I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in this next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
wiping and moving bottles around.
I tapped my empty glass on the bar. “You think there’s another round left in that fifty?”
Later, glad I decided to wear flats, I climbed the stairs to my apartment. Which was also my office. I had a separate office six months ago but my finances dictated I choose between the two. My office had the faster internet connection, but my apartment had a working shower, so there really was no choice. I’ll take clean hair over cat videos any day of the week.
Weaving slightly I got undressed, already feeling the fuzz of a hangover developing on my tongue. Not for the first time I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I cut out drinking I might have enough money for other things.
I tried to drop my handbag on the dresser, but
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
140Story - Day 5
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in the next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
and a fifty onto the bar and waved Crewcut Douchebag Number Two to the door.
“Lily,” Burton called across the room, “the offer’s on the table for twenty-four hours. After that we’re moving on.”
I nodded and waved my free drink at him as they left.
Scully had already scooped up the fifty, and his other hand hovered over the business card. “What do you want me to do with this?”
‘Throw it in the garbage’ was on my lips. I swear it was. But I hesitated, just that one moment. A lifetime of regret is built from moments like that.
“I’ll take it,” I said, shoving it into my handbag. “You know. Just in case.”
Scully frowned. He knew my past. He knew my present too. Shaking his head he went back to his bartender business, cleaning and
and a fifty onto the bar and waved Crewcut Douchebag Number Two to the door.
“Lily,” Burton called across the room, “the offer’s on the table for twenty-four hours. After that we’re moving on.”
I nodded and waved my free drink at him as they left.
Scully had already scooped up the fifty, and his other hand hovered over the business card. “What do you want me to do with this?”
‘Throw it in the garbage’ was on my lips. I swear it was. But I hesitated, just that one moment. A lifetime of regret is built from moments like that.
“I’ll take it,” I said, shoving it into my handbag. “You know. Just in case.”
Scully frowned. He knew my past. He knew my present too. Shaking his head he went back to his bartender business, cleaning and
Sunday, June 1, 2014
140Story - Day 4
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here
daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find
out in the next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap
was with Telrik he already knew my address, my credit score, and my blood type. Knowing my name wasn’t impressive or scary.
“Still not interested.”
He sat, uninvited. Three easy ways to cripple him flashed through my brain.
“We’re not trying to get you back on the team,” he said, with an oily smile that made me think of a fourth way. “We have a job. Freelance. No strings.”
There were always strings with Telrik. Always.
I smiled sweetly, blinked my mascara-less eyelashes slowly, and shook my head so my auburn braid ended up trailing down my neck. Just in case things were going to get ugly.
“One last time. No. Thank you.”
A flash of anger took over his face for a moment, then he covered it. “Fair enough. We have other resources.”
He flipped a business card
was with Telrik he already knew my address, my credit score, and my blood type. Knowing my name wasn’t impressive or scary.
“Still not interested.”
He sat, uninvited. Three easy ways to cripple him flashed through my brain.
“We’re not trying to get you back on the team,” he said, with an oily smile that made me think of a fourth way. “We have a job. Freelance. No strings.”
There were always strings with Telrik. Always.
I smiled sweetly, blinked my mascara-less eyelashes slowly, and shook my head so my auburn braid ended up trailing down my neck. Just in case things were going to get ugly.
“One last time. No. Thank you.”
A flash of anger took over his face for a moment, then he covered it. “Fair enough. We have other resources.”
He flipped a business card
Saturday, May 31, 2014
140Story - Day 3
I'm writing a story 140 words at a time and posting the results here daily. Can I sustain interest? Will I lose the narrative thread? Find out in the next installment of Bullets Ain't Cheap.
to talk to them, and I desperately wanted to avoid that. After I thought about it for a moment, I took the glass and saluted them in return. Which meant now I owed them.
I’d give anything to give back that free drink.
Crewcut Douchebag Number One stood and made his approach. He was the sort who tugged on his lapels for confidence. Square jaw, but not much stubble, clear eyes without a single wrinkle at the edges. He was a kid playing at being grown.
