Story

It was either that or ransoming the planet with a giant space laser.

WELL ! ....... YOU'RE the one who said to be creative ;-)

I guess my idea of creative is different than other folks.

Maybe I should have said creative and ORIGINAL. LOL.

Now you have a whole new premise to try and do something with/to.

Flash Point was stolen from _________, where as ransoming the earth with a space laser was stolen from ____________. A totally different universe or franchise depending on your level of suspension of disbelief.

My other premise was NOT stolen from ___ _____ ______ _________, but I can see where you might think that.

LOL It would seem that the Story is getting deeper by many many fathoms!! I hope nobody drowns!!!

I'm not sure which way I want to go next. I guess that depends on what I find next time I log on. Whether I want to do damage control or just go with the flow in whatever new direction its gone.

I've already over used the Achilles Segue.

(I think I just coined that phrase.)

Remember our new demi-hero Agent Bean may not yet have seen John's video clip at the end of the recording. Certainly Bennie Bean hasn't seen it. I suspect if Agent Bean had seen John defame the Secret Service his suspicion level about the whole thing might be a bit higher, well, and he wouldn't have needed his ten year old son to tell him what he was listening to.

gahaaa gurgle gurgle,

And that shall be placed on your Tombstone!! :-)

At the rate I'm goin - - - - - when they open my tomb 5000 years in the future all they're going to find is glasses, false teeth, hearing aids, and a heart valve repair kit.

LOL I would suggest that you come up with a significant branding iron logo and mark some of those devices so the archeologist will have something to ponder. Maybe not the repair kit but the others would be possible. :-)

Les

You just gave me a great idea. I just thought of some things I'm going to have buried with me.

1, A pair of Groucho glasses, nose and mustache 2 Some teeth from a wolf, a donkey and an elephant 3, An ear trumpet. 4 and the penis from a horse.

C-O-O-L!!!!!! Go for it!!!!

Did you hear about the guy that made a deal with his Undertaker to start a recorder with a speaker inside the casket. The recording was the guy pounding on the casket and saying things to those that would be at his funeral.

The undertaker hit the play button when the casket was lowered to the bottom of the hole.

People went nuts but they then realized that the guy was a very funny guy and it went to the grave that way.

When I started down this path I was originally thinking very fast paced hacker-centric action adventure. Motor cycle chases. Brutal police tactics. Fleeing for you life in the face of overwhelming odds, and seeking a way to turn the tables in a grand unstoppable manner. It has slowed down. Become more procedural. With one of our protagonists now being a ten year old I'm not sure the brutality of a modern high impact action thriller tells well. Its not like I can retell Treasure Island after all. Maybe Bennie Bean needs to become superfluous soon. Identify some key points, and leave it to his dad and the hackers. Obviously Agent Bean needs to learn more before kicking it upstairs since his own agency has now been implicated in who knows what.

Hi Bob,

It is my humble opinion that you should consider writing a book, get it published, and sell a boat load. Like Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm books, or Ian Fleming's James Bond.

They did it, why not Bob La Londe's Agent Bean??

You will never know if it will work, until you try.

Honestly with all typing you do in the newsgroups your typing skill could are certainly good enough. You can't be a "Hunt n' Pecker"!!

What is the worst that could happen??

You got my VOTE!!!

Les

Snipped all that...

I honestly believe that good writing only requires a moderate intelligence, and some creativity. The ability to see relationships. Not just boy girl, but between places things sights smells people feelings mores society culture... and you don't have to have a complete picture. You can create your own.

I think basic writing is a skill that can be learned. Having a frame work (the skill) helps with everything else. At first you stick to the rules. Like in music where you practice your scales and learn to keep time, but changes in time and weird gangs of notes can show artistry. ie. Learning when to break the rules. I believe few musicians who show some artistry don't know the basic frame work of music. Some have learned it by rote and some studied music, but they have the basic framework. They know how to follow a beat, and that CDG is Rock & Roll. Even if they don't know those notes are call CD&G.

This applies to many things. I had the opportunity to see the Picasso exhibit (in Las Vegas I think) some years ago. It was interesting to me that he did realism or stylized realism in much of his early work. He learned the skills and then went nuts with it. Even if art is not your thing you should see the exhibit if you have the opportunity.

Thank you for the compliment, and I do believe that I could become a commercial writer. In the end I fear that if I tried to monetize my ability to write (such as it is) that it might take all the enjoyment out of it for me. I already experienced that once to a limited degree in my experience with that nameless and now bankrupt outdoor magazine. I had to FORCE myself to write for a long time after that.

I could certainly do formula work. Anybody with basic writing skills could follow the formula and write a romance novel. With only marginally more talent they could write an installment or two of a soap opera. Perry Rhodan was a never ending science fiction soap opera. I would hate it, although I admit I used some soap opera tricks in the story. I would hate it. Not the story. I might enjoy it. Mindless drivel is often entertaining. I would hate writing it.

