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
Category: Tom
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.
How do you write 100 word stories? #60
Many folk with permanent eyeliner have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story
You may find this hard to believe but I’m actually going to tell you how I write stories for the challenge. On Sunday I read the topic at the site. The first idea that comes into my head is the one I work on. I take a piece of paper and fold it into quarter. I cover this area in a continuous stream of words. I do a word count in the right margin. I try to do 75 before setting the hook and a final twist. I remove adjectives and if needed remove subordinate clauses. 95% is left unedited.
How do you write 100 word stories? #59
Many folk with wisdom teeth have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story
My wife was born in San Francisco. She doesn’t write stories, but knows a good story when it crawls out of the depths of a Midwest winter. If you were raise in Chicago you have no idea that there are vegetables other that corn. You think nothing of have a cup of instant coffee and velveta sandwiches on Wonder bread. Wine comes in the gallon and is red. Immersed in this culinary nightmare my wife pointed out the possibility of the following: A California Yankee in King Applesauce’s Court the tale of a man who bring sprouts to the Midwest.