“I’m Burton,” he said. “I’m with Telrik.”
Of course he was. My old employer. Back when I thought exchanging my conscience and soul for a regular paycheck was a good bargain.
“Not interested,” I said, “but thanks for the drink.”
“You’re Lily Walker.” He watched my face, waiting for a response. But if he
to talk to them, and I desperately wanted to avoid that. After I thought about it for a moment, I took the glass and saluted them in return. Which meant now I owed them.
I’d give anything to give back that free drink.
Crewcut Douchebag Number One stood and made his approach. He was the sort who tugged on his lapels for confidence. Square jaw, but not much stubble, clear eyes without a single wrinkle at the edges. He was a kid playing at being grown.
“I’m Burton,” he said. “I’m with Telrik.”
Of course he was. My old employer. Back when I thought exchanging my conscience and soul for a regular paycheck was a good bargain.
“Not interested,” I said, “but thanks for the drink.”
“You’re Lily Walker.” He watched my face, waiting for a response. But if he
Friday, May 30, 2014
140Story - Day 2
It just occurred to me that people will have to scroll down to read the first bits. If they want to read them in order. Maybe it'll be better backwards.
To recap, I'm telling a story not in 140 character chunks, but in 140 word chunks. Kind of builds in an annoying cliffhanger every day, doesn't it? I will continue daily until either the story's finished (no idea when, I'm writing it in 140 word chunks), I lose interest, or I see others have lost interest.
The next 140 word chapter of Bullets Ain't Cheap:
to pay for this round.”
He nodded at the crewcut douchebags who’d come in half an hour ago. They sat in the corner, backs to the wall, each nursing a beer they’d barely sipped. They looked like cops, they sat like cops, they gave me the eye like cops. But they weren’t cops. Not regular ones, the kind the city paid. They were corporate security. Hired assholes. They saw me and raised their beers in salute.
I shook my head. “I pay for my own drinks.”
Scully winced. “You kind of don’t. Not this month at least. You might want to give this a second thought.”
He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but Scully was wise in the ways of the world. And he had a business to run, same as me. But if I accepted I’d have
To recap, I'm telling a story not in 140 character chunks, but in 140 word chunks. Kind of builds in an annoying cliffhanger every day, doesn't it? I will continue daily until either the story's finished (no idea when, I'm writing it in 140 word chunks), I lose interest, or I see others have lost interest.
The next 140 word chapter of Bullets Ain't Cheap:
to pay for this round.”
He nodded at the crewcut douchebags who’d come in half an hour ago. They sat in the corner, backs to the wall, each nursing a beer they’d barely sipped. They looked like cops, they sat like cops, they gave me the eye like cops. But they weren’t cops. Not regular ones, the kind the city paid. They were corporate security. Hired assholes. They saw me and raised their beers in salute.
I shook my head. “I pay for my own drinks.”
Scully winced. “You kind of don’t. Not this month at least. You might want to give this a second thought.”
He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but Scully was wise in the ways of the world. And he had a business to run, same as me. But if I accepted I’d have
Thursday, May 29, 2014
140Story - Day 1
I thought of something new I'm going to try. Full disclaimer, this is an experiment, and as such has a very high probability of failing. But it might work, too.
I thought about people who consume information in tiny chunks nowadays, which is many people. If you can't express it in 140 characters, then what's the point #amirite? But stories take more than 140 characters. They require development and nurturing. No one can do a story in 140 character chunks, you just can't follow the narrative thread.
But what about 140 word chunks?
Could a person - me - write a story in 140 word units, and have it hold together? Could people consume it in 140 word chunks and enjoy it? I don't know, but I want to find out.
I'm going to write a story in 140 word chunks and post it daily. How many days? Until it's done. Or until I lose interest. Or until I find out that everyone else has lost interest. Like I said, it's an experiment.
I chose a modern noir story, because I think that sort of tale requires very little set-up, the tropes are familiar, and people can jump in at any point and get the gist of what's going on. I hope. So here goes, the first installment of my 140Story, Bullets Ain't Cheap.
