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Week Four! For anyone who doesn't know: this will thread will contain a week's worth of writing exercises to be completed each day. I'll give out 5 points per regular exercise, 10 points per bonus exercise, and 15 per "super bonus" exercises. You may do as few or as many of the exercises as you want. Anyone is allowed to join up at any time, but please let me know in a PM if you want to be added to our tag and scoring list.  

Our goal here: Ultimately, fun, but I very strongly believe that the encouragement of your peers, a little friendly competition, and some light-goal setting combined with consistent practice is an excellent path to becoming a better writer.

ONE IMPORTANT RULE: DO NOT REPLY TO ANY OTHER WRITER'S POST. I will indicate where to reply to post your work and if you want to praise a fellow writer, please do it in the appropriate "feedback thread" that I posted. We don't want writing posts locked here, it isn't fair to people who want to edit later.

Monday! Sorry, I know I haven't scored last week, I'm still sick and I'm exhausted to boot. I'll get to it soon, but fiiiirst ...theme time again! This week is "hurdles, confrontations, and consequences" week! Wall of text ahoy! :D Prepare for learning!

Today, we'll deal with the concept of an antagonist, so let's thoroughly define what one is. Many people believe an antagonist is a villain, but that simply isn't true. Many villains are antagonists, but not all antagonists are villains and not all villains are antagonists.

The definition of an antagonist is "a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary" and in literary terms it's "a character or a group of characters which stand in opposition to the protagonist, aka, the main character." Just because you're hostile towards something doesn't make you a villain, does it? You can be hostile towards many things, including evil people, and not all main characters are heroes--even though they may still see themselves as such.

Opposition, though, does not actually need to be hostile, nor does it need to involve the concepts of good and evil at all. Much milder versions of these conflicts occur in the form of rivalries. You may not hate the other person, you may not even dislike them, but you are challenged by them. They oppose you in your goals. This opposition is a fantastic source of character development.

Keeping this all in mind, your challenge of the day is... Pick a character and create an antagonist for them. Write five sentences about this antagonist and make at least one of them from your protagonist's point of view.

Bonus: Write a fight scene or confrontation between the two, while exploring the differences between them and why they're enemies / rivals. 

@31TeV @ecoLyte @TheNewIAP @Ogre11 @SpartacustheGreat @Morgan_R @Swiftstryker @betaband @nmelssx @Sethaniel @Malkalack @Briar_Rose @MatGods @Wolfmist @bjhovey @AWarriorFan @FazzTheMan @Claw2k11 @Romulus @ISentinelPenguinI @GrottyStatute74 @WarriorCatsRPS @Confused @jamescoker1226 @pinkalily21

Character: Officer Tim Johnson
Antagonist: Police Chief Berger Kenn

1. Tim looked up at Chief Kenn and said, "Why can't you understand that's just wrong, even if it is procedure?"

2. Berger looked in the mirror and saw a large man, but he felt small inside.

3. Kenn looked at Johnson as he continued, "And all of you are to follow these procedures, or else."

4. Kenn said, "Mr. Mayor, I think this process is working -- the fines are up by over $250,000 and we've only had to pay out $50,000 in bonuses."

5. "I'm the chief, and what I say goes -- and if you leak one word of this to any person outside this room, I personally guarantee you will find yourself in a jail cell for a long, long time."

Bonus:

Tim walked up to the Chief, in his office. He started to speak, but then moved back to the door and closed it. He said, "Look, chief, I know you're doing your job, but this is just plain wrong."

The chief stood up and replied angrily, "And your job is to obey me. If you don't like it, just don't participate."

"Come on, chief, you know that's unreasonable! If I don't participate, I'm going to be making less than $10 an hour here. What happened to you?"

"Hey, if you don't like the pay, you can always just quit you know. That's what some have decided to do. Why do you have to fight this? Just take the work and take the money or take a damn walk."

Johnson walked back towards the door, "This isn't over. You might have a lot of power in this town, but you're not going to get away with this."

The chief came out from behind his desk to put his hand on the door, stopping Johnson from opening it. He walked up close to Johnson and said through clenched teeth, "I'm serious about what I said. If you try to mess this up, you're facing big trouble. You know I can get 10 cops out there to say whatever I want them to say. You might get arrested for molesting little boys -- you know a cop molester in jail isn't going to last long. You better think about what you're doing, because you don't get it: you can't win this one. No way, no how. Just leave it alone. I'm telling you now, get out, or I'll take you out."

