Saturday, January 6, 2007

Variations

I've got an idea here. What if we were all to collaborate on a very short story, what would it turn out like, I wonder? Stewart Sternburg has his assignments, which are fun and enlightening. So I wonder what it would be like for all of us to collaborate and or variate for want of a better word, on this little story I came up with? I think it might be really neat to see what each person comes up with.
Okay. How this works is I provide a very small story, say no more than eight hundred words, and you can either write your own variation of the story, or you can add to mine, create an alternate ending. This is different, I know, but why not give it a try and see what comes of it? Post your variation on your blogs and let me know when your ready for me to stop by and take a gander. Here we go:



Chomper and Donkey
The dog emerged from the shadows, its muzzle wet and dripping with a dark liquid Donkey cared not to look at. Chomper had killed again, the mangy mutt. But Donkey knew if he said anything Chomper would definitely be angry. And what then? Would Chomper eat Donkey too? Donkey shuddered at the thought. Chomper could be a real prick when he wanted to be, Donkey had the bite marks to prove it. Not to mention his missing tail too. Chomper trotted over, grinning, blood spattering the sidewalk.
"Got'em, Donk. Good eats all aroun'." Said Chomper as he came to a stop before Donkey.
"Good fa you Chompa." Donkey said, hoping his smile was at least partially convincing.
It must have been because Chomper nodded and turned to look back at the small house he had just finished dinning in.
"Damn good eats, Donk. The man tried to trick me but I gotts him b'for he could so much as wiggle that steak at me. Dumb human."
"We betta get a move along, Chompa. Don' wanna be 'round when more humans show up." Donk said, his voice soft.
"Yeah." Chomper said and began padding down the sidewalk.
Donk followed behind Chomper, his heart trip-hammering in his furry chest. He should've never gotten hooked up with Chomper to begin with. Chomper was mean, evil almost. The mutt loved to kill people, something whick Donk didn't much like at all. Donk was a simple, usually kind hearted animal, if not a little odd looking. He knew he was ugly, but that didn't mean he was a bad a guy, did it? No. Of course it didn't. Donk just had no other friends anymore. Chomper was the only friend left, and Chomper had made damn sure of it too. Donk was a prisoner here. Chomper was the warden, and executioner. If Donk tried to leave, Chomper would kill him sure as shit out of a cows' bum.
So Donk kept his mouth shut, and followed his insane dog friend. He followed, knowing he was a prisoner, and nothing he could do, besides die, would release him from it. Chomper held him at bay with horror and terror. Tomorrow night they will come back to town. Tomorrow night Chomper will eat his meal of human flesh and so continued Donk's miserable life. How many were there in store, he wondered? Just how many could he take? The answer was simple: Not many at all.
The End

13 comments:

LoveRundle said...

This is an interesting story because you don't see to many from an animal's point of view, at least not to many books I've picked up. Good work on characterization. At first I thought Chomper had gone hunting. I didn't expect him to attack a human. I feel very sorry for Donkey who has to take all that abuse.

I would take a swing at this, but I'm horrible when it comes to writing animal POVs. I hope other people take your challenge though, it will be fun to see what stories you get from this.

Josh said...

Dude, I don't think i have ever told you this but YOU NEED TO BE A WRITER! That is awesome. Its one of the best things i have read of yours and its just a little story. Keep at it man you got something!!!! And if i ever get on the radio in gonna promote the hell out of you!!!

Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles) said...

I like this. I'll play with it a bit and perhaps do a version...I'll let you know. Right now...meds. Head fuzzy.

Peace.

Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles) said...

You know, it's difficult getting people to take on assignments. I did a few of them, posting my own stuff before anyone joined me.

Actually, I didn't care at the time. I was going to be doing the assignments anyway, along with my writers group in Chesterfield, so posting them on the blog was more of a convenience thing. I was actually sort of surprised when some people stepped up and started with them.

Actually, participation depends on the subject of the assignment. The current one is a toughie, and so you may not see that many people deciding to take it on. Seduction and Weird Addiction...pushed buttons I guess.

Lucas Pederson said...

Christina, thanks for the good words. When I wrote this particular piece I wasn't expecting anyone to like it. Really I thought it would be fun to see what people come up with. Too bad you can't give it a try. That's okay, there'll be more.
Josh! Buddy! Thanks for stopping by and thanks a lot for the support. If ever I become a published writer, you better hook me up, I'll need all the help I can get! :-) Catch ya later, man!
Thanks for giving this a try, Stewart! I think in the end it might surprise you. I've written two versions of this story. The one posted and another in my journal. Both are similar in structure, but different as far story goes. I hope folks will at least give it shot. What can it hurt?

Susan Miller said...

Lucas, I would like to give this a try and knew right away where I would go with it, but then...I'm on some sort of craziness with my current story which thankfully only contains about three to four more chapters. Right now I'm feeling relief that it will soon be over.

Maybe I'll take a stab at this when my current story is done.

Thank you for the comments.

Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles) said...

Okay..I've posted my continuation.

Rachel Schell said...

this a great idea...I enjoyed reading the continuation at stewart sternberg and your beginning is brilliant also.

Bird on a Wire said...

Hey, thanks for stopping by! I like this story, and I think I will add to it. It may even be posted on my blog within the next couple of days.

Lucas Pederson said...

Thanks for giving it a try Bird! I can't wait to see what you come up with. It's interesting the avenues one can take with a basic idea set into motion and then made better. I think I will do at least one of these, "Variations" assignment a month. Every month there will be a different, what I call, blueprint story posted here on my blog. I hope this helps folks discover just how deep their river of words flow. And how shocking their imagination and creativity explode to life on the page.

Lucas Pederson said...

Susan, it's too bad you can't give this a try. I bet you would have come up with something interesting.
Rach! Thanks for stopping by and the kind words.

LoveRundle said...

Wow, look you have sparked a big interest in the assignments too.

Are you going to add a link back to everyone who has tried this so readers can see who played around with it?

Lucas Pederson said...

Christina, I'm not exactly sure how to provde the link you speaking of. I'm still really new at this yet.