The night was hot but the whisky was cold, and Scully let me put it on my tab. Funds had been running dry lately, with a few clients who hadn’t bothered to pay me and a landlord always half a day away from packing up what little I had and throwing it onto the sidewalk. Sure, being a private detective was tough, but I was my own boss, worked my own hours, and never had to wear a necktie. It was a fair trade in my book.
I tapped my glass, hoping Scully would spot me another two fingers of scotch. He did. As the turpentine vapors hit my nose I savored the liquor on my tongue. I’d developed a taste for it during the war. Maybe too much of a taste.
“Lily,” Scully said, “the gentlemen over there want
I thought about people who consume information in tiny chunks nowadays, which is many people. If you can't express it in 140 characters, then what's the point #amirite? But stories take more than 140 characters. They require development and nurturing. No one can do a story in 140 character chunks, you just can't follow the narrative thread.
But what about 140 word chunks?
Could a person - me - write a story in 140 word units, and have it hold together? Could people consume it in 140 word chunks and enjoy it? I don't know, but I want to find out.
I'm going to write a story in 140 word chunks and post it daily. How many days? Until it's done. Or until I lose interest. Or until I find out that everyone else has lost interest. Like I said, it's an experiment.
I chose a modern noir story, because I think that sort of tale requires very little set-up, the tropes are familiar, and people can jump in at any point and get the gist of what's going on. I hope. So here goes, the first installment of my 140Story, Bullets Ain't Cheap.
The night was hot but the whisky was cold, and Scully let me put it on my tab. Funds had been running dry lately, with a few clients who hadn’t bothered to pay me and a landlord always half a day away from packing up what little I had and throwing it onto the sidewalk. Sure, being a private detective was tough, but I was my own boss, worked my own hours, and never had to wear a necktie. It was a fair trade in my book.
I tapped my glass, hoping Scully would spot me another two fingers of scotch. He did. As the turpentine vapors hit my nose I savored the liquor on my tongue. I’d developed a taste for it during the war. Maybe too much of a taste.
“Lily,” Scully said, “the gentlemen over there want
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Dear Hollywood
Dear Hollywood:
First, let me say that the last few years - heck, the last fifteen years - have been magical for me. Really. I think it started with 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' one of my favorite books, and one that I certainly never expected to see on the big screen. I mean, how crazy is it that I got to see the Balrog and Rivendell and... just... everything? So I thank you for that. Then there was Spider-Man, the Raimi version. Excellent, and true to the story. Then there was Watchmen, another movie I never thought could be done in live-action. But you did it, Hollywood. And it was superb. Then there were the X-Men, and Iron Man, and the Hulk and the Avengers, all Marvel properties, which I don't begrudge you. Honestly, DC and Warner Bros. have yet to get it together for a large franchise. Harry Potter seven or eight times, Narnia, another go at Tolkien. There was Hellboy - twice - and Constantine and Ghost Rider and The Dark Knight and Captain America and Wolverine. Superman two or three times. And, yes, I'll even count Green Lantern. You discovered superheroes at last, Hollywood, and jumped in with both feet. The kid in me who always longed to see his comic-book heroes come to life has lived to see the day. Which makes what I'm about to say a little difficult.
It's got to stop.
I say this as a lifelong comic collector. I have 39 long boxes of comics- conservatively figure 10,000 issues - bought with my own money the hard way, once a week on Wednesday, every Wednesday, for decades. The comic store guys call me 'sir.' I know the material, I love the material, I love the movies, even the bad ones. I'm a fan. I'm the guy you most want in your corner, but I can't be, not any longer. Hollywood, you need to quit it with the superhero movies. The concept has run its course, it's not novel, it's not exciting, it's not anything I want to see.
Do you remember when you were a kid, Hollywood, maybe fourteen, and you knew your way around town and you had your own money? You could make your own decisions and not have to answer to anyone. Not until you got home, anyway. And that one time you decided what you really wanted to spend your lawnmowing money on was ice cream? Not a cone from the truck, but a half gallon from the grocery store. And you and your friend each bought half a gallon, and plastic spoons, and you went to the park and ate as much ice cream as you thought you wanted. When you were eating, it was great, wasn't it? But afterwards... oh, afterwards you realized that the reason your mother never let you eat an entire half gallon of ice cream was that it was a terrible idea.