Johnson stepped back and looked at the chief. Finally he nodded and replied, "Okay. Fine. You win. I'll go back to work now."

The chief hesitantly stepped away and nodded, "That's all I ask."

Johnson opened the door and walked away. The chief watched him go, wondering how this would really turn out.

Protagonist : A teen mother to-be, two weeks into pregnancy.

Antagonist : Her friend.

Challenge : Zacky, I knew, was different in the sense that he had heart where I had not.  Even if he was a man bound by the laws of his religion, it never once occurred to me that he had taken these laws seriously.  After all, his friends were gays, spoilt children, adulterers like me.  Misfits.  I'd assume he'd be tolerant enough to let most of us be, to slowly change us as opposed to forcing us.  And for the most part, underneath that turban and that wisened beard, he had a mind that did.  A day at a time was all we need to change, however slowly.  Until that time.

Bonus :

 

ONE IMPORTANT RULE: DO NOT REPLY TO ANY OTHER WRITER'S POST. Kiel will indicate where to reply to post your work and if you want to praise a fellow writer, please do it in the appropriate "feedback thread" that Kiel posted. We don't want writing posts locked here, it isn't fair to people who want to edit later.

 

Tuesday! Let's keep going with "hurdles, confrontations, and consequences" week!

Hope you made your antagonist a good one, because today, we're exploring the merits of changing perspective. Make the antagonist of yesterday your protagonist of today by giving THEM the lead role instead. Now, write five more sentences, with at least one written from your "new" protagonist's point of view.

Bonus: Write a scene where your former antagonist, now protagonist, passionately justifies their actions and/or convincingly argues their side of things. (Possible options: They could argue this to themselves, the former protagonist, their allies, an authority figure, a love interest... exc.)   

1. The chief sat up in his chair and thought to himself, "This will absolutely work, and it will be better for everyone."

2. He continued addressing the audience, "This is going to be a revolution in police work -- and you will all be a part of it!"

3. The chief scanned the ready room, pleased that he was leading such an effective group of officers.

4. The chief looked over at Johnson and wondered whose side he was really on.

5. The chief nodded as the commissioner described his plan and answered, "Yes, yes, yes! This will absolutely work, I will ensure it."

Bonus:

Police Chief Berger Kenn looked in the mirror at the end of the day. He saw a tired, old man. When did he get this old? He'd been nothing but a policeman his entire life. And what they were doing was different, sure, but it was for the best. "Change is good," he said to the mirror. He turned and walked towards his closet, continuing, "Sure, there are those who don't like the new ways, but there are a lot of people just don't like change, no matter how good it is."

He stopped and looked up, continuing to talk to no one, "I've got officers that get hurt all the time out there, and these new procedures are simply going to reduce that. I need to make sure they get to go home to their families, and if I can keep them out of danger, I am going to do that, and if anyone doesn't like that, tough crap, I'm the damn police chief, and they're not!"

Wednesday! Sorry I'm so late today, guys. Work was ... ... =| actually, it was disturbingly relevant to the topic of the day, which is honestly creeping me out a little as I type this, considering I wrote this exercise (all of these exercises) for you guys weeks ago. So, here we go: day three of "hurdles, confrontations, and consequences" week.

Let's write about loss. It doesn't have to be about someone dying (as in my own case), mind you, it can be about the loss of a limb or a job or a marriage or a car. It can technically be about anything, as long as an individual deeply cares about that thing or person and experiences a sense of loss because of its absence.

Write five sentences, each one on characters or a character experiencing a different stage of the five stages of grief: "denial," "anger," "bargaining," "depression," and "acceptance." (Also, while the five stages are usually thought of in that order, everyone's experience with loss is different, and it's entirely common to bounce around between the stages, or to regress from acceptance to anger or depression, or to have more than one at a time.)

Bonus: Expand one sentence into a scene.

Super bonus: Have the scene show all five stages for one single character.

@31TeV @ecoLyte @TheNewIAP @Ogre11 @SpartacustheGreat @Morgan_R @Swiftstryker @betaband @nmelssx @Sethaniel @Malkalack @Briar_Rose @MatGods @Deathdefender @Wolfmist @bjhovey @AWarriorFan @FazzTheMan @Claw2k11 @Romulus @ISentinelPenguinI @GrottyStatute74 @WarriorCatsRPS @Confused @jamescoker1226 @pinkalily21

S-T-O-P plz. I dont want tto do this.

X_X Why did you sign up in the first place if you really weren't going to participate at all beyond complaining about being tagged for a thing you agreed you -wanted- to be tagged for?

