At today's writer's group meeting, we enjoyed free Starbucks coffee (thanks Cathy!) and Jeff introduced us to Felix Feneon, who spent 1906 writing two- or three-sentence stories about daily life and mayhem for a Parisian newspaper.Stuff like: "On Avenue de la Motte-Piquet, firemen were called in to unblock the wheels of the streetcar that had run over an unknown woman."
And: "A feebleminded woman, B. Nourry, ragpicker in Arcueil and prey to the little neighborhood rascals, has died either of fear or of her wounds."
So, Jeff challenged us to write our own three-line versions of this brief, which recently ran in our paper:
"A man who believed he bore the 'Mark of the Beast' used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave and called 911, authorities said. The man, in his mid-20s, was calm when Kootenai County sheriff's deputies arrived Saturday in his northern Idaho town. He was in protective custody in the mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Center."
I'm posting the ones I have collected so far in the comments to this post. Feel free to add your own version, as well as your thoughts about the value/challenges with the "three lines" approach.
This is the beginning of a newsroom-wide, three-lines project for 2008 which Jeff will introduce shortly. Stay tuned.
Eugene: "Believing he bore the "Mark of the Beast," an Idaho man severed his hand with a circular saw. He then cooked it, called 911, and calmly waited for police."
ReplyDeleteSean M:
ReplyDelete"A Kootenai County man calmly dialed 911. He had just used a circular saw to cut off one of his hands and cooked it in the microwave, believing it bore the "Mark of the Beast." Authorities brought him into protective custody in the mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Center."
Nickie:
"The Kootenai County man was calm when the sheriff’s deputies arrived. He had cut off one hand with a circular saw, and cooked it in the microwave. It bore the “Mark of the Beast,” he explained."
Nicki:
ReplyDelete"Realizing he had cut off his hand with circular saw and cooked it in the microwave, a Kootenai County man in his mid 20s calmly called 911. He now resides in the hospital's mental health unit."
Erin:
"With one hand, a young man from Idaho called 911. He had detached and microwaved his other one. He blamed it on 666."
Jeff:
"A twenty-something cut off his hand with a circular saw and stored it in the microwave. The Devil marked it, he told police."
Jen:
ReplyDelete"A Kootenai County man cut off his hand with a circular saw, cooked it in the microwave, then called 911. He believed he bore the mark of the beast. He was placed in protective custody in a mental health unit."
To rid himself of Satan's mark, a young man sawed off his hand and microwaved it. He called 911. He was calm, deputies said, and they took him away.
ReplyDeleteThis was what I came up with:
ReplyDelete"The authorities arrived to fix the situation. What they found was a one-handed man. And a severed hand in the microwave.
A severed (and overcooked) hand in a microwave and a bloody circular saw awaited police who responded to a call from a now one-handed man in Hayden, a quiet northern Idaho community known for its Indian folklore, cattle ranching and scenic lakeside vistas. Though they couldn't exactly cuff him, police shipped the man, who was blaming his actions on the "Mark of the Beast," off to a local mental-health facility.
ReplyDelete