You're eating too much ice cream right now, Hollywood. You're releasing too many superhero movies, and they're all starting to look the same. What began as a cause slowly became a business and now is becoming a racket.* Can't you see you're poisoning the well?
I get it, guys my age with my kind of life experiences run you now, Hollywood, and they want to see what I wanted to see. But it's not the only thing I wanted to see. Twenty years ago superhero movies were tough to sell and almost impossible to make, I get it, and now that technology has advanced you can put on the screen what you never could before. The challenge is to do that with new properties instead of retreading ideas and characters and stories that are seventy-plus years old. I thought I wanted to see my comic books up on the big screen, but it turns out I liked them better when they were on the page.
So, that's it, Hollywood. We're breaking up, you and I. No more superhero movies. I'm done. When you get a fresh idea that doesn't involve mining someone else's work, give me a call. I won't change my number, but I'm not going to hold my breath either.
Sincerely,
Don Hartshorn
* thank you Eric Hoffer
First, let me say that the last few years - heck, the last fifteen years - have been magical for me. Really. I think it started with 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' one of my favorite books, and one that I certainly never expected to see on the big screen. I mean, how crazy is it that I got to see the Balrog and Rivendell and... just... everything? So I thank you for that. Then there was Spider-Man, the Raimi version. Excellent, and true to the story. Then there was Watchmen, another movie I never thought could be done in live-action. But you did it, Hollywood. And it was superb. Then there were the X-Men, and Iron Man, and the Hulk and the Avengers, all Marvel properties, which I don't begrudge you. Honestly, DC and Warner Bros. have yet to get it together for a large franchise. Harry Potter seven or eight times, Narnia, another go at Tolkien. There was Hellboy - twice - and Constantine and Ghost Rider and The Dark Knight and Captain America and Wolverine. Superman two or three times. And, yes, I'll even count Green Lantern. You discovered superheroes at last, Hollywood, and jumped in with both feet. The kid in me who always longed to see his comic-book heroes come to life has lived to see the day. Which makes what I'm about to say a little difficult.
It's got to stop.
I say this as a lifelong comic collector. I have 39 long boxes of comics- conservatively figure 10,000 issues - bought with my own money the hard way, once a week on Wednesday, every Wednesday, for decades. The comic store guys call me 'sir.' I know the material, I love the material, I love the movies, even the bad ones. I'm a fan. I'm the guy you most want in your corner, but I can't be, not any longer. Hollywood, you need to quit it with the superhero movies. The concept has run its course, it's not novel, it's not exciting, it's not anything I want to see.
Do you remember when you were a kid, Hollywood, maybe fourteen, and you knew your way around town and you had your own money? You could make your own decisions and not have to answer to anyone. Not until you got home, anyway. And that one time you decided what you really wanted to spend your lawnmowing money on was ice cream? Not a cone from the truck, but a half gallon from the grocery store. And you and your friend each bought half a gallon, and plastic spoons, and you went to the park and ate as much ice cream as you thought you wanted. When you were eating, it was great, wasn't it? But afterwards... oh, afterwards you realized that the reason your mother never let you eat an entire half gallon of ice cream was that it was a terrible idea.
You're eating too much ice cream right now, Hollywood. You're releasing too many superhero movies, and they're all starting to look the same. What began as a cause slowly became a business and now is becoming a racket.* Can't you see you're poisoning the well?
I get it, guys my age with my kind of life experiences run you now, Hollywood, and they want to see what I wanted to see. But it's not the only thing I wanted to see. Twenty years ago superhero movies were tough to sell and almost impossible to make, I get it, and now that technology has advanced you can put on the screen what you never could before. The challenge is to do that with new properties instead of retreading ideas and characters and stories that are seventy-plus years old. I thought I wanted to see my comic books up on the big screen, but it turns out I liked them better when they were on the page.
