Sunday, January 29, 2012

Good Afternoon, Friends!

A few bits of news and then I'll post some writing from one of our members.
1. Our next meeting is on February 1st. The theme for the month is time travel.
2. If you haven't seen Karen and Josh Leet's non-fiction book, Civil War Lexington, KY: Bluegrass Breeding Ground of Power, you can check it out (and purchase) here.
3. Several writing events are coming up in the next few months, including Script Frenzy, and Camp NanoWrimo. The National Ten Minute Play Contest has moved to the end of the year, so we can revisit that in the fall.
4. We've had several new regular attendees, and I'd like to give them a shout out for being such awesome additions to our group. Thank you Beau, Jay, and Pat!

In December, the theme was: stories that feature a favorite author. Karen gave me permission to post this on the sight, so here it is.

Five Authors in Search of a Character
By Karen Leet

"Back off, Koontz - I saw him first," warned Stephen King.
"You think you're so big and bad," Dean Koontz snapped back. "Just because every bleeding book you write makes a TV series or a blockbuster movie. You're not so big - I could take you down a peg or three or four."
"Yeah," King sneered. "You and what army, buddy?"
The old master stepped between the horror yuppies in time to prevent mayhem and/or bloodshed between the two best selling authors.
Edgar Allen Poe cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I might not have been a best seller, but in my day, I rocked the literary world."
King sneered in silent scorn. Koontz ducked his head in a sort of reverent awe.
"That you did, Master Poe," Koontz acknowledged and glared at King. "You set the stage for the rest of us, and anybody with half a brain - who can't act to save his life - admits that."
King's frown caused Poe to hold out both hands to keep the two best sellers apart.
The woman watching laughed. "Oh come on, boys. Not one of you have a clue. Can you make teenage girls squeal in delighted terror? Can you stop middle aged women in their tracks and sigh fro lost youthful opportunities? Can you pull in mega bucks every time?"
She crossed her arms and smiled a huge Cheshire cat grin. "Nobody outdoes my Twilight series, boys -- you might as well give it up. The character is mine, all mine. Look at him. He's perfect for me - pale, bloodless, heartless, hopeless. What teenage girl wouldn't pass out cold at the glint in those colorless eyes? Besides, he's a mass murderer - I definitely need one of those."
"Get in line," Koontz snapped.
"In your dreams, Vampire Princess," King agreed.
"Now, now," Poe soothed. "Let's stay civil about this."
"Ha!" Stephenie Meyers laughed. "These two together couldn't find a definition for the word if Webster himself got out of his grave to help. And, say, Poe, speaking of being dead, dead, dead, aren't you..."
"Never mind that," Poe cut her off. "We need to work this out. We've got one character and five of us wanting him." He glanced at the silent member of their group and asked, "You are here in search of a character, right?"
The silent author nodded vigorous agreement.
"Yes, well then, let's find a fair way..." began Poe.
King interrupted. "I say, lets' do a King Solomon - and they claim I don't have any religion - hmmph. I say we chop our character into five equal portions - dibs on the heart!"
Koontz sighed. "You just don't get it," he told King. "The point of the Bible story is..."
"Who cares," king snarled. "I get the heart - get it, Poe? The heart is mine and I'll tell no tales!"
Poe bowed his head. Koontz leapt at King, grabbing his rival's throat with clawed fingers. Meyers dove into the fray, pummeling both King and Koontz.
The silent author glided forward, led away the hapless mass murderer, humming happily. "Oh, my," said prim and proper Jane Austen, "you are such a wonderfully brooding fellow - exactly my type!"

In a day or two, I'll get you more caught up on writing prompts from meetings, but I wanted to pose a question to my writing friends out there. Let's say you have the characters, but you are in need of the story. What do you do?

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