I'm proud of and it garnered half of your favor as well as a few "best of" votes. In a way, maybe that's where I belong- the favorite of some, but not so favorite of others. Horror/subversive writing can be like that sometimes, and maybe I was taking on more than I could chew with such a low word count.
At any rate, I realized something in this first round, and that's that I LOVE to write. And I don't need a contest to make me want to sit in front of a typewriter everyday, or prizes, or whatever else. Sure it would be awesome to win one of the top four spots and get that Litreactor mug, but now that I'm out, I find myself still wanting to sit down and write EVERY day because that shit is just in my wiring. And I think it's in all of your wiring too, otherwise you wouldn't be here at this site, where, in its onset, there were no contests, no Litreactor mugs, no gift baskets from Nikki that will surely have something that could get you arrested under the right circumstances.
Anyway, I'll get to the point- while I still feel that unshakable urge to write all the time, some of you might push yourself a little harder with some added incentives, and if I can't spar with any of you in the next couple of rounds, the least I can do is vote, cheer you on, discuss a few stories, and provide additional incentives to drink that extra cup of coffee when it's three in the morning and you haven't found an ending to your short story yet. So I've decided to submit some prizes as well to whoever makes the top four.
First place will get an ax I bought in Gettysburg, a print out of the full version of "The Executioner's Son" (which LOST this thing if that shows you how hard it is to make it to the final round) and a copy of Story Magazine that features a chapter from Fight Club before it was published. Also it's signed by Chuck Palahniuk.
Second through fourth prize will be a mini switch blade and a copy of one of the four stories I plan on writing in the next month, none of which will be work shopped here, but hopefully I'll find homes for all four in the coming months. So you'll get to read something of mine before anyone else does, if that floats your boat.
Attached are pictures of both prizes, and what I'm currently using my mini switch blade for.
By now you've got your prompts. So get to it.
To be honest, with not knowing who got what prompt and knowing I won't be seeing who wrote what before the voting is over...I feel blind and impotent.
Glad I don't have to pound Profunda this round, because I might not have it in me.
Also if Danny wins, he'll get a cock pic. But ONLY if Danny wins.
Bill, you rock. That is very generous of you. Such a gentleman too.
I liked your story. Definitely in my top 5 of the round.
In honour of my new avatar profile picture (Martin Noirtin) I am going to put out my own little prize on offer.
Inspired by the hat in my new picture I will send my 1st ed. hardcover of this book to whichever writer knocks me out of the competition. I like this book. So in order to keep it I have to win, right? Some self-motivation.
But yeah, I shall mail it over if you beat me. It's a fun read, a hardboiled, pulp noir novel. It's in 2nd person perspective and it rocks. This guy teaches at Brown university and has published a fair few novels.
Well since Richard is doing a prize for the victor who beats him, I'll send him a hardcover of any book he wants.
Mini switchblades are pretty much the best thing ever. Where did you get such a thing?
I got the mini switch blades in Gettysburg (one buck per blade!). They don't close. But then again, what good is a knife if it's not open?
Thanks Bill,
I don't think I recall you ever having a proliferation problem that is for sure. Thanks for the extra incentives, the bounty pool thickens. And like MG said, you are a fine gentleman. Keep the horror coming.
C.
Martin, that looks good. Though I doubt I will have the chance to win it off you.
Bekanator has my writin' hand all aquiver.
Every single one of the Round 2 matchups is* super exciting.
(*or is it "are?" fuckin GRAMMARrr)
Chester: Good to know my voodoo doll is working.
Is it a wicked voodoo doll? I do hope so. The best ones are.
At American: Great post buddy. Hopefully I can drop into the top four and earn one of those prizes.
@Wicked: Dude, I HAVE to go against you, and of course beat you, becaue I WANT that book! I've been meaning to pick it up. So, you have to keep winning, until you meet me...
i'd love to have that Coover.
and thanks, Dakota, that's very generous of you. certainly ups the stakes, yeah? wow.
@Moon,
I'm afraid I'll be taking it off his hands a bit earlier than that.