In the end the desire and the drive may be more important than the skills or the talent. Ambition will get you the skills, and talent isn't all talent. Some of it is drive and some of it is skill. There is an old cliche along these lines, "Success is 1 percent inspiration and 99% perspiration." That is a hackneyed old saw, but its more true than many people believe. You have to put in the work.

I suppose I should add that in retrospect I realize that may sound a bit arrogant. I am not comparing myself to Joe Satriana or Pablo Picasso. I am saying they too put in the time and did the work to gain the skills before becoming great in their field. I am not saying everybody can become great and truly unique in their desired field. I am saying that anybody who is not truly handicapped by debilitating acts of God or nature can be a part of their chosen field if they put in the work and learn the skills. If they have the drive, put in the work, and are even modestly intelligent they can be good at it. Drive can even overcome an amazing degree of handicap.

Drive doesn't mean you have an inherent force of nature in your soul. Drive means you get out of bed when you feel shitty and you make yourself work just as hard as the days when you don't. That when you are stuck in a pile of shit you pick up a shovel and keep swinging. When you are backed into a corner by thugs you don't shrivel up in a corner and let them kill you. You step in and keep swinging. Drive means no matter how overwhelming that pile of rocks in the road seems to be you step in and keep swinging. Admittedly this may not get you as far as you want to go, but the whole world will be a little better place in atleast a small way if you do what you can. This may still not get you where you want to be... you will be a little bit closer.

On 10/18/2022 8:20 AM, Bob La Londe wrote: > Get creative. Stop rehashing old themes or... >

Anyway, I'm not sure how to make the transition. I know where I would like the story to go. I just don't know how to get there. Of course somebody could still always jump in and yank a wheel off the cart forcing a sharp turn in another direction.

Ok Bob,

I have read your typing in detail. I am totally convinced that you have done your best to convince yourself not to type a story long enough to be considered a book. However, maybe, just maybe you should just start one and see how it goes. Who knows, maybe you will give up in the middle due to "writers block"!! Maybe, you will finish it and somebody will actually like it. Maybe............

Not exactly the same but a number years ago I was at a customers warehouse doing some security work. I got talking to the guy on a forklift and he asked me about my business. Only, to tell me his story about his thoughts about a business idea he had and how he was going to do this or that and be an entrepreneur. He had a huge amount of thoughts on all of it. After about 20 minutes of listening I stopped him and said that I had to get my job done. But, I wanted to leave him with one thought on your business. He said, Ok?? I said, "With all of your thoughts and thinking you will NEVER be in business until you take the FIRST STEP!!" I walked away and said, "think about it!!"

About two months later I was back at the warehouse. He saw me, and ran over and said, "I took the First Step". I was with an attorney and getting the papers started. He thanked me for talking to him. I congratulated him on getting started. I haven't been back or seen him since. Don't know how it all went.

I know, I KNOW, this book writing thing is not the same. You have convinced yourself that you don't want to do it. But, just in case please remember that Jim and I will buy your first print!!!

AND WE will know that WE got YOU STARTED!! Right Jim?? :-)

Have a good week!!

Les

Bob, as I read your posts, I’m reminded of the Movie “ A Bronx Tale” . Chazz Palminerri “Sonny” = Gangster Robert De Nero “Lorenzo” = Father Lillo Brancato, Jr.”Calogero “ = Son . About a young man Calogero (or “C” ) who is torn between the values of his father and the gangster. . There are two things I always remember from this movie: ( that I think are apropos to THIS conversation ) . Lorenzo tells his son: “You want to see a real hero? Look at a guy who gets up in the morning and goes off to work and supports his family. That's heroism.” . And, what in real life turns out to be the most ironic. . In the movie, Lorenzo says to C, "Nothing is more tragic than a wasted talent." . This is said a number of times through the movie. . The actor, Lillo Brancato was an untrained actor who ( I think) did a fantastic job in the movie. A natural and at the time was being mentored and promoted by both De Nero and Palminerri. Could have gone on to do great things. . The movie wasn’t a great hit but what is striking about it is this follow up real life ironic story. : . Brancato was arrested on December 10, 2005, in the Bronx for the murder of police officer Daniel Enchautegui, who was at home and off-duty at the time of his death, during a botched burglary. Brancato was charged with second-degree murder, and his trial began on November 17, 2008. On December 22, 2008, a jury found him not guilty of murder, but found him guilty of first-degree attempted burglary. On January 9, 2009, a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison. On December 31, 2013, he was released on parole. . Talk about wasted talent. Afterwards, I think he played a bit part in the “Sopranos” and that’s it. . If you haven’t seen the movie, give it a try. I’ve watched it a bunch of times. . So Bob, I’m not suggesting that you would or wouldn’t shoot anyone. Just the part about . "Nothing is more tragic than a wasted talent." .