New Challenge

Nateskate

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Writing a story is one thing. But getting people to want to read it is quite another. Somewhere within the first few sentences there has to be a "hook", that catches the reader's interest.

I am going to give one sentence, and I want to see what you can do with it. This is sort of like Drew Carey's game where your points and scores are mythical. The sentence isn't Genre specific, so you can turn it into romance, fantasy, a murder mystery. But you have fifteen lines to make it work. You don't have to use all fifteen lines.

Game piece:

Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from.

(Let's see how many directions you can take this. That bang could be just about anything...)
 

scfirenice

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He relaxed against the wall, heart pounding in his chest, when he realized someone had just slammed a dumpster's lid.
"Get a hold of yourself," he whispered, forcing his heart to slow.
Roland stood in the alley waiting for Amelia to show. On a whim he had agreed to help when she called desperate and begging. Her life was in danger, she claimed. She was late. Tires screached in the distance and his heart flipped again. He hated coming into the city at night. Why did he agree to this? He asked himself...Oh yeah. Her pants. He wanted to get into them.
"S**t," he yelled as a tiny furry body brushed against his pant leg.
"F**k this, I'm outa here."
He turned to leave. As he passed the dumpster behind an italian restaurant something caught his eye. A pale finely boned hand stretched from behind some boxes. He recognized the ring. Moving closer, he saw Amelia's eyes staring cold and dead at the night sky.
Roland turned and sprinted to his car.
 
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maestrowork

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from.

"Sorry," Marcia said and raised her shoulders. "Beans."

"That's okay." The pungent smell assaulted Roland, but Marcia never looked so lovely in the afternoon sun. "They must have been some fantastic beans, though."

"They were."

Roland came over and pulled the thin blanket over Marcia's body. Her frail hand felt cold in his touch, and he traced the bones on her fingers. He kissed her on the cheeks and closed his eyes and forced the tears from falling. Any day now.

"What are they making for dinner today, I wonder," he said.

"Beans."

"Well, in that case, I should stay for dinner."

"You'd better crack the windows open then."

He chuckled. Then he leaned forward and kissed her again, this time full on the lips, like he always had.

Any day now.
 

Nateskate

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maestrowork said:
Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from.

"Sorry," Marcia said and raised her shoulders. "Beans."

"That's okay." The pungent smell assaulted Roland, but Marcia never looked so lovely in the afternoon sun. "They must have been some fantastic beans, though."

"They were."

Roland came over and pulled the thin blanket over Marcia's body. Her frail hand felt cold in his touch, and he traced the bones on her fingers. He kissed her on the cheeks and closed his eyes and forced the tears from falling. Any day now.

"What are they making for dinner today, I wonder," he said.

"Beans."

"Well, in that case, I should stay for dinner."

"You'd better crack the windows open then."

He chuckled. Then he leaned forward and kissed her again, this time full on the lips, like he always had.

Any day now.

LOL
 

arrowqueen

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from.

Then the second shot got him.
 

Scott Perry

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from. A seething pain shot up the rear of his calf, sending the left side of his body crumbling to the ground. Grasping at his leg for a moment fear gripped him. Instinct took over and Roland rushed across the pavement, diving to the ground and rolling into an alleyway. As he planted his back against the cool brick wall he caught sight of his hand. Blood smeared across it, smudged halfway up the inside of his forearm. who is shooting at me? Heart pounding, Roland dragged himself back to his feet and slid his body across the wall. Taking a moment to compose himself he positioned his head mere centimeters from the edge of the wall shielding him from his would-be assassin. As his eyes grew ever closer to the edge of the building he had taken safe haven behind a second shot echoed across the quiet street. The muffled sound of a second victim echoed down the alleyway before a head rolled into view. A few feet in front of Roland lay the bloodied face of Senator Anthony Becker.
 

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from.

Georgie. In front of the computer, arms in the air. It looked like, in his latest victory fist-pump, he'd managed to disconnect the earphones.

The enemy ship on the screen continued to self-destruct. Noisily.

"Isn't it about time you finished up?" asked Roland. "I want to check my e-mail."

"WHAT?"

"Can I use the computer now?"

"WHAT?"

"TURN THE ******* VOLUME DOWN BEFORE YOU GO DEAF!""

"WHAT?"

Roland stood up and stalked over to his younger brother.

---

Georgie heard a light swoosh and felt a sharp pain about an inch above the crown of his head.

When he came to, Roland was checking his e-mail -- in silence.
 

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from. In doing so, he destroyed the tiny box that now served as his home. Standing up, he cursed. Not only for the torn box but for the ache in his back from sleeping on the street. He was going to kill Teddy for landing them in the streets. Looking at his sleeping brother beside him, Roland decide to investigate without him. He stalked around the corner of a nearby building, still angry at Teddy.

Wrapped up in his mutterings, Roland didn't notice a gigantic smoking hole until he fell into it. When he had finished his tumblings and reached the bottom, Roland let out another curse and looked about.

"Oh my God."

There, before him, stood a large meteor. Slowly he moved toward it, hand reaching out tentively.

When his hand touched the alien rock, there was a flash. He screamed, pain rushed up his arm and into his head. A voice spoke in his mind.

"Now you are mine. You will help me destroy this world."
 

kdnxdr

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My first prose!

Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it had come from. Elaine held what was left of the telephone receiver in her hand. "I've had enough of Ma Bell's crap!", she roared. "Everytime I try to straighten out this bill, I get the run around and have to listen to their incessant promotionals!" "I've had enough!"
"We're throwing the phone out!", she screamed as the phone cord ripped from the wall.

"But, but, but", Roland stammered. "How will we communicate?" "How can we manage our daily business, keep up with the fam, network with the world?" Roland was dazed and in disbelief. Elaine's outburst had become increasingly erratic. Carefully, he monitored the slow dance between her anger and his controlled responses. Triggers of emotional outbursts were embedded in anything he said. In the tense interlude of quiet, Roland's cell began a dreamy walz. It was Ma Bell's technical support calling to inquire if their service had been satisfactory and if there was anything else they could be of help with today.
 
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Paint

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from. Laid out on the ground beside him was a large albino wolf. Blood spread in a crimson puddle at the beast's side. The wolf struggled to breathe in great, heaving pulls.

The salty smell of blood filled the air and Roland felt dizzy. Forcing away the feeling he knelt to see if he could help the noble creature.

Roland gently stroked the wolf and looked directly into the fading red eyes. The wolf looked peaceful and with a sigh left the world.

"Harry! Did I get it? Did I get the wolf? That pelt will bring big bucks!" Roland heard the shout from the hills.
"Yes, you idiot, you got it." Roland muttered.
 

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from and there in the shadows of the alley were two creatures fighting. They weren't like anything he had ever seen before and in his time he had seen all manner of creatures. these were beautiful, one had wings and the other had horns and that bang had been the sound of the horns hitting the chest of the one with wings. Somehow Roland expected the victor to be the one with wings but as he watched the combatants mesmerized the one with wings fell to the ground and then the one with the horns spoke "You've fallen and you and your kind will no longer control this world. From now on we will do as we see fit and you pitiful, weak creatures will either get out of our way or be destroyed. You've proven that your kind is no longer a match for ours. You've let the humans make you weak. I think I'll let you live out your last moments in agony, knowing that youur failure means the failure of your species to protect this world. I bet you"re happy that your going to die and won't have to face the consequences of your failure."
Roland watched as the one with horns walked away and though he simply wanted to get away from there he found himself moving towards the one with wings. When he had come within touching distance he was grabbed.
 

NickDangr

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Late reply?

I saw it and felt compelled to post, even though its late. Sorry folks.

------
Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from.
Red drops stained the snow around his uncle, who lay on his back, staring blankly into the sky.
Roland knew that look - he'd seen it in the eyes of the deer they bagged on previous trips.
Uncle Matt was way gone.
He dismised the crazy idea that Uncle Matt must be cold laying there.
"Maybe this is shock," he thought.
He walked over and knelt by his uncle, peeling off a glove.
Matt's face was still warm under his hand.
The bright orange of his breast pocket was violated by a dark hole, rimmed with red.
Roland shuddered looking at the size of the hole.
The bullet had to be high caliber.
From the spatter of blood and knowing what the 'ought-six did to deer, he dared not turn him over.
His hand fumbled for the cell-phone in his uncles pocket.
Just as he found the cool plastic he heard a crunch in the snow behind him and the click of a bullet being chambered.
There was another loud bang and a searing pain that brought instant tears to his eyes.
 

NickDangr

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emeraldcite said:
I'm going to move this to a more appropriate thread where it will receive the attention it deserves...

Thanks!

emeraldcite

Hey where'd you move this?
 

Albedo of Zero

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from. The left button stuck and his gyro-body kept turning.

"Hey! Who's there? Ah dammit!" He pressed the other buttons hoping to jam a circuit but he only succeeded in turning out the lights in the room; his life-supporting contraption kept spinning; he started cussing.

God, I'm getting dizzy.

Roland shut his mouth to listen when he thought he heard a muffled laugh.
 

JAlpha

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The Big Bang Theory


Roland heard a bang and turned away from his computer screen to see where it came from. It didn’t take him long to make the connection between the big bang and his four-year-old son’s earlier inquiry about the origin of the universe...

"Daddy, where did the universe come from?"

"Well son, sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago, the universe was created from nothing."

"How can something come from nothing?"

"By way of a process known as vacuum fluctuation."

"The universe came from a vacuum?"

"No. The vacuum created what astrophysicists, like me, call a singularity. From that singularity, which was about the size of a dime, our universe was born."

"Did you create the universe, Daddy?"

"No. I study the universe’s cosmic microwave background."

"When I grow up, I’m going to create my own universe."

"I’m sure you will son, I’m sure you will."
.
.
.
.
 
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threedogpeople

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from. As he turned back from watching the bus boy cleaning up the broken glass, Adianne slapped him hard across the face.

"You a$$hole. I hope you choke on this ring. Why would you think that I would marry a two-timing, good for nothing, cheater like you?"

Roland watched speechless as Adrianne stormed out of the resturant leaving a trail of distruction behind her. "That went surprisingly well", Roland thought . "Now, if my dinner with Susan goes according to plan, I'll be free to testify."
 

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Roland heard a loud bang and turned to see where it came from. Even before he saw it, he knew what it'd be, and he was right. Another car had exploded on the street, near a restaurant. The sickly sweet smell of burning flesh (all too familiar by now) permeated the air. The screams of humanity, torn apart by sectarian hatred, once again rose to the heavens, perhaps falling on the ears of a deaf God. The wail of sirens could be heard in the distance.

My God, when will it stop? Roland whispered softly to himself.