Motherlode

Motherlode I found pretty interesting, the story seems a bit random at times. I felt like I was sort of in a daze but it makes sense as the plot of the story. The character  David seems like his life has never really felt significant or meaningful. So he's intrigued at Rays persona and actually wants to uncover more as the story unfolds. He's innocent but curious. Dave goes against his natural impulse to do what's right just so he could explore and add something into his life with more excitement. Finding himself on the verge of going back to the same boring cycle within his life he then decides to join Morsel and Ray. I don't even think he knew exactly what kid of illegal things they were doing and he preferred not to know. He kept what he did know a secret as well like why he was going to California, or how he knew ray didn't just have one dime left . The ending of the story did get me by surprise I wonder if Ray was shot. "He didn't feel a thing". The author leaves us wondering.

madame lazarus

This story takes you on an emotional roller coaster.  Told from the first person perspective has the reader emotionally attached.  I understood the characters feeling of living a double life and always having that emptiness. He was unable as a child to be with his true love publicly unable to enjoy their lives together.  When he finally is able to the man dies.  He never truly loves again until the dog.  this story just leads me to the saying life is too short.

Motherlode

The beginning of this story was slow.  It was a struggle for me to get through the first few pages.  But it slowly picks up and becomes slightly enjoyable.  The introduction of these questionable characters was the most entertaining for me.  Ray being the compulsive liar its only fitting that he plays off of the curiosity of David.  That was ultimately the most intriguing to me.  David's curiosity and desire for quick money pushed his common sense to the back burner.  "Curiosity Killed the Cat" and I'm pretty sure he was killed even though Thomas doesn't offer us the luxury of saying so.

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Public Fiction Project

Hey all:

To meet this requirement, you can go to a fiction reading. Here are some listings:

http://www.bookforum.com/events/

And check out the Center for Fiction in Midtown:

http://www.centerforfiction.org/

They have frequent readings and even a literary magazine that you can submit to.

If you'd rather submit your fiction to a publication, I'd suggest Newpages.com:

http://www.newpages.com/magazines/literary-magazines

or Poets &Writers:

http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines

Nowadays, many mags will allow you to submit your stories via the internet. We'll talk more about submitting your fiction, and I'd be happy to speak one-on-one w/ you about this too.

Class Collaboration

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman. She was the most beautiful woman in all the land. Her beautiful long blonde hair, and her eyes that were Caribbean blue. She never realized her beauty, but everyone across the land did. She lived with her sister, who wasn’t that much older than her. Their parents had died a long time ago, when she was about 7 and her sister was 9 at the time. Her parents died when a huge wave came and swept the boat off to sea. Everyone across the land didn’t know  if they were dead or not. Everyone assumed they were dead because they had been missing at sea for almost 2 weeks, when everyone realized that something was wrong when they didn’t come back. That left her and her sister to fend for themselves. Then the sisters decided that they would start to prepare a life without them they did all the grown up things such as cooking and cleaning and growing food. As time went on the sisters noticed that they weren’t coming back and decided that it’s best to keep a memorial in their honor. On the day of  graduation of their honor. They decided to bring all the people they knew. Some people barged in the graduation like if it were some random party. All of a sudden drinks were being brought and loud music was played. The original people that were invited to the ceremony were shocked and didn’t know how to throw them out so they decided to party along with them. Chips were being tossed all around and eventually a glass broke and everything had been great until the glass was in someone’s arm or leg or something. There was just blood everywhere. But some people were too drunk or too high to notice. Someone had the balls to call the police though. And the red and blue lights of the police cars and the ambulance cut through the atmosphere like cake.  Ah, cake.  I can remember having my first piece over the dead body of the joker.  Robin stood by me as I spilled the crumbs of pistachio mint chai on the soulless course of my would be killer.  Robins dog watch and licked up any remains left on the jokers face.  His makeup getting on the dog until finally the dog turned on us and laughed like the joker. It was THE MASK. 

I did not like this alter ego.  No longer sweet and loveable this dog actually seems arrogant and malicious.  I feel like this dog is about to attack me.

