Aaaand I’m back.
So, where have I been these last two months? The usual, really: drowning in uni work, and all the rest of it. Believe you me, having to write two 2,500-word essays in three days is an experience best avoided.
Except, here’s the ironic thing: university finished three weeks ago. My thought was, with my three-month summer break now on me, I’d be able to get back into the writing habit. But so far, no joys. I’m so out of practise at the moment, it’s taken me way longer than I expected to get my groove back. I still don’t have it back, in point of fact…which is why I’ve given this place yet another two-month absence.
My life sucks sometimes.
But anyway, you’re here for the stories. On account of my major-league writer’s block, I don’t have anything new for you, so I’ll do my usual thing and post up another uni piece. It’s an exercise I did for my last Writing Fiction class, about six weeks or so ago: we did a lot of such exercises, but this is the only one I liked enough to keep. The brief was to write a “countdown story”, a drabble-like thing where the story has only ten sentences, the first with ten words, the second with nine, the third with eight, etc. They’re surprisingly hard, as you have to tell a complete story in only a very short space.
So why do I like it? Mostly, because of the plot. It’s inspired by what I call the “puddle analogy”, an argument against the Design Argument for God – “the universe is so obviously tailor-made for our existence, it had to have been deliberately created by someone” – put forward by, I think, Douglas Adams (PBUH). Well, if it wasn’t his, then he was at least who I heard it from. I won’t go into specifics, ‘cause that would spoil the plot, but I thought it was funny, and a good source for such a tiny story.
Why did this idea occur to me? I don’t know. Then again, never underestimate how strange I can be.
Anyway, that’s enough rambling. To the story…
(NB: I can’t help noting that this intro is over six times the length of the story it was written for. Frankly, never underestimate my ability to bullshit.)
The Life & Opinions Of Mister Damp, Puddle
This hole I live in, it’s just the right size. Was created for me, to fit my exact shape.
I don’t like this sun: I feel dry.
My hole shrinks, just as I do. How nice: it’s always just right. Creator must think of me.
We’re getting smaller now. Getting too small.
But I’m-!
Gone.
So, where have I been these last two months? The usual, really: drowning in uni work, and all the rest of it. Believe you me, having to write two 2,500-word essays in three days is an experience best avoided.
Except, here’s the ironic thing: university finished three weeks ago. My thought was, with my three-month summer break now on me, I’d be able to get back into the writing habit. But so far, no joys. I’m so out of practise at the moment, it’s taken me way longer than I expected to get my groove back. I still don’t have it back, in point of fact…which is why I’ve given this place yet another two-month absence.
My life sucks sometimes.
But anyway, you’re here for the stories. On account of my major-league writer’s block, I don’t have anything new for you, so I’ll do my usual thing and post up another uni piece. It’s an exercise I did for my last Writing Fiction class, about six weeks or so ago: we did a lot of such exercises, but this is the only one I liked enough to keep. The brief was to write a “countdown story”, a drabble-like thing where the story has only ten sentences, the first with ten words, the second with nine, the third with eight, etc. They’re surprisingly hard, as you have to tell a complete story in only a very short space.
So why do I like it? Mostly, because of the plot. It’s inspired by what I call the “puddle analogy”, an argument against the Design Argument for God – “the universe is so obviously tailor-made for our existence, it had to have been deliberately created by someone” – put forward by, I think, Douglas Adams (PBUH). Well, if it wasn’t his, then he was at least who I heard it from. I won’t go into specifics, ‘cause that would spoil the plot, but I thought it was funny, and a good source for such a tiny story.
Why did this idea occur to me? I don’t know. Then again, never underestimate how strange I can be.
Anyway, that’s enough rambling. To the story…
(NB: I can’t help noting that this intro is over six times the length of the story it was written for. Frankly, never underestimate my ability to bullshit.)
The Life & Opinions Of Mister Damp, Puddle
This hole I live in, it’s just the right size. Was created for me, to fit my exact shape.
I don’t like this sun: I feel dry.
My hole shrinks, just as I do. How nice: it’s always just right. Creator must think of me.
We’re getting smaller now. Getting too small.
But I’m-!
Gone.
