same_difference: (Default)
same_difference ([personal profile] same_difference) wrote2006-12-01 10:59 am

For those who have reached the end of NanoWrimo this year

As of today various people on my friends list will have stopped NanoWrimo-ing. Some may continue to complete what they started. Some may have used it to advance current works in progress and will now be going back to re-edit their work. And some will have written plotless drivel, sacrificing grammar, spelling and characterisation in slavery to the all important word count.

Where ever you think you fall, regardless of how bad you writing may have been, I can guarantee it is better than this:

The Eye of Argon

FYI: It was published in a fan based sci-fi magazine in 1970. It was written by a (now dead) sixteen year old who went on to complete a degree in Journalism. It has and is used as the basis for a competition/game at sci-fi conventions. It has been referenced in various games including Duex Ex, Ultima VIII, Vagrant Story and Guild Wars.


Rule 1: Read it exactly as written. Use only the punctuation that is there; no more, no less. Pronounce the words as spelled, not what you think was meant.
Rule 2: When you start laughing, you're done and must pass it to the next reader.
Rule 3: The next reader must start at the beginning of the sentence that cracked up the previous reader. If you begin laughing uncontrollably before you start, you must pass it on.
Rule 4: Anyone who makes it through a full page, is pronounced either: a professional news reader or over-rehearsed and must pass it on.
Rule 5: No fair hurrying through without thinking about what you are reading. A proper dramatic reading is required. Acting out scenes is optional.
Rule 6: If you act out scenes, no live steel.
Rule 7: NO ONE should charge for TEOA. Getting reimbursed for the cost of making a fresh copy is OK. But since no one knows how to get royalty payments to the author, it isn't fair for anyone else to make money off his work.

[identity profile] elmyra.livejournal.com 2006-12-01 12:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I made it through the entire first section though "dismembered one of the officer's arms" nearly undid me. Now, this may be because I wasn't reading it out loud to other people which I imagine adds a whole new dimension of hilarity. Alternatively, it's because I am well versed in fanfiction, and, believe me, there is worse out there. (See, for example, [livejournal.com profile] piratewank and [livejournal.com profile] phanwank for details.)

So here is my question: Should the words "or having read far too much bad pr0n" be added to Rule 4, or does that simply fall under the definition of over-rehearsed?

[identity profile] same-difference.livejournal.com 2006-12-01 01:33 pm (UTC)(link)
That would almost certainly be a necessary addition considering the people I know.

[identity profile] elmyra.livejournal.com 2006-12-01 01:43 pm (UTC)(link)
considering the people I know

*surprised look* Doesn't everyone read pr0n?

:-P