Lumiere Stories 1st Batch Deadline: July 27 @ Midnight

[voltes5]

Hastur:
8) I will be collecting stories until July 27. I will get them posted periodically, in batches, so that you can all see stuff as it happens. However, the contest ends at Midnight of July 27, 2002. Anything received after that will not be a part of this exercise.Just want to bring this to everyone's attention.

I'm also just damn excited. Also, if you've submitted stories, feel free to post what landmarks you've worked on so that we can begin storming up ideas for other landmarks that haven't been touched yet.

As for me, I've submitted 7 stories so far that all related to the old, abandoned building. I am really eager to hear your opinions. I'm also hoping that I can crank up 3 more by midnight tomorrow. Deadlines are always good for writer's block.

[Rath/Brendan]

I've got one sent in, and another long one. Gonna see if I can punch out another short one between now and then.

Voltes, SEVEN stories, maybe TEN?

I've got my work cut out for me...

[voltes5]

500 word stories are quite short and I find such restrictions easier to work with. Of course, longer short stories are preferrable (since I'm quite verbose).

Anyway, every Chewer should give this a shot. It's a good way to hone your creative writing skills. Plus it's just 500 words which, in a way, does (or should) make the writing easier. I just want to read tons of stories about our town.

[Dan Whitehead]

The 500 word limit has really stumped me. I've got lots of ideas for stories, but all of them suffer if I cut them down to fit the word count, so I'm holding off and seeing what our next assignment is.

[voltes5]

Same here. I had epic sentences for, which I had to trim down which eventually lost the "spirit" of what I was trying to say. It's a good lesson in word economy though.

But, hopefully, future projects would raise the word limit or, even better, eliminate them. But then again, I do see the reason for such limits.

[Rath/Brendan]

Oh yeah...

...guys, from now on, could you please put some sort of date on when your story takes place? It doesn't have to be a specific year, but please put something like "mid 18th century" or "late 20th century". It would make continuity and my job so much easier.

[voltes5]

My misplace comma in my above post is bugging the crap out of me. That edit button is such a cocktease. :D

[Dan Whitehead]

Voltes & The Swan Song Of Kali:
My misplace comma in my above post is bugging the crap out of me. That edit button is such a cocktease. :D It's bugging the crap out of me as well. One of the curses of being an editor by trade - I spot every spelling mistake and grammatical slip. Which, on the Internet, can be quite painful at times :D

Point taken about word economy. Unfortunately, it's something I'm shit at. All my ideas seem to be stories, rather than vignettes, and after reading Poxy's miniature marvel I realised my approach to writing was never going to work in such a limit. So rather than frustrate myself, or throw away a good idea on an ill-suited form, I've had to sit this one out.

[gravedigger]

Dan, if you ever feel like punishing yourself, as an editor you'll appreciate the message boards found here:

<a href="http://www.nancies.org/boards" target="_blank">http://www.nancies.org/boards</a>

Many times it makes me ashamed to be a fan.

[Dan Whitehead]

When I feel like punishing myself, I go and read a bunch of TalkBacks. Goddam, it hurts so gooood...

[Richard Dickson]

Dan Whitehead vs The Peanut Sisters:
All my ideas seem to be stories, rather than vignettes, and after reading Poxy's miniature marvel I realised my approach to writing was never going to work in such a limit.Well, Let Him Dangle was a bit longer to start, but I just went back and kept cutting out the fat to get down to the meat of the story. Yeah, sometimes it's cool to have the flowery language, but sometimes it helps to have to get in and out fast.

[Dan Whitehead]

What I realised when reading "Let Him Dangle" was that it was utterly compact - basically one scene from a larger story, with a punchy modern day ending. All my ideas were trying to cram the entire story into 500 words, which was just frustrating me.

I may clear my head and have another try before the deadline, depending on my oh-so-hectic schedule. After all, being in the UK, I've got an extra few hours thanks to the wonders of time zones...

[voltes5]

Come on, Mr. Whitehead! I look forward to reading more of your creative writing. Just do it!

[Coyote]

"Yeah, sometimes it's cool to have the flowery language, but sometimes it helps to have to get in and out fast."

Shouldn't this be on the sex boards?

[voltes5]

If I may offer tips.....

This is my writing process with our specific project (find a landmark and write a 500 word story that relates to it).

