Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Writing Circle

At work this week and last, my three co-workers and I have been circulating an email build-your-own-story game. We each get to write one sentence then we send it to the next person in line. And around and around it goes. I'm about to wave my nerd flag with gusto because this game makes me SO EXCITED! For one, ohmygosh did someone say writing game?! Because usually writing involves me, alone, having intimate moments with my laptop... i mean, what? And for two, the story is delightful! We're already on chapter two but let me give you snippet of the beginning.

It was already springtime, and the absence of Beverly’s petunias was somehow more conspicuous than her own. Normally the flowers bloomed pink and purple along the sidewalk leading up to Beverly’s door. Could it have possibly been the urine, Eunice wondered. No, given the purplish residue on the garden’s grassy perimeter, it could only have been chemical sabotage. Whatever the cause, she was reluctant to leave her perch atop the dresser to investigate; this was a job for Kate.

And let me tell you - it only get's better from there. Three of us are writers, one a math major, but to his credit he is a creative thinker with a decent vocabulary. There are twists and turns, but none of the childish "and they she woke up" busniess. At first I thought it would be a mildly entertaining time suck, but as the game continued and the sentences piled up and we wrapped up chapter one, I started to get really excited about the plot. Nerd excited. There were squeels and clapping and exclamations of "I LOVE THIS!". It's opening up a whole new writing option: the world of collaberation. I would love to do this for real one day, for a project to be published (will this be published? no, but maybe I'll print it out and stick it in a notebook for me to find years from now and giggle over) or even for a screenplay a la Matt Damen and Ben Affleck. I have dreams. I have enthusiasm. I have another sentence to write in my outlook email.

1 comment:

  1. It might not be published but I DO think it needs to be read aloud. Dramatically.

    I love you last sentences. :)

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