600+

2008-04-21T01:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry. Got distracted. Will begin posting again this week.

2008-04-03T01:46:00.001-05:00

Sure! That sounds fun! Let's do it!

2008-03-10T03:01:00.000-05:00

If there's anyone out there any longer, hello! We should try to get 600 seconds moving again.
Anyone else interested?

2007-02-19T13:00:00.000-06:00

I'm here! I'd like to try writing again here on a more frequent basis. Haven't had much time for writing and I do miss 600 seconds a lot. Great exercise and have read some truly wonderful stuff here.

2007-02-16T10:59:00.000-06:00

Today's topic comes from a post today at Boing Boing.

In other news...anyone else out there...?

2006-12-17T14:56:00.000-06:00

PUNKTRODUCTORY NOTE

Hello to everyone. Fred and Nyssa know me as Stevarino from my other blog. Since I'm on the beta, blogger made me create a new account before I could join this team. Punk Williams was my boyhood idol who was killed in a tragic ping pong accident. Thanks to Fred for taking me on. I don't know if it's my turn but I'm going to go write a new post on 600 seconds now. Happy reading.

2006-08-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Fred! It's good to be back. I'd like to try to be better about that sort of thing in the future.

...However, while I was typing that very post and trying to be very focused and writerly about it, my daughter wet, nay, completely flooded her bed and started screaming at the top of her lungs about it. Everything has its price.

2006-08-10T17:06:00.000-05:00

What's this? A post at 600 seconds? That sort of thing doesn't happen anymore, does it?

Well, it's good to see it happening again. And I was just thinking yesterday, I should post something to 600 seconds. It's not disappointing at all to be beaten to the punch. Glad to see you here again, Nyssa!

2006-05-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

Methinks it wasn't working too well before that...

Hopefully we can change that.

2006-05-16T04:21:00.000-05:00

"Sprinkler System Woes" broke 600seconds...

2006-04-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

What double post? ;)

2006-04-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

Hey, Ben! Welcome back!

2006-04-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

Ben . . . that was cool!

2006-04-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

Ben . . . that was cool!

2006-04-18T10:54:00.000-05:00

Remember when I used to post here a lot? Yeah, me neither. But I want to start again. I miss it, really I do. Welcome to Jess, and welcome back to Christy and Dan. Thanks for sticking around, even when it's been so quiet otherwise.

Anyway, and in the meantime, I'd like to post a shameless plug. Because I'm starting a zine!

It will be called Kaleidotrope and will be twice-yearly. I hope to have the first issue out for October 2006, with a submission deadline of June 30. Detailed submission guidelines are available here. Generally I'm looking for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and black and white art.

I like work that tends toward the speculative and/or fantastic, but I'm open to all genres and styles. Cross-genre or slipstream work would be especially welcome. (I'm not interested in publishing gore, sword and sorcery, or pornography.) Short-shorts, including maybe even work previously written here at 600 seconds, are more than welcome.

Submissions can be sent by e-mail to my attention at kaleidotrope@gmail.com. Questions and comments, too, if you have any.

Now I just need to get myself writing again and all's good.

2006-04-18T00:03:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad, bad writer. I should be punished. Truthfully, what I really need is a good swift kick in my writerly a**, which is difficult since I live alone and haven't yet discovered a way to kick my own. I just keep going around in circles. (sigh.......)

Anyway, good to see that there are still people here. I read some of the recent posts, and this stuff is really excellent. Good job, everyone. And, welcome, Jess!

Maybe (hopefully) I'll wander my way around again soon. Take care, all!

2006-04-17T15:16:00.000-05:00

You are very kind, Jess!

2006-04-14T17:05:00.000-05:00

Thanks to you, too. I love all your stuff, danno.

2006-04-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed your post today, Jess. Thanks for the smile and the memory!

2006-04-12T23:24:00.000-05:00

Welcome, Jess! Nice to have you on board! Fred, Joyce is in the process of moving, so I'm going to try and entice her back when she's finished. Seeing as I recruited her and then jumped off the train just as she was getting started . . . but I'm back and will be for the long haul. It's all about those untold benefits, baby!

