Writer's Challenge #3

Lo folks ok so the third writer's challenge has been up for 4 days and I haven't started yet, haven't even posted it here yet, I may get some writing done for it on Sunday. But for now I'll post the challenge. As always it's totally open for anyone to jump aboard.

"Hm, not quite two per week so far, not even one. Well, we're writing in all cases more than in the past, hopefully, the tempo will increase gradually.

Here, anyway,writer's challenge # 3:

1. The story should be written in Swedish or English
2nd The story should be at least 1500 words.
3rd The story must include the following three components, again taken from the WCG on Seventh Sanctum.

     The story ends on a wrecked ship.
     The story takes place in the late morning.
     During the story, a famous person goes missing.

A Seventh Sanctum challenge again, with about as much complexity.

My contribution to the challenge can probably be delayed a while, at worst,  until early next week.

Until then,

Auf Wiedersehen!"


The obvious problems here is to fit 1500 words into one late morning, so I'll just have the story begin or end in the late morning.
Ship can either be a classic sea going vessel or in a sci-fi a spaceship. And from my (far from perfect) grasp at English a wrecked ship doesn't (have to) mean ship wreck either.
Oh and famous person I'm going to at least for now assume that is famous in setting because I don't like writing about real people unless I have a lot of time to do research. Imay leave things out, and add embellishment to history but I really hate to state untruths.

Oh and I've also tried updating the page's looks, I'm not sure I'm satisfied yet but any feedback or ideas would be great.

Well until next time folks.

Writer's Challenge 2:The Brothers Cali

Ok so here's my entry for the second writer's challenge, a gangster drama set in an unspecified (intentionally) city of the US.

It was a strange time, the war had ended but some say another was brewing, some people were left starving, others homeless as their jobs ceases to exist and suddenly the only honourable work some men could find was on the wrong side of the law.

Frank DeLuca was sitting on a crate, at the harbour side, pulling his coat closer around him to keep wark from the wind. Philip Flemmi had told him to meet him there, and Philip was a made man so you listened when Philip Flemmi told you to do something, Frank was nearly falling asleep where he sat he had dozed of twice already he knew he was likely to freeze something of if he actually fell asleep. He was dozing of again when someone knocked his hat of, he looked up to see Philip announce his pressence with a dramatic ”Without a drop of drink and not a donkey in sight” while sitting down on one of the crates.

Frank looked up at him ”Donkey?” he asked while picking up his hat.

”A mule, a carrier, a seller, what? You don't know what I'm talkin' about?”

”A drug dealer?”

”No not those low life pieces of shit! Look bootlegging is just giving people what they want, but drugs that's dirty business, I’m talking about booze” Phillip said with disgust. Frank sighed and reached into his coat and then handed Phillip his hip-flask.

”Go easy on that mac” he said. Phil just gave him a scoff then lifted the flask to his mouth then he started coughing.

”Told you to go easy on it”

”Is this moonshine? Why the fuck would you drink moonshine?”

”Not that easy to get the real McCoy in the inland mac”

”You know suddenly being sober doesn’t seem that bad”

”What are we doing here Phil?”

”We're going to have a talk with Atillo Cali, his brother Joe messed up, and messed up bad”

”Shame I kind of like Joe Cali, sure he's got a loud mouth”

”Everyone does, but this isn’t about his loud mouth though, he messed up way worse this time and now the Don want his blood, but the Calis are family, and you don't just snuff family see”

”I guess”

”You guess? Don't they do manners back where you're from Frank? Look Atillo has a choice here, he can either do the act himself of go and try to beg his brother's mercy with the don, but if he does that he's out”

They heard the sound of walking feet and Atillo Cali appeared around the corner.

”Phil, Frank” he greeted them seriously. Then looked out over the dark waters. ”When the don's enforcer calls me out to a secluded location in the middle of the night, I kind of feel that I may be in trouble for something” He said not looking at them, Frank thought he got it, Atillo was a family member a made man, he had been so for ten years and regardless what he had done Philip wasnt going to shoot him in the back. A family member owed to another to explain why and look him in the eye when he died. Treason, even perceived treason could not be forgiven, but in death even a traitor returned to the family. In fact the family saw it as he has died the moment he betrayed them and they were merely collecting the body.
”Not you” Phil said. Atillo turned to face them. He looked surprised, not relieved like a man who had something to hide and had been afraid that they were on to him, more concerned. Then he sighed.

”Joe?”

”I'm sorry Atillo but your brother is a moron, his horse keeps losing and now he gone and threatened the bookies, the don can accept him owing him money but not that he threatens people who are paying us for protection”

Atillo sighed again. ”Let's go see my brother”

Joe Cali was staggering towards his car from the pub, he had drunk way to much, he was surprised they'd even let him since everyone knew he was broke. Of course being broke and owing the don money was the reason he was drinking, well that and that he had broken Vincent Sisca's nose, sure Sisca had thrown the first punch but Joe had accused him of cheating which made it a matter of honor for a bookie, and his honor was his livelihood.

