In Which I Say and Hear All Kinds of Bizarre Things, You Use Those Things As Writing Prompts, and The Winner Takes Glory, Bragging Rights, and a Free Year Of The Starfire Codes on Substack....
Hey just wanted to say thank you again for the opportunity your contest presented me - something about rules, parameters and deadlines can be very liberating. What started out for me as a short story magically morphed into something I later realized sounded like an old school radio broadcast - bring back the Foley studio!!! At any rate, thanks again, love your work and I’m honored that you liked it! :) - Best, James
YAY! Spoiler alert! I just figured out the logistics of how the sentence ties into my story. I chose the hermit crab brains comment because it sounded like something I might've said and I've placed it in a department store cosmetics department as the workplace where I would most likely have said it. Stay tuned😎
Ok, so, I work 40 hours a week in a factory. I just got hired to teach my two dream night classes, jewelry/metalsmithing and photography at a University and need to plan a sylabus for each organize and inventory the jewelry studio and to move in the next three weeks to make it reasonable. I'm weeks behind in finishing my next cat saga chapter. And here I sit churning out the first chapter of a short story involving hermit crab brains and fax machines...I'll get to packing...in a minute. IT'S All YOUR FAULT...and I'm loving it! I'll be quitting that factory one of these days😁...but not this week, I need pickles and toilet paper.
Well I didn't forget or drop the story, but this is my third weekend of moving among other minor catastrophes so I wil be missing this deadline. Also I need to locate the piece of paper I wrote my epiphany on while working at the factory to finish my story. I will still post it when it is done
Sure! And thank you! If you would prefer to use a song instead, just post the link to this same thread and I will know it's the same entry but you have chosen a different format. Thanks!
"Post a link to the story, poem, music, or script you have written in the comments of this article so I can find them and so that others may enjoy reading these too." I interpreted the music part to be lyrics and that is what I attempted to submit. I used the unedited prompt in the lyrics.
If i get a vote, which I know I absolutely don't, I would say definitely record it with a guitar accompaniment. I'm way curious as to the meter and flow intended. My guess would be a sea shanty or folk song, but I'd prefer to be corrected by your actual song.
"I think if you’re going to turn my brain into some kind of weird hermit crab, we can do better than a fax machine."
'Nuff said.
We can though, can't we?! Hahahaha!!
🤣💯
I look forward to this round of VERY silly stories!
LOL! Same here!! :)
Nice, I found a few in there I think I can work with. Just need to put on some weird music and take a microdose of shrooms 😉
Ok, now I'm excited!!! LOL!! :)
Ha! I was surprised to see those sentences come back. You made my morning, thanks!
Lovin' the weird, girlfriend!! 🤪
🤣🤣🤣
I just couldn't let go of the field trip idea - loved them as a kid AND as an adult - thanks for the contest!
https://open.substack.com/pub/jswywatt/p/field-trip-to-mu?r=267q3k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thank you, James! :)
Hey just wanted to say thank you again for the opportunity your contest presented me - something about rules, parameters and deadlines can be very liberating. What started out for me as a short story magically morphed into something I later realized sounded like an old school radio broadcast - bring back the Foley studio!!! At any rate, thanks again, love your work and I’m honored that you liked it! :) - Best, James
It was great!! Thank you so much for entering the contest!! I loved it!! Congratulations, again!! 🎉🍾🥂
YAY! Spoiler alert! I just figured out the logistics of how the sentence ties into my story. I chose the hermit crab brains comment because it sounded like something I might've said and I've placed it in a department store cosmetics department as the workplace where I would most likely have said it. Stay tuned😎
Ha! Awesome!!! <3
Ok, so, I work 40 hours a week in a factory. I just got hired to teach my two dream night classes, jewelry/metalsmithing and photography at a University and need to plan a sylabus for each organize and inventory the jewelry studio and to move in the next three weeks to make it reasonable. I'm weeks behind in finishing my next cat saga chapter. And here I sit churning out the first chapter of a short story involving hermit crab brains and fax machines...I'll get to packing...in a minute. IT'S All YOUR FAULT...and I'm loving it! I'll be quitting that factory one of these days😁...but not this week, I need pickles and toilet paper.
I am so stoked to read your piece!! Sending my love!! 🤣🙏🏻💜💫
Well I didn't forget or drop the story, but this is my third weekend of moving among other minor catastrophes so I wil be missing this deadline. Also I need to locate the piece of paper I wrote my epiphany on while working at the factory to finish my story. I will still post it when it is done
was the first time i ever happened onto your work. Been back every day since because you epitomize this incorrect quote,
"if there is no dancing in this apocalypse, why even have one? And where are the dragons? I was told there would be dragons. I'm going home! "
Well, maybe not so much an incorrect quote as a proper logical conclusion. Now i have to make something for the contest
Thank you!! Thank you!!
Somehow lost the top sentence to the above post, but no worries. I don't remember what it said so it must not have been important. You rock!
Thank you so much, Andi! And congratulations!! Looking forward to your next entry!!
And I LOVE this incorrect quote!! 🤣🙏🏻💜💫
Verse 1
In Bonney Lake, where the rain always pours,
Traffic on the 410, like a serpent it roars,
Dark mornings and evenings, they swallow the day,
Owls in the treetops, they call my soul away.
Chorus
If it’s a bunch of arsonist donkeys, I’ll buy first round,
In this suburban wasteland, lost but never found,
NPR on the drive, the same old sound,
Cats greet me at the door, in this small, lonesome town.
Verse 2
The 167's a river of brake lights and steel,
No one here knows how to feel,
The rain taps a rhythm on my windshield pane,
It echoes the sorrow, the same ol' refrain.
Chorus
If it’s a bunch of arsonist donkeys, I’ll buy first round,
In this suburban wasteland, lost but never found,
NPR on the drive, the same old sound,
Cats greet me at the door, in this small, lonesome town.
Bridge
Owls welcome me home, with their mournful song,
In the heart of Bonney Lake, where I don’t quite belong,
The rain and the darkness, they’ve become my friends,
In this suburban limbo, where the journey never ends.
Verse 3
Each day blends to the next, in a blur of gray,
The rain never stops, it just won’t go away,
But those cats at the door, they make it alright,
In this somber existence, they bring a flicker of light.
Chorus
If it’s a bunch of arsonist donkeys, I’ll buy first round,
In this suburban wasteland, lost but never found,
NPR on the drive, the same old sound,
Cats greet me at the door, in this small, lonesome town.
Outro
In Bonney Lake, where the rain always falls,
I’ll sit with the darkness, within these four walls,
And if it’s arsonist donkeys, or a reason to smile,
I’ll take what I get, and linger a while.
Do I get a bonus if I record myself playing guitar and singing the song with my own chord progressions?
It's not a bonus. It's a song instead of a poem. Music is viable for entry. So is poetry. You can do either, Ryan! :)
Yay! I truly appreciate you open mindedness and respect for individuality. You have the skills to be an organizer and leader. Thank you.
Sure! And thank you! If you would prefer to use a song instead, just post the link to this same thread and I will know it's the same entry but you have chosen a different format. Thanks!
"Post a link to the story, poem, music, or script you have written in the comments of this article so I can find them and so that others may enjoy reading these too." I interpreted the music part to be lyrics and that is what I attempted to submit. I used the unedited prompt in the lyrics.
Right. If you change your entry to a song, just post that song to this same thread so I know it's the same entry, please. :)
If i get a vote, which I know I absolutely don't, I would say definitely record it with a guitar accompaniment. I'm way curious as to the meter and flow intended. My guess would be a sea shanty or folk song, but I'd prefer to be corrected by your actual song.