jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like November 28, 2012 - 9:19am

J.Y. stepped in as an alternate against J.Y.

I like the way this sentence looks.

 

Check and mate.  ---  Jeff Beck

 

Sound's picture
Sound from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt November 28, 2012 - 9:22am

I have two days to write up my story and hammer out rough spots. I'm toast.

R.Moon's picture
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 Digest November 28, 2012 - 9:30am

Spent about 6 hours total last night writing, revising and revising some more. I think this thing is just about ready.

Meredith, where you at? I'm not fucking around this round. I'm gunning for ya...

bryanhowie's picture
bryanhowie from FW, ID is reading East of Eden. Steinbeck is FUCKING AMAZING. November 28, 2012 - 9:37am

My answer to writer's block is to go on a motorcycle ride.  It's wintery out now, though, so the new answer is to go on a walk/hike.  I think about the prompt and thinking "Who would say that sentence and why would the say that?"  and then "Who would answer them and what would they answer?"

So far, it worked for Clevenger's class and for WAR2.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz November 28, 2012 - 9:48am

^^^ I'm a big fan of walks (and Clevenger's class) and I often like to have destinations like burritos or a coffee. But I often find myself engrossed in working the story out while I walk. 

Also a big fan of naps, time permitting.

leah_beth's picture
leah_beth from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once. November 28, 2012 - 9:50am

^^^ I like any form of exercise for working out story lines. Walks, bike rides, running...last night I figured out my ending while punching the punching bag in my garage. So that was pretty cool.

 

Good luck finishing up, everybody!! You can do it!

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 10:33am

Nice B. Howie. Good stuff. 

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters November 28, 2012 - 10:34am

Just to remind...everyone knows the stories are due THIS Friday at 7pm CST, right? 

Thank you!

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like November 28, 2012 - 10:47am

Yeah. Today's Monday, right? Plenty of time.

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland November 28, 2012 - 11:02am

O.k. so I meant J.Y. vs. Otis but Otis is too long so I took a shortcut.

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like November 28, 2012 - 11:09am

^Hahaha

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz November 28, 2012 - 11:33am

Can we put deadlines in the proper format. EST. This is what runs the world. I laugh at other time zones. 

Gordon Highland's picture
Gordon Highland from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore November 28, 2012 - 11:34am

Heh, look at these chumps … I turned my story in almost three weeks ago …

 

 

 

 

* based on an old Homer Simpson bit where he sees people running to the mailbox on April 15, and brags under his breath, "I paid my taxes years ago."

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff November 28, 2012 - 12:55pm

Ha! I've got a first draft. TAKE THAT everybody!

Also, I may lose quite often, but my stories make me giggle all the time. Hehe I'm still giggling, hehehe. Though it might be a case of the verbal onanism.
Anywayz, Giggle Pride!

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry November 28, 2012 - 1:03pm

Umbrian, you spill those giggles wherever you want.

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff November 28, 2012 - 1:08pm

Thanks Utah. I'll do it on an audio file which will be posted here! Soon!

 

 

 

 

JK

no, not really

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 2:00pm

Yeah. Today's Monday, right? Plenty of time."

 

It's Wednesday

 

Heh, look at these chumps … I turned my story in almost three weeks ago …

So um. Good for you, sir. 

 

This is what runs the world. I laugh at other time zones."

Agreed, that and GMT

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters November 28, 2012 - 2:04pm

Your amazing, beautiful, talented, sexy, intelligent, and humble organizers both live in CST, so everyone else can just convert!

 

sean of the dead's picture
sean of the dead from Madisonville, KY is reading Peckerwood, by Jed Ayres November 28, 2012 - 2:33pm

averydoll also likes it when missionaries go into poor and impoverished nations and take away their facebook rights

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters November 28, 2012 - 2:43pm

I'd tell you what Sean likes, but it just seems in bad taste. 