2006-04-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

Hey, Jess. Glad you could join us. I'm going to do what I can to get more people involved here again -- hopefully including myself.

2006-04-12T16:46:00.000-05:00

Greetings, all! I'm the new blood, the fresh meat, the... nouvelle... cuisine? Hrm, no. Anyway, I hope you make you all proud to have me as a member of your community of collaborative individualism.

2006-02-11T12:47:00.000-06:00

I work in Manhattan, but I live on Long Island. But yeah, the GWB is in New York. I used to cross it all the time when I lived in Pennsylvania and drove back home.

As for the link, just send the new one to me via e-mail and I'll make the necessary changes. Same goes for you, Joyce. I guess I haven't been too good about updating lately.

2006-02-11T00:08:00.000-06:00

Hey, Fred, you live in NYC, right? Please tell me if I got it right--is the George Washington Bridge really in New York, or is that only true in an alternate universe????

Also, hello to everyone else--hope you're all doing well! :)

P.S. I need to change my link on the sidebar--I pretty much abandoned that site when Tripod started screwing it up--how can I do that? Or does it have to be done by someone with more power? Thanks.

2006-02-05T16:13:00.000-06:00

I'm a touch late on Friday's -- not sure if I should change the date or not. So I'll let someone else handle that if they want.

2006-01-28T10:16:00.000-06:00

Hey Fred, would I like a link with my name in the side bar? Sure!

2006-01-27T18:38:00.000-06:00

When I started today's post it had something to do with the topic, I swear it. My initial idea just didn't quite go where I thought it would. (Not in ten minutes, on the train home, at any rate.)

2006-01-27T13:39:00.000-06:00

Nice to see you back again, rocketo.

Joyce, I neglected to ask -- would you like a link with your name in the sidebar?

2006-01-21T12:43:00.000-06:00

blogger and i are at odds on how to backdate a post. today's is for yesterday.

2006-01-19T17:51:00.000-06:00

I just read Fred's two pieces. I like the poetry very much. Poetry is always my first muse!!!

2006-01-19T09:25:00.000-06:00

It's good to be back. Yesterday's topic came from an installment of the Writer's Almanac. It just sounded evocative and interesting. Today's comes from some e-mail spam.

People wonder where writers get their ideas.

2006-01-18T20:45:00.000-06:00

Nice to see you writing again, Fred!

Funny thing about the subject you chose today, dude. I had to take my daughter to the dentist today and watch her breath laughing gas! I swear this sort of thing happens to me ALL THE TIME.

2006-01-14T22:38:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the welcome Fred and sorry to hear that you have been sick. I feel your pain, I have had a sinus infection for the last two weeks and can't seem to quite kick it. I hope you feel better real soon. I am looking forward to reading some of your work! Get better!

2006-01-14T09:35:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the group, Joyce. Sorry I haven't been writing here much lately. This week, my excuse is that I'm sick. I hope to be back in the swing of things again next week, and it's always good to see more people writing.

2006-01-13T13:21:00.000-06:00

Thank you Danny for the welcome! I think this is a very cool way to share our muse and kick start our creative juices! I will mention one disclaimer on my part. Please forgive me for misspelling any words. I may be able to write a bit but my spelling is horrible to say the least!!!

2006-01-12T11:05:00.000-06:00

I'd like to welcome a friend of mine, Joyce, to the 600 Seconds fold. Joyce and I attended grade school together and have recently been able to rekindle our friendship thanks to this wonderous interthingy!

Welcome Joyce!

2006-01-10T09:03:00.000-06:00

Christy!

Thank you. You are too kind!

Dan, Danno49, ArchHallJr, .et al

:)

2006-01-09T20:50:00.000-06:00

danno49---

Regarding your post for Sunday's topic. Wow. Incredible. Thank you.

Christy

2005-12-03T14:15:00.000-06:00

Hi, all! I have returned from NaNoLand, safely, somewhat soundly, and with an extra 22,859 words to my name. Not enough to win, but enough to count as an significant accomplishment, I think.

So what have you guys been up to?

