The Bet, Part Three: The Story
Monday, May 23, 2011 at 9:00AM 
Dear Archarcharch, get well soon.Well...if you haven't read The Bet or The Bet, Part Two...I'd suggest it. Otherwise you're likely to feel like you missed something. But if that's too much trouble, there's always the short recap:
Okay, there were these four crazy authors. I was one of them. I still am. The other three were Andrew Smith, Brian Farrey and Kimberly Pauley. It was all Brian's idea, so I guess he's even crazier than the rest of us. Then again, he didn't end up having to write a story, so maybe he's crazy like a fox. The idea was to place a bet, the losers of said bet having to write a story with a title handed to them by the winner. We settled on the Kentucky Derby. We each chose a horse. We each chose badly. None of them won. But, of course, if you only count our four horses, somebody had to come in ahead of somebody. That was Brian. He doesn't get the privilege of writing a story. Poor, poor Brian. What he did win was the fun of handing a story title to Andrew. Andrew blessed me with a lovely one, and rather than Paying It Forward, I saddled Kimberly, whose horse came in last, with one I would have liked, but...then again, I'm decidedly weird.
Andrew's title, given to him by Brian, was "Miss Candor Sends Her Regrets."
My title, given to me by Andrew, was "The Art of Being Stuck Here."
Kimberly's title, bestowed by yours truly, was "Uncle Mo's Gastrointestinal Tract." If you read The Bet, Part Two, this will make a degree of sense. Well, no it won't. But you'll know where I got it.
We all agreed on a date and time to unveil the stories. Monday, May 23rd, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ART OF BEING STUCK HERE You might notice that all the words/phrases of the other titles appear in my story. If you're really paying good attention, you might notice that.
Then, when you're done, stop by Andrew Smith's blog to read MISS CANDOR SENDS HER REGRETS and then Kimberly Pauley's blog to read UNCLE MO'S GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT.
Plus, if you stop by Brian Farrey's blog, he's promised to judge the stories, award stars, shower them with glitter, and...perhaps...something involving interpretive dance. If the stories don't entertain you, that's bound to be a good fallback.
So...are we having fun yet?
Reader Comments (4)
Loved it, Catherine!
I feel so frivolous now, though...
No, no. Please don't. They're all just different. I loved your story, and then I thought mine was too long and subtle. That's just what we do to ourselves, I guess. The joy of being a writer. Welcome to self doubt.
Oh, I liked all of them, though I think yours is my favorite (shhhhh, don't tell Andrew). I didn't have a lot of time to do mine (it's the product of two writing sessions) and I *probably* should have worked on it more...
Now, I'd love to see what you'd write with the title of "Uncle Mo's Gastrointestinal Tract" ...... :-)
The funny thing is, if I'd gotten the title Uncle Mo's Gastrointestinal Tract, I basically would/could have written this. It might have been a different story without the "stuck" element, and the art, but the whole thing with his parents showing up would never have happened without Uncle Mo's digestive issues. So I really could have used that title on this story if I'd wanted or needed to.