 

bryanhowie's picture
bryanhowie from FW, ID is reading East of Eden. Steinbeck is FUCKING AMAZING. November 28, 2012 - 3:17pm

I feel a new WAR song coming on.....

Utah's picture
Moderator
Utah from Fort Worth, TX is reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry November 28, 2012 - 3:25pm

Kinda looks like AD, doesn't it?

Covewriter's picture
Covewriter from Nashville, Tennessee is reading & Sons November 28, 2012 - 3:28pm

I ran/walked for inspiration this morning and saw six wild turkeys on my road! And we dont' usually have wild turkeys on my road. My legs were so cold from running that in the hot bath water after it felt like menthol. Does that make sense? And, first draft is done. Needs work, but done. 

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 3:29pm

Your amazing, beautiful, talented, sexy, intelligent, and humble organizers"

Swing and a miss. I think this is more apt. Now off to revision land. 

 

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters November 28, 2012 - 3:31pm

@Matt Attack - That's rude to imply about Utah. 

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 3:33pm

I really think this would have been the best WAR round two song. Seems applicable, despite the weird suicide meaning. 

 

EDIT:

I wish I would've met you;
now it's a little late.
What you could've taught me,
I could've saved some face.
They think that your early ending was all wrong;
for the most part they're right,
but look how they all got strung.

That's why I say, "Hey man, nice shot."
"What a good shot, man."

 

Rooster was a good choice though, I will admit. 

 

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 3:32pm

Double posting like a god damn idiot. 

Dino Parenti's picture
Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On November 28, 2012 - 3:46pm

@Matt:  Nice call with Filter. 

SConley's picture
SConley from Texas is reading Coin Locker Babies November 28, 2012 - 3:53pm

I really think this would have been the best WAR round two song. Seems applicable, despite the weird suicide meaning.

 

EDIT:

I wish I would've met you;
now it's a little late.
What you could've taught me,
I could've saved some face.
They think that your early ending was all wrong;
for the most part they're right,
but look how they all got strung.

That's why I say, "Hey man, nice shot."
"What a good shot, man."

 

It always bugged me when people would say that song was about Kurt Cobain. It's not. I remember when it first premiered on the radio and the DJ said it was a new band from a guy who played in NIN. Then she said the song was about a politician who called a live press conference and then shot himself on TV. It wasn't about Cobain and if you listen closely to the lyircs, you can tell. I even remember an MTV2 commercial where these dudes were talking about the song and said it was about Cobain. Not that you said it was about him. Just sayin. /End 90s alt rock rant.

Gordon Highland's picture
Gordon Highland from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore November 28, 2012 - 3:55pm

the song was about a politician who called a live press conference and then shot himself on TV.

Yeah, I remember that event because we had discussed it in a college Media Ethics class about whether or not we'd run the footage/photos.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz November 28, 2012 - 4:03pm

His name was Bud Dwyer, he was a Pennsylvanian, just like me. I was 10 when he shot himself. I missed it when the aired it on the local news, but I remember talking about it in class the next day. There was also a slew of jokes that immediately followed. Kind of fucked when you think about it - as 10 year olds there's an onslaught of Bud Dwyer jokes shortly after he killed himself on live tv.

Years later I would watch it on the internet and had my own Media Ethics debate on why i just watched it. Some things cannot be unseen.

SConley's picture
SConley from Texas is reading Coin Locker Babies November 28, 2012 - 4:09pm

It's a pretty gruesome video, i've seen it. Not on the internet but my friend used to have this weird VHS tape his friend made and it had tons of clips on it, including that one. He used to play it when his friends were over on drugs.

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 4:16pm

I'm not sure of the logic behind watching it. I'd be careful what you expose yourselves to. "Some things cannot be unseen."

 

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz November 28, 2012 - 4:24pm

What an awful way to ruin good drugs.