2005-11-10T08:05:00.000-06:00

Heh. I am so easily baited.

You are a master baiter. =P

2005-11-09T13:28:00.000-06:00

I thought that topic might draw some familiar faces out... :)

2005-10-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

Well, I've written better, but thanks. :)

2005-10-28T08:38:00.000-05:00

Take a bow, Dr. Suess!

;)

2005-10-21T13:38:00.000-05:00

Hey, Christy. Real Life does have the nasty habit of intruding on writing time, doesn't it? Glad to see you haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, though.

I'm not attempting NaNoWriMo myself this year, but best of luck to everyone who is. Anything that gets writers writing is a good thing.

2005-10-19T19:39:00.000-05:00

Hey, everyone! Guess what? I do still exist!!!!! I haven't been around much lately because of school and, of course, prepping for NaNoWriMo 2005! Is anyone else planning on doing NaNo this year? If so, (and if you want), please post your NaNo username so we can all keep track of each other's progress.

Hope you're all doing well.

Christy

2005-10-13T20:18:00.000-05:00

Not a problem. For future reference, for anybody interested, it's at the bottom of the 600 seconds front page:

<blockquote class="topic">your topic</blockquote>

2005-10-13T20:02:00.000-05:00

hey fred, neither Shawn nor I remember the proper tags for posting a topic. Can you help us out? Thanks

2005-10-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

Good deal, Fred. I figured you would be OK, but I don't like to assume. I hate offending people when it is possbile for me to avoid it. I'm not always the most sensitive guy. :)

2005-10-12T08:38:00.000-05:00

No need to apologize, Dan, but thanks. Honestly, the point of the whole exercise is to write the first thing that comes into your head when you see a topic. :)

2005-10-11T23:20:00.000-05:00

Great stuff straight from the heart.

I apologize for following that up with what I did. Please know that there was no disrespect intended, I just tend to write about the first thing that comes into my head after reading the topic. And yes, I'm sorry to say that the incident I wrote of actually occurred. I don't think I will ever forget it. I'm sure Mark won't. ;)

2005-10-11T18:33:00.000-05:00

I had no idea this was what I was going to write when I suggested the topic earlier today. I only just heard the news this evening. Sometimes, there really is no warning. (Even when there is.)

2005-10-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

Not to worry, Margaret. I fixed it.

2005-10-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

Okay i know I am missing something critical. I tried to post that last bit of fluff to the puppet island topic, but for some reason, Blogger won't let me change the time stamp. Sorry.

2005-10-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

Very cool post today, Fred! Great ideas. I see sparks! :)

2005-09-26T18:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry...I've been MIA as of late. I'll be writing tonight.

2005-09-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

Margaret, if you're posting (or even just copying) from a word processor like MS Word, that may be the culprit. They do tend to toss in wonky clutter sometimes -- or, if not clutter, tags whose visual equivalent doesn't appear on screen while you're writing. So you might end up with bold text where there wasn't any, weird font sizing, etc. I went in and fixed your post from yesterday.

This might also explain why Shawn's post from the other day had those "" in it after I adjusted its timestamp.

I'd recommend using something like Notepad instead. Less clutter, and you still get the security of knowing your post won't just vanish if Blogger decides to eat it. :)

2005-09-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

I have no idea why my font size is wonky.

2005-09-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no needling of anyone intended. I just think we've got some great writers here, and I'd love to see people writing more often. The dry spells simply aren't as much fun.

2005-09-21T10:28:00.000-05:00

Here's one for free: Needling me never motivates me.

I'm glad to see folks are writing. That's neat. Hi and welcome and welcome back.

2005-09-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

I think Erik/Generik is just a little overwhelmed with real-world work at the moment. (That's what going away on a European vacation for weeks on end will do to you, I guess.)

He, along with everyone else, has a standing invite to come back and write whenever they get a chance.

I do sometimes feel bad for the new people, though. It's been pretty quiet here.

2005-09-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

Generik:

It's been 15 minutes. Are you at the jail?

