Author: Douglas

Posted on

Day 110: The Texting of Arthur Brandt

I enjoyed this world builder’s perspective on survival in alternate universes: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/column/sfw17560.html

Let’s give that plotting thing another chance…

MC witnesses a murder. Rather than report the crime MC rationalizes nothing could have been done and that what’s done IS done. The ghost begins to haunt the MC through the written text of books, billboards, signs and other printed materials. The MC’s guilt is high enough that the ghost easily convinces the MC that the only way to get rid of the ghost is to avenge the murder. Using clues left by the ghost the MC locates the murderer and has him arrested.

That makes me laugh. It should make you laugh too. I was just going for cause and effect and conclusion. Not quality. I like the haunting via printed material idea though.

Young MC rescued after four hours under icy water develops ‘remote viewing’. MC struggles to convince parents and other authorities of the veracity of MCs abilities. When MC uncovers a plot to rob the only bank in town and subsequently decimate the small town the MC determines to foil the plot alone. With the help of the MC’s blind grandparent the would be criminals are defeated.

This is a tough as I thought. Can’t get better at that by not doing it some more. But not tonight.

Word count: 230

Posted on

Day 109: My First Three Plot Summaries

One of the joys of being me is that I have a terrible memory for reading. I know I’ve read something and I have no trouble locating a spot in a book without a bookmark, but I can’t always relate the details of a book as well as others. I enjoy rereading books.

I say this as a prelude to the plot summaries to follow. Please don’t grade me on my accuracy or depth. I am shooting for relating a summarized plot, not for a job at Cliffs Notes.

20071210 Journeyman (don’t judge)

While Katie is getting ready for a big family Christmas party Dan is whisked back in time to the paper’s 1974? Christmas party. There he divides his time between talking to his young dad and trying to save the paper’s owner (Dad Paper) from being killed mysteriously. Dan and ?woman? duke it out with the son of the owner (Son Paper) and are sent back to their respective times. Dan solicits police information from his brother regarding the night of the mysterious death of Dad Paper and returns to 1974 to be escorted by security out of the building for fighting. Dad Paper puts a halt to this, embarrassing Son Paper in the process. Eventually Dan and ?woman? discover Dad Paper dead and Son Paper drunk. Dan returns to his time to black mail grown-up Son Paper into giving him his job back.

Snow Crash

Hiro the Pizza Guy gets bailed out by tween YT in a delivery gone amuck. Hiro the Metaverse Forefather is exposed to at least three threads of a plot about to unfold regarding the future of the Metaverse and most people on the planet. Great exposition ensues. Repetitive and dull exposition continues. All the players meet back up on the Ark. In a combination of RL and VR fighting Hiro and YT subdue the Bad Guy’s Henchman then the Bad Guy gets taken out too.

Watership Down

Some rabbits do some stuff.

See what I mean by not remembering well? This might not have been the best exercise since it does dual time pointing out how bad my memory is and what I watch and read.

Word count: 365

Posted on

Day 108: Snow Day in OK

This is one of those posts where I talk to myself.  Their always a chance I’ll end up saying something interesting, but if you have better things to do with your day than take chances on me I’d advise you step off here.

If you’re a regular of 1000 Days you’ll have noticed that I do short things.  I’ll call them things for now since they aren’t really scenes because even those have beginnings, middles, and ends.  I like to think that my things nearly have those, but its not what I am shooting for so they don’t always.  It’s still about the habit and the free-writing.  I like the variety of what I do.  I feel like I accomplish a few core things in the short time I spend with the few words I conjure up, but I don’t plot.

I would like to plot.

I know that one thing comes after another and that sometimes the second grows from the first.  Then there is a third thing and a fourth.  The last thing can wrap it all up or tear it all down.  It’s good when it’s planned and better when it doesn’t look like it was.

The reason I can’t get A to come after B is because I don’t think that way.  I don’t recognize cause and effect on that scale.  I know things like I drop a glass that glass will break, but I don’t know that in bending over to clean up the mess I’ll slip in the scotch, cut myself on a shard, have to go tot he hospital and end up saving the world from nuclear war with the cute nurse I hook up with while getting sutures.  I wait for the next thing to happen I don’t anticipate what that thing will be.

I am thinking I might try my hand at summarizing plots I’ve read.  Maybe if I recite the work of others, I’ll be able to get a feel for it myself.

Word count: pending