From: "Wayne Kessler" <wayne@penncen.com> Newsgroups: talk.bizarre Subject: Play-A-Day: A Man, writing (#951211) Lines: 61 Organization: Kessler Freedman X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4 Message-ID: <_hc14.1130$7n.123576@news1.epix.net> Date: Wed, 01 Dec 1999 16:46:50 GMT X-Complaints-To: abuse@epix.net X-Trace: news1.epix.net 944066810 205.238.199.34 (Wed, 01 Dec 1999 11:46:50 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 01 Dec 1999 11:46:50 EST Scene: A man staring at his computer. Man: Hmmm, I think I'll write about a man staring at his computer. The Character, Man Staring at his computer: You know, that has been so overdone, the writer's block thing. Man: What do you mean? The Character, Man Staring at his computer: Nobody cares about you writing about you having difficulty thinking about writing. Everybody wants stories about real stuff, like pizza crust and things caught in your teeth and disgusting festering sores. Stories about something. Man: Well, this is a story about something. It's about writer's block. The Character, Man Staring at his computer: No, it's about the absence of something. People want to read about things, not about the lack of things. Everybody lacks things... there's no story in that. Man: Hmm. Perhaps you're right. What about this? Suddenly a large oozing penguin runs across the computer. Penguin: Squawk! Squawk! Look at my ooze! Squawk! The Character, Man Staring at his computer: So what was the point in that? Man: Well, check this out. Penguin: Oh, I am suffering from tremendous writer's block, which is causing me to ooze. Man: See! There's something! The absence of writing is making ooze, which is something! The Character, Man Staring at his computer: You're starting to sound like the producers of the sleaze talk shows. Ooze is something! Ooze is important! Man: Look, you're just a literary creation, and not much of one at that. Don't start imposing standards on me! The Character, Man Staring at his computer: Hey, they are YOUR words. Penguin: Oh, the ooze! The ooze!! Man: If you accidentally dropped the gum you were chewing on the table at McDonald's, would you put it back in your mouth? The Character, Man Staring at his computer: Now THERE is a subject! Run with it! Find out why there is gum under the tables at McDonald's at http://www.penncen.com/play-a-day/