"The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." — Orson Welles
I love the Oulipo challenges. It's like gaming + writing.
Not sure what reaction you are expecting from the audience, but I found the prose poem to be very funny at the beginning. Then it read like a script from a dystopian movie. I'd watch that movie!
I definitely did not write what I intended. I meant "I love the idea of Oulipo challenges based on your description of them." I had never heard of it before. I can't figure out what's going on on the website even with Chrome Google Translate. We'll just need you to serve as future interpreter with a follow-up article!
The only thing I've ever done that is even close to an Oulipo challenge is for fantasy football. I've been playing since 1993 and starting about 10 years ago or so, I started writing an annual draft recap. It was a form of trash talk where I could really talk up my players and the amazing season I was going to have while making fun of other manager's picks and situations. After writing those for a while, one year, I decided to change it up and have each Team Draft Summary be a separate poem. The constraint was the content - only players on the team as well as any background information I could recall from the manager of the team. I can't say I entertained anyone but myself, but it was a very fun exercise.
Out of the ones you listed, I would rank them:
Snowball poems with letters - genuinely seems fun
Write a paragraph with no word longer than five letters - reminds me of Poetry for Neanderthals (word guessing game, but as the clue giver, you can only say words with one syllable)
Put together a scene with no adjectives - seems like this could be successful if you did a good job or comedy gold if it is terrible
No "the"
N+7 - agree with your fun with little challenge assessment
Snowball poems with words (seems like this would just get out of hand as a "simple exercise")
I like the idea of the team specific poems. It's fun, light, and exactly what FF is about. If you're the league commish, you need to set the tone, right? Start the trash talk early and make it creative!
I made a decision: voiceover on, text open, consumed like a film with subtitles. Worth the French butchering a thousand times over. 😄
I expected satire. Instead you gave meaning back to phrases that had been emptied of it and the moment it happened I couldn't explain how. The customer service hold music collapsing into "come home" and "I'll leave the light on." The clichés weren't empty after all.
I have a game called Bananagrams. It's a banana-shaped zippered bag with letter tiles in it. You can play alone or with opponents. Players use tiles to construct a crossword style grid until the tiles run out. You can then use those words in an essay or story. It forces you to be creative and think outside the tiles.
"The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." — Orson Welles
I love the Oulipo challenges. It's like gaming + writing.
Not sure what reaction you are expecting from the audience, but I found the prose poem to be very funny at the beginning. Then it read like a script from a dystopian movie. I'd watch that movie!
Such a good quote. And thank you Winston! I’m happy to hear your take, as an author’s intent is not much without a reader’s impression.
Do you have any Oulipos you favor? I’m a big game fan, puzzles in any form really.
I definitely did not write what I intended. I meant "I love the idea of Oulipo challenges based on your description of them." I had never heard of it before. I can't figure out what's going on on the website even with Chrome Google Translate. We'll just need you to serve as future interpreter with a follow-up article!
The only thing I've ever done that is even close to an Oulipo challenge is for fantasy football. I've been playing since 1993 and starting about 10 years ago or so, I started writing an annual draft recap. It was a form of trash talk where I could really talk up my players and the amazing season I was going to have while making fun of other manager's picks and situations. After writing those for a while, one year, I decided to change it up and have each Team Draft Summary be a separate poem. The constraint was the content - only players on the team as well as any background information I could recall from the manager of the team. I can't say I entertained anyone but myself, but it was a very fun exercise.
Out of the ones you listed, I would rank them:
Snowball poems with letters - genuinely seems fun
Write a paragraph with no word longer than five letters - reminds me of Poetry for Neanderthals (word guessing game, but as the clue giver, you can only say words with one syllable)
Put together a scene with no adjectives - seems like this could be successful if you did a good job or comedy gold if it is terrible
No "the"
N+7 - agree with your fun with little challenge assessment
Snowball poems with words (seems like this would just get out of hand as a "simple exercise")
no "e" - this sounds like torture
I like the idea of the team specific poems. It's fun, light, and exactly what FF is about. If you're the league commish, you need to set the tone, right? Start the trash talk early and make it creative!
I made a decision: voiceover on, text open, consumed like a film with subtitles. Worth the French butchering a thousand times over. 😄
I expected satire. Instead you gave meaning back to phrases that had been emptied of it and the moment it happened I couldn't explain how. The customer service hold music collapsing into "come home" and "I'll leave the light on." The clichés weren't empty after all.
How did you do that, Charlie. Éblouissant! 💛
I am glad you liked it. I am also happy to hear that my butchering of your language was at least worth a laugh! Thank you.
Made it for you 😊
You whip these together so fast! So many talents.
I have a game called Bananagrams. It's a banana-shaped zippered bag with letter tiles in it. You can play alone or with opponents. Players use tiles to construct a crossword style grid until the tiles run out. You can then use those words in an essay or story. It forces you to be creative and think outside the tiles.
I have that game! I love that game! And scrabble of course.
Oh, and great idea.
Definitely a creative idea. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you! You should try it, or create a challenge.