Category: Guest Authors

How do you write 100 word stories? #68

Many folk with way too much spare time have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

If I can I real real want to write a time travel story. I can already hear the ghost of Scott Sigler “Same old crap, you go back in time, become your grandfather, blah blah ” A good time story shows the futility of change events, yet at the same time your protagonist is doomed to try and beat the steam of destiny. Nine times out of ten it’s over a girl. A good time story lays all the cards on the table and at the end of the tale you never saw it coming, what ever the it was.

How do you write 100 word stories? #67

Many folk with stars in their eyes have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

It’s kind of cheesy, but it is profitable in a packaging/marketing sense: Write your story as a movie script. Late in his career Michael Crichton followed this model and damn he made Forbes listed of “Top-Earning Dead Celebrities” Tenth place he was in its list of 2009. So you can’t argue with that. Of course the difference between 60000 words and 100 does demand a fare amount of scoping. Here’s how it works: ten times in row type the phrase: And Then What Happens? Answer each question with as string of semi-realist events. Remember to end with a happy ending

Just Passing Though

Have you ever heard of a sentient asteroid? Then you haven’t heard of Astrid. She was the size of a basketball pure galanium. She came straight out of Orion’s belt and was looking for someone to play with. For a billion years the only taker was a proto gas cloud named Bruce. Now she had her sights on a tiny blue dot. Earth never saw her coming. The impact sent up a cloud of dust that pretty much took out 80% of the species. The exit wound pretty much took out France. Astrid waved goodbye and sailed toward Alpha Centauri

Little has Changed

Ali Rason descended the camel in resplendent blue robes. Mirrored Ray Buns reflected the boundless horizon of sand. Gliding to the tent flap his arms extended as he entered. Momar El Laurence raised both hands in greeting to the killer of his father. He offered him tea and lamb. They sat and smoked as a sudden storm pelted the side of the tent. Ali asked about his sister Momar’s bride. Momar inquired about his brother Ali’s caravan driver. The hospitality was given hospitality was received. If they met in the shadow of the rift the outcome would be less hospitable

How do you write 100 word stories? #66

Many folk with nowhere to go on a Saturday night have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

I’m a ghostwrite. At 3:45pm Tuesday afternoons my kitchen becomes filled with disembodied forms. Most are from New Jersey which is odd because I live in California. Most don’t have much of a story to tell, when I point this out they get bummed out and float off howling towards the locale Carl’s Juniors. BUT others, well they have had really fulfilled lives brimming with sadness and joy, know where all the skeletons are buried. One guy named Frank was on the white house staff during the Lincoln administration. He told me about this thing Abe could do with his ….

How do you write 100 word stories? #65

Many folk with high hopes have ask how do you Tom write a 100 word story

Now that I have become world famous and fabulously wealth I have decided to incorporate. I’m more interested in brand Tom then the dribble that hits the page. So I’m paying for my stories and slapping my name on them. “Saaaaayyyyy it’s not so. Joe.” Get a life. Ever major brand you buy is produced in some godforsaken sweatshop in the Pacific Rim. French shirt made in Pakistan. I like to think I’m filling the stomach of some kid in Bhopal. It’s not the product it’s the presentation. I stoke the star making machinery of the popular pulp. Chow baby.

How do you write 100 word stories? #64

Many folk with rings on their fingers and bell on their toes have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

Sometimes your writing is structurally sound, logically presented, the flow and timing is spot on, but it’s just flat. What do I mean by flat? It just lies there. So what do you do? I run the text though an internet English to German translator. It will give it some edge. Then I will run the German through a Japanese translator to give it an ethereal film. Next it goes into a Russian translator which brings up a fare amount of irony. Last it goes back to English which is handed off to the midget and it gets really twisted

How do you write 100 word stories? #63

Many folk with teeny tiny hands have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

There is no better lens to view popular culture and perhaps more specifically American culture then though Japanese’s animation. I like to watch 8 to 10 hours a day. I find myself regularly yelling at the screen “That’s so Japanese.” It’s weird to see Americanized characters suddenly extolling the virtues of honor, loyalty, sacrifice, and fraternity. Oh did I forget respect. How can a cartoon help you write better? It reminds you of the core values we have abandon for a buck. If you place them into your stories it creates a gnawing sense of loss for a nobler time.

How do you write 100 word stories? #62

Many folk with femurs have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

You know how those magnetic poem kits work? The old school version is done with rubber cement and scissors. My stories lend themselves to be chopped up and rearranged. In fact that is what gives them that other worldly quirkiness. When you employ the gluing method of story construction it is best to go with phrases over individual words. Easier to stick down. There are two ways to apply the cement. Smear glue on just the back of the words and squishy it in place. Or carefully coat page and parts, blow dry and position. More anally retentive, but permanent.

How do you write 100 word stories? #61

Many folk with strawberry birthmarks have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

By their nature I would say writers are not superstitious; but, by design to amen they are. I think the process of marking stuff up leads one to a suspension of disbelief that can’t help jump the racks towards the para-real. My particular soft headedness is the embracing of Talismans. My talisman has major juju. It’s over 50 years old. I like to think of it as a Post Modern Kachina doll. If you’ve never typed before, it may look like a talisman. It is a round red rubber eraser with an attached green brush. The brush removes eraser crumbs.