Joe staggered up to the car where he had placed it in a vacant lot next to the bar. He heard a sound behind him and saw three men approaching. As they drew closer he recognized one of them as his brother Atillo and felt a moment of relief that was almost instantly squashed when he recognized Philip Flemmi, the don's exucutioner beside him. Any other day Joe would have punched him on the arm and asked who he had buried today but today Joe had a suspicion on who he was supposed to bury.

“Hello Joe” Philip said smoothly, strangely lacking of the usual glee he took before killing a man.

“Phil, Atillo. You know I didn’t mean too”

“We know little brother” Atillo sighed

“But it's the don that makes the decisions, I tried telling him you were just stupid, but that excuse only lasts so long” Philip filled in.

“I'll apologize to Sisca! I'll get the Don's money back, my horse...”

“Brother, I love you, but that horse can not run.” Atillo said and in one motion drew and fired his gun.

An hour later Atillo Cali, now the only living member of that family, along with Philip Flemmi and Frank DeLuca sat at table at the pub downt he block. Phillip had just ordered in another bottle, he poured it into cups and then sat looking at it, so did Atillo. Frank took the cup and raised it.

“To Joe Cali, Boasting and arrogant...” he began

“And a drunk” the bartender muttered, he had been less then pleased with knowing that Joe's tab would never be paid for. But Atillo just gave him one look and he was suddenly very busy with something behind the bar.

“...and quite wonderful he was!” Frank finished the toast. The other two raised their cups with him.

“To Joe Cali” they said. It was a strange time, when brothers killed brothers for family and one could drink to the memory of man one had just killed.

You will notice that out of the three required lines i had every main character say one, Philip said the donkey thing, Atillo the horse thing, and Frank the wonderful thing. Also the movie quote was "but drugs that's dirty business" and that's of course from the godfather where Don Vito shoots down Solozzo's proposal with those words. I was considerign going for "Fredo you're my older brother and I love you, but never take sides against the family again" but then I couldn't have killed the brother and the whole memorial toast couldn't have happened.

Well until next time...

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!

And then with the first challenge down I'll take on the second challenge which is as follows:

"1. The story should be written in Swedish or English
2. Report must contain at least 20 lines of dialogue.
3. The story must contain a quote from a movie with at least four Oscar nominations. Whether someone in the story actually quoting the movie or if the quote is used in another context is optional. Which film selected should also be told.
4. The story must contain the following three sentences, as dialogue or narrative.

"I love you, but the horse can not run."
"Without a drop to drink and not a donkey in sight."
"Boasting, arrogant and quite wonderful was he / she /it '

Some more rules, but also full flexibility in the story's scope, this will be fun!"

First of I'll admit that this is not my kind of gig, I know I have a very unique writing style and the given lines will always stick out in what I write. On the other hand twenty lines of dialogue is a laughing matter, which then again makes getting those lines in there harder.
So let's see we have a horse and a love story, or it could be love as in family of course. Then we have a lack of drink, which either means dry or that the person has a drinking problem. The donkey can either be a donkey or an euphemism. All fair up until there and then... is that from Disney's Cinderella?
Considering the horses and donkey's I was thinking a desert theme, so I'd probably have taken the quote from Ben-hur or lawrance of arabia or something.

But then I kind of liked the idea that horse and donkey are euphemisms (or innuendo). I'm kind of thinking the bartender that's played by John Glover in the Smallville episode Noire (s6e20), or rather more the kind of character he's based on. So let there be noire.

Writer's Challenge 1: The Emperor and the Archeologist

Ok here's my first entry to the writers challenge.

While the most important invention of man must surely be said to be speech, for without it community could not exist and thus neither could civilization, and while oral tradition passed down from a generation to the next allowed for something that had never existed before, one species accumulating knowledge, it was writing that truly set this accumulation into motion. It allowed us to learn from our mistakes and to build upon what the previous generations had done rather than to have to reinvent and rediscover everything they had. Perhaps the former is the reason I write, so that other may learn from our mistakes, but also from our triumphs. Perhaps it is that during the long and winding history of mankind there has ever been those willing to put the torch to that what had been written, to destroy the knowledge and scatter it to the winds. One such man was Aldenei Ildrin, one of the most important persons to shape the events I will divulge, but history let's men like these take up far to much space in it's pages, and tells far less of the other sort, those who seek to preserve and record, those who build and create. Vildred Higgs was such a man, and a far more interesting one if I may make such a judgment call. It is his story I will divulge, but it isn’t until the destinies, if there may be said to be such a thing, of these two men intersect that things become really interesting.

It all began on a rainy autumn morning, by my reckoning of time, and such things must be acknowledged to be entirely subjective, the year 2078, a strong wind had been forcing wet air from the warmer seas around the equator north and when coming in over the southern highlands of the Borras continent the wet air was forced unto a higher altitude and thus cooled to rain, and often, but not on this very day, hail. Austakil was a port town the mouth of the river Akil, it name literally meant mouth of akil one of the greater cities on the continent. Always bustling with activity as ships from all around the empire docked there, unloading the cargo from seagoing vessels and unto the riverboats that would take it inland to the capital Urbakil, city on the Akil for those interested in linguistics.

