Slog - Comments on It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times (Gimme $5) http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors I think that this is kind of a joke, but kind of serious, too: Writing is hard. Stringing letters together to make words? Hard. Grouping those into meaningful sentences? Harder. But the hardest part? Ask any successful novelist: the hardest part is writing the opening paragraph. And the first paragraph is crucial: without it, by definition there can be no second paragraph. They're selling first paragraphs to aspiring writers. Here's Item #PGH48555878: The President was in a pensive mood as he wondered what sort of arc his second term would follow, and idly surveyed what he believed to be the... Copyright 2008 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:00:00 -0800 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:48:13 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Abby I must admit, if I encountered that opening paragraph, I would likely read the second.

]]> Abby http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077670 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077670 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:06:54 -0800 Comment by michael strangeways snort...I wrote that short story 15 years ago...bad porn is easy to write...

]]> michael strangeways http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077692 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077692 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:23:14 -0800 Comment by randy beaver Bush and Rumsfield? Cheney rings the bell

]]> randy beaver http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077696 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077696 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:24:04 -0800 Comment by Little Red Ryan Hood Only 152.25, with words like "pensive" that's a bargain!

]]> Little Red Ryan Hood http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077700 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077700 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:27:19 -0800 Comment by w7ngman Ladies and Gentlemen... may I introduce Secretary of Defense Jeff Gannon.

]]> w7ngman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077708 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077708 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:35:02 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi I think that should be:

"as his body tensed he thought about how lucky he was to have a Secretary of Defense who was so good at sucking cock."

Then in the next paragraph, of course, he releases some of that tension.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077743 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077743 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:14:11 -0800 Comment by Sarah I added all 21 available paragraphs to my cart, and for just $6588.75, I could have a completely incoherent 3665-word story composed of nothing but somewhat-catchy "starter" blurbs.

Or, I could pay off my student loans.

]]> Sarah http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077763 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/it_was_the_best_of_times_it_was_the_wors#c1077763 Books Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:48:13 -0800