Writing game 4 - based on Hills Like White Elephants

200 words – based on Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway: (oh, and it's fiction, I suppose.)

The pathway

They walked down the pathway with dust swishing around them.

‘So… have you decided what to do yet,?’ the elderly looking woman asked.

‘No’.

The young girl’s eyes strayed off the pathway and out into nothingness. With an obvious sadness she dragged her eyes back onto the old, used road. It was barren and indifferent with no life to it. At some point some people must have decided not to bother anymore – to leave it be and let it die. Or maybe the road lost interest and decided not to fight all the dust and carelessness anymore.

‘You need to decide’, the woman pushed on.

‘Why?,’ asked the girl, curiously glancing up from her hooded visage.

‘Dear child, we all need to make choices and sacrifices, you know this,’ she said in a shocked tone. She dusted off her robe.

She glanced away, yet again looking towards horizon and the setting sun. She stopped abruptly, carefully scrutinizing the old woman’s face. Mostly it looked like she had bitten down on a very sour lemon years earlier and her face had frozen into that expression and wrinkles had set on top of it all.

‘I cannot. I will not’, she said, throwing down her cross and rushing away.

200 words as a writer

200 words as a writer

She was sat on the railing of the boat looking out over the sea. In the horizon she could vaguely spot the island. Her island. After a full day at sea she was looking forward to being back at land, having a shower and washing the salt out of her hair. Seeing as there was no hot water it would be a short shower, like always, but it did not matter. In this humidity a cold shower was often welcomed. And it helped to keep her awake. But first she had to help clean the boat and the gear – and long and tedious job that she would have to repeat tomorrow anyway. As they neared land she walked towards the captain’s cabin to phone the office and let them know that they would be there soon and ask them to send out extra hands to help. They had about half a dozen of trainees at the moment and though she was neither apathetic or sluggish she would tell them to do the hard parts – it was a part of being a trainee, work hard and you will never forget……

Supposedly the beginning of what could once be a complete story.

June T.S - Author function

Love, love, love

”Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you” is a line from a song by UB40 about falling in love, which is the bane of our existence. It is the best, worst, most difficult thing we will ever have to endure. Without love none of us would exist in this world which is filled with happiness, life, war, courage and co-existence and without love none of these important terms would ever have been thought of. Love is what makes the world go round, when either falling in love or falling out of love, love is what determines how you live your life. As the line from the song express, we are fools to rush in love, because in the end all it will cause us is hurt one way or the other. But wise men say “the one” is out there and that we should keep looking as long as we believe. So we do. That is the only way the world can go round and round until none of us is here anymore.

Final Diary of The Duchess

Dear Diary.

I know now what I must do.  But I am afraid to.  You are the only one I can talk to about this and I know you will never tell anybody.  You will never betray his loyalty.  I feel trapped.  I cannot speak freely as I used to.  The words are stuck in my mouth and I feel uncomfortable all of the time.  People can tell that something is wrong but I’m trying my hardest to conceal it.  For what would be the consequences?  I don’t trust myself to tell the truth.  What if he’s right and I’m imagining everything inside my head.  He whispered in my ear last night that he was going to strangulate me in my sleep.  Then he grinned.  I know what he is going to say if I confront him with this.  That’s a lie.  It never happened.  I was joking and you are hearing things inside of your head that don’t exist.  I know that I’m going to doubt myself.  Maybe he is right that all I want is attention from other men, that I am easy.  I would jump at the first opportunity to get into bed with another man.  That is why he needs to control me, because he doesn’t trust me to control myself.  That is why he forbids me to speak to other males.  That is why I have to carry this code of silence to please him and make sure that I do not act inappropriately.  I feel sick inside my stomach.  No matter what I do, it is wrong.  I am wrong.  I’m scared that he will hurt me somehow.  I know that this far it has only been words and I know that it is his jealousy speaking, not himself.  But I am terribly afraid he is going to snap.  I see it in him whenever he cries and begs me to stay with him, to give up my own freedom for him to feel like he’s not losing control over me.  My head is aching and my heart is pounding hard inside my chest as I’m confessing this to you.  I’m so scared that he is going to find this evidence of my betrayal.  It’s enough.  I don’t know what else is out there for me.  I know that nobody else will ever love me, they only want me for sex, as he tells me.  But I will take that chance.  I will leave tonight and never come back.  No matter what I have to go through.  I will never come back.

