Become a Character in My Latest Book: A Contest

Posted on January 12, 2011    Posted by      776 Comments

So, I’m busily writing away on my newest book, the one that should be out sometime in 2012. And I just wrote a character whose name is currently “Lieutenant Merkel,” for no good reason than because for that second I was thinking about Germany. But I don’t really like the name for the character, so I figured, hey, why not have a contest, the winner of which will get to have his or her name replace that of Merkel’s?

Why not indeed.

So, a contest! The winner of which will have his or her name replace that of Merkel’s. Now, before you enter, here’s what you need to know:

1. Merkel/You is a bit player, but of generally good character;
2. Merkel/You may or may not live to see the end of the story. Because if someone has to die, I need to work with what I have on hand.

So you need to be cool with the fact there’s a chance I might kill “you” off. But if I have to I’ll try to have it be, like, heroic and all. But no promises. If it makes sense for the story to have you ingested by voles, I’ll be doing that. Because, hey, man. I’m an artist.

To acclimate yourself to the concept of death, that will be the theme of the contest.

For the contest, write a haiku from the point of view of some who is either about to die or has just died, from one (or more!) of the following:

1. A spider monkey or monkeys;
2. LASERS
3. Poor GPS directions
4. And, of course, Spontaneous Human Combustion.

So, for example:

I’m really amazed
Who knew that spider monkeys
Enjoy human snacks?

or

Did you know humans
Smell like bacon when they fry?
Just found out myself!

Got it? Excellent.

Rules!

1. One haiku per person. So make it good.

2. “Haiku” in this case means a poem in 5/7/5 syllable configuration. You don’t need to make a seasonal reference.

3. All entries have to be in by 11:59:59pm Eastern, Sunday, January 16, 2011.

4. If you win, the name used will be your last name. The person using your name may or may not be of your own sex/nationality/creed/sexual predilections, etc. You won’t be able to substitute anyone else’s name.

And there you are. Drop your entries in the comment thread.

Good luck!

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776 Comments on “Become a Character in My Latest Book: A Contest”

  4. Required obvious usage of all components:

    Damn spider monkeys;
    Their GPS has led us
    Into lasers – foom!

  35. lasers in the dark
    hunting for their human prey
    I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

    This totally made my day! It has been Inaugural Haiku Week in my second grade classroom this week. Glad to see i’m teaching the kiddos useful life skills.

  36. Happens quite often
    Not reported widely
    Little green globule.

    – with apologies to “This Is Spinal Tap”

  46. Final Communication from the Purported Victim of Spontaneous Human Combustion:

    Help! Exit blocked by
    A frackin’ monkey firefight
    With LASER pistols!

  75. Turn right, proceed, stop.
    Obstacle. Laser charred monkeys.
    Reverse, turn, turn..aaaaaah!

  91. That fire in my pants?
    It wasn’t because of you . . .
    But that’s what you’ll say.

  101. Plonge dans le laser
    Regarde tes tripes s’embraser
    Te voilà cramé

    (This a perfect valid entry as the rules nerver said the haiku has to be in English. ;p )

  104. Spider monkey’s GPS
    guided me to laser trap
    and I exploded

    Does GPS count as 3 syllables? I was hoping I’d qualify because of Darby’s Rangers in WWII, and I was killed off in an active shooter exercise by the county police. I took multiple soap pellets in the back by a squad of officers.

  106. Lights come up brightly
    Count down for intro and *flash*!!!
    Damn you, Spinal Tap!!!

    (Gee, all to be that red-shirted Security guy that gets killed in John’s new novel! ;) )

  112. Laser fried retinas
    Tom-Tom says this path is safe
    Say, what’s that rustling?

  115. I never grasped how
    simple coherent light isnt
    When in my spleen

    Happy 50th anniversary of the laser

  147. The box said ‘turn right’,
    But not ‘into a brick wall’.
    No refunds for ghosts.

  163. “Hot enough for you?”
    Fat man squints and mops his brow.
    Won’t he be surprised.

  186. Invasion. Now time
    wrong turns to meters off and
    our missiles find me —

    (silly relativity & GPS directions!!)

  188. Spider monkey quips to monkeys
    Your poor GPS directions deserve
    Lasers or Spontaneous Monkey Combustion

  190. Reposting this, as it seems to have eaten the first one:

    Spider monkeys do
    Shoot lasers, in Germany.
    Damn GPS. Poof!

  200. The light finds my pod
    And punctures my canopy
    Motes in the atmo

    I’m going to play against the other entries, and do something (hopefully) non-humorous. :) Is it tacky that this is inspired by a story I’m writing?

  204. Left? (re-) Right? Straight? Wait,
    is that (-cal-cu-) monstrous huge
    death pit real? (-la-)

  228. Dashing young soldier —
    Where’s that red light coming from?
    There goes my left arm.

  240. Magic rocks be damned….
    This can’t be worth the payoff!
    *Poof* goes my tushie

    I love haiku…thanks for the contest. My last name is “Tilden”.

