As I sit here under my life-sized marble bust of Ruston Q. Foster, I am inspired to ponder all things collaborative...

Today, I'd like to collaborate with you. I'm tired of spewing out self-indulgent memoirs, but my fingers still ache to type a few more exercises before diving into my nascant novel (many notions already thunk up and rejected, in stately turn).

So, if you're willing, please post a comment speaking to the points indicated below, and I will write a short story based on what's provided.


Please provide me the following information on which to base the story:

#1. A TEMPORAL SETTING: Night, day, autumn, spring, past, future.

#2. A SPATIAL SETTING: Under Washinton Irving's bed, trapped on a flying train.

#3. A NARRATIVE SETTING: First person, second person, third person.

#4. A NOTEWORTHY OBJECT: The critical blue paperclip, the shiny gold McGuffin.

#5. A NOTEWORTHY PERSON: The toothless dog, the smelly landlady, the itchy smurf.

#6. A WORD THAT MUST BE INCORPORATED INTO THE TEXT: "Blatherscythe", "rubber-nipples", "recalcitrant"

#7. A MORAL FOR THE STORY: Early bird gets the worm, don't take no wooden nickels, *that*'s the wrong hole.

#8. A GENRE STYLE: Western, Space Opera, Romance, Spytech Thriller.

#9. A HIGH-LEVEL ABSTRACT THEME: Destiny, Balance, Existential Nausea.

#10. A RECURRING SYMBOL: Trees in rain, pentagrams on lampshades, tattoos on midgets.

#11. OTHER: Any other information you think would be useful and/or challenging.

I thank you for your attention and participation. Resulting story will be posted in seven (7) days or less.

(Please note: I did also look for inspiration from my posable action-figure of our esteemed Hulver, but I kept getting distracted by his authentic karate-chop action. I guess I'll have to commission another bust, if I want a more sober muse.)


Finished Product: The Rule of Glittering Veal