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07-18-2010, 03:16 PM
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#21
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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Since some of us like to write, why don't we post a snippet of a story we have written.
I'll go first....be gentle....
Surrounded by flat land littered with scrub trees and ragweed, stood an asylum for the criminally insane. The building used to be a high school, but most of the population had moved west into town where the educational facilities were more modern. A fuss was raised when the state chose the abandoned building for its new purpose, but due to only grumbling and no action, the state won.
The budget was limited, so not much remodeling was done. The classrooms were made smaller to accommodate the patients and the offices were refurbished for the staff. Anyone passing by couldn’t help but get an uneasy feeling when they happened to glance at the hospital. The immediate impression would be that of not wanting to look at an accident, but the urge was still there. Curiosity set in, followed by repulsion and embarrassment. There would be one new patient added today; another ‘lost’ soul floating above sanity.
Shuffling up the ice covered, brick sidewalk, Brian was keenly aware of the shackles on his hands and feet. The frigid January wind chilled him to the bone, causing him to wheeze when he breathed. Two burly, tired looking men walked on either side as they guided him up the steps into the entrance. Once Brian stepped into the waiting room, he felt as if he were on display. He suddenly felt overwhelmingly small and frightened. The room was so large, that comprehending all those faces was impossible. They all looked the same. He thought about the jury that accusingly stared at him like black eyed crows. The few people in the courtroom including his lawyer all had the same face. He closed his eyes while the guards took the shackles off his wrists and ankles, and felt his body and mind embrace the freedom. Maybe today wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
After Brian’s papers were scrutinized, he was led to a room on the second floor where once again he was checked for anything that might be harmful, to him or others. The search was certainly not pleasant, but the hands were softer than the cold steel that once touched him. From there he was taken to his room where he would spend the rest of his natural life....
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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07-18-2010, 04:01 PM
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#22
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 456
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbamI
Since some of us like to write, why don't we post a snippet of a story we have written.
I'll go first....be gentle....
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I'd say you're very talented.
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07-18-2010, 04:22 PM
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#23
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North of Montana
Posts: 2,769
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo
I'm beginning to suspect a RAG (random author generator).
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Just when I was thinking you may be onto something, I cut and pasted an portion of a Cory Doctorow book into the site. It said the writer wrote like Cory Doctorow.
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There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate conclusions from insufficient data and ..
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07-18-2010, 05:20 PM
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#24
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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Thanks Avalon.....
My imagination shifts to the macabre; I'm a Stephen King fan.
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There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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07-18-2010, 05:27 PM
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#25
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gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
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Kurt Vonnegut (BTW, looks like me, too )...
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07-18-2010, 06:28 PM
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#26
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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bbbamI is indeed very talented!
On the subject of Grammar, I am OCD. Since "like" is a preposition ( What is a Preposition?), and since "a preposition is not a good word to end a sentence with", and since the author whose writing style we emulate is the indirect object of the verb "write", perhaps the title should be:
"Like whom do you write? "
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07-18-2010, 06:38 PM
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#27
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
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That makes two of us. The site indicated I write like Edgar Allen Poe. Don't know if it's true, but I was fastinated with Poe from a early age.
Quoth Purron: "Nevermore"
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I purr therefore I am.
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07-18-2010, 06:41 PM
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#28
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 4,946
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Huh?
It says my non-technical writing is in the style of Dan Brown, and my technical commentary is in the style of Cory Doctorow. Then again, Doctorow's stuff uses the same funny tech stuff as in most technical writing, and both Brown and Doctorow write long, rambling sentences, so perhaps, all in all, the site is accurate in a very generic sort of way.
Or not.
Edit: This post gets "I write like Cory Doctorow"
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07-18-2010, 06:53 PM
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#29
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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bbbamI has given me an idea. Let's start a story thread! We could try one of those collaborative pieces, with each person adding a few paragraphs. It could get quite hilarious!
Who wants to begin?
