ATTN: Writers, and Anyone Who Reads Recreationally (659 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 0.22 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Beau <Party03> (View user info) at 2003-10-31 14:36:27 EST
I bet you are all wondering why I called this meeting. Well, I have come to a stopping point. I don't know where I want to take my story that I've been working on. I have an idea, but I just don't know. This is where you the Writers, and fans of literature come in. I was hoping I could get some direction as to where this story could go. I'm going to be leaving town on Monday, so I won't be able to see your ideas for a little while after that. I do, however look forward to what you have to say to my work. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, and good evening.
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Frank stood there listening to this stranger drone on and on about something useless, that he didn't really care about. As he listened with half an ear he thought to himself how much he truly hated riding Greyhound. He hated the uncomfortable seats with no legroom, he hated the crazy people that insisted on riding the bus because airplanes just aren't safe anymore, and he hated how people thought just because he bummed them a cigarette that they were instantly best of friends.
The driver called the end of the smoke break, and Frank watched as the passengers put out their cigarettes and flocked to the door of this metal prison on wheels. Frank put out his cigarette and made his way to the back of the line of people to get back on the bus.
"Once I wrap this up, I'm flying back to Michigan." He mumbled under his breath. He made his way back to his seat, and continued writing in his journal.
"Hey mister, you writing a song?" The little old lady sitting behind him asked.
"No." Frank answered hoping that by keeping it simple that she would get the hint that he really did not want to talk to her.
"Well what are you writing?" She enquired further.
At this point Frank decided that the easiest way to make her shut up and go away, was to simply ignore her. After waiting a few minutes for his answer she decided that he was going to be rude and ignore her, and she sank back in to her seat with a deep sigh.
Somewhere in between multiple attempts at a nap, smoke breaks, and food stops at random corner stores, Frank arrived at his destination, San Diego California. He eagerly stepped off the bus and bolted out the terminal of soon to be passengers. Frank was happy to be stationary for once, and took a minute to look around. He stood there letting the sun beat down on him, and was comforted by the slight breeze that would make itself known every once in awhile.
He looked around for Joe who was supposed to be picking him up, but didn't see him anywhere. Finally he spotted Joe putting the moves on some girl that had more bags than she probably had personal possessions. Frank made his way over to Joe, and stood there waiting for Joe to realize that he had shown up and was waiting to get to his hotel room.
After waiting for five minutes Frank lit up another cigarette. The sound of the Zippo's metal lid closing caught Joe's attention. Joe turned around and saw the man that was his best friend years ago.
As they made their way to the car, Joe started with the small talk, "It's been too long Frank."
"I know, when you moved out here, we just lost touch, didn't we? It looks like you're doing well for yourself out here. Are you still driving limos?"
"Yeah, it's not too bad," Joe, answered, "bye the way, I've been meaning to tell you that the wife and I loved your last book."
"Well thank you. I was scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one though. It was a tough sell. It seems that since Sarah left me I just don't have any inspiration anymore." Frank explained.
Joe tried his best to cheer up Frank, "That's too bad bro. Well that's why you're out here now right? I have a great idea, let's celebrate this reunion by getting so fucked up that we won't be able to feel our legs anymore. Just like the old days."
Frank turned it over in his head for a while. What he really wanted to do was get to his hotel, and get some much-needed sleep, but Joe was always able to convince Frank to go against his better judgment and party.
"No thanks, I think I'm just going to head back to my hotel room, and try to get some sleep. I've been traveling for far too long you know." Frank decided.
"Suit yourself. It's good to have you back home though Frank."
"Thanks." Frank decided that maybe this wasn't going to be too bad after all.
As the car rumbled down the freeway, Frank couldn't help but feel the same dread as he did on the Greyhound. Frank knew that Joe wanted to ask him how he was doing ever since his wife died, but was too good of a friend to ask. Frank wanted to explain but he simply didn't know. It had been awhile since his wife had departed on that fatal drive to work. At the time it destroyed him. He sheltered himself in his house for weeks, not wanting to deal with the outside world. Every time he saw someone smiling, he wanted to do whatever it took to remove that smile.
Now that time had progressed, Frank knew that he should be at a point where he was dating again, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He still loved his wife, and knew that she was the only woman for him.
Joe broke Frank's meditation by saying, "So how long are going to be in town for?"
"Until I feel that I have enough to write on, I need to get back into my writing Joe. Of all the jobs that I've had this is the only one that I feel I can honestly enjoy."
"Frank, I always looked up to your intelligence, I mean for Christ's sakes you went to an Ivy League school, Law school, passed the bar, you're probably the smartest person I know, why go that far towards a legal career, if you're not going to actively pursue it? You could probably be a partner at a major firm by now, making more money than God, but instead, you're scraping by just to make ends meet. It's very rare to ever see a rich author."
"Have you ever woken up and said to yourself 'God I don't want to go to work today, my job sucks? Well I would say that about everything that has to do with being a lawyer," Frank explained, "I have never had a moment like that since I became an author. I love it. In my books, I play God, control the lives, and destiny to an entire world that exists in my own head."
