Tag Archives: laugh

And Now for the Ubiquitous Penis Joke

…I’m not sure that’s what I meant to say, but it sure does sound cool.

I had my first story workshopped last week (week before that? I have no sense of time these days), and to be honest, I am really, really into this story. It’s called “Monkey Killer,” and it’s about a woman who goes to a Tool concert.

(Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) In fact, the story was inspired by this blog post about the concert: Nothing Else Matters. In fact, I may have stolen from myself because the story starts off with almost the same line:

Congratulations. You are not too old, too unhip, too fat, or too phobic to go to a rock concert.

This one, though, is about a woman who attends the concert with her 25 year old son. She is 40, which is a story in itself. She’s also a recovering alcoholic, and her son is an active one. I’m playing with several elements of the story: how to characterize without “telling” too much, how to show their relationship as mother-and-son without saying it straight out, things like that. I’m also playing with point of view.

Continue reading And Now for the Ubiquitous Penis Joke

Best Line Ever

Studying for my African American Lit final, I came across this gem.

Zora Neale Hurston, in 1928 wrote an essay called “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.”

From this essay comes this wonderful line:

“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”

I am digging this woman, truly.