* The Duchess  

A Summer's Day

Your fair hair sways in the wind
Your blue eyes
Your soft lips
I feel free
You make me fly
We will stay this way
Till the day the world ends

Hacking Words

Author Function: Scribbler/Hack

Abstract Notion: Written Art

If I were a philosopher, I'd most likely say something.. philosophical.

If I were an author, I'd probably start with "once upon a time" and end with "happily ever after."

If I were a king, I'd always hear the phrase "Your Majesty."

If I were a clown, I'd need professional quality make-up remover.

If I were an octopus, I would never need ink for my 8 pens.

If I were a yodeler, I'd have lost my voice quite some time ago.

If I were a rich man, I wouldn't have to work hard.

If I were a Audrey Hepburn, I'd tell the I didn't have a Funny Face.

If I were a starving college student, I'd probably have a cupboard full of Ramen noodles.

If I were a hack, I most likely wouldn't take this seriously.

writing game 4. based on hills like white elephants

Writing game 4

Genre: Poetry

A guy who once lived by the name Hemingway, wrote a story of what?

Well hard to say...........

I guess about love between father and mother who really had nothing to say to each other?

Of happiness lying just out of your reach, of drinking with elephants dipped in bleach…….

But further than that no lesson to teach? Well certainly not one MY telly would preach!

A guy who once lived by the name Hemingway, did nothing but leading his readers astray!

What’s love without passion, emotion and flame?

Enumerating those unworthy of fame…….

No room for such trivialities in our plasmadream

-so what if his rambling makes her wanna scream!

I guess we´re just driven by unconcern, by displeasure and by a reluctance to learn…

What difference does one life make anyway and why should I care for some old Hemmingway?

Author function

Avoiding stress!

Author: Writer of a letter to the editor

Stress has become a prevalent disease in modern society. Most of us are infected by it to some extend; in our private lives, on the job and even during our leisure time! Experts claim that stress is a silent killer, disintegrating our bodies and making us ill and unhappy. It is even said to spread from one person to another via the bad vibes which it emits like a poisonous gas! It must be fought, but how to avoid this infectious condition?

Some insist that meditation and exercise are the answers; some claim that less work and higher focus on the individual needs are the way to go and again others seek therapy or alternative treatments….these options might indeed work for some…some lucky individuals who have got the time to indulge themselves in matters such as stress and the getting rid of it! Others just have to live with it, suck it up and smile while they do it! If you belong to the segment who have got the spare time to deal with your stress issues the ultimate advice must be following:

To avoid stress DON’T have kids!

Speculation:

The text could also have been a column. As a letter written by a private person it might not be relevant to others than the stressed out writer herself but if written by someone with a say in society it might have promoted others to write a letter to the editor.

200 words as a novelist

She opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. Suddenly she felt some movement and cursed as she banged her head into something hard, as she apparently was thrown on the ground. Taeryn, a 15-year old girl, had lost her parents recently due to a huge fire in her village. She was now an orphan with nowhere to go and this was the reason she had hidden in the huge chest on one of the travellers carriages. She wanted to go with them, to be like them. Earlier that day she had eagerly watched them perform at the fair in her village and she was astonished and fascinated by the coin trick one of the men had been doing. Never before had she seen anything like it – the coin was twisting, turning and dancing over his fingers like it was the most natural thing to do.

The lid of the chest was removed and Taeryn felt a sudden pain as two enormous hands were gripping her arms and lifting her up. A young man with black eyes sieged her and to her relief he ordered the brute to let her go. Not much was said, but she was given a part to play in the group – she had to pickpocket the people watching the show.

Time

The time is always now: the past, the present, and the future – the timeless beauty of infinity. We cannot escape time, we cannot run from it, we cannot go back in time and change the course of events, we cannot stop time. I wish there were no time, since we are always seem to be running late, never accomplishing the things we set out to do in time, it is an eternal race against the clock which we will never win. Tick tock, tick tock you better hurry up. Time is running out you better make the best of it. Time perception and experience differs, time can feel like an eternity, and time can pass away with the blink of an eye. Time is in constant motion, yet unalterable. The playful, intangible and ever-existing notion of time is the clockwork that makes society tick, yet once upon a time there was no real sense of time. The timelessness of existence, death and life is a part of our lifecycle. Time controls us, mechanically operating our every move. The time is always now; time out, time bomb, just in time, never in time, any time, one at a time, many a time, time after time, lunch time, kill time, in no time, once upon a time, take your time, time out, time span, timeless, time-consuming, timetable, time zone, time frame, time limit, time’s up!

