The Weekly Review - Edition 10
What's New?
- In the Lounge members make their plans for any nuclear holocausts that might happen in the next week or two (What would you do in case of a nuclear war thread).
- In the Parlor Room Kiel mounts a silent coup over Sethaniel (Draw Sethaniel’s Attentionthread).
- In the Forum Games section At your Throat starts a very interesting Battleship quiz game / challenge (Battleship Trivia! Week One).
- In the Writing Workshop writers discuss plans to write a really good zombie apocalypse story(Hello world and can someone make a really good… thread).
- In the Reading Corner MorganR searches for fellow fans of the Kingkiller Chronicles (The Kingkiller Chronicle thread).
Featured Interview - Introducing Applegirl
Applegirl is the author of one of the site’s most popular stories, the heart-breaking Farewell my Childhood Self, and she is also one of the most reclusive of the site’s top authors, having not posted in the Forums for three years. As she still checks into the site from time to time I took the liberty of messaging her for an interview and received her answer a few weeks ago. I’m happy to share it now.
Q: Why do you write choose your own stories?
A: I happened to be a lurker on this site in the early days and I thought it would be nice to try my hand at writing a story. It was a work in progress to get used to writing a choose your own story, but I personally enjoyed it towards the end. The freedom to go in a completely different direction/ending appealed strongly to me, even though I definitely had some difficulty adjusting.
Q: What is your preferred writing method and style?
A: For me, I write solely based on inspiration/mood. Just sit down and try to imagine myself personally in that situation. So the happy moments were personally the best the write.
Q: Any plans for future stories?
A: Sometimes, I do think I’ll write another story. I sit down and plan out the beginning and end. I even write a great deal of it too. Then for some reason, I haven’t been able to finish it. The image/world in my head beckons me and yet I haven’t finished. I have all these ideas of future stories yet I think that period of my life is a bit done for now. Something else in my real life is essentially taking all the time I have so I can’t really imagine writing until it is over. I wonder if I’ll even be the same person at the end of it, able to write the stories I used to imagine writing in the past. At this point, I honestly doubt it.
Q: Who are your favorite authors and/or story games on this site?
A: I’m pretty big on the classic favorites, you really can’t go wrong with a featured story writer.
Q: Do you have any advice for other writers?
A: To write constantly and to take any criticism as a chance to improve. A lot of time, you see the first story of an author and you read the most recent and you can see a huge improvement. Everyone grows as a writer, it takes time and effort.
Q: How about some final thoughts?
A: This is probably spoiler territory but considering Farewell is 3+ years old, I assume everyone who wanted to has read the story. I found it funny how everyone feels the “sad” ending is the worst ending. I personally found it to be the happy one, one that offered closure. I think since I based the story off real life, I found the “happy” ending to be the worst. To say goodbye is a blessing, you know?
This site and community is really great, I have nothing but the best to say about everyone.
Featured Reviews: Farewell my Childhood Self
Farewell my Childhood Self
Much like Snow this is a story by which all other stories can be measured, a blend of experiences that represent life through the whole range of emotions and with such strong writing that the reader almost can’t help but feel an emotional response from the text. The great thing about this story is that based on their own life experiences each reader will draw a different response from the text, those who have lost people they loved might even be moved to tears by the truth of the scenes depicted in the story.
The writing throughout is reinforced with pictures as in a graphic novel, for some these are unnecessary but for others they help reinforce the story. Whatever your opinion of the pictures I can’t help but feel this author, more perhaps than any other on this site, shows the link between Art and Life ( one of course reflects the other) and combines this link with a considerable talent for writing to create this masterpiece.
Jokes
Naturally all of the people who use this site are beautiful and charismatic boys and girls but occasionally even Beyonce needs a bit of extra nose plastering, with this in mind I’ve provided some guaranteed-to-work pick up lines from the ever-reliable internet to help those who’s dating skills might need the tiniest of boosts. Don’t worry, you don’t have to thank me, just send large sums of money.
1: If I were to ask you out on a date would your answer be the same as the answer to this question?
2: You’re so beautiful you made me forget my pickup line.
3: There’s something wrong with my phone. It doesn’t have your number in it.
4: Heaven just called and said one of it’s angels are missing.
5: Hey, do you know how much a polar bear weighs? Enough to break the ice, hi I’m…
Here are some that might not work so well…
1: Wow, you look so special did you fall from heaven? Did you land on your face?
2: No don’t go away, the more I drink the prettier you look!
3: Do you want to have a drink and celebrate with me? I’ve just beaten the rape charges!
4: Can I buy you a drink or do you just want the money?
5: If you were a booger I’d pick you first.
6: Did you just fart cause you’ve blown me away!
7: I just can’t hold my love for you in… it’s just like my explosive diarrhea! Hey wait, did I mention I’m single?
Quiz of the Week
Love him or hate him but the only man who could make seven grammatical errors in a simple eight word declarative sentence brought a much-needed comedy element to the White House, yep it’s good old George “Misunderestimated” Bush. A satirist’s dream, supplying so much good comedy material he was re-elected for a second term, he has been popping up in the news again recently as the usual obsession with the elections dominates the media so this week I’ve decided to offer a neutral and entirely bias-free quiz asking the question What do you think of George Bush?
(Yes I know this quiz is about ten years out of date but as I still find it hard to look at a photo of Bush without laughing I wanted to do this).
1) Which of these best describes George Bush?
A) Dimwitted draft dodger who used his father’s fame, his brother’s vote rigging and his family’s money to get into the White House.
B) A nice guy who overcame an inability to speak coherent English or solve difficult financial problems to lead his nation through a troubled time.
C) The second coming of Jesus Christ.
2) The best moment of George Bush’s Presidency was…
A) Dodging a pair of shoes thrown at him in Baghdad
B) Bush’s ability to joke about his inability to find WMD’s in Iraq
C) His declaring a War on Terror so Americans need never be afraid of anything ever again.
3) George Bush’s decision to keep reading the book “My Pet Goat” for seven minutes after being informed of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 was…
A) Due to his inability to act in times of crisis without detailed instructions
B) Because he was really beginning to understand what the book was about
C) To display calmness and thoughtfulness in times of crisis
4) Unusual statements like “our enemies… never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we”, known as Bushisms, are…
A) The rambling of a not very bright country hick
B) The usual struggles of a public speaker under pressure
C) Interpretive philosophical statements comparable to Confucius
5) George Bush…
A) Damaged the Presidency, destroyed the economy and ruined America’s international image for years
B) Showed that if he can become President just about anybody could.
C) Showed a greatness as a leader only before seen by the likes of Mandela, Gandhi and Alexander the Great.
If you answered mostly A’s... just because someone has the IQ of a fourteen year old is not a reason to wish ill on them. True Bush did declare an un-winnable war on a sensation (Terror) and destroyed his country’s economy but on the bright side he didn’t invade small countries like Hitler did… oh. Scratch that.
If you answered mostly B’s... some struggle with public speaking and some struggle with making difficult decisions and just because Bush combined these two attributes with a gift for embarrassing gaffes (such as groping the German Chancellor) he did his best, even if his best wasn’t very good.
If you answered mostly C’s... like me you have a true and accurate vision of this misunderstood genius, the kind of man who was simply too good for the Presidency, so talented he didn’t need to spend time in office and actually spent more time on vacation than any President before or since. It takes a special kind of greatness to confuse “missile launches” with “mental losses” in live nationwide broadcasts.
A Very Special Thanks to applegirl for her interview this week.
