Write Club Prompt #2

Session one of Write Club is over, and I'm proud to report that we've all had our asses thoroughly kicked. Which is what we wanted, so...mission accomplished. And it seems like it payed off too, because the stories I read in the Write Club queue were outstanding. That made it all worth it to me. 

So a big thanks is in order to all my fellow Space Monkeys. You guys are the real deal. 

Now it's time to get to the point. The prompt. The thing you're all here for. This one is going to be weird. But I think we're going to get some great stuff out of it. 

Session 2 prompt: The Big Metaphor  

Your story is going to draw a big metaphor between two seemingly unrelated things. This prompt isn't going to dictate what you write about, instead it's going to dictate the shape you write the story in. It should start out with two things and by the end we should see the connection, a connection that is original, something the reader hasn't thought of before.

Story & Author: This story is one of my all time favourites. It's called Chicxulub and it's written by T.C. Boyle and published in the New Yorker. 

Discussion: Finished the story? Great. Let's chat. 

There's a lot to chew on here. Right from the start, the first line, he sets up the suspense for the entire short. But instead of going straight into the story, he starts info-dumping about asteroids. The whole time, we're wondering what the hell does this has to do with the central story, and the metaphor just floats there in orbit.

Then he shuffles back and forth like that for a while, and as the details get more vivid, the dread kicks in. We know it's going to end badly. We want to see how it ends, and now those info dumps, instead of getting in the way, are offering us clues. So we pour through them. 

Then, when the tension is at its highest, he hits us with a reversal, and the metaphor falls down to the earth like the hammer of God. He doesn't even have to tell us the meaning. We can feel it at this point. And when the dust settles, we see the world differently. 

This story isn't an escape from reality. Instead it offers an insight, something valuable we can take away. And that's why I love it so much. Hopefully you all did too. 

Our stories don't have to be set up like Boyle's. The metaphor can be more subtle. We don't have to info dump. Whatever. 

How you blow my mind is completely up to you. 

Well, what are you waiting for?