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> Think of a landmark that I really want to work with. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> Faced with a 500 word limitation, I brainstorm intriguing concepts that could be told quickly. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> Take note of all such concepts and ideas; then dwell on the best ones. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> Once a major concept consumes me, I begin writing. Just going for it while keeping in mind the word limit. I'm also always checking for word count when I'm halfway through a page.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Also, focus on a discernible plot that does have a beginning, middle, and end. Vignettes are exceptions to a rule (and in the case of our project, we ARE creating an evolving and ongoing history so vignettes are [or should be] acceptable). Still, vignettes can start, which then expound, and finally end.
Writing practices are different for all of us, but I just wanted to share the technique that I've done with this particular project and I feel that it might be of some use.

[Capt. Eucalyptus]

OK maybe I'm just a big dumbass but where are the details on the Lumiere thing. I want in!!!

[Brown Cow and the Shaft]

Hey guys! The Lumiere project is an awesome idea and I've been following along as best I could. Are all the stories limited to 500 words? I guess that'll help me get mine in before tommorrow. Will there be longer stories allowed in the future or is this word count only for the first batch?

[Blofeld]

It's a first batch thing only. With this first round we're trying to get some of the geography of the town nailed down. And what better way to create a creepy town than have creepy short stories. Future assignments will loosen the word count, as I understand it.

[Blofeld]

Here's the thread announcing this round, Scott:

<a href="http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000031" target="_blank">http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000031</a>

[Capt. Eucalyptus]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blofeld:
<strong>Here's the thread announcing this round, Scott:

<a href="http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000031" target="_blank">http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000031</a></strong>[/Q UOTE]

Thanks Blo. Got my first (and probably only for this batch) in.

[Rath/Brendan]

For the record, my story was about Melies Point, the lovers lane above the abandoned mines.

I'm going to try and finish one that isn't total ass about a lighthouse.

And I've already written a longer one about anti-Semitism.

[Coyote]

We don't have an ocean or a beach. The lighthouse should be fun wink

[Rath/Brendan]

Old Man Coyote:
We don't have an ocean or a beach. The lighthouse should be fun wink Yah, we do have a beach. I'm writing a story that takes place on it.

AND I thought we had already established that there was a river, the Seward River.

[Coyote]

They put lighthouses on rivers?
(I'm not complaining. Even if some madman built a lighthouse for the hell of it, hey...I like lighthouses wink )

[Blofeld]

Apparently, Lumiere rests at the mouth of the Seward River, right where the river enters into the ocean.

[Rath/Brendan]

Blofeld:
Apparently, Lumiere rests at the mouth of the Seward River, right where the river enters into the ocean.A big ass lake, actually. The fifth largest lake in the United States.

But ocean works, too.

[Coyote]

Erm...okay. News to me. This makes it hard for any ships to travel up to Lumiere, which IIRC, was the last stop up river before the mountains got too rocky to allow ships upstream. That's assuming, of course, that I remembered correctly from a previous stream of posts.
The reason that makes it hard is because the distance between mountains and ocean or lake would be a few miles.

[Coyote]

Here it is:
<a href="http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000022" target="_blank">http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000022</a>

Everyone seemed to like the cliffs, end of the river routine, at the time. Now, if it's changed, ok, I just didn't know. Despite living with Hastur, the only 2 stories I've actually seen (ahem) are mine & the Danglin' one. I've missed a post somewhere if it was discussed and changed (lords know, the other idea wasn't set in stone...I just didn't see any change from it, is all.)

The reason I like the "end of the river" bit is because it's the end of the line...it's part of the civilized trade route, but being the end of it, just barely, allowing the small town feel to mix with tourism and corporate draw in select cases (rather than the middle of nowhere).

[Coyote]

Hrm, here's an idea...and I'm just brainstorming here, I don't know from a geological standpoint if this is even possible...what is this big ass lake is actually upstream from Lumiere, an elevated lake in the mountains (in a valley, but the valley is a higher elevation that Lumier, allowing for trade upriver to end at Lumier because upstream is a rocky elevation...then the lake...then the river continues on the other side, upstream, fed by melting snow as well as a riverhead), and the Seward actually grows to a huge size downstream of Lumiere, fed by tributaries. (It can't be huge at Lumiere in this model, because a huge river would drain a lake, but it can still be fairly hefty, large enough for ship traffic.)

This would allow all the ideas to still be incorporated.

Wait, hand me that cigarette, I feel I'm about to be shot at. I'll pass on the blindfold. Yes, I know it's wafer thin, take it away.

