I need to write 9,000 words of fiction for independent study. Yes, that's all, for 3 hours of credit! As soon as I finish that, Mel and I will work on my novel, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I want to finish quickly, but well.
I can write one story or several--whatever I choose. Only one problem: I'm uninspired. I sat forlornly in front of Verk 4 (my MacBook, as you may recall) for a good while, trying to conjure a colorful plot and winning characters, before I decided I should let my subconscious work it's magic and try to plot again later. Because, trust me, my ideas were quite uninspired, and probably would've turned out not unlike the fiction "book" I wrote in 6th grade about myself, renamed Tallie Keioni, and my two guy friends saving our fellow middle schoolers from becoming enslaved to the soldiers from the "newly-formed continent of Markonia," where all the "hateful and evil people of the world" had come to live.
Instead of writing a short story, therefore, I added to my novel. Oh, trusty novel, you are a balm to my soul. Right now, anyway--Mel swears my classmates and I will begin to hate our novels mid-semester. As prolific a writer as he is, I tend to believe him.
Well, all that to say, I still don't have a short story idea. Now, I am conducting an experiment. Most people who read this post won't comment, or wouldn't, ordinarily. Comments and readers do not match up, because I know I have more than 0 readers...I think... ;-)
If you're reading this and have never commented before, please do so now. Throw out a story idea. The first thing that pops into your head. Something interesting. Whatever. Maybe it will inspire me. I'll let you know what I end up doing. Until then, over and out!
Hard sci-fi. A snapshot from a war between humans in a sufficiently distant future. Everything is different: the silence of space, punctuated by fire and death; the instantaneity of death at the hands of remarkable weapson, etc.—except what it means to be a human, to know fear, to struggle for courage.
ReplyDeletei was thinking, you should do one that makes people think. have those totally random and sudden changes that totally changes the dierction of the story. so essically what you can do, is write mulitple short stories, that all mesh in to one big one. kinda like the bible. :) i love you sister!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow about something with a robot with bazookas for arms but who just wants to be loved, because aren't we all a little human inside?
ReplyDeleteOr a man who decides to live with his eyes closed for a year?
Or someone who discovers their long lost sibling is a leprechaun with a snuff problem?
Someone who turns into a squirrel but keeps their human mind?
An interview with a talking rock?
An expedition into a new cave that holds excitement and wonder?
I'm just bursting of genius ideas :)
I've always liked the idea of showing lives with immediate consequences as opposed to long-term. For example, what if we could see how much our lives were shortened each time we ate fried food or lengthened every time we laughed?
ReplyDeleteThey always say things shorten or lengthen lives, but people don't care about long-term consequences (ahem...ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES :P )
By the way, hello! I think I saw you on campus a few days ago, but I wasn't positive it was you! :)
Grab any three books off your shelf, randomly open each one to wherever, read the first sentence you see. Combine the three into a thrilling story. :) That's a trick they taught us at a writing conference. Love you!
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