As if this dog is just a killer in waiting. I wonder what has made this way. Bad time growing p at the pound? Not enough milk from his mama when he was born? Where could this creature have learned such two-faced behavior? It was as if I was facing a cartoon. How do you fight something that can flip an innocence switch and then bite my ankle I the same motion? I had to be strong. There had to be a way to be the good one and the bad one all at the same time. He needed to learn who was boss and I was going to teach him. I took him outside and pulled on his leash. He didn’t want to go by the tree, he wanted to go on the side of the pool. If you don’t want to obey I will throw you inside the pool. I tugged on his leash, we all knew I would never do that to him, it was a bluff. We walked to the front of the house where we came across a van that was never here before. Are they new in town? He started to bark toward the van, “ thay has a sense about these things”. I knew something was suspicious when we saw the curtain drawn back as soon as we laid eyes on the house. “ Well why do you send us the address so we can check the house ourselves said the missus”.” Madam I’m so sorry but you need  to be with an agent to see the house” said the agent. When she heard this her hopes were dashed. But then, driving home, she thought to herself: “What if I go back? What if I go back tonight when the moon is full, throw a brick through the window and climb in and slither across the floor, giving myself a tour. Do I really need an agent to show me the way?” And that’s what she did. When she arrived in the cute little suburban neighborhood, everyone seemed to be asleep at that time. She said I am going to explore this city at my own. She started walking and walking then  she saw that some houses still had left the light on in the rooms .She tough ‘if I get tired later on I am going to knock one of the house that still have the light on’’. She was remembering her pass  at the same time why she was thinking’’ why she was  doing that to be alone just to add more experiences in her life’’.

Exquisite Corpse (Christian's)

Once upon a time, there was a man, a painter, who the power to create living things from drawing them on a canvas. A few masterful strokes of his brush and birds would rip themselves from the canvas, taking flight towards the untouchable clouds, deer would gallop and grow and frogs would hop off and chase flies into the bushes beyond. This power caused the man to only want to draw animals, as man was the only creature so be selfish to make demands of him. “Draw this so may eat it.” “Draw this so we may ride it and use it.” Never wanting to use his power to gaze at their beauty naturally. They had to be used and that was something he couldn’t stand.

He couldn’t stand the fact that everyone could see what he could. He was selfish and greedy and he wanted them all for himself. Two beauties, their hair, skin, every curve of their silhouette. He yearned to have them all for himself. At any moment, for any reason, just all to himself. He had to do right and so this could not be. His powers has to be used for good and nothing else. He contemplated for a moment on what he could use his powers on in a good way that could get his revenge. Maybe I could burn down a forest to symbolize what man has done to the earth. Maybe flood the cities to so how we drown ourselves and society in tears we cause to each other. I know! I show my displeasure to man and now it must pay for its great offenses to the forest. The king of the forest made his displeasure known with humankind ; that he banished man and his descendants for all-time. But when the king wasn’t watching, humankind said, “That asshole, who died and made him king?” Well, actually, they didn’t all speak this in unison. One guy, Albert, said the words, and most of the rest of humankind nodded and harrumphed and said, “Yeah, that’s a good point.” After all, no one could remember how he came to be king. And the truth of the matter is that he signed up to be king on the internet and his first decree after the certificate arrived in the mail was to throw all his bad credential of been a bad student. He said what a waste of time . I wasted my own time. I have a future ahead of me, a future that I can only control. No one was going to control my future but me. So I decided to take a turn for the better. I wanted to be in control of my life and not waste my time. So I did. I changed my ways and at the moment my future was finally looking bright. Until, I came home one day and my mom said “You can’t make it, you’re just a waste of space.”  So I decided that I was tired of her judgement and would rather blow my brains out than to listen to her ridicule me at every turn. While having dinner she asked me “are you gay” I never herd that kind of question. I was so astonished. She think I am look like boy.? Just because I cut my hair short? Just because I like to wear sweatpants and hoodies? I clearly told her no. that was just my style. Then she looked at her plate and continued eating silently. I felt so uncomfortable that I had to leave the dinner table and marched into my room. I was not offended by the fact that she thought I was gay. I was just offended that she didn’t know me any better. It felt like I had slept through the knight so when I woke up and she was standing in my room I checked the clock. Only midnight. I had been asleep for about an hr.

