Comments on: All Good Stories Start Small http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/ Ridiculous Pursuits, Solemn Matters Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:51:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-10228 John Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:37:46 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-10228 P.S. to Marta: your comment was #9999 in <em>RAMH</em>'s history! Unfortunately, the comment-counting system here counts spam, too, so #10,000 is lost to us. (The next comment, by Jules, came in at something like 10,146. LOTS of spam, obviously. :)) P.S. to Marta: your comment was #9999 in RAMH‘s history! Unfortunately, the comment-counting system here counts spam, too, so #10,000 is lost to us.

(The next comment, by Jules, came in at something like 10,146. LOTS of spam, obviously. :))

]]> By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-10227 John Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:34:19 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-10227 All: Interesting seeing how everyone interprets that little rhyme as an epigraph... My own sense is that some tragedy would unfold in the book -- not necessarily involving a little boy, but certainly an innocent, "carried away in the flood" of some awful crime committed by an adult. Actually, it wouldn't even have to be a crime as such: just some sort of unthinking and/or cruel/heinous act, in which the spilt blood was only metaphorical. Froog: The Bobby Dupea quote only appears before the first comment has been posted for a given blog entry. Once the comment is saved, succeeding commenters on that post don't see it. The quote is something like "I'm looking... for auspicious beginnings." :) All: Interesting seeing how everyone interprets that little rhyme as an epigraph… My own sense is that some tragedy would unfold in the book — not necessarily involving a little boy, but certainly an innocent, “carried away in the flood” of some awful crime committed by an adult. Actually, it wouldn’t even have to be a crime as such: just some sort of unthinking and/or cruel/heinous act, in which the spilt blood was only metaphorical.

Froog: The Bobby Dupea quote only appears before the first comment has been posted for a given blog entry. Once the comment is saved, succeeding commenters on that post don’t see it. The quote is something like “I’m looking… for auspicious beginnings.” :)

]]> By: marta http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-9999 marta Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:00:35 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-9999 I've had two garage sales. Never again. But hey, good luck with yours! As for that little rhyme... It seems like the story of a father who gets his son involved with a scam, and the son is the one pays the big price. And recaptcha says: winner up I’ve had two garage sales. Never again. But hey, good luck with yours!

As for that little rhyme… It seems like the story of a father who gets his son involved with a scam, and the son is the one pays the big price.

And recaptcha says: winner up

]]> By: Froog http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-9983 Froog Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:34:54 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-9983 Thanks for the link, JES. No-one else has stopped by yet, but I liked your T.C. Boyle offering (tempted to find the book and see where it goes). I suppose the nursery rhyme is really about the idea of things of unusual character or abnormal size... or just <i>tall stories</i>. If you choose to play on that, you've got almost limitless scope for story ideas. However, the 'flood of blood' image is so grim and so dominant that it's difficult to focus on anything else. I'm often tempted to try some speculative fiction on the collapse of China (or another major nation) in the near future. I suppose the ram at the centre of it all might point us towards the consequences of a political assassination - the 'flood of blood' requires probably not just one death but riots, anarchy, civil war. Nasty. Didn't you have a quotation from Bobby Dupea on your blog here somewhere? Suddenly seems to have disappeared. I was thinking of titling my post 'Auspicious Beginnings'. Thanks for the link, JES. No-one else has stopped by yet, but I liked your T.C. Boyle offering (tempted to find the book and see where it goes).

I suppose the nursery rhyme is really about the idea of things of unusual character or abnormal size… or just tall stories. If you choose to play on that, you’ve got almost limitless scope for story ideas.

However, the ‘flood of blood’ image is so grim and so dominant that it’s difficult to focus on anything else. I’m often tempted to try some speculative fiction on the collapse of China (or another major nation) in the near future. I suppose the ram at the centre of it all might point us towards the consequences of a political assassination – the ‘flood of blood’ requires probably not just one death but riots, anarchy, civil war. Nasty.

Didn’t you have a quotation from Bobby Dupea on your blog here somewhere? Suddenly seems to have disappeared. I was thinking of titling my post ‘Auspicious Beginnings’.

]]> By: cynth http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-9977 cynth Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:23:09 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-9977 The epigram makes me think of something used in a Hannibal Lector...although I don't suppose it was. But it could have been. Just a little something to make you think. The epigram makes me think of something used in a Hannibal Lector…although I don’t suppose it was. But it could have been. Just a little something to make you think.

]]> By: John http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-9975 John Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:10:22 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-9975 Darc: By "story starts" you mean, like, actual words? or just ideas? This is one of those loopy things I like to use GMail for: a scratch pad that I can access anywhere I've got an Internet connection. What I do is create a message, give it a meaningful subject, <em>be sure to leave all addressee fields blank</em> (very important :)), and then whenever I enter something in the message field just save it as a draft. Then I just keep editing it, forever, always saving it as a draft. Currently, I've got 77 draft messages. Heh. My own worst Electrolux stories are the ones I wrote before I got my first PC. Not (Lord knows) that what I've done since then has been so amazing. BUT those really old ones were such a pain to revise that once I got through (say) 2 versions, a given story was as done as it was ever gonna get! Darc: By “story starts” you mean, like, actual words? or just ideas?

This is one of those loopy things I like to use GMail for: a scratch pad that I can access anywhere I’ve got an Internet connection. What I do is create a message, give it a meaningful subject, be sure to leave all addressee fields blank (very important :)), and then whenever I enter something in the message field just save it as a draft. Then I just keep editing it, forever, always saving it as a draft.

Currently, I’ve got 77 draft messages. Heh.

My own worst Electrolux stories are the ones I wrote before I got my first PC. Not (Lord knows) that what I’ve done since then has been so amazing. BUT those really old ones were such a pain to revise that once I got through (say) 2 versions, a given story was as done as it was ever gonna get!

]]> By: DarcKnyt http://johnesimpson.com/blog/2009/10/all-good-stories-start-small/comment-page-1/#comment-9973 DarcKnyt Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:55:35 +0000 http://johnesimpson.com/blog/?p=5875#comment-9973 I had a bunch of old story starts years ago. But somewhere along the way, I lost them all. I have a new set now, but I don't start stories the same way I used to, and I've grown so much what I wrote isn't any use any longer. I have to start over with them from scratch. It's also interesting to re-read those things and discover how an idea I thought would make a good story then seems to <i>suck</i> like an Electrolux now. And so many of these "ideas" really ... well, they're just not. The ones that survive have to be re-thought in a current mindset and from my current knowledge base. It's weird. Sometimes they springboard into something new; other times I find them unworkable. I had a bunch of old story starts years ago. But somewhere along the way, I lost them all. I have a new set now, but I don’t start stories the same way I used to, and I’ve grown so much what I wrote isn’t any use any longer. I have to start over with them from scratch.

It’s also interesting to re-read those things and discover how an idea I thought would make a good story then seems to suck like an Electrolux now. And so many of these “ideas” really … well, they’re just not.

The ones that survive have to be re-thought in a current mindset and from my current knowledge base. It’s weird. Sometimes they springboard into something new; other times I find them unworkable.

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