"That makes sense I guess." Joe conceded, "Well here we are, Holiday Inn. I'll go ahead and stay in here while you check in."
User Reviews
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2003-11-01 00:29:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
It sounds more like a human interest story to me. I don't know why, it just does.
Submitted by Party03 (user info) at 2003-10-31 21:10:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Bigmike, you just summed up my entire dilemma, and why I don't know where to go with this. It was suggested to me by Appolo in an e-mail that I should try to make the wife's death a comspiracy, and later on, if I wanted to do a novel, I could work with that.
Other than that though, I don't know whether to head backwards or forwards with this.
Submitted by Party03 (user info) at 2003-10-31 21:05:52 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-10-31 16:59:59 (#)
Ranking: 0
ok look, I don't know how you could write a story you don't know the ending and general overall structure to. It just doesn't make sense to me.
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Well Razor, I prefer to write this way. Ever since I first worte a story where I just let my thoughts carry me wherever, I have loved the idea. I hate the very notion of prewriting. I get an idea in my head, and I go with it. It may not make for a very enticing literary piece, but it's still the way I enjoy to write. It adds the spontaneity that I enjoy, along with my most common outlet.
Nothing grabs me like plot twists, or surprises. The best way for me to write surprises in my own writing is to have no idea where I want to go with what I'm doing, or how it's going to end. I just let my ideas flow as I have a whole scenario in my head playing out. If a scenario happens that I don't know anything about, I research it. Other than that, I just ride the wave of what I see happening in my own mind with my characters, I describe it as well as I can, and I try to make it pleasing to the eye.
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2003-10-31 20:56:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
It's worth reading but you need to move forward, or backwards as you see fit.
We need to know how Frank got here. You've baited us with a dead wife. Show us how happy they were together and then the downward spiral that leads us to this hotel.
Check him into the hotel and get on with it.
Submitted by Party03 (user info) at 2003-10-31 20:42:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I'm gonna be honest with everyone, I wrote this without inspiration. I wanted to write, because writing is an outlet for me, being a person without stress. Needless to say, since stress is such a small factor in my life I wrote this when I didn't have stress, thus when I was trying to find something to write, I chose to write about another author that had no inspiration like me (that made more sense when I thought about it then when I acutally wrote it, but my friends insisted on spending my last days for two weeks in England with a bang).
Personally, I like mystery/horror novels myself, so that's the direction I was heading with this. I wanted to write something that I wouldn't mind reading myself.
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2003-10-31 17:22:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
i've already written the next part for you.
http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1066951013989127498
and part three is in the works. (I think i need to clean it up a little.)
http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1067541986565725420
truthfully, you need to spice up the begining a bit. add some pop and fizz. draw the audience into the character and make the character come alive.
who knows, maybe a hallucinatory drug experience might help.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2003-10-31 17:15:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I have nothing to add, it is interesting so far though. What kind of thing did you have in mind, mystery, adventure, what? It sort of seems like the set up is there for a mystery of some kind. He's out looking for inspiration for a book, runs across something... hmmm. There is the old stand-by advice of write what you know, but really I think I was probably onto the correct answer when I said I have nothing to add.
except
all work and no play make jack a dull boy
Submitted by Murphy1844 (user info) at 2003-10-31 17:11:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
That's the way King wrote, Razor. And, regardless of YOUR opinion of the writer, his numbers should speak for themselves.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-10-31 16:59:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
ok look, I don't know how you could write a story you don't know the ending and general overall structure to. It just doesn't make sense to me.
Submitted by Murphy1844 (user info) at 2003-10-31 15:58:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yes and no. King capitalized on the isolation aspect of Jack in The Shining. Moarning is different and will manifest itself differently.
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2003-10-31 15:34:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
#1 frank gets a weird email from someone that says his wife isnt dead, the accident was a fake so that she could get away from him. He goes on a hunt to find clues as to why, and where she is now.
#2 Frank starts seeing wispy glimpses of his wife wherever he goes, and starts to write a new book based on the memories he has of her.
#3 Frank snaps, and he and Joe go on a road trip in a limo "borrowed" from work, and have a "fear and loathing in las vegas" trip, only it leaves them stranded in Bakersfield or some horrible place like that.
Submitted by Party03 (user info) at 2003-10-31 15:25:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I plan on going further with the moaning writer. I just don't know where to go with him. Maybe, it sounds like you're talking about a kind of "Shining" situation right?
Submitted by Murphy1844 (user info) at 2003-10-31 15:19:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Ok, you've set the scene, but, in all honesty, I'm bored.
How about you describe this slow deteriation of Frank. His stories get progessively darker and darker. Maybe he has this dark fantasy that writes about and eventually it becomes real.
So far you've got a moarning writer and an up-beat limo-driver. You can do a lot with a moarning writer.
What if he secludes himself at the Holiday Inn, just writing the same line over and over, and his friend knocks on his door and sees what he's writen while Frank's taking a piss break?
Good luck.