 “what” I asked

She sighed, “look the truth is I was kind of hoping  you were gay because it would make this whole process easier”

“What process” she was confusing me.

“This whole coming out, that’s what you call it now right, coming out the closet”

“Im coming out, I want the world to know, I just can’t let go”

“Helen please if you stop now we can finally make it for breakfast at Mcdonalds”

“stop it Jeanine, you know it ends at 11am and we’ll never make it”

                No you idiot!!! McDonalds now has breakfast 24 hours a day!!!  Let’s go, I’m hungry…

I want my “sausage egg McMuffin” and my hash browns.

                After they ate, she admittedly thanked him saying that she was full and grateful that they ate.  Now fully rejuvenated they went on with their day.  It was a good thing that they were still able to get along so well.

  

Class Collaboration

Once upon a time there was a beautiful peasant girl name Sara whom longed for riches and beautiful things. She lived with her parents In a small cottage at the end of the village, she was the most beautiful girl in the village however she always dreamed of life outside the village with a handsome man unlike the ones she saw every day.one day her father left to go hunting and he never returned it has been some time now and the village decided to give him a burial. She always pictured her father still alive living happily with wealth and plenty food unlike what was available in the village. Sarah was a good girl she did all her chores and took care of her mother, she cooked she cleaned and she waited for better. One day a man on a horseback came riding into the village I feel very peaceful and wanted to run all over the village and picking up the flower and enjoy the grass smell, looking some birds and saw that they were relaxing in every branch of the trees. Until the quaking of the ground launched them into the sky. They shrieked and the children screamed in response. Mothers took off in the direction of the playground.   Come things had shifted and the slide had toppled over somewhere to the right a child could be heard calling for their mother, the play tube had been caved in by the rising dirt.  But then uncle billy came with his plane with that there uh thingy mah-jigga up on top of her spinning like a fancy wind blower with the blades ma used to put in front of grand papa to make the smell go away.

When he was younger he was such a powerful gentlemen.  It is a tragic shame to see him like this, in this condition.  I only wish he knew how we all felt about him.  We all held him in high esteem.  He was a great man and was very respected.  There is no dignity in his deteriorating health condition.  I wish there was more that I could do to make him more comfortable. It’s this helplessness that has me feeling constrained. I wish  I could just throw money at the problem but I haven’t even got the money to throw change into the fountain. I weigh the options. What options? What do I do? What do I say? He’s dying and yet everything I think of just turns to mush. I can’t go on. I won’t go on. Then it hits me. The potion is in my mother’s dungeon. She’s kept it locked up for years. Forbid me to go in there. But I had to save him and this was the only way. The potion contained water from the fountain of youth. It was discovered years ago by my great great great grandfather. When settlers discovered it, they began to kill people who went near it. When gold miners would stumble on the unholy land, the Indians would track down there camps to burn the flesh of the poor souls who walked the space. When the steel Mongols charging the plains like the brave warrior depicted in legends. How the world changed when brave warriors don’t any longer exist and the age of cowardice has arisen. Those were the days. Anyhoo, where was I? Oh, that’s right. Nowadays, we’re all wimps waiting around for some politician to cut our taxes and give us free education. Put I’ll tell you one thing: I never had nothing I didn’t work like a dog for. I remember working in the morning at the mayonnaise factory, getting in those big bins and scooping out the extra mayonnaise and putting it in those little paper cups you get at the fast food restaurants. They’d show up from White Castle every day before the lunch rush to get the little hamburger with onions only. The line was long that day and he tough “ I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT ON THIS LINE” He carried a gun just in case, but from one day to the next he became very dangerous with it. He grabbed the gun and held it to the cashier and said “I want my hamburgers and onion rings now!” he shouted. The woman started preparing his food. However little he knew that the people who worked in the back, used their cell phones to dial 9-1-1, the employees told them that there was a man with a gun and that there was no shots fired. But he is armed. The 9-1-1 operator sent police officers to the scene. When the police officers arrived to the scene the man was still armed. The police officers tried to approach him slowly but he then pointed the gun towards them. When the police officers finally got him to put the weapon down, they charged at him and put hand cuffs on him. The man was than arrested and incarcerated.