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07-18-2010, 07:01 PM
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#30
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cavalier
Posts: 2,317
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I tried some technical writing and it came back like Arthur C Clark. Then some random other writings came back Edgar Allen Poe. A weird combination.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." Pogo Possum (Walt Kelly)
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07-18-2010, 07:03 PM
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#31
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh
bbbamI has given me an idea. Let's start a story thread! We could try one of those collaborative pieces, with each person adding a few paragraphs. It could get quite hilarious!
Who wants to begin?
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I'll play, but I have to warn you...I write macabre and X rated stories.
Someone else needs to start as I'd like to see the writing style.
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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07-18-2010, 07:14 PM
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#32
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gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
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It was a dark and stormy night...
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07-18-2010, 07:18 PM
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#33
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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07-18-2010, 07:25 PM
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#34
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
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A siamese cat peered out of the window onto the unkempt garden below. He raised his head and sniffed the breeze then suddenly dashed out of the room as though he caught a sent of impending doom...
Or maybe it was the sound of a can of Fancy Feast being popped
__________________
I purr therefore I am.
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07-18-2010, 07:29 PM
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#35
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
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07-18-2010, 07:32 PM
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#36
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Runaway
Drenched and shivering, Megan huddled in a doorway. At this time of night, the bus would not arrive for another twenty minutes at least, and in this area, crime was rampant. Through the rain, a solitary car appeared at the intersection and drove slowly down the deserted street. A john looking for tricks. Megan stood very still in the dark vestibule. The john passed and quiet reigned again, punctuated only by the sound of the driving rain. Megan began to sob as it all came rushing back: the sound of the door being kicked in, the gunshots, her father’s scream, and the gush of blood as he fell. She was alone now, and hunted.
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07-18-2010, 08:47 PM
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#37
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 1,688
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Some results:
1. an extract from a novel I am writing: Cory Doctorow (whom I had never heard of)
2. the last post from my blog: Cory Doctorow (with apologies to Cory Doctorow)
3. the legal disclaimer which gets added to the bottom of all my work related e-mails: Cory Doctorow (with further apologies to Cory Doctorow!)
4. an email from a wine merchant during this year's en primeur campaign: James Joyce
5. an extract from "A Princess of Mars": Edgar Allan Poe
6. an extract from "The Mysterious Affair at Styles": Raymond Chandler
RAG is right.
__________________
Budgeting is a skill practised by people who are bad at politics.
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07-18-2010, 08:52 PM
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#38
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,501
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My technical/scientific writing is like Arthur C Clarke. Does this mean that my scientific writing is not so much science as science fiction?
For casual writing (an old post from this forum), my writing was like James Joyce.
Who knew?
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Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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07-18-2010, 09:01 PM
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#39
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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Runaway
It was a dark and stormy night...
A siamese cat peered out of the window onto the unkempt garden below. He raised his head and sniffed the breeze then suddenly dashed out of the room as though he caught a sent of impending doom...
Or maybe it was the sound of a can of Fancy Feast being popped.
Drenched and shivering, Megan huddled in a doorway. At this time of night, the bus would not arrive for another twenty minutes at least, and in this area, crime was rampant. Through the rain, a solitary car appeared at the intersection and drove slowly down the deserted street. A john looking for tricks. Megan stood very still in the dark vestibule. The john passed and quiet reigned again, punctuated only by the sound of the driving rain. Megan began to sob as it all came rushing back: the sound of the door being kicked in, the gunshots, her father’s scream, and the gush of blood as he fell. She was alone now, and hunted.
There were two eyes on her; eyes glowing in the dark, head turning to the side fixating on the prey. Lips glistened as the tongue moved slowly across the mouth in anticipation of what may lie ahead. The only sound was the rain, a distant rumble of thunder and the steady, quickened heartbeat of the victim and the spectator.
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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07-18-2010, 10:24 PM
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#40
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
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Thank you, I write like him; have only read one of his books, "Ur." Now if I could only find a publisher.
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