[Coyote]

What's the name of this lake? I'm going to use it in a story wink

[Rath/Brendan]

What about this:

The river forks at a hard-to-see place in the cliffs. One goes to lumiere, but is at the end of the river and there is a waterfall at the end (but the river's big enough for ships to turn round in), the other goes to rapids before the aptly named Royal Falls. The lighthouse stands at the tip of the fork as to direct ships which fork to take.

That way you got the lighouse, the cliffs, the river, AND the waterfalls.

Everybody's happy.

[Coyote]

(Again, this is brainstorming. This is not whinning, or saying "My way is right!" or whatever. It's point and counter point in order to try to come up with the best setting for people to have maximumn freedom to play without contradicting each other, yet give the most choices of playgrounds possible)

Only problem with being at the bottom of the river instead of the top, trading route wise, is that the bottom tends to be the bigger cities, because things flow downstream...the further upstream you go, the more frontier you get, as only the determined explorers set up shop up there...which shapes the feel of the town.
This is Poxy & Blo's cue to step in and say we're thinking too hard about this.
Which will be my cue to throw worldbuilding books at them from Ben Bova, Orson Scott Card, Harlan Ellison, and the like. wink

[Richard Dickson]

The lighthouse could simply be a relic of Lumiere's failed dream of being a major port city on the Seward River. Or maybe it's sort of a town joke that some fool went off and built a lighthouse when the town really didn't need one.

[Rath/Brendan]

Something I don't understand:

Why are we treating the town as if it's decrepid?

It can be creepy and still be successful. For example, the first story I sent to Hastur deals with the rich people up on the cliffs above the mines. Why are we all assumming that it's dirty, and dingy and failed? Can't that just be part of it.

Besides, Lumiere's major export was stuff they got out of the mines, so it doesn't matter if they're a major port.

Another story I'm currently working on has a gambling casino.

There are plenty of other opportunites for wealth to be had.

[Dan Whitehead]

I figured that there were rundown parts of town, but also more respectable areas.

Do we have a cinema yet? Given the name of the town, I refuse to believe there isn't one. If not, I've got a couple of ideas I'd like to run with.

Finally, I've learned more about the formation of rivers in this thread than in five years of High School. Thank you.

[Dan Whitehead]

Voltes & The Swan Song Of Kali:
Come on, Mr. Whitehead! I look forward to reading more of your creative writing. Just do it!OK True Believers! My first contribution is done and on it's way. I'm going to try and do a few more before the deadline, depending on how that pesky muse treats me...

[Coyote]

Frontier does not equal decrepid or ghosttown. I'm not sure where you're getting that.

Towns that are end of the line in a prosperous trading route tend to have alot of neat cultural objects and mixes that are a nest for writing ideas. Like large port cities, then tend to be a hishmash of different cultures, and tend to be shaped by those original people who pushed far enough to wind out there that far. They start OUT as the boondocks, but by today have either died out (not the case here) or blossomed into something small but cosmopolitan, with relics hanging around the edges (old mills, mines that were exploited and abandoned, ancient indian burial ground that's been forgotten, cults, frontier justice sites, etc) and local legends and such. Colorado and California are full of these places, for instance.
They're ripe for exploration by writers, because there's plenty of weirdness around the edges.

[Dan Whitehead]

Second story finished and sent. But for now, my well hath run dry. Two stories in one evening is too much for a delicate artistic mind... :D

[Coyote]

Those wondering at Hastur's absence: She's taken a break from life, including work. We'll tap on the tank tonight and let her out.
You should expect to hear from her in the next 24 hrs, most likely.

[voltes5]

It's midnight! eek!

[Coyote]

Sorry, she didn't specify...midnight Venusian time.

[voltes5]

Those Venusians, I tell ya.....

[Dan Whitehead]

Coyote Blue:
Sorry, she didn't specify...midnight Venusian time.But...I've just been feeding my Mogwai... eek!

[Hastur]

The mogwai are officially gremlins.

The moon has officially hit it's zenith. The werewolves have all turned and are chasing semi's down I-95.

The exercise is over.

And I have about 40 billion of these things to edit. So. Looks like I'm back to work.

Sorry I've been out of it for a while guys and ghouls. I was in desperate need of a reset.

Now, however, I am going to start pounding out stuff. Promise.

[Blofeld]

So, my submission about the voodoo-tale that kills its editor didn't work for you?