Courtney's picture
Courtney from the Midwest is reading Monkey: A Journey to the West and a thousand college textbooks November 28, 2012 - 4:35pm

I watched it a few months ago. It kind of ripped me apart. Sometimes I watch really terrible things to remind myself of two things: the world sucks, but it also doesn't suck as much as it could sometimes.

Like the video of the elephant being electrocuted.

@Otis: Studies of cities where the unedited footage was shown vs. where the edited footage was shown on the news proved that in the cities where people saw the full footage, there were more jokes about the situation than in those with edited footage.

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 4:55pm

Damn you all. I finished a third draft of the second story I've written for this round and it's at 2900 words! AAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Gordon Highland's picture
Gordon Highland from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore November 28, 2012 - 4:58pm

No matter what you think of your WAR story, please do not shoot yourselves. And certainly not in here.

Mine's going okay. A little behind schedule, which is pretty much on schedule. Not as strong as last round, but hopefully competitive.

Dino Parenti's picture
Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On November 28, 2012 - 5:15pm

Keep it cool, Matt. The day before my round-1 story was due, the draft was at just over 3,500 words. It can be done.

Fritz's picture
Fritz November 28, 2012 - 5:19pm

@ matt attack - u planning on submitting 2? - heavy 

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland November 28, 2012 - 5:34pm

@matt attack- can I borrow one of them?

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters November 28, 2012 - 5:39pm

I'm really excited about my story, guys! 

I was just writing it and a new idea struck me as I was typing.  No better feeling in the world than when the plot just comes out naturally as you go.  Sometimes I forget how much I love writing. 

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner November 28, 2012 - 5:44pm

@Fritz, Dino, Jonathan- I have written two. One is 2900 and the other is 2700. FML. I think I am going to set it aside for the night and just watch Lost in Translation since it's on demand. Love this movie.

I leave you with a great scene from the movie. Enjoy. Maybe it'll inspire some of you. 

 

 

 

 

 

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like November 28, 2012 - 5:49pm

I thought that movie was overrated.

And I know it's Wednesday. I guess the humor was lost in translation.

[world's smallest circle --- thank you]

Story is done unless tomorrow's read-through finds something to change.

Sound's picture
Sound from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt November 28, 2012 - 6:26pm

I have written two. One is 2900 and the other is 2700.

Show off. Die!

Wonder Woman's picture
Wonder Woman from RI is reading 20th Century Ghosts November 28, 2012 - 6:45pm

Still plugging away. Busy week with the hubby away for work & the kids going berserk. I'll get there, though.

avery of the dead's picture
avery of the dead from Kentucky is reading Cipher Sisters November 28, 2012 - 6:47pm

Where the hell is Emma?!  I want to hear about how great she's doing so it'll bust my confidence and make me less of a jerk to everyone.

Liana's picture
Liana from Romania and Texas is reading Naked Lunch November 28, 2012 - 6:52pm

My story is awesome awesome awesome. I just need to get rid of 350 words now.

Covewriter's picture
Covewriter from Nashville, Tennessee is reading & Sons November 28, 2012 - 6:55pm

That's awesome Avery. I love when the real story comes out mid-story writing. May have been there before but your subsconscious just found it. Those are good moments.

leah_beth's picture
leah_beth from New Jersey - now in Charleston, SC is reading five different books at once. November 28, 2012 - 7:01pm

OK, so I just need someone to read my damn story before I put it to bed for good...but sadly, my husband has...well...gone to bed.  Seriously, he's snoring. 

Sigh.

Avery - def awesome about the story - I love those moments!!! 

Liana - good luck - you can do it!

Wonderwoman - I'd offer to babysit if we were neighbors. 

I...think that's all I have for now.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz November 28, 2012 - 7:04pm

@Courtney - wow, that's interesting. Kind of a strange thing to study and quantify though. Nobody came to my elementary school and asked me my favorite joke. 

 

In other news, I am rather enjoying my story now. As with last round, I will sell anyone my leftover words. I have 2,230 to sell. Make me a semi-professional offer.

Thanks