I chose the author function “scribbler” and chose to write in 'prose-style' to cover the abstract notion “time” by choosing this function I can exploit the frame, with little attention to legibility, style and sentence construction. It would be another expression if I had chosen one of the other author functions.

Writing Game - week three.

Author function: Scriptwriter
Abstract notion: Otherness



EXT. SMALL AFGHAN DESERT VILLAGE – DAY

The sun is boiling from a cloudless sky as a young American SOLDIER, accompanied by an INTERPRETER, approaches a dirty and worn out Afghan native with a pack of mules.

SOLDIER
Can you tell me how far is the
nearest city?


The interpreter translates. The native points in a random direction and utters a single sentence.

INTERPRETER
It’s just a three hour walk in
that direction.


He points. The native smiles and shows a toothless grin. The soldier bursts out in laughter and responds in a friendly vibe but in all seriousness.

SOLDIER
Yeah, I’d prefer a cab too in
this heat.


The interpreter translates while laughing. The native looks confused and not sure if he is supposed to laugh with them.

SOLDIER
Thanks. You have a good day, sir.


The interpreter translates and the native bursts out laughing. Both soldier and interpreter look somewhat surprised. They walk away. The soldier leans towards the interpreter.

SOLDIER
Too much desert heat. I’m looking
forward to a cold Bud.


CUT.

I've chosen to write as a poet and the abstract notion is nature.

The jungle is entangling me heavy and dense
I am struggling to advance
The air exhausts me and takes my confidence
To my prey this is a dance

the things I brought to aid me is now resistance
it wears me down each little ounce
but this is it I won't get another chance
when the time comes one of us will pounce

I feel it now we're almost there
sure footed now the wind to my favor
up the velocity the jungle starts to clear
focus now save the thought of flavor

what is this where has he gone
how did he cheat
that's him behind me I'm not alone
He completes the hunt this is my defeat

I? We?

Author function: Scribbler
Abstract notion: Identity

Think about it: how many times a day does the word ‘I’ escape exactly your lips? I mean, that is a whole lot of I’s! Considering it, we are quite self-centred, aren’t we? We’re not listening to others really, but merely waiting for our turn to speak up and narrate something we don’t believe out listeners can live without hearing. How about the usage of ‘we’? Just count how many times the word occurred in the previous lines. Four times. But, who is ‘we’? When casually using the word I’m referring to who, exactly? ‘We’, as in all the people in the world? ‘We’, as in everybody in my own hemisphere? Or who is ‘we’? Can the notion of ‘we’ really be determined before the ‘I’ is really known?

Had I chosen another author function it would for sure have been more structured and made a lot more sense (as opposed to the zero meaning it makes now).

The Sarcastic Prophet | Notion: War

“Hear ye, hear ye! Ladies and gentlemen, glorious citizens of Denmark! I know you take a lot of pride in your country and ideals – your democracy and freedom of speech alike. And you have every right to do so, for you are very powerful indeed. Everyone should be more like you!

I have seen that which you have done, and I bring thee good tidings: the future holds even more glory for you than the past. Your desire to do good deeds in the world does not pass unnoticed; God himself has seen your magnificent submarine in action – or ready for it, at least. Oh yes, indeed, your ambition and will to make changes is in the world through war is unmatched! The future brings more possibilities for you, and your United States friends are counting on your invaluable assistance. New conflicts shall arise, and together, you shall be the solution to these. Everyone is counting on you.

With “great” power comes great responsibility. Do not let the world down!“

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Had I chosen another author function, the message would lose some of its impact in terms of predetermination and heroism - Denmark would not be presented in the same 'epic' tone. The epic tone carries a lot of the sarcastic meaning, so some of that would be lost.

I do not want to be rude…..

But could you please give me your undivided attention for the next thirty seconds? Attention is a pretty interesting concept, given that it often acts as a large motivator for why people act as they do.

No, attention is probably not the correct term to use here, rather the need for it. Let us be honest here for a second: Human beings crave attention.

Yes, even you, child.

