Collaborative literature - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

John Henry · 04-19-2003, 08:42 AM

Just an idea, I think it's been done before. I'll start off with a short passage and then anyone who wants to can add to it and we'll see how the story develops. Take it anywhere you want: be funny; serious; sad; sick; whatever. Here goes:

"As the evening sun melted into the landscape, pouring warmly over the sky and the trees, the feeling of sickness subsided from his stomach. Calm seeped through his veins and the pain in his head evaporated, leaving behind a cool clarity...

ShadowWraith · 04-19-2003, 11:12 AM

Then he woke with a start, beads of sweat trickling slowly down his forehead. The loud buzz of the alarm blared in the background and he wished whoever had designed such an annoying noise be stabbed repeatedly with a rusty spoon...

John Henry · 04-19-2003, 03:12 PM

Stay in bed and suffer the alarm, or get out and suffer the day. He made the same decision as always. Waking up hadn't always felt this bad, but then he had grown up. Downstairs and a shot of the black stuff set him up to take on the day. He knew that it would kick out later, leaving him drained and shaky. He would keep topping up until he couldn't sleep. Perhaps it would be best to admit the addiction, cut out the coffee and move straight onto crack. On second thoughts, it would probably be better to have some breakfast, take a shower and go and catch the bus...

ShadowWraith · 04-19-2003, 05:52 PM

Cmon, we gotta get more people in on this then just me and Henry.

After the shower, he decided that he'd rather walk then take the bus, cuz hey, who knows what kinda crazy people would ride the bus today? So he slowly but surely meandered his way through a park that had transformed from a lush green to a stunningly beautiful white after winter's embrace. The chill morning air fogged as he exhaled and he began to wonder what today would bring.

John Henry · 04-20-2003, 08:49 AM

Crunching his way through the snow, his face numb, he admired the beauty of the way the snow had settled on the trees. Everything seemed so much quieter and more peaceful in this weather, as if the snow was soaking up the sound. Perhaps it was.

'It is better to put your trust in the Lord, than to put your trust in man!'

Perhaps it didn't quite soak up the sound well enough. Street preaching at this time in the morning! On a Tuesday!...

Golux · 04-24-2003, 10:33 PM

He stopped and turned around looking at the indentations his shoes had made in the snow. The path back to his place that he had walked so many times up to this point seemed so familiar now that he realized that he did not remember walking them for the past few years every morning. Just a blur remained in his memory where this walk should have been. On this particular Tuesday in late winter there would be cause to remember this walk…

John Henry · 04-27-2003, 09:39 AM

Because today, he wasn't going to walk to work. He thought of the dull stagnant routine his life had dropped into, what it had been ten years ago, before he was tied down with jobs and mortgages and debts. Looking at the grubby left behind where he had trodden on the clean, crisp, dawn snow reminded him of his life and his own impact on the world; the friends he'd lost, the lovers he'd hurt, the family he'd dissappointed. For the past ten years, he'd been trudging round the same old park, and now his whole world had turned to grey slush.

That morning, a very lucky wino inherited a nice suburban house and a ferrari. He'd probably sell it for a couple of bottles of whisky, but it didn't really matter. Steve wondered briefly if this was a nervous breakdown, and was pretty certain that it was the stupidest thing he'd ever done, but right then, he just didn't give a fuck. Gradually, all thoughts faded and the only important thing was to keep walking...

Golux · 04-29-2003, 01:52 PM

He reached into the pocket of his coat and felt the cold touch of the glass marble that was the only thing he would take from the life he was leaving behind. She had made it. In boredom one day she created fifty of the beautiful glass spheres and she had shown them to him. He had liked this one best and two months later she had given it to him, the one he picked up, the one he had touched and said he loved so much. For all her cruelty she had remembered that insignificant detail. He wrapped his hand around the marble and felt the cool of the glass slowly warm to the heat from his hand.

He would keep walking.

04-19-2003, 08:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
John Henry Addict Location: Grey Britain	Collaborative literature Just an idea, I think it's been done before. I'll start off with a short passage and then anyone who wants to can add to it and we'll see how the story develops. Take it anywhere you want: be funny; serious; sad; sick; whatever. Here goes: "As the evening sun melted into the landscape, pouring warmly over the sky and the trees, the feeling of sickness subsided from his stomach. Calm seeped through his veins and the pain in his head evaporated, leaving behind a cool clarity...

