Herb Caen Days.

[gridlore]

The San Francisco Chronicle is doing a series of events to celebrate the life and career of legendary columnist Herb Caen. One of them is a Caen writing contest. First prize is tickets to the Giants home opener, a limo ride to the game, and best of all, you get photographed in front of Herb's Loyal Royal.

I think I already have my entry written. It just needs a little polishing.

Comments

[valkyrwench.livejournal.com]

Nice. It seems pretty polished already.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

It's bit long, and a little clunky in a few places. But I want to touch that typewriter! I learned to sculpt the English language into an art form by reading Herb Caen.

The three most common thing heard in the morning at the Berry household:

1. "You're late!"

2. "Have you seen my (fill in blank)"

3. "Who has Herb Caen?"

[isomeme.livejournal.com]

Very nice! You triggered a serious flashback, there.

[kshandra]

Considering how many of us invoked Herb's name when you first posted that, I rather think you're obligated to send it in.... Just promise me you'll still speak to all of us after you've won. ;-)

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Well, by appointment anyway...

Nice writing!

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a writer, you need to clean up the grammar (punctuation, really) a little. Specifically, you have a few commas that ought to be semicolons, a few ellipses with spaces after them (spaces don't belong after ellipses unless they're the end of a sentence, in which case they have four dots instead of three), and one ellipsis with two dots that needs a third.

As for the wording itself, I wouldn't touch it. It's there. If you don't enter it we'll all line up to kill you. :-)

Re: Nice writing!

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Well, my grammar sucks anyway.

But this was written on a very foggy morning when I was still the grave dispathcer for Stupid Shuttle. I got a ride home from a driver, and he left and suddenly I was in a Chandler novel, or maybe Conan-Doyle.. I walk all the way around my block just enjoying the feeling and the silence. Got home, and this just poured from me, the way the great stuff does.

It was the first time I had ever experienced haviong the words leap from brain to screen like that, and was like the first time you had good sex. Sure, you knew the mechanics of writing, or screwing, but this time - pure magic.

Re: Nice writing!

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Almost forgot.. I'm also over the 300 word limit, so I have to find something to cut.