Critique Of Passing Sentence Game #2

Harried Houdini: Superhero As An Ex-Cape Artist

This critique of the Passing Sentence Game #2, which you can read at These Booths Are Made For Walking , is by Nirmal Ghosh, the Thailand-based foreign correspopndent, author, photographer and award-winning film-maker. And I’d like to thank the popular blogger McGlinch for the accompanying doodle. Here’s Nirmal’s review ….

The most interesting part in this exercise is the element of unpredictability, which tests each subsequent writer's inventiveness. It brings out the child in many ways, I would say. And the challenge is not only to be inventive and pose a quirky challenge to the next writer, but to keep some semblance of the story line alive as lifeline, so to speak.

It seems to work here, though the story line of course is a bit basic (have to keep it that way in the first experiment, otherwise with more complex stories one would need the moderator to step in at some point maybe, to nudge it back to some kind of sense, so one of course one can't expect War and Peace on the first round!).

It is exhilarating to read, because the imagery comes in an unpredictable rush. It is impossible to say whether some of the sentences were the product of deliberation, or of spontaneous creativity. The very fact that one knows they were written by different people at different times in different parts of the world is exciting. Also, the sentences are well matched. Congratulations to the writers on achieving this apparent seamlessness.

Try an experiment: edit out the credits and read the whole thing in one shot and see how it comes off.

I can think of some variations in the formula. Try rhyme for instance. Or nonsense prose? Keeping a story line alive and kicking for any length of time would be a challenge, and you can make it as easy or difficult as you like. Another question : how long can this be sustained until a reader loses interest/track? 25 sentences? 50? 100? 1000? Whew, exhausting.. just think of the prospect of a collectively written novel perhaps? The mind boggles.

On the whole, great stuff, and a great start. Most importantly, it makes one smile :) and that's good enough for me!

Saturday Knight Fever

The `Passing Sentence’ Project Gets Critiqued

As promised, here is the critique of the Passing Sentence project, by well-known Toronto-based book critic Lotus Reads. She gives us a definite thumbs-up, while this wonderful caricature - neatly capturing the spirit of the unusual story - comes from another popular blogger, McGlinch.

Over to Lotus Reads ....

When David proposed the Passing Sentence challenge, I will admit I was very curious to see what shape the story would take. The starting prompt, "It was a dark and stormy knight" seemed like the perfect opening for a story in the Gothic romance or thriller genre, so I was pretty tickled when with the introduction of Sir Grabalot in the second line we were led into an enchanting, comedic, medieval tale of quirky knights and ladies, knaves and squires in a parody of the mother of all medieval tales, Camelot .... but beware, for just when you're settling down into the satire waiting for your next favourite Camelot character to show, the story changes gears, hurtling you from the 15th century to 2007 in one quick leap.

Treachery, crazy comedy, quirky characters with unforgettable names and a fine twist at the end, make this story a most enjoyable read..I especially loved the allusion to the Blairs, oops Blares, as having a Camelot-like existence a-la the Kennedys. Very clever!

I'm really amazed at how wonderfully the story came together ... a great combined effort with some amazing editing by David. Guaranteed to make you laugh out loud! Read it!

Passing Sentence - The Story Is Complete

Sir Grabalot And His Maiden Venture

The challenge was intriguing - could a cohesive (or semi-cohesive!) story be written, one sentence at a time, by bloggers in different countries? I posted the first sentence on Thursday morning (Australian time) and it took just over two days, with contributions from the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Portugal, India and Serbia. Thank you, everyone, for sharing your wit and for taking part in a fascinating experiment. McGlinch has kindly offered to provide an exclusive GlinchDoodle to illustrate the unusual story. And I can now reveal that the story of Sir Grabalot is to be critiqued by well-known book critic, Toronto-based Lotus Reads.

Here is the story ...

It was a dark and stormy knight. Sir Grabalot had lost his bride.

Curiously, young Stuhd Hawt, Sir Grabalot's trusted knave, was also missing. And with the loss of his bride, away also went his pride. He that is robb’d, not wanting what is stolen, let him not know’t, and he’s not robb’d at all. He was quiet and sad.

Sir Grabalot's soul groaned in despair as he anguished over what his fellow knights would think about the misplaced beautiful bride and absent strapping knave. His thoughts were drawn to his nemesis, the evil Sir Needitall, who had long lusted after the fair maiden Gunsinrosis, and had often brawled with the loyal knave Stuhd Hawt at the Rolling Stone pub. Had it all been just a ruse - the fighting and the brawling - and the squire's allegiance now abided the evil Sir Needitall's cause?

While he was lost in his thoughts, one of his knights came rushing in, out of breath, in his hands a torn piece from his fair wife's cloak. Then he thought: `Darkness was always my ally so I’ll sneak in their dream and if I see that this torn cloak is just to fool me I’ll put reverse clock and the slow mirror in their bedroom, whose reflection will not show their lust but betray them and the clock will turn the time so there’ll be no future and the present for them’!

But then Sir Grabalot's dark doubts faded like a flash of intelligence on GWB's face, when Stuhd Hawt staggered in, gasping that Needitall had indeed carried off the bride Gunsinrosis, after knocking her senseless with his atrocious music.

"M'lord," said Stuhd Hawt, "I have a cunning plan." "I seem to have heard that somewhere before." muttered Sir Grabalot. "You aren't related to that knave Ladbrick, the servant of Lord Back Ladder, by any chance?" "Nay, m'lord," squirmed Ladbrick, "I am the original sayer of sayings. Do you wish to hear my cunning plan?"

"OK. But first, tell me, have you seen this great invention? They're called pants."

``Pants?'' roared the director Flinton Sparrantino, bringing all action on the movie set to a shuddering halt, ``PANTS - we're shooting an Arthurian epic movie here and you can't remember your lines; we're supposed to do a long shot of Sir Needitall returning on his white steed, bringing the fair maiden Gunsinrosis back to the lovelorn Sir Grabalot because the Rolling Stone pub has run out of her favourite ale; and all you can think of is PANTS; this is the scene where Ladbrick's mistress, Sherry Blare, is supposed to appear with her husband, the beleaguered Stoney Blare, who in turn is supposed to deliver the final line: `On 27 June, as the sun sets in the west, I shall reveal that I am in truth Lord Darth Fader and I AM your father.''

Quick Draw McGraw

Actually, It's Quick Draw McGlinch

McGlinch is the new Man Friday. Wanna know why? Because every Friday you can contact him at his blog, ask for a sketch - and he'll do it for you. Just go to www.mcglinch.com and place your request. He tells me that Fridays are ``request-a-doodle'' days.

Like they say in da movies, tell da man I sent you. But I don't want to give you too many details. They might be a bit, er, sketchy.