You told me "sure, I'll do it" in the interest thread and you've never said anything about not wanting to do it until now. I am not a mind reader. Now that I know you've dropped out, I'll take you off the scoring and tagging list. @DeathDefender

1. Daniel looked at the flames in the distance and tried to convince himself that it wouldn't, couldn't be.

2. Fred, looking up from the dead body of his friend at the murderer, yelled, "Get outta my house, or I'll stick this knife right through your head!"

3. "Please," Maria begged to Tyrek, "Take me, he's an innocent bystander of all this!"

4. Sally wandered the streets, thinking about Scott with her head in her hands.

5. Vicky wiped her tears off of her face and mumbled to herself, "It's time to move on now."

Bonus: 

Daniel couldn't take it anymore. He trudged out of the abandoned camp and towards the other camp. Frostbite bit his face and feet, but he kept trudging. A hissing sound was heard, then a flash of light as a plane caught fire. It came barrelling down, heading straight onto Daniel...

Daniel jumped out of the way just in time. The plane crashed into the snow behind him and he could feel the heat of the fire caused by the crash. He turned around to see a man lying on the ground. He crawled closer, ignoring the sounds of battle around him. He investigated the man, checking his jacket and pants...

Then he saw the white star.

He's from the Allied Forces! 

Felt his head and checked his pulse. He put his head to the soldier's heart and listened for a beat.

He's alive!

He immediately looked around for something to wrap him in. He took off his blanket and wrapped it around the man. The man shivered, but his head stayed on the ground as he started to open his eyes. His strange blue eyes stared around.

"Who are you?" the soldier asked.

"No need for names," Daniel said, "Here, have some bread." Daniel handed over the bread he had gotten from the Nazi camp. "You need it more than I do."

"Thank you," the soldier said and took a bite of the bread. Daniel stood up and started to walk towards the other camp.

He arrived there to see it in ruins. Everything was in disorder, and a few prisoners were walking around with lost looks. He walked into an empty building and saw corpses on the floor. Then he saw poor old Frank's body.

"Oh, why him?" Daniel cried.

When Jim opened his pantry, he gasped in horror. His beloved snack, that most holy of sandwiches, had a bite taken out of it. It's perfect peanut-butter-and-jelly interior was marred by human teeth. He shuddered to think of all the germs floating around on it. Jim was horrified of what he might catch, having watched a documentary on Necrotizing Fasciitis and completely misunderstanding it. 

"I'm... sure it's still okay." He muttered, sitting down on the nearest chair. "Yeah, it's fine. My sandwich is totally cool, and ready to be eaten." Deep down, Jim knew he was lying to himself. His sandwich was never going to be okay again. 

"Why?" He screamed, slamming both his arms against the counter tops of his kitchen, and raking them along. Pots, pans and plats fell on the floor as he  raged, smashing both him and his roommate's possessions against the cold tiles. He punched a hole through his cabinet, and his fingers turned an ugly purple. 

Jim looked up at the heavens, pleading. "Please! Let me erase that bite from time! I'll do anything! I mean anything! I will suck dick for my sandwich!" Jim began to sob and pound his fists against the countertop. 

He rested his face on it, and sobbed. Tears racked his face, dirtying his pale complexion. His face became an ugly red tomato, only brought about by extreme sorrow. He lost the will to live, and stayed there, weeping for three hours. Things looked dark, before he realized that there was no point. 

"My sandwich is gone. Might as well make the best of it." He said matter-of-factly, before preparing a new sandwich and eating it. 

 

1. "No, it is simply not possible that Mr. Fuffykins is gone because I just had him with me this morning."

2. "Now you tell me where Mr. Fluffykins is RIGHT NOW because I want him back!"

3. "Please, just give me back Mr. Fluffykins and I'll clean my room every day, I promise."

4. "I just can't live without Mr. Fluffykins: I'll never sleep again."

5. "Hey, look over there, they have brand-new Mr. Fluffykins in that store!"

Bonus:

Julie grabbed her blankets and threw them, the best an eight-year-old can throw a pile of blankets, across the room.

"Where is he? He has to be here!"

She shoved the mattress of her bed and then threw herself on the floor to look under the bed. "I know he is here, I just know it!"

She scrabbled under the bed and wiggled until she was completely under the bed. Her voice was muffled, but you could hear the tears starting up, "I can't find him anywhere. Where is Mr. Fluffykins?!?"

Super bonus:

Julie grabbed her blankets and threw them, the best an eight-year-old can throw a pile of blankets, across the room.

