Authorial Speculation
Speculation on authorship is allowed at any time during voting. However, please keep these postings here.
As always, authors should refrain from revealing their identities until voting has concluded.
As always, authors should refrain from revealing their identities until voting has concluded.
Comments (59)
180 Proof
Baden
Benkei
Beverley
Christoffer
Hanover
Hypericin
Jack Cummins
Javi2541997
Lionino
mentos987
Noble Dust
ToothyMaw
ucarr
Unenlightened
Vera Mont
"Rip out the grass" has some Spanish elements to it, understandably, as it is set in the Philippines. Nonetheless, I would say it is by a Spanish-speaker. As Vera points out, it feels like a translation. Javi I am guessing. But now after seeing ucarr's comment, I think it is ucarr lol
Baden revealed himself basically, or he is very committed to making it seem that way. Either way, go read "A Special Christmas", it deserves the love I couldn't give it.
I promise I am not the only person who uses Spanish things or words related to Spain. For example, last year, in the previous contest, a story was plotted in Dénia and although some thought it was written by me, it turned out that the author was Jamal. I mean, there are members of TPF who were in Spain once, and they have been inspired by architecture or other elements.
I give it an 11/10 on the Spinal Tap meter.
I Dream of Simon was written by [s]Jack Cummins[/s] Edited
Dawn was written by Hypericin or Noble Dust.
The greater the ambiguity, the greater the pleasure. :smile:
Fugue = Noble Dust
The Story of THING - Hypericin
Rip out the grass - Javi
A Socialist Christmas - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
:up: I'll run with that too.
Definitely Hanover. :up:
Now I'm confused; i thought this was your submission:
Quoting Hanover
Shaddap.
Ysee, Jack Doe is basically Hanovers sad real life autobiography. Well, let me tell you all about Hanover, yessir. The dude comes on here boasting about screwing chickens and all that but hes never screwed a chicken in his life, believe me. In fact, despite his talk of liasons with a whole host of farmyard animals I have it on good authority he doesnt even live on a farm. Its all a fantasy. He lives in a regular suburban semi. I have sources. So, when Hanoverif thats even his real name is not in his boring 9 to 5er hes hanging out in his semi alone making up stories about an erotic bestial existence most of us could only dream of. Its about envy you see. Thats all hes got is our envy. The stories of threesomes with ponies and pumping his sheepdog are not factual. Do not get sucked in by this guys lies. Do not be deceived and consumed in jealousy. He is exactly Jack Doe and nothing more. None of the devastatingly erotic barnyard sex ever happened. Just forget it. Its not healthy. I can tell ya. Yeah, I know about Hanover alright. The dude is just not right in the head. :rage:
:lol:
Well, I'll go ahead and tell you. It's your mama callin out my name. That's who it is, but I ain't goin. Know why? Been there, done that. I ain't goin back to that well. Done drunk there one too many times.
Absolutely.
During the nearly three years that I've been reading and posting on the shoutbox, I've come to the conclusion that Hanover dislikes the system and is a counter-revolutionary leader. Instead of being noisy, he decides to act in a more subtle way, using sarcasm and irony. Otherwise, he would have spent hours writing manifestos, but he's not that type of guy. I don't know to what extent 'The Tale of Jack Doe' is the personification of Hanover. Still, if it actually is, I must congratulate him for facing an ordinary life without bitterness!
:rofl:
Yes, this is it. To all who read me as a conservative suburbanite yelling at people to get the hell off my lawn, you missed it! I'm disguising myself as one of them so that I can erode the system from within, but now that I've been discovered, I'm about to unleash my fury.
First thing I'm going to do is not roll my garbage can back to the garage after pick up day. Fuck all of you. It's going to sit at the street, letting everyone know Hanover plays by Hanover's rules. Sure I'll bring it in after a while after my wife needs to throw away the boxes from the Amazon deliveries we've been getting for our new puppy (totes adorbs), but for those few extra hours, my whole damn street will be getting the middle finger.
Waa haa haa haa.
Interlude - Benkei
Dawn - Vera Mont?
Contingent - Toothy Maw?
Santa's Anally Fermented Testicle - Baden
It would be well played if he tried that, but that feels more like a Hanover or maybe a @Michael move than a Baden move, although maybe under my tutelage, his sense of humor is maturing to where he's becoming more capable of such advanced humor.
It's problematic to make a comment on all stories since we would solve who wrote what by just checking what people didn't comment on. So leaving a comment on your own story may be to hide yourself as the author of it. :sweat:
I've done this before. :razz:
It is an interesting exercise of presumptions of knowledge of authors. Some guesses may be completely loaded and wrong. It is such a controversial and interesting area for thinking about, especially in relation to bias. At school, when I forgot to put my name on a piece of English writing, it got the highest mark which I ever received from that particular tutor. Also, while studying psychiatric nursing, all written work had to be submitted anonymously, but most pieces were known from tutorials.