So, that's it, Hollywood. We're breaking up, you and I. No more superhero movies. I'm done. When you get a fresh idea that doesn't involve mining someone else's work, give me a call. I won't change my number, but I'm not going to hold my breath either.
Sincerely,
Don Hartshorn
* thank you Eric Hoffer
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Book Smart vs. Real Smart
As a society, we know a lot about a lot of things. When I think about how much more I know about how the universe works than I did even five years ago, I'm amazed. When I think about how much more I know about how the universe works than my grandfather did... I can't even really wrap my head around that. There are things I remember reading about in his old Popular Science magazines, wacky predictions no one took seriously, that are real right now. Some of the stuff my grandfather used to chuckle about I take for granted every day.
So what?
Why the blasphemous question? What do I mean, 'so what?' Isn't the advancement of science its own reward? Don't we all benefit? Aren't social revolutions enabled by the ubiquity of our technology?
Well, sure. Technology and science have enabled many things, not the least of which is populist uprisings in countries where that sort of thing was once thought impossible. Egypt, I'm looking your way. But... I'm not so certain the gee-whiz advancements of science and technology have made their way into our social consciousness.
Time was, forty years ago, the United States had sent men to the Moon over and over again, and science and technology was riding high. Social advancement was on the rise too, with equality for minorities and women becoming not just a wish, but a mandate. Society and social consciousness were on the fast track to change. And, man, as far as technology was concerned, things kicked into high gear. Tech and science exploded, giving us all the many attention-grabbing and focus-eroding devices we have today.
Social science? After about ten years of true progress it all ground to a halt. Sure, we now have a growing equality movement for gay people that didn't exist forty years ago, but we still have an income gap for women, and an increasingly impoverished middle class, and an all-but-extinct working class. The Supreme Court seems to think that corporations are people and that money doesn't corrupt the political process. We're working backwards. What we gained by miles decades ago we're losing by inches now. And all the technology and science doesn't seem to make a difference.
It's time to leave aside being book smart, at least for a while. We need to be real smart. People smart. Compassionate. Human. Money isn't everything, it's not even really important. Neither is the next wireless standard, or how many thousands of miles away we can be and still kill someone, or which app lets a corporation dig deeper into our personal information. What matters is what we do with that technology to make the world a better place. To help others. To improve the lives of everyone, not just a lucky few. It's time to stop being selfish and start putting the interests of others before our own. It's only then that we'll truly earn the advancements of science and technology.
So what?
Why the blasphemous question? What do I mean, 'so what?' Isn't the advancement of science its own reward? Don't we all benefit? Aren't social revolutions enabled by the ubiquity of our technology?
Well, sure. Technology and science have enabled many things, not the least of which is populist uprisings in countries where that sort of thing was once thought impossible. Egypt, I'm looking your way. But... I'm not so certain the gee-whiz advancements of science and technology have made their way into our social consciousness.
Time was, forty years ago, the United States had sent men to the Moon over and over again, and science and technology was riding high. Social advancement was on the rise too, with equality for minorities and women becoming not just a wish, but a mandate. Society and social consciousness were on the fast track to change. And, man, as far as technology was concerned, things kicked into high gear. Tech and science exploded, giving us all the many attention-grabbing and focus-eroding devices we have today.
Social science? After about ten years of true progress it all ground to a halt. Sure, we now have a growing equality movement for gay people that didn't exist forty years ago, but we still have an income gap for women, and an increasingly impoverished middle class, and an all-but-extinct working class. The Supreme Court seems to think that corporations are people and that money doesn't corrupt the political process. We're working backwards. What we gained by miles decades ago we're losing by inches now. And all the technology and science doesn't seem to make a difference.
It's time to leave aside being book smart, at least for a while. We need to be real smart. People smart. Compassionate. Human. Money isn't everything, it's not even really important. Neither is the next wireless standard, or how many thousands of miles away we can be and still kill someone, or which app lets a corporation dig deeper into our personal information. What matters is what we do with that technology to make the world a better place. To help others. To improve the lives of everyone, not just a lucky few. It's time to stop being selfish and start putting the interests of others before our own. It's only then that we'll truly earn the advancements of science and technology.
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