"Where is he? He has to be here!"

She shoved the mattress of her bed and then threw herself on the floor to look under the bed. "I know he is here, I just know it!"

She scrabbled under the bed and wiggled until she was completely under the bed. Her voice was muffled, but you could hear the tears starting up, "I can't find him anywhere. Where is Mr. Fluffykins?!?"

Julie ran out of her room and stood in her mother's doorway. She nearly screamed, "Now you tell me where Mr. Fluffykins is RIGHT NOW because I want him back!" She stomped her foot as her mom looked over at her.

"Sweetie, Mr. Fluffykins is gone. Don't you remember?"

Julie's face turned red and she walked towards her mother, pleading, "Please, just give me back Mr. Fluffykins and I'll clean my room every day, I promise."

Her mom reached over for her and pulled Julie close, "Oh, I'm so sorry dear. I know how much you really loved him."

Julie buried her face in her mom's shirt and mumbled, "I just can't live without Mr. Fluffykins: I'll never sleep again."

Her mom grimly smiled and held her close for a few minutes. After the sniffing stopped, Julie stood back up on her own feet. She sniffled once more as her eyes darted around the room. She spotted a glossy catalog open on her mother's bed. "Hey, look over there, they have brand-new Mr. Fluffykins in that store! We should go there now and get one!"

Thursday! Day four of "hurdles, confrontations, and consequences" week! Late again, I know, but I've been having some hellish work days. On the plus side, as I've said before, you are able to complete the exercises on other days ... (they just only count if done within the week)

For kicks, today let's write about break-ups / divorces. Five sentences from any character's point of view concerning the nasty (or amiable) parting of ways between a once loving couple.

Bonus: Write a scene from an outsider's perspective. Could be a friend, family member, love rival, "the other woman/man," an innocent bystander, exc, to give you some ideas. 

Super Bonus: Write a secret about the couple's relationship that only the outsider knows.

@31TeV @ecoLyte @TheNewIAP @Ogre11 @SpartacustheGreat @Morgan_R @Swiftstryker @betaband @nmelssx @Sethaniel @Malkalack @Briar_Rose @MatGods @Wolfmist @bjhovey @AWarriorFan @FazzTheMan @Claw2k11 @Romulus @ISentinelPenguinI @GrottyStatute74 @WarriorCatsRPS @Confused @jamescoker1226 @pinkalily21

Nasty:

1. "I think it's time we started seeing other people." Maevin said spitefully as their limbs began to grow back.

2. "I know we've been together for a year now, but, you've always been holding me back, and I, you. It's time we moved on." The googly eyes on his toilet paper roll shed a single tear.

3. When Richard opened his birthday present, the last thing he expected to see was a pig castration device and an angry letter...

4. "This isn't good for either of us," Red Rocker said, blocking his husband's blue fist and countering with a punch of his own, "And I, for one, am leaving before we kill each other again."

5. "It's alright," Dan said as his nervous system began to shut down, "I know you really only loved him, that's why I ate the jellyfish in the first place."

Amiable:

... Oops, I might have forgotten to do one of those...

1. "We can still be friends, right?"

2. Marisa threw the last box of clothes out the second story window and watched with pleasure as it crashed into the ground in the front yard, scattering clothes everywhere.

3. The sound of the gavel hitting the desk echoed through Gavin's head -- he would not soon forget it.

4. She squeezed the trigger carefully, as she had been taught, keeping his head in proper sight alignment.

5. She squeezed him close, but the magic just wasn't there any more, and they both knew it.

Bonus:

John slowed his car down as he got a closer look at the carnage. It looked like it might have started as a yard sale, but somehow things had gone horribly wrong. There were all sorts of personal items, from clothes to shoes to books, scattered from one end of the property to the other. There were bits of paper and small broken pieces of plastic blowing in the wind and out into the street. He had seen hurricanes that had done less damage, but couldn't see why this would have just affected one house.

Then he spotted it: the hurricane itself -- a woman on the second floor, throwing items out the window in anger. She wasn't just letting things fall to the ground, she was throwing them with all her force straight down. She watched each item fall and appeared to smile when the item hit the ground and broke.

She looked up, spotted John, and gave him a look. He had known enough women to know that look. He slammed his foot down on the gas and got away from that place as quickly as he could.