04-20-2003, 08:49 AM	#5 (permalink)
John Henry Addict Location: Grey Britain	Crunching his way through the snow, his face numb, he admired the beauty of the way the snow had settled on the trees. Everything seemed so much quieter and more peaceful in this weather, as if the snow was soaking up the sound. Perhaps it was. 'It is better to put your trust in the Lord, than to put your trust in man!' Perhaps it didn't quite soak up the sound well enough. Street preaching at this time in the morning! On a Tuesday!... __________________ "No one was behaving from very Buddhist motives. Then, thought Pigsy, he was hardly a Buddha, nor was he a monkey. Presently, he was a pig spirit changed into a little girl pretending to be a little boy to be offered to a water monster. It was all very simple to a pig spirit."

04-27-2003, 09:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
John Henry Addict Location: Grey Britain	Because today, he wasn't going to walk to work. He thought of the dull stagnant routine his life had dropped into, what it had been ten years ago, before he was tied down with jobs and mortgages and debts. Looking at the grubby left behind where he had trodden on the clean, crisp, dawn snow reminded him of his life and his own impact on the world; the friends he'd lost, the lovers he'd hurt, the family he'd dissappointed. For the past ten years, he'd been trudging round the same old park, and now his whole world had turned to grey slush. That morning, a very lucky wino inherited a nice suburban house and a ferrari. He'd probably sell it for a couple of bottles of whisky, but it didn't really matter. Steve wondered briefly if this was a nervous breakdown, and was pretty certain that it was the stupidest thing he'd ever done, but right then, he just didn't give a fuck. Gradually, all thoughts faded and the only important thing was to keep walking... __________________ "No one was behaving from very Buddhist motives. Then, thought Pigsy, he was hardly a Buddha, nor was he a monkey. Presently, he was a pig spirit changed into a little girl pretending to be a little boy to be offered to a water monster. It was all very simple to a pig spirit."

04-19-2003, 11:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
ShadowWraith Crazy	Then he woke with a start, beads of sweat trickling slowly down his forehead. The loud buzz of the alarm blared in the background and he wished whoever had designed such an annoying noise be stabbed repeatedly with a rusty spoon...

04-19-2003, 03:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
John Henry Addict Location: Grey Britain	Stay in bed and suffer the alarm, or get out and suffer the day. He made the same decision as always. Waking up hadn't always felt this bad, but then he had grown up. Downstairs and a shot of the black stuff set him up to take on the day. He knew that it would kick out later, leaving him drained and shaky. He would keep topping up until he couldn't sleep. Perhaps it would be best to admit the addiction, cut out the coffee and move straight onto crack. On second thoughts, it would probably be better to have some breakfast, take a shower and go and catch the bus...

04-19-2003, 05:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
ShadowWraith Crazy	Cmon, we gotta get more people in on this then just me and Henry. After the shower, he decided that he'd rather walk then take the bus, cuz hey, who knows what kinda crazy people would ride the bus today? So he slowly but surely meandered his way through a park that had transformed from a lush green to a stunningly beautiful white after winter's embrace. The chill morning air fogged as he exhaled and he began to wonder what today would bring.

04-24-2003, 10:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
Golux Tilted Location: This side of heaven.	He stopped and turned around looking at the indentations his shoes had made in the snow. The path back to his place that he had walked so many times up to this point seemed so familiar now that he realized that he did not remember walking them for the past few years every morning. Just a blur remained in his memory where this walk should have been. On this particular Tuesday in late winter there would be cause to remember this walk…

04-29-2003, 01:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
Golux Tilted Location: This side of heaven.	He reached into the pocket of his coat and felt the cold touch of the glass marble that was the only thing he would take from the life he was leaving behind. She had made it. In boredom one day she created fifty of the beautiful glass spheres and she had shown them to him. He had liked this one best and two months later she had given it to him, the one he picked up, the one he had touched and said he loved so much. For all her cruelty she had remembered that insignificant detail. He wrapped his hand around the marble and felt the cool of the glass slowly warm to the heat from his hand. He would keep walking.