Typo, you're too cool! That's so awesome of you. Hey, but if a girl wins, is she supposed to learn to fight with those knives? I'm not saying it's not a useful skill.
But seriously, this was a crazy fight - and I'm still half expecting someone to say we're tied again. You know your story was good. Tell us when it gets published!
If I win I'll use my knife to fight off anger rapists.
^for some reason that made me laugh out loud ridiculously hard. Maybe because that was my same thought regarding the knife. Fuck them rapists, the angry ones doubly so.
@Nick: Then I'll be having to take it off you...
Fine, I've got a couple rounds before that would even be possible, if the stars align you shall have your chance.
Haha... Okay. I can already see my stars aligning. Look out, Liana...
An axe, signed Chuck Palahniuk and a cock pic. You people better watch your backs! I want that cock axe! I will lay in a pool of blood with Nikki's tarot cards, a litreactor mug and typo's cock pic.
How's everyone doing with their prompts so far?
I didn't like mine at first, but I've got about a thousand words down of a story that I definately wouldn't have penned without my prompt. I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Braggart.
Let's just say you're about a thousand words ahead of me. If I had a thousand words I'd be done.
I'm still freaked out, considering you had this same problem the last time and you still managed to pen a win in what...two days?
It was under a day.
I got a LitReactor mug and sticker from my brief tenure on the site. :P
Good snag Jason. Those mugs do look good.
@ Bek
Hmm, I am doing okay, I think. Spend most of last night pondering and made a real start today. I have to really shoot from the hip this time, am planning to get most of the first draft down tonight if I can. Gonna be a late one. Not got much spare time after tonight so really gotta grind. I shouldn't even really be here posting.
The prompt is a tougher one than I got last time IMO. I think I have a story here though. Maybe.
I have a prompt. It's been screaming at me because it has very specific ideas about where it wants to go. Once I get a setting nailed down I'll be in business.
Time to take a walk.
Gots me over 1000 words, but I'm at the point where I've begun to incoporate the prompt into the story and I'm having a hard time deciding where to go with it.
I'm a bit nervous at this point because it's starting to become clear that the story I'm telling is longer than 2500 words. The first round 2500 words seemed like plenty. Now it isn't enough.
@Bek: I hear ya. This one I could easily push way over 2500 words. May have to write the Campbell's Soup Condensed version.
Good starts you guys!
Well, yeah, like Utah said that last one cut it a bit too close. I don't think that is a very good strategy. I would not recommend it. But that first round week was ridiculous with the number of non-writing related disasters going on.
Hopefully the muse will climb onto my brain sooner this time. I have the opposite problem that Bill has and that you are having this time Rebecca--a word shortage.
All of my stories always want to be Haiku.
Well my story is outlined, now to start writing..
@Chester: Nonsense. You did your story in exactly the right amount of time. No chance to second-guess yourself!
Everyone needs to get finished tomorrow so they can go up Wednesday. I hate sitting on the sidelines and not being able to participate in some fashion. I want to vote dammit! :)
@Jason: You could harass all the other lazy, non-voting LitReactors to vote!
Okay Utah, I guess you are right. It is just a bit nerve racking.
Thanks for staying involved Jason. I supposed by the end of this thing you will have plenty of us to keep you company.
It should be interesting to see how well the anonymity thing works as time goes on. Obviously the last couple of rounds should be obvious, or?
I was thinking about that. I mean, when it is down to only two people....I guess it depends on the people?
Sometimes I look at a thread and see I have the last post and I shudder to think of the asinine thing I typed there.
I started my story but I don't like it so I'm going to start again.
I came up with a line while swimming at the beach yesterday (where I also kept thinking I got a mouthful of seaweed but every time it ended up just being my beard,) and today I figured out what that line actually meant.
I have wrote... NOTHING... Waaaaa! Panic Panic!
Well, thats sort of a lie, I did copy and paste my prompt on to a blank word page.
You panic awfully early.
Nothing wrong with panic. Gets the blood moving.
Does anonimity work? It does with me. First round I didn't hit shit.