[stylist] Weekly Writing Challenge

[William L Houts]

Hey Chris,

Just wanted to let you  know that I've read your contribution to this 
writing exercise, and that you're a really fine prose styolist.  The 
particular qualities of this example, I think, are that it presses 
forward with a lean sort of energy.  The conversation between the two 
college guys is well-observed and deft.  Gratz are in order here.  As 
always, I look forward to more work from you, if it's not too saucy of 
me to say so.  Hope you treat yourself to some well deserved lemonade on 
this sultry June evening.  (At least that's what it's like here in 
Steilacoom, Washington.)


--Bill



On 6/7/2015 11:23 AM, Chris Kuell via stylist wrote:
> I've enjoyed everyone's contributions to this exercise. And now I'm going to
> start my timer...
>
>   
> As a writer, I'm always listening in on other people's conversations. Most
> of them are fairly meaningless, but occasionally I'll pick up a nice tid bit
> or phrase--like the time I was in Atlanta and I heard the expression, "he's
> dumb as a box of rocks." To me, that was a keeper.
>
> Anyway, I was in a local coffee shop yesterday, a place called Molten Java,
> which I like to support because they give young people a chance to play
> music and read poetry on Thursday nights, and I think that's pretty cool.
>
> So yesterday I slid into a booth with my cup of cammomile tea and tuned in
> to the guys in the booth behind me, who I'll call Nick and Johnny. I could
> tell Nick was a big guy, with a deep, booming voice. Johnny was a little
> nasally, like maybe he should have had his adenoids out as a kid. It took a
> minute, but I soon figured out they were talking about dating, and in
> particular, a dating web site called Tinder.
>
> Johnny: So I was messaging with this girl, Stephanie. I asked who her
> favorite president was, and she said Lincoln, then asked me who mine was, so
> I said Martin Van Buren."
>
> Nick erupts into laughter. "Martin Van Buren? Holy crap. Why?"
>
> Johnny: "I just wanted to see what she'd do."
>
> Nick: "And...?"
>
> "Johnny: "And she blocked me."
>
> More laughter from Nick, then: "Well, I was chatting with this chick named
> Shontelle. Totally hot. I'm talking pure fire. We're vibing, everything is
> going smoothly, when she starts telling me about her friend, who used to be
> Meghan, but now is Mason. I asked what he did for work, and she said not to
> say him, but to say they or them. I said--say what? She then goes into this
> gender neutral pronoun mumbo jumbo, saying it's better to use they or them,
> even in the singular, because it's not gender specific."
>
> Johnny: "But that's grammatically incorrect!"
>
> Nick: "Dude, that's exactly what I said. I told her that as an English
> major, I just couldn't get behind that bullshit."
>
> Johnny: "And...?"
>
> Nick: "And she blocked me."
>        
>
>
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-- 


"Oh, Sophie!  Whyfore have you eated all de cheeldren?"