The assignment? “Write a 33-word response using the name of an animal as a verb.”
The response? The latest installment in The ODNT Smart Ass Collection.
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The One Where I Grouse About Monkeying Around with Trifecta
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“DEER” Trifecta,
Please stop badgering us into outfoxing each other so you can fawn praise on three of us. I can’t bear to flounder through another assignment and I’m crawfishing out.
“Sin-SEAL-ly,”
ODNT
Famous last lines. They can wrap things up or they can leave us hanging. They can make us laugh or they can make us cry. They can stir up warm, wonderful feelings or they can make us want to scream obscenities and beat the book repeatedly with a hammer until we ultimately throw it out the window.
But, most importantly, last lines can be inspirational. And they’re exactly what we’re talking about at Trifecta this weekend. Participants are asked to write an “amazing closing line to a story in exactly 33 words.” Well, Trifecta, I have no idea if my submission is “amazing” but I do know that it’s the first thing that popped into my head. And sometimes I think you need to jump at these moments.
So here goes …
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The Simple Life of Anna Fiorella
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She turned to look over her shoulder one last time but he was already gone. And she was a child again. Her marriage? Her career? Her son? Had it all been a dream?
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Tagged 33 words, last lines of a book, last lines of a story, trifecta
Trifecta – On The Road edition. What do you do with the downtime you get at a writing conference in NYC? I mean … besides sifting through your cool, new convention swag* or buying a blingy Faux-lex watch from the drug dealer on the street corner. Well, duh. You WRITE!
Anyway, Mel at According to Mags and I are taking a little breather in our room before we head back into the madness to celebrate the closing functions. (Bet they’ll outdo the ceremonies in London.) But first … we just wanted to take a moment to work up a quick entry for this weekend’s writing challenge. “Tell us an original fable in exactly 33 words.”
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The Cat & The Hamster
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“No, you can’t fit,” argued Cat. “I’ll bet you a week of seeds.” Smug with certainty, Hamster climbed willingly into Cat’s mouth. And the chewing began. “Dumbass,” laughed Cat. “Cats don’t eat seeds.”
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Tagged 33 words, convention, original fable, swag, the cat and the hamster, trifecta, writing conference
Trifecta — “Give us a 33-word opening line to your book. That’s it. Make us want to read the next 333 pages of your work. “
Seems easy enough. Right? (Insert canned laughter here. Befitting of the pop culture reference below.)
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If at first you don’t succeed …
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He woke to the smell of a hot breakfast. Opening his eyes, he saw the walls of his childhood bedroom. The Gong Show desk calendar said 1977. He was 8. “Not again,” thought Henry Beckett, 43.
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Taken directly from the Trifecta site … “Forty-three years ago today, Neil Armstrong became the first person to ever walk on the moon. In celebration of Moon Day we want you to write 33 words about someone who took a giant leap. It can mean whatever you’d like, just make sure you write exactly 33 words.”
Here’s my entry. I was moved to write it while gazing out the window at the world below me, desperately trying to look away from the girl clutching a barf bag on my left.
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The Wright Way to Travel
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We just reached 10, 000 feet.
Seatbelt signs off.
Laptop powered on.
Hats off to Orville and Wilbur for taking a famous leap on December 17, 1903.
Well done, boys.
Posted from the sky.
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Trifextra gave us a fun assignment this weekend. Retell your favorite book in 33 words. And really the hardest part for me was picking a favorite book. Considering what an illiterate boob I am, I sure had a lot of ideas swimming around in my flabby brain. Until I settled on this one. It’s actually a screenplay written by a little-known actor at the time named Billy Bob Thornton. It was later developed into a movie of the same name. It’s definitely a favorite around this house, which probably makes us a family of freaks. Although I’m not sure we can really blame that on the story.
* Spoiler Alert – I tell the whole story here. Don’t read it if you don’t want to know.
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Sling Blade
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Man is released from asylum. Man meets boy. Man eats french fried potaters. Boy introduces man to mother and her gay friend. Man meets mother’s jackass boyfriend. Man bisects jackass with sling blade.
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Tagged 33 words, billy bob thornton, book, retelling, sling blade, trifextra
For this weekend’s Trifextra assignment, entrants must write a story in only 33 words using the phrase ‘It wasn’t the first time.’
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Hiding in Plain Sight
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It wasn’t the first time he used another name. But it was the first time that name was Alexis. He adjusted his wig, slipped on his slingbacks and glanced at the mirror one more time. “Perfect,” he sneered.
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It’s Trifextra Weekend Challenge time. And I’ve admittedly fallen off the radar a bit, for a variety of reasons. So, when this idea came to me late tonight (or is it now early tomorrow?), I wanted to put pen to paper before I forgot it. The rules are simple. Entrants are challenged to write a poem in either 33 words, 3 lines or 3 stanzas.
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Three in All
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He was my first, and so like me say all who knew me when
The complications, sleepless nights – I’d gladly do again
His cautious nature and word play, they made him who he is
He’ll always hold my heart as I hope always to hold his
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And then she entered like a shot, been blazing ever since
Filling life with light and color, ever so intense
She balanced things just perfectly, making them complete
This sense of satisfaction all from one so small and sweet
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Then after all the obstacles, acceptance of the end
Came one more tiny miracle – my plans I would amend
But fate would not allow it, just four Christmas Eves ago
I love the one, I love the two, but three I’ll never know
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Tagged 3 lines, 3 stanzas, 33 words, poem, three in all, trifextra weekend challenge
It’s Trifextra time. The assignment? “This weekend, we only need 32 words from you, because we’re giving you the 33rd. Your challenge is to write anything you want, in whichever form you please, so long as your response is exactly 33 words and includes the word ‘mother.'”
So, I figured if putting mother in there one time was the standard, then putting it in there seven times would put me over the top and surely guarantee me a win. Don’t you think?
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The Mother of All Trifextra Assignments
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Mother ran in carrying a mother load of Mother Nature books when the motherboard ignited. Her mother of pearl anklet snagged on a Mother Goose plush on the floor and she shouted, “Mother ….!”
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Tagged 33 words, mother, stacy's mom, the mother of all trifrextra assignments, trifextra
It’s the weekend … which means it’s my “Trifextra ME time.” (Oh, that’s just so sad.) Anyway, if you didn’t see my last post, I’ll explain that the assignment this time is to create a scene involving three people and write it from the point of view of each of these characters, using 33 words for each of them.
This post is aptly-named as it’s available to everyone but directed to my Trifecta circle. The three vignettes that follow are intended to illustrate the individual reactions of three specific Trifecta writers when they read this weekend’s assignment.
Trifecta friends, can you guess who I’m channeling here? Rest-of-world, sorry. Feel free to eavesdrop.
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Inside Joke
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What??? I barely have time to write 33 words on the weekend, let alone 99. Sorry, kids. Mommy can’t take you to the park today. Chris, can you? I’m going to DM ODNT.
Wow. Three stories. There’s got to be a song in that. Wait … I know. I mean … it’s a goofy 80s song but it’s perfect. Better look up the lyrics. ODNT probably knows them.
The same story from three viewpoints? Three people? I guess I could do Three Amigos since it’s my namesake. Sort of. Gah! My BRAAAAAIN hurts. I’m going to go tease ODNT about cheese.
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Tagged 33 words, inside joke, three characters, three points of view, trifextra, trifextra weekend challenge
Just writing about the daily dumbassery of life. The good, the bad and the so-utterly-mundane-that-you'd-think-I-wouldn't-even-bother-to-write-about-it.
OldDogNewTits 