posted
This is non-fiction. #2 in a series of musings on geology and the relationship of man to the earth. Here are a few lines to consider. Let me know if you would like to see it all. It comes to about 1,000 words.
For you Brits, 'pissed off' or just 'pissed' means mad (in the US), not drunk.
Oh, minor vulgarity, also.
quote: Stone Musings #2
We’re waiting for daylight: Bill to bolster his argument that it can’t be done, and me to say it can. After a while the sun decides in my favor and Bill is pissed off. I think his boss told him that the money only allows for 3 out of 5 locations and he’s to come up with excuses for not doing them all.
I’m pissed too. Sure, I’m fresh out of school, but I’m trying to do my job, why can’t he just do his?
The crew is pissed. They take their cues from Bill. He’s the boss. What he says goes, and its embarrassing that some dumb college kid is telling Bill he’s gonna do it anyway.
We get the drill rig set up on location, at the side of the road on a clear and cold North Dakota day. The hillside rises above us on one side, and plunges down on the other.
It takes twice as long as usual to set up the rig, test the controls and get started drilling, but finally the earth starts to yield up its secrets as the drill bites down. Right now, with the hole so shallow, they’re just using high-pressure air jets from the drill bit to blow the cuttings back up the hole. If they didn’t the bit would overheat and the government won’t pay for it. Soon though, they’re going to have to start blowing water mist into the hole to keep it going.
[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited February 10, 2005).]
posted
I like. I have a penchant for geology, although I have an inkling this isn't about anything as mundane as drilling (for oil?). I'd like to read more.
Posts: 142 | Registered: Jan 2005
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It's a slightly fictionalized account of one of my experiences drilling for coal in North Dakota when I worked for USGS, coupled with some musings on what people know and care about the earth and what it has to give.
[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited February 11, 2005).]
This work is supposed to simultaneously develop a character's growth/change and search for place within a changing social order and to comment on man's place in the geologic landscape.
If you can figure out a place for that in today's marketplace, then more power to you. I hope to find a small ezine and push the pieces out through that as a serial. I'll probably have to show them everything first, and get their buy-in. Have to find the right ezine first.
If I were capable of thinking and writing at his level, I would say this would go to the same market that Loren Eisley's work sold to. Have you ever read "The Star Thrower"? Excellent stuff.
My only complaint so far is that we go several paragraphs with people pissed about whether something can be done, and I still don't know what it is. Since POV character knows, I want to.
posted
Setting up the rig. But the complaint is probably valid. If this is something that is going to be decided by looking at the area under daylight, then it probably isn't wildly technical.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Wbriggs and Rocklover had some equally valid points regading making this accessible to them because they are unfamiliar with the technology.
I was trying to write in as sparse a manner as possible, because the point was not the technology, it was the interplay between the characters, and the 'philosophical' point I was trying to make at the end of it all.
If my readers get sidetracked by the lack of explanation of the technology, then obviously I have failed in what I was trying to do. I just REALLY did not want to describe the technology that much. Someting to look at much harder, I suppose.
posted
I have no particular interest in rocks or geography, and I still found this very compelling.
Regarding the sentence that you personally questioned, I did find it slightly awkward. I offer this as a suggestion:
"After a while the sun decides in my favor. Bill is visibly pissed off -- I think his boss told him that the money only allows for 3 out of 5 locations, and he’s to come up with excuses for not doing them all."
To me, the sentence works better if its tacked on as a explanation for Bill's anger. I also added 'visibly' since the story is 1st person, and I thought it helped the flow to explain how the narrator can tell what Bill is feeling. (They're certainly minor issues, but I wanted to offer something constructive.)
If you're still looking for readers, I'd really like to go through the full piece.
P.S. How do you format your post for an indented quote? My HTML is currently turned off, and I didn't see a place to change that in my preferences.
posted
Stone Musings #2 on the way to Stone's Muse.
LOL Admit it. The only reason you read this was because of the title!
quote:To indent as this is presented, place the text within the following codes: [-quote-] text goes here [-/quote-] but delete the -s. I placed them there so that you could see the code.
This is BB code, not HTML. Don't turn the HTML code on, for security reasons.
[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited February 25, 2005).]
posted
I don't think the technical aspect needs any further explanation. I understood enough to keep me from getting pulled away from the main story: the interaction between the characters.
I think I can handle 1,000 words right now, Mike, if you need another reader.
Edited to add: Please send the story to my new email address in my profile.
[This message has been edited by Keeley (edited February 25, 2005).]
Umm, yes. I HATE spammers. Someday I'll meet one in the flesh. *shivers in anticipation*
Hmmm. Maybe I'll write a Bridgetown tale about a spammer who winds up at Taverna Gruff and happens to spill the beans to the only email-savvy werewolf in town. *bares teeth* I think I'll title it "Roast Spammer". Taverna Gruff needs to spice up their recipes anyway!
Why did you edit your comment out?
[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited February 25, 2005).]
posted
You mean saying that I liked your anti-spam message? No real reason, I guess. I tend to rein in my praise when I notice I start praising someone a lot. It's a "I saw one person in my childhood go to one extreme so I try to avoid that extreme at all costs" kind of thing. I need to stop doing that.
I'll be keeping an eye out for "Roast Spammer" in the future. I really like the concept.
posted
You got me, mike ... I did pick your story because of the title. If I wasn't intrigued, though, I certainly wouldn't have volunteered to do an edit. Thanks for sending it my way, I'll have comments for you within a week at most.
Posts: 12 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Mike What's a spammer? I thought they stopped making that stuff back in the fifties. Just kidding.... Hey, you don't need to dwell on the technology but a sprinkle of enlightenment here and there would help readers like me. Just enough that we can get the idea. But I definitely agree with the others and yourself the real emphasis has to be on the relationships. As I supposed, this is not really about the technology, is it? Judith
[This message has been edited by Rocklover (edited February 26, 2005).]
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