;)

Arch

2005-09-19T19:33:00.000-05:00

Shawn, you were posting for "weird games," last Friday's topic. So I changed the timestamp to move it to that day.

2005-09-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

No idea why my post showed up beneath Danno's. Ever so confused.

2005-09-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

I swear to God not all my posts are going to be about parenting

2005-09-15T13:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the welcome, Fred!

I think a lot of you already know me as the capper ArchHallJr. I am an aspiring writer (aren't we all) trying to find my genre. I know its fiction and I'm leaning toward speculative but I don't know if I'm geared for it. I mean, I love to read it but I get intimidated when I sit down to draft. (Sigh) I think it's time management in my case, of which I have very little between a full time job and four kids. But your stories and pieces don't write themselves so you have to schedule that time and stick to it. Ha. Easier said than done. I'm thinking of locking myself in my home office Saturday mornings. I wonder how long it will take before I'm served divorce papers. ;)

I've been reading back in the archives and I am really impressed with what I've read. Great stuff. My hope, besides getting some mind muscles exercised and to enjoy other folk's writing, is to add my limited talent to this fine pool of very talented individuals.

2005-09-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

I'd just like to welcome Dan, and welcome back Margaret, to the writing fun. With any luck, this will encourage some of the rest of us to write a little more, too. :)

2005-08-19T12:13:00.000-05:00

My post yesterday is the result of spending a lot of time around people who always say precisely the meanest thing in a given situation and my being very fed up with that kind of state of being. Today's is more self-explanatory. Explanitory. It explains itself better. I don't know. I'm tired and happy and cranky. It's the nature of the Ben.

2005-08-08T09:44:00.000-05:00

It feels good to come back now and then.

2005-08-05T11:01:00.000-05:00

Any time I despair that rocketo has wandered off into the ether, he shows up and surprises me. Howdy, you.

2005-07-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well, they do say ancient space-faring dinosaur is one of the more difficult languages to learn, full of weird vowels, conjugations, scaled heads being ripped off...

2005-07-31T08:34:00.000-05:00

Blame the translator. She took liberties.

2005-07-29T09:28:00.000-05:00

June, Aaron and Nikki are certainly interesting dinosaur names...

2005-07-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

"What I wouldn't give for a trout with tits."

My day is complete.

2005-07-28T04:20:00.000-05:00

Overheated and moist. Did that not come through? ;-)

2005-07-27T14:55:00.000-05:00

Gee, John, why don't you tell us how you really feel? ;)

2005-07-20T09:33:00.000-05:00

Sharon, if I am pitching to you, I should probably keep it up. I really liked your post yesterday.

And Nyssa's just given birth to a healthy baby boy -- congratulations again! -- so I don't think there's any harm in taking her topic for today. Enjoy!

2005-07-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

You're over-thinking it. Don't let your brain get in the way of your pen (or keyboard). Writing isn't rocket science; it can be less than perfect. Heck, this kind of exercise pretty much demands that it usually be.

As for your modest proposal, I'm okay with it if nobody else minds. I only posted today because I happen to know Erik's out of town for a few more weeks still.

2005-07-14T11:42:00.000-05:00

I'm not neglecting John's "Railroad Bill" topic. It's just a little knottier for me.

I have a proposal. Tell me how you think this might work. Instead of a topic rotation, we change the rule: Check for a topic; if there's a topic, write; if there is not, post a topic.

That shifts some of the pressure to the East Coast, but our posters are primarily East and Central anyway.

2005-07-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

Cool beans. I wholeheartedly recommend the whole being around a lot more thing.

And I like the new look!

2005-07-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

Hi, Glen! Nice to see you around here, too.

2005-07-12T08:46:00.000-05:00

A scene for yesterday. I built myself a JavaScript timer as a productivity hack, and I've since found all sorts of uses for it, including making excellent tea and sticking to a real 10-minute writing limit.

A new friend, Glenn W, has me fired up about writing again. Also, Big Scary Project is done-ish. I intend to be around a lot more. I'm also up for inviting more folks, and I think I want to overhaul the blog's template.

