My name is Dave, and I'm a logorrheic
I used to get in trouble in college for turning in papers that were significantly longer than the assignment called for. So for me to get an assignment in the Storyball to generate a 900 (or so) word short story is ...
... well, let's just say the first round I did 2000-odd.
This round, I did 4500.
It's actually a problem, as much as folks kind of chuckled about it. It means I take longer (burn more time, and thus am more reluctant to start anything) to produce what I need to, and it usually means it's bloated with excess narrative and description and the like. I easily need to chop a good 20-40% off of everything I write. Unfortunately, my rewrite cycles tend to actually add words.
I was pleased with this story ("Paradise in the Dashboard Lights"), sort of. It's full of parallel structures and shifting PoVs and weirdness and one big unanswered question at the end (which may, or may not, stay unanswered). I'm pleased with the execution -- but, in the end, it's just a literary conceit, not a good story per se. It's a "see how clever I am" and, hopefully, is entertaining as such.
But when I look at what other folks are cranking out, some of it's just scarily brilliant.
There's a lot more on that topic simmering away somewhere. But don't mind me -- I'm in one of my Salieri moods ... :-)
Comments
pleased with the execution -- but, in the end, it's just a literary conceit, not a good story per se. It's a "see how clever I am" and, hopefully, is entertaining as such.
But when I look at what other folks are cranking out, some of it's just scarily brilliant.
Now, Dave, when you say this, are you remarking that, based on what other people are saying, yours is just scarily brilliant? I mean, that's a little cocky, don't ya think?
*grins*
Posted by: ktbuffy
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April 9, 2006 10:30 AM
Rats! I messed that up. Meant to comment on this part of your remarks:
I'm pleased with the execution -- but, in the end, it's just a literary conceit, not a good story per se. It's a "see how clever I am" and, hopefully, is entertaining as such.
But when I look at what other folks are cranking out, some of it's just scarily brilliant.
Posted by: ktbuffy
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April 9, 2006 10:32 AM
Ah. Well, you can quote text inside of the [blockquote] tags(only use angle brackets, not square brackets).
Hmmm. This is a very small comment text box.
No, the predecessor to the second paragraph's "it's" in this case is "what" in the same paragraph, definitely not the same as the "it's" in the first paragraph.
Posted by: ***Dave
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April 9, 2006 3:46 PM