Super-Bonus:

As John turned the corner, he slowed the car down and pulled into an empty parking lot. Then he really realized what he had just seen. Marisa was obviously throwing Gavin out. He was guessing that Gavin didn't know yet, so he still had time. Marisa didn't know about the insurance policy, and she didn't know exactly what kind of "special" insurance policy it was. John wasn't supposed to know, but he had overheard Gavin's father at the wedding. The policy was made to ensure that whole "death do you part" thing was carried out in full. Marisa was in great danger. John spun the tires on his car as he turned around to head into the eye of the hurricane...

Friday! Day five of "hurdles, confrontations, and consequences" week! I've been thinking, do you guys want to take a break next week? I can resume afterwards, but it might be nice to just have a free week. Let me know what you think.

Anyway, yesterday got me thinking about secrets. They can definitely be hurdles to a protagonist. They can also be a lot of other things in a story, both good and bad. Write five sentences, each one about a different secret. If possible, try to make each one a different kind of secret, like so--a happy one, a sad one, a creepy one, a dangerous one, and an innocent one.

Bonus: Pick one (or more) of the five to expand into a scene.

@31TeV @ecoLyte @TheNewIAP @Ogre11 @SpartacustheGreat @Morgan_R @Swiftstryker @betaband @nmelssx @Sethaniel @Malkalack @Briar_Rose @MatGods @Wolfmist @bjhovey @AWarriorFan @FazzTheMan @Claw2k11 @Romulus @ISentinelPenguinI @GrottyStatute74 @WarriorCatsRPS @Confused @jamescoker1226 @pinkalily21

1. "Shh, he's almost here -- wait until he turns on the light before we all yell 'Happy Birthday!'"

2. The investigator said, "You don't know anything about him and this woman?"

3. "I know where you live."

4. "I know where you got that money and how."

5. "Where did you hide it?"

Bonus:

The investigator said, "You don't know anything about him and this woman?"

"No, he said he was going on a business trip. He said he would call me when he got to his hotel."

The investigator continued, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we found him in this house, that shows one Yolanda Moore as the owner. Both of them were there and, well, they weren't fully dressed."

"What? Is he in the hospital? Because if he isn't, I'm going to put him there!"

"No ma'am, he's in the morgue."

1. "We're getting married," said Mia, and everyone cheered.
2. "S-She's dead?" Gorge said, eyes widened with terror.
3. "I have two heads!" Harrison yelled and pulled off his cloak, revealing a slightly smaller- and creepy-looking- head.
4. Nadia bit her lip; being a spy could get her captured, killed, or worse.
5. "The true killer is Dirk!" yelled the witness, and everyone turned to him.

1."Please don't be mad Daddy," I begged, "This is a good thing. You're going to be a grandpa!"

2. "Take a moment to think about this ma'am," the detective suggested, "You've got it made here, beautiful house, fancy car, designer clothes, the works... Are you sure you want to know?"

3. I always had doubts that Sophie was really my daughter, but how could I say anything? I loved that girl from the moment I set eyes on her and I'm not going to let anyone take her away from me.

4. "Trust me darlin', you don't want to know what happened, because whatever it is you're thinking, the darkest most fucked up shit your innocent little imagination can come up with... It was much, much worse."

5. "... But if the zombie wasn't real then what the fuck happened to little Bobby's brain?"

YOUR FOURTH WEEK SCORES:
(Subtractions from regular 5, 10, and 15 point additions are made for missing sentences and incomplete scenes. Keep in mind, please, that you are allowed to work on scenes / sentences for the entire week, I will count exercises that you went back and finished, but once Saturday hits, the work you've done is judged ... with the exception of weeks where I am late in giving you guys your score.)  

@31TeV - 0
@ecoLyte - 0
@TheNewIAP - 0
@Ogre11 - 105
@SpartacustheGreat - 0
@Morgan_R - 0
@Swiftstryker - 5
@betaband - 0
@nmelssx - 0
@Sethaniel - 0
@Malkalack - 25
@Briar_Rose - 5
@MatGods - 0
@Wolfmist - 20
@bjhovey - 0
@AWarriorFan -  0
@FazzTheMan - 0
@Claw2k11 - 0
@Romulus - 0
@ISentinelPenguinI -  5
@GrottyStatute74 - 0
@WarriorCatsRPS - 0
@Confused - 0
@jamescoker1226 - 0
@pinkalily21 - 0
@NeoTheCreator - 0

This Week's Winner: Ogre11

Second Place: Malkalack

Third Place: Wolfmist

Note: I need suggestions or assistance, guys. If I can't get some help with weekly themes / exercises or maybe just help with scoring, then if nothing changes, I'll be stepping down after week 6. If that ends up being the case, thank you everyone for participating.