It is okay to shake your head and go “nu-uh”, but it is the reason you post every obsessive detail, every worthless little happening in your life on Facebook, the reason your picture folder has a thousand pictures, ten for each time you saw a mirror. It is this vague, onanistic notion providing you with the validation which you crave, this feeling that people are boundlessly interested in what goes on in your life. The internet helps to fuel this, your addiction, with this omnipotent feeling of being able to access all the information in the world.

Not to worry though, I promise not to tell anyone about the truth of it all, for I am the same. I need this just as much as you. After all, I made this blog.

Notion: Craving attention

Author function: Blogger. I guess it would have been more detached and clinical had I used a different author approach. It also ended up sounding really pretentious and stupid.

[200 words exactly, YIRRRRR]

WG: Duchess De-centred - Revised

“
He asked me to sit down and look at his painting.
He called it his last Duchess.

He told me enthusiastically that the famous Frà Pandolf had painted him the picture of his departed first wife, speaking Pandolf’s name in a way that most people only speak of late artists…

He too seemed jealous of Pandolf, as if he had been able to move the late Duchess in a way the he himself only could have dreamt of.

Now, however, he has put himself in complete control, as only he controls the curtains that reveal and cover her, making him sole decider of who may or may not move her!

He described how she was easy to joy, and how all but any man could please her, even those without a nine-hundred-year-old-name.

He described how she was easy to smile, and how he stopped those smiles altogether.

I fear he killed her, perhaps even Pandolf too.

He killed her and turned her into a work of art – in his possession and under his control, just like his bronze-statue of Neptune…Taming a sea horse.

“

These are serious accusations, do you have any sort of proof?

No, I am afraid I do not Chief Inspector, but as I am to marry my daughter away to this man, a worried farther would hope his hunch would warrant an old acquaintance to investigate, regardless.

Yes, quite…

To-do list

Morality, point of view of a hack"prophet".

The 10 commandments ver. 2.0

1. First off, I'm the Lord, your God. Recognize. Except Sundays, that's my day off. And I gotta leave early Friday to drive my mom to the dentists... really.
2. Thou shan't not have any other gods but ME, 'cause I'm really insecure and those other guys seem way cooler than me :((
3. Thou shaaan't compete in American Idol, hm wait... that doesn't sound right, something about Idols.
4. Futhermore, thou shantsest take thy Lords name in vein, because name calling is really childish, grow the fuck up already! Geez.
5. Remember the Black Sabbath and keep it holy, even though Ozzy is a washed up senile junkie.
6. honour thy father and thy mother and thank them for not wearing a condom at that Christmas party all those years ago, bang-up job guyzzz.
7. Thou shan't kill, unless it's someone REALLY annoying, like mouthbreathers or people who end sentences with propositions.
8. Thou shantests so not commit adultery, unless you are both really drunk and/or on roofies.
9. Thou shan't not either steal, unless it's some really nice stuff that you just GOT to have and you are broke and noone wants to borrow you the money and then you totally have to pay them back.
10. Lastly, thou shant'z bare false witness against your neighbor, now the guy down the block is totally fair game, he is a douchebag jerk anyway.

Now do all this shit or you are SO going to hell. Peace out, ass-hats!

Drenched In the Blood of Christ

Author function: Death Metal Singer Notion: Religion

Drenched In the Blood of Christ:

Feel the last screams of the dying Christ,

As he was nailed to the cross,

Burned in Lucifer’s realm,

Man will feel no loss,

He will Burn, He will Burn,

Drenched in the blood of Christ!

He will Burn, He will Burn,

Drenched in the blood of Christ!

Scorched is the crying Christ,

Choked on his Christian lies lain,

Hunt him down in Lucifer’s realm,

Hunt down his charred remains,

He will Burn, He will Burn,

Drenched in the blood of Christ!

He will Burn, He will Burn,

Drenched in the blood of Christ!

Your Angels will be broken,

god will be unspoken,

Armageddon will come,

Now fuck off and be undone,

He burns in Lucifer’s realm,

Drenched in the blood of Christ!

He burns in Lucifer’s realm,

Drenched in the blood of Christ!

If I had chosen the function of a singer from a Christian metal band, the lyrics would never be as satanic. They would praise Christ and speak of how he offered himself for our sins, whilst these lyrics condemn him to an eternity in hell.