In one of those dreary grey brick houses that the people of Borras seems to favor lived Vildred Higgs, no relation to the physicist I'm afraid. Usually Vildred would not be awake this time of the morning, having sat up far to late the night before mulling over his theories, we would consider them archeology but to the people of the empire it was considered theology, over where and how man had first arrived on this world. Not this morning though, this morning he was hurrying through the apartment looking for things, every time he passed through the kitchen stopping and taking a sip from his coffee and thinking about actually sitting down and having that breakfast, but each time remembering something else he had forgotten. He was tall, about 1,85 had a mess of brown hair that he never seemed to be able to get cut on time and glasses that had seen better times. The apartment was relatively small, two rooms, one bedroom and one kitchen combined with living room, the apartment of an academic, but not a wealthy one. It was also like it's inhabitant let's say slightly unkempt but not badly furnished, loads of dark wood and warm colors would have made it quite homely if Vildred had ever bothered with keeping it in a nice condition.

Vildred sat down with his coffee, sighing he was almost certain he had all he needed for his expedition to the southern continent. Of course to the universty it was not an expedition since they had not funded it but a vacation and none of them thought he had any chances of finding the proof he needed. Almost a soon as he had sat down a steamwhistle from the harbour announced that the 9 o'clock ferry up to the capital was leaving. Which meant he had less than an hour to get to his ship in time. Vildred grabbed his suitcase and his overcoat and ran out the apartment, only to have to return five minutes later to lock the door. He left the building again in a hurry almost knowing over two imperial soldiers outside on the sidewalk. He avoided them narrowly and then began running.

“Stop!” he heard a voice shout behind him. Vildred was in a hurry and paid it no mind. “Doctor Higgs, stop!” the voice called again. Vildred was about to stop when something hit him over the forehead and he collapsed on the wet cobblestones.

“You dare defy an imperial magistrate” a voice hissed down at him. Another soldier Vildred decided as he got on his feet again. Just to feel a kick to his ribbs and collapsing yet again.

“That will be all soldier” the first vice chided “I think the good doctor has learned his lesson, now let him get up” Vildred got on his feet and faced the man, he was short but meticulously well dressed, his style was that of an imperial official, a magistrate the soldier had said but from the way the soldiers were eying the man afraid even though they could have broken him like a twig, Vildred was willing to bet secret service. He had dark hair also flawlessly kept and was relatively tan for Borras.

“I am Tehnel Aqarra, I serve the emperor” the man introduced himself in an odd accent, then again the empire spanned the entire world, and all sorts ended up in the capital. “And you are Vildred Higgs, the theologian with the... unique... ideas”

“I am” Vildred acknowledged.

“His majesty has heard of your theories” Aqarra began, Vildred blinked, the majesty as in the emperor? The Emperor? “he finds them intriguing, but he cannot allow you to persist in spreading them around, but he will tell you more when you meet him”

“Meet him?” Vildred felt confused “I am honored but I cannot meet him I must be on a boat to Merdia in less than half an hour”

“I am incredibly sorry Doctor, I should have made myself more clear, you have no choice in the matter” He fished something out of his pocket and showed it to Vildred. It was a small broch showing the golden laurels of the secret service but inside it was a golden star rather then the usual open book. “This designates me as an inquisitor” Vildred almost chocked, the inquisition was just an evil rumor an organization above the law who answered only to the emperor himself. “And you have just been recruited, in the name of Emperor Aldenei Ildrin, any act but obedience is considered an act of treason. Now if you will please come with us” he motioned towards a carriage at the corner. Vildred followed him meekly, the emperor was a god amongst men and he were not going to challenge him, or at least so he thought at the time, funny how these things change.

Challenge Accepted

Lo folks this update was supposed to be up nearly a week ago, but I've had a lot of things to do (writing a massive review of  a kickstarter I participated in amongst other things). But on to what's today, a few days ago I signed up for a writing challenge issued by my friend Gunnar, since his post on the first challenge is in Swedish I'll translate  it here in English (or Google translate will because I'm lazy).

"Alright, here is the first author's challenge of this year:

1. The story should be written in Swedish or English
2. Report must be between 500 and 1000 words.
3. The story must include the following three components, drawn from WCG on Seventh Sanctum:

The story takes place on a rainy day.
During the story begins an organization's recruitment
A character is preparing for a vacation.

In addition to this, it is good to go. I plan to make this a flash challenge: write it quickly and do not spend much time on revising and correcting. Quite simply, a little more unrefined text. Other interested can obviously do as you want.

If someone else takes up the challenge, so you are welcome to drop a comment or an email with where to find it, so I make sure to add a link.

Have fun (I intend to)!"


By now he's put up the second challenge so I have some catchign up to do so pardon me folks but I'll be writing

til next time.