  241. spider monkeys eyes
    beams of hate heat my body
    wrong turn, i explode

    (Matthew Caffrey)

  253. How will you know people are telling the truth about their last name if they don’t enter it here? My last name could be Crapwhistle for all you know

  259. “Glo•bal” the screen says,
    “Ther•mo•nu•cle•ar War” -pause-
    “Do you want to play?”

  266. rapture approaches
    a wave of decimation
    myself tenth in line

    faithless normally
    my ending here a result
    of ill direction

    (outdated phone maps
    apparently unaware
    of monkey cult march)

    stuck in foot traffic
    while worshipers incandesce
    in well-spaced flashes

    i mark the pattern
    and witness the burning of
    every tenth face

    gridlock confines me
    panic absent, i now wait
    curious to see

    if in the moment
    i’ll see the monkey-god’s hand
    holding a laser

  272. Okay, so I’m not the first (or forty-first) to try to use all components…

    Nevertheless.

    Monkeys fired lasers
    Bad GPS made them miss
    So why do I fry?

  284. This is just to say
    Spider monkeys have eaten
    Plums and me. So sweet.

    …

    If Georgmi, whose surname I share, wins, I shall still have the potential pleasure of seeing a Mitchell red-shirted. (Likewise for Georgmi if I win.)

  294. LIDAR plane crashing
    Blessed are the mapmakers
    Dead of multipath

    Why yes, I am a surveyor.

  308. I brought bananas
    when you cried: “spider monkeys!”
    – not anti-venom.

    (And, out of contest, a GPS-tanka:

    Up-up, down, down then
    left right twice B&A, Start?
    I do believed you,
    Oh, machine, but there is no
    cheatcode for the Grand Canyon. )

  310. Push that red button
    and pew pew go the lasers
    swiftly, the end comes

    (Too many Mimiron attempts? Perhaps.)

  348. shit that is supposed to be “Sans” not “San”
    Alas, too much Scotch.
    Glinlivet, I must admit
    More than two. or three.

  353. There is a (dead) soap opera character with my exact name and spelling. It makes vanity Google searches difficult.

  359. Call Mythbusters, stat!
    Human combustion’s real and
    I smell delicious

    If you should choose me as the winner I’m going to have to insist that my character die before the end. Preferably in some horrible and perverted way.

    Awesome contest. Thanks.

  371. Personally, I like #357 so far. But here’s my entry:

    Anger like the heat
    of a hundred million suns —
    GPS cliff death.

    Best contest ever, btw.

  373. My wife runs lasers,
    So I married her for love.
    She got a target.

    [true-ish story – my wife is a laser physicist]

  380. My blood soaks the street.
    My GPS told me “left”,
    it should have been “right”.

  381. “Turn left in one mile,”
    said the spider monkey’s voice.
    Make the turn, and- ZOT.

  401. (Not an entry; just a comment)

    OOOHHH! I so want to win this one! “Lieutenant Whybird” in a Scalzi novel would be like the coolest thing ever! The name is from a pair of saxon words: Wy=War, Berd=Bright – so like ‘illustrious warrior” or something. Or maybe “Fightin’ with Lasers” :)

    Sadly, Haiku is one of my least favourite poetic forms to write, but I will try. It may take me a day or so, but I will try.

  409. OK, I didn’t spend a whole day on it, but hopefully this is good:

    Ironically, I,
    With a name that means “War Bright”,
    Lost the laser fight.

  413. Damn, in my previous post i didn’t realise the repetition in “death” and “deadly”… Please, ignore it and consider the following one instead:

    Hidden death you bring
    Laser, coherent light beam
    Mankind lethal sting!

  454. Entry: LASERS

    Light monotonic
    Cohesion interrupted
    Red mist of brain goo

    Bonus extra haiku, because I’m bored at work:

    Never trust monkeys!
    Oh Grandfather, why did I
    Doubt your sage advice?

    Turn left. No! turn right!
    Tiny map and grating voice—
    Sends me off a cliff!

    Getting hot in here
    You feel hot? No? I feel hot.
    Flee! I’m on FIRE!

  463. I saw the monkey
    he fixed my tomtom but then
    he went Pew pew pew!

    P.S., can it be my first name instead of my last name?
    Thanks.

  492. Gah. Let’s try that again:

    Blinded, I mistake
    Ape Lincoln for Abe. The damned
    dirties set me alight.

  502. Vibrate molecules
    To evade Grodd’s death ray.
    What?…Landsat feedbaaaAAAK!

    Replaces earlier entry by ZBBM.

  503. Replaces more recent entry by ZBBM that was full of fail but not full of syllables.

    Vibrate molecules
    Grodd’s death ray passes through me.
    What?…Landsat feedbaaaAAAK!

  532. like mind
    photon losing
    coherence

    I did this one with 5/7/5 mora rather than counting English syllables

  552. Stuck in laser trap
    Curse the monkeys who sold me
    This damn Tom-Tom… FWOOOOOSH!

    (The last word is the sound of someone going up in flames thus, I have used all 4 things mentioned in mine)

  554. Because my boyfriend’s GPS is now 3 years out of date:

    I told you, “Update!”
    Because I really don’t like
    The drop-off ahead.