Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Three Word Story Part II
The story so far:
Intelligent kittens believe in the almighty disappointment that is postmodern non-intellectual discourse. "Stop fiddling everything!" said the kitten to the modernist. With a resounding "Booya", the kitten gave the anonymous porcupine a backrub so vigorous that the quills pierced...
To be continued.
Check out the link in the sidebar to the 'wiki-novel', called A Million Penguins. Generally proclaimed a failure by every boring, old, stick-in-the-mud critic, I think it's quite an interesting read.
Intelligent kittens believe in the almighty disappointment that is postmodern non-intellectual discourse. "Stop fiddling everything!" said the kitten to the modernist. With a resounding "Booya", the kitten gave the anonymous porcupine a backrub so vigorous that the quills pierced...
To be continued.
Check out the link in the sidebar to the 'wiki-novel', called A Million Penguins. Generally proclaimed a failure by every boring, old, stick-in-the-mud critic, I think it's quite an interesting read.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Three Word Story
One fairly well known collaborative writing exercise is the Three Word Story, where each contributor adds three (and only three) words to the current story. This can be very useful for the writing process, as it will make you more aware of the impact of one's choice of words on the rest of the story.
After all, a well chosen set of three words can change the course of an entire story. Maybe even history.
Rules:
1)You may not submit sentences twice in a row, as that detracts from the spontaneity of the story.
2)Before posting, read Everything that has come before.
3)The story does not necessarily have to be consistent, but sentences must flow logically.
Hints:
-Play around with your choice of words before you submit and see how much you can convey with three words.
Ask yourself the following:
-What would advance the story?
-How can I use what has come before?
-Is there room for flexibility
-Have previous contributors hinted at upcoming plot developments?
(Admittedly, some of these only apply once a few entries have been submitted)
The Opening sentence is:
Intelligent Kittens Believe…
After all, a well chosen set of three words can change the course of an entire story. Maybe even history.
Rules:
1)You may not submit sentences twice in a row, as that detracts from the spontaneity of the story.
2)Before posting, read Everything that has come before.
3)The story does not necessarily have to be consistent, but sentences must flow logically.
Hints:
-Play around with your choice of words before you submit and see how much you can convey with three words.
Ask yourself the following:
-What would advance the story?
-How can I use what has come before?
-Is there room for flexibility
-Have previous contributors hinted at upcoming plot developments?
(Admittedly, some of these only apply once a few entries have been submitted)
The Opening sentence is:
Intelligent Kittens Believe…
Monday, August 13, 2007
More About The Competition
Tell Us Another One is a new Wits creative writing competition, about Wits. It is an opportunity for you to explore what your institution means to you and to play around with the concepts that Wits represents to you, from the special to the absurd.
More importantly, the competition is here to stimulate creative writing on campus. That doesn't mean that we want conventional stories. Use and abuse the constraints. Push the boundaries. We want something different. Not an imitation of what is regarded as 'good' literature, but something that is unique and original. Something playful. Liberate yourself from academic writing styles. Create something new. Tell us another one.
The genre of your story could be anything from science fiction to fantasy, detective noir or cookery horror , if you can pull it off. You could even invent your own genre.
Your story can be set anywhere on campus, from the corridors of Central Block to the great outdoors, otherwise known as the Library Lawns. Wits could even be a character. However you choose to write it, Wits has to feature in the story.
We want the hidden, untold stories of Wits, even those that have never happened outside of your imagination. Be creative. Be unique. Tell us another one.
Wits has already produced one Nobel prize winning author. You could be the next.
Every great author has to start somewhere.
More importantly, the competition is here to stimulate creative writing on campus. That doesn't mean that we want conventional stories. Use and abuse the constraints. Push the boundaries. We want something different. Not an imitation of what is regarded as 'good' literature, but something that is unique and original. Something playful. Liberate yourself from academic writing styles. Create something new. Tell us another one.
The genre of your story could be anything from science fiction to fantasy, detective noir or cookery horror , if you can pull it off. You could even invent your own genre.
Your story can be set anywhere on campus, from the corridors of Central Block to the great outdoors, otherwise known as the Library Lawns. Wits could even be a character. However you choose to write it, Wits has to feature in the story.
We want the hidden, untold stories of Wits, even those that have never happened outside of your imagination. Be creative. Be unique. Tell us another one.
Wits has already produced one Nobel prize winning author. You could be the next.
Every great author has to start somewhere.
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