2005-06-30T13:57:00.000-05:00

Fred, I'm really amused that you interpreted "go live" the way you did. I only had one way of hearing it: Our project will go live on Saturday. But you made it a directive: Go, live, be vibrant. I think I need that reminder. Whether or not we go live, I need to go live.

2005-06-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

I feel compelled to point out that yesterday's topic comes from the Internet Movie Database and its plot outline of "The Three Robonic Stooges". From time to time, I think it's helpful to remember that things as silly as this exist.

2005-06-04T20:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I missed my day to post a topic....was having password problems. Not that anyone's here except Fred to read it......

2005-05-23T12:04:00.000-05:00

Today's topic is a song title from the new NIN disc, which is excellent. Check it out if you're into that kind of music. It's been a long damn time since I've been so intrigued by new music.

2005-05-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, okay, so it took more than ten minutes. At this point, I think that's allowable.

2005-05-05T08:04:00.000-05:00

We're very close, my pretties. Remaining tasks are to send out instructions and set up accounts, both of which have to be done from home.

2005-04-20T09:21:00.000-05:00

Thank you, John, for getting Buddy Holly stuck in my head. I suppose it's better than yesterday, when, thanks to the radio, I had Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" stuck in there. All day.

I'm definitely intrigued to know what's coming.

2005-04-20T08:57:00.000-05:00

Everyday, it's a gettin' closer,
Goin' faster than a roller coaster,
Love like yours will surely come my way, (hey, hey, hey)

2005-04-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

Every day, creeping closer. A few more things to set up, a few more things to write. Sharpen your pencils...

2005-04-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

Added a post to the "I'd Never Do That" topic of April 15th, if anyone's interested.

2005-04-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

Ooohhhhh! There's nothing I love more than a mystery, and you've piqued my curiousity with this one. I'll be waiting (probably impatiently, but that's just me.....)

2005-04-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

I have a few things up my sleeve. Bending technology to my will, at present. Expect an invite soon...

2005-04-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

We could start our own program and support network. The software powering the Invisible City site is very adaptable to this sort of thing--discussion spaces, articles, and whatnot. Let's brainstorm about how we'd like to challenge ourselves and support each other, and how it would differ from and extend the malingering 600seconds.

2005-04-14T07:48:00.000-05:00

I agree: NaNoWriMo is a great idea, but November is possibly the worst month for it. I gave it a shot in 2003, but I made it only a couple thousand or so words in before it fell apart.

I've been thinking it might be good to start with smaller, more immediately obtainable goals. Like, say, a short story in a month.

2005-04-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

Regarding NaNoWriMo, I've done it once. I got to about 30,000 words, and I really, really want to keep working on the book, but it's festered and mutated while I wasn't looking at it, plotting with the Jar That Was Mayonnaise at the back of the fridge. Thing is, November is a terrible month for writing. A week of it is taken up with Thanksgiving, and it is overlaid with the stress of fast-approaching gift-requiring holidays. It's also the last best shot to deploy code before we descend into a pretty much solid two-month moratorium.

Er. I'd like to try it again sometime, but I'll probably do it in March or something. A good 31-day month.

2005-04-11T09:55:00.000-05:00

It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere
I'm all alone, more or less...

It is kind of empty in here, isn't it? Is it time to resort to petty bribery in order to get people to write?

2005-04-10T21:45:00.000-05:00

Where is everyone?????
I feel like I'm on Mars (you know, it's quiet, and I'm pretty much alone, and there's a solar wind threatening to knock me on my ass at any moment.....)
To quote Pink Floyd:

Is there anybody out there??????

2005-04-07T00:05:00.000-05:00

I've taken a look at some of the linked websites, and have noticed that a couple of you mention being involved with NaNoWriMo. I was curious about how many of you have tried it, and how many of you plan to give it another try this year. And, if you don't mind, tell me your nickname on the site so I can look you up.

2004 was my first experience with it, and while I didn't "win," I did write just over 20,000 words. For me, that was a respectable milestone and I was pretty happy with it, especially given the fact that I was also working full-time and in school full-time.

Anyway, I was just curious.

2005-04-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

John W.--excellent job on the "bad words" post. That made my day!