The whole area of objective evaluation of art and stories is so complex, because it involves subjectivity and psychology. It is also interesting to think about what works as a whole, in the climate of fiction, such as writers like Cormac McCarthy, Angela Carter and Stephen King. These authors are esteemed, while many have fallen by the wayside, popularity etc.
The guessing game of this contest leads to such ideas being questioned and, even repudiatiaded, through surprise. Perhaps, as writers, it is possible to reinvent oneself, to the point where identification is not obvious. Let us hope that all of this may be understood as fun, as the unveiling of uncertain aspects of writers. How well does one know another's mind, or even one's own, and its potential?
.
What better way of knowing what you create has merit other than if it is something you would enjoy? The alternative, creating for what you think a third party audience enjoys, is more difficult, less enjoyable, and probably produces inferior results.
I think I am too lazy not to write for myself.
:cool:
:up: I definitely don't have the know-how or experience to claim to do this with fiction, but this is how I create music. The fact that I still keep making it and hardly anyone listens to it should verify this fact. :cool: :cry:
Being interesting is important, as opposed to being boring and predictable. Life's harsh aspects may lead us to give up or wake up, and I wonder how this tension stands in the quest for creativity and the pursuit of art? However, I will try not to get lost in the maze of such philosophical conundrums, and get back to the stories and give feedback during the weekend...
In particular, I will try to cast aside ideas of who the author of each story is, as this may lead to unconscious bias. Feedback before and after authors are identified may be especially useful. In writing groups, reading of my own story was performance of my own writing voice, and the raw aspects of creative writing and story may be seen more objectively when the fetters of personality and personal identity are removed. Hopefully, that may lead to better clarity in the art of writing, fiction or other writing. Zooming in from the subjective and, standing aside, objectively, may be extremely important here.
Haha, same actually, I create music as well. Definitely the only way to do it. I have no audience either, but really it doesn't matter, if I create something I love, listening to it afterward gives me a literal high.
I'm not sure what is so hard about writing for yourself. Is the plot something you would want to read? Do you enjoy the style of prose you produce? Reading it over, is it good writing in your estimation? Do you get a little thrill of pleasure reading it, or does it feel uncomfortable? These are consistent guideposts, even if you can't always consistently answer 'yes'.
Very cool. Same here, I do get a high from listening back. Which may seem weird. Maybe it is! Oh well.
Quoting hypericin
I only dabbled here and there with writing fiction before we started doing these contests. So I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, whereas I've been taking music lessons since age 6 and writing songs/music from about age 13 or so.
Oh nice, that's really early, I wish I did too. I started much later, so I have some technical limitations I will never overcome.
Well, I never learned proper harmony and counterpoint at a collegiate level, so I still have plenty of limitations. My biggest challenge is breaking out of my harmonic comfort zone because of this. There's no end to learning, I reckon. But anyways, back to author speculation. Oh wait, I know who all of them are.
What a shock.
Dream of me ucarr
Fugue = Benkei
Yuletide Justice = 180 proof
A special Christmas = Baden
Dawn = Vera Mont
Rip out the Grass = Javi
The Blue Walls = Beverley
Now that you say, I don't think it will be so effective.
That sounds right.
You must now be like Dylan, and refuse your reward.
I've been wondering who the author of Unbecoming was since I read it, but I had no inkling of who had written it.
Nice job.
Of course. Have your nothing back and donate it to charity. There, that'll learn ya!
And here's some Dylan lyrics for comparison:
[quote=Bob Dylan]After a while we took in the clothes
Nobody said very much
Just some old wild shirts and a couple pairs of pants
Which nobody really wanted to touch
Mama come in and picked up a book
And Papa asked her what it was
Someone else asked, What do you care?
Papa said, Well, just because
Then they started to take back their clothes
Hang them on the line
It was January the thirtieth
And everybody was feelin fine
[Verse 2]
The next day everybody got up
Seeing if the clothes were dry
The dogs were barking, a neighbor passed
Mama, of course, she said, Hi
Have you heard the news? he said with a grin
The Vice-Presidents gone mad!
Where? Downtown When? Last night
Hmm, say, thats too bad
Well, theres nothing we can do about it, said the neighbor
Its just something were gonna have to forget
Yes, I guess so, said Ma
Then she asked me if the clothes were still wet[/quote]
I left out the denouement in case some have not heard the whole yet. But I think you can see how alike we are in writing and storytelling power.
My first and only guess it's her voice, she had me from the opening sentence the best story IMO.