one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one two three four five six seven eight nine ten
The basement door was open and the light was on. The man at the top wondered who had been paying the bill. Any more, people who lived in the 39th precinct were mostly squatters. As he descended the stairs, he counted them automatically. *By the numbers*, he thought. *Numbers never fail you.*
The floor was damp. The room smelled of mildewed clothes and dirty oil.
That was when he saw it. A golden figure with wings lay sprawled against the water heater, a knife in its right hand. It was still radiating light, but the man could see it was fading. There was blood on the floor; lots of blood.
The flame was steady. The night was still. She sat in the semi-darkness thinking of what she had lost. It's really stupid of me, she muttered under her breath. The flame flickered. A mosquito was toasted in it. She thought about the 39th line of the long piece of code that she had typed. There was a bug there but before she could even finish reading the error message that Java had thrown up...snap! Power cut! And with it was lost...all her ambitions and all her code. Bloody hell...why can't I remember to save my code every once in a while, she silently screamed in agony. The code was to be …
Our office overlooks Seventh Avenue — Fashion Avenue, they call it, although in practice that just means a lot of guys dressed in traffic-cone-orange furs giving out flyers at rush hour. It’s a decent neighborhood. Good Indian food on 28th, sushi on 23rd, great java at the Guy & Gallard next door. If you want Cosi you have to go up to 39th, which is way too far to walk for lunch.
Speaking of lunch, it was time, so after checking with the rest of the gang, I headed out. I was kind of in a dumpling mood, so I thought I’d head out to Rickshaw. The sun was warm, but not “make the empty parking…
though the last few sentences were aimed at conveying the idea that everything else was regular (events in life were "familiar"...everyday occurrences) but this particular night was not
which in turn (as you point out) is based on the power cut
@MετάEd Really? I was just searching for a non-stupid ending since the deadline was up. I usually go for a punchline of some kind and couldn't think of one.
Yep, it's one of those things where you have to teach yourself to observe even the small things around you, and then find a piquant way of describing them
@NeilFein Yeah, the whole concept is fun. Now I want the guy to go and make other experiments, and maybe find out what's really going on or maybe just end up breaking the laws of physics or something.
@LaurenIpsum I find it funny how many were programming-related. Is that because the language is THAT popular, or are we trying to be obscure, or are we all a bunch of computer nerds?
@PraveshParekh The location matters because it informs the story. But sometimes it matters more than others. Does it have to be in a city? does it have to be NYC? etc.
If a story takes place in a generic city, it's still a city. Does that count has it being a "location"?
When writing consciously/subconsciously/unconsciously I have always steered clear of Geography. Maybe because I have never been good with it or maybe because I prefer that little sense of detachment from the rest of the world. Like the incidents could be happening anywhere and everywhere without them being very differeny
@PraveshParekh But lots and lots of stories are intimately dependent on where they take place. They are just impossible, or at least, implausible, in other settings.
Just think of all the horror stories and thrillers that rely on isolating the protagonists from any source of help. Step one is usually to locate the story in a remote area.
@PraveshParekh My point is that it's always a place. Whether it's a specific, real place, or not, you still have to take all the properties of that place and put them into the story.
I (personally) think that if it is not based in any specific city, it gives the author more control over what can be present and what cannot be and the writer can use it to his/her advantage. No?
More detail can mean more atmosphere. It puts the reader farther into precisely the setting you have chosen, rather than letting the reader fill in on his/her own.
@PraveshParekh Yes, you're right, you will get nitpickers. You have to decide if it's worth it.
(Besides, the way real estate turns over, there probably will be a pizza place there, or there used to be.)
It would also depend on the genre or the end result. If people (reading a horror story) fill in details from their everyday life, they might feel the horror element more (perhaps)
@PraveshParekh It depends on how famous that pizza place is meant to be, and what's in its place in reality. Also most people would only object to really bad mistakes. Like if your Pentagon has 6 sides. Or if the Statue of Liberty is in Philadelphia.
@PraveshParekh yes, but famous locations ARE a thing from everyday life.
Here is the chat log for the 2014-04-15 writing exercise.
Topic: A familiar item is unexpectedly present. Words: "39th" and "java".
Topic by: MετάEd
Contributions from:
Neil Fein
MετάEd
Lauren Ipsum
Pravesh Parekh
Mr. Shiny & New 安宇
Here is the chat log for the 2014-04-15 writing exercise.
Topic: A familiar item is unexpectedly present. Words: "39th" and "java".
The Overlook Hotel
The Overlook Hotel