Money Laundering & Snow Cones

“Two writers, both alike in imagination,

In frigid Starbucks, where we lay our plot arcs,

From initial grudge turns to new camaraderie,

Where character blood makes character deaths unclean.”

No guesses were made for yesterday’s mad lib from Melville’s, Moby Dick: “Read me, bloggers.”

BUT there were a couple very funny versions:

Kat: “Feed me, Seymour.”
Ms. Jessi: “Twirl me, Fred Astaire.”
Mell C.: “Attend me, mortals.”

Kat’s nearly killed me. I almost stopped breathing, because it was so unexpected and yet RIGHT THERE. Brilliant, man. Brilliant.

The original line from Moby Dick is, of course: “Call me, Ishmael.” Much like hangman, the short ones are always the hardest.




So, last night as Darth Hubby and I drove home from watching “Brave,” we passed the drive-up snow cone stand near our apartment. This drive-up snow cone stand is astounding. Not only is it located in a fairly unfrequented strip mall, but it’s CASH ONLY.

I can’t say that I’ve had many moments in life where I’ve thought to myself, “Self, I really want a snow cone. Let us away to the bank depository for some paper monies. Then the colored, frozen sugar water shall be ours! Oh, yes, it shall.”

Yeah. Not so much. Thus, we giggle at the oddness of this ill-fated entrepreneurial venture every time we pass it. Which incidentally is every time we go to Target or the movies or Starbucks. So. Once a day.

Last night, however, we were waiting at the stoplight next to said snow cane stand, when Darth Hubby gasped and turned to me with a gleeful grin.

I encouraged him to share, and he told me that he finally understands the isolated, drive-up, cash-only snow cone stand.

“That place sells 3,000 snow cones a day,” he said with a laugh. “On paper.”

It’s brilliant. It’s perfect. It’s the only explanation that MAKES SENSE. The brightly colored, innocent seeming, isolated, drive-up, cash-only snow cone stand is a front for money laundering. At least, it is in our imaginations.

I have the best husband.




Still no new drafting words, but lest you think I’ve frittered my days away on tumblr and booze, I give you the pictorial evidence of my WORK. The words have been blurred out to protect the innocent.

Click to embiggen the crazy!

That picture represents four days of brain ‘asploding work, but it’s an actual STORY now. With plot. And character growth. And conflict. And stuff. Just not many words. 

Yet.


06.26.12 Progress:

1. Blogged about money laundering and snow cones and plotting.
2. Read 60 more pages in A Hundred Thousand Kingdoms yesterday. It just got REAL, man. No reading today yet, but watched “Bunheads,” which is totally research for smart writing. Seriously. Go watch it.
3. Yoga’d
4. No drafting word count, but many, many words, hours, and two phone calls worth of hammering out the plot structure and ALL the arcs for my WIP. SO MUCH FOUNDATION LAYING.

06.26.12 Mad Lib:

Two [NOUNS], both alike in [NOUN],
In [ADJECTIVE] [PLACE], where we lay our [NOUN],
From [ADJECTIVE] grudge [VERB] to new [NOUN],
Where [ADJECTIVE] blood makes [REPEAT LAST ADJECTIVE] [NOUNS] unclean.


As always leave guesses and your mad libs versions in comments or @LisMock on twitter!