The Experiment

This was another extreme protagonist exercise I did with Leslee at Borders. She carefully wrote one good one and I vomited out two so-so ones. I don't think either of my characters are very extreme - they are just in extreme situations. This story is called "The Experiment".

The experiment had gone terribly awry. Joe felt sick to his stomach as he got pulled further into the device. Six months ago he stood in a boardroom trying to justify his research to the CEO. When he found out his department was going to be downsized he ran through the company campus ready to save his baby at all costs.

That dash through the crisp fall air, up until the current moment, had given him the biggest adrenaline rush of his entire life. He was on the verge of a big breakthrough - his name would be infamous. He wasn't going to let those beancounters stand in his way so his flabby legs carried him through on this marathon and he shocked the CEO's personal assistant when he arrived pink-cheeked and rasping.

"I have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with Mister Smith!" he said it with such authority that she just nodded absentmindedly in her smart green sweater. He straightened his posture and strolled into the CEO's office, fully knowing that he would probably get fired for his moxy. THe CEO stared at the intrusion. Joe stood his ground and presented his case about how the company would stand to make trillions from the new technology.

It was a great moment. It was Joe's best most defining moment. Now he was wondering if it was worth it. Would anyone remember him? They might not even know that he had ever existed. Joe had a lot of time to contemplate this. The parallel world communication device prototype had malfunctioned, sucking him into interdimensional space where reality spaces bumped and glided but where people should never travel.

Extreme Protagonist

My friend Leslee and I were at Borders thinking about how many of the bestselling novelists write over-the-top characters. We decided to try making extreme protagonists as a writing exercise, and this is my attempt. We limited ourselves to four paragraph stories. Leslee's was way cooler and I told her she could develop a novel from it.

"Where the hell am I?" Its so dark and something smells bad. It smells like something has died. I need to turn the light on - I think I'm going to be sick. Maybe I just need to stand up. Uh. Too much effort. I'll just like here for a moment.

God, I can't remember what happened last night. We were going down to the bar - fuck, I hope I didn't drive back. I probably swerved all over the road. Hmm. Maybe I did. My head hurts - best there is no light afterall. I wonder what time it is. It must still be night.

Have to get up. I can't stand that smell. It's like a skunk died, got eaten by maggots, then the maggots died and got eaten by mini-maggots. Then the mini-maggots - oh fuck I'm going to be sick - I have to - "Rrrrch-"

"Ow!" What the fuck? What is that? What is that, wood? It's right above me! I'm in some sort of box! What the hell happened last night? The wood is covered in something - satin? SATIN? Am I in a coffin? Oh, hell, some sicko has put me in a coffin! My face - oh no - ohnoohnooho - I've been here for a very long time --

First Post: Yay!

Yes, the title is dorky. Essentially I just want to outline the purpose of this blog. This is actually my third blog (well fourth actually, but that's a whole other story), I have my personal blog, my private blog (which only I can see), and now this one. I'm trying to force myself to write more fiction, so I going to try to make it a habit to write one small, original story, everyday. This will be a huge challenge!