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Writing Challenge #15: Mass panic of Halloween, 1938!

by dmfalk

Been unusually busy of late, and haven't gotten a story out (yet), but I need to do so- and won't be able to for a week, as I'll be out of town to San Diego with my mum, who is going to yet another California State Retirees meeting... I need to write more to reach my goal of 12 stories (or more!) in 12 months, so I better get crackin' soon! :P

(Yes, there is a Writing Challenge, here, but first- We interrupt this program for a special bulletin...)

On the night before All Hallow's Eve, much of America and Canada is gripped with fear of a deadly invasion, one so massive, it could only come from another planet--

Or so had one man, Mr. Orson Welles, would have the entire continent believe.

This was Sunday night, the 30th of October, 1938, the night of one of the most famous broadcasts in history- The infamous War of the Worlds broadcast on CBS Radio.

Be sure to check out the Wikipedia entry on this event.

Just about 2 years later, Orson Welles and War of the Worlds author H.G. Wells met each other for a broadcast interview on KTSA radio, San Antonio, TX. (YouTube link)

Orson Wells would pass away on the same day I turned 20-- October 10, 1985. H.G. Wells passed away in 1946.

Because of this pivotal event, October 30 (which is today, when I write this) is one of several days proposed for a UNESCO "World Radio Day".

(And now, we return you to our regularly- HAH!- scheduled Writing Challenge!)

So this Writing Challenge marks Halloween, and the famous War of the Worlds broadcast from 73 years ago-- I thought I'd do two things at once, this time. :)

As some of you know, I'm a radio fanatic, and a fan of "Old Time Radio", so you might've noticed many of my ideas, including some of my stories, revolve around the use of radio. So, this was only inevitable. :)

As with most of my Writing Challenges, I use three keywords, instead of a phrase, for a suggestion, and theme it around a calendar event (although not usually required to do so).

Usually, one of the keywords is a species. Not this time. You may choose your own species. :) I was going to use SQUIRREL (again), since the first living creature the survivor in the above radio drama encounters after the cataclysm is a red squirrel, but.... Nah. I'll let you, the writer, decide this time. :)

Instead, here are the keywords for this Challenge:
RADIO
PANIC
ALIENS (may be applied to alien furries- Green bunnies with antennae, for example. Or mutant Martian green squirrels... ;) )

Rules? There are few, if you can call them that! Just write whatever you want that uses the three suggested keywords-- I don't care if it's small enough to fit on a mosquito's wing or big enough to cover all of the Moon (both sides), nor do I care what genre it's in, or whether it's G-rated clean or so XXX that it would make jaded porn stars blush-- All I ask is that you HAVE FUN writing it. :) It's not there to please me (except the birthday one, to be honest), but to spur creativity in Inkbunny's nascent writing community.. Stories need not be limited to just Inkbunny, though, but this is this project's home. There is no expiration date on my Challenges, so you'll never have to be late, and you can always go back to an earlier Challenge, if your muse wills it. :) Oh, yes- I don't expect the obvious-- The sole caveat I offer. Surprise me! :D (I would like to know if you've got something ahead of time, but no need to tell me what it is- Let that be a surprise. :) )

Note, though- There are NO PRIZES other than the feeling of accomplishment, particularly when someone has read and commented positively/constructively on a submitted story. :) I don't even rank 'em!

Below is a list of past and current Challenges, with links to all submissions for each.

#1: no theme
SQUIRREL
PANTIES
RADIO

#2: Chinese Lunar New Year-- Year of the Rabbit
BUNNY
MOON
TRAVEL

Moon Rabbit - Part 1 by CyberCornEntropic

#3: Valentine's Day
CAT
HEART
LOVE

Moon Rabbit - Part 2 by CyberCornEntropic

#4: Mardi Gras
OTTER
BEADS
JAZZ

Moon Rabbit - Part 3 by CyberCornEntropic

#5: St. Patrick's Day
FOX
GOLD
LUCK
[smallthumb]82245[/smallthumb]

Moon Rabbit - Part 4 by CyberCornEntropic

#6: Tribute to Japan
No keywords, but had to either take place in Japan or have something Japanese-related.

Why the Ground Quakes by CyberCornEntropic

#7: April Fool's Day
PLUSHIE
LONELINESS
DRESS

Moon Rabbit - Part 5 by CyberCornEntropic

#8: Easter
BILBY
RAIN
FLOWER

How Deidrei Saved Easter by CyberCornEntropic

#9 (#9, #9, #9, #9....): SF Golden Gate Bridge, ruptured Rapture, Memorial Day
FIREFOX (lesser/red panda, sankam, nin wah)
SERVICE
FUTURE

Moon Rabbit - Part 6 by CyberCornEntropic

#10: Father's Day
DAD
WEEKEND
PICNIC

Moon Rabbit - Part 7 by CyberCornEntropic

#11: National & personal birthdays
DOG
BEANS
BIRTHDAY
[smallthumb]119285[/smallthumb]

#12: Apollo 11 anniversary/Space Shuttle is grounded
EAGLE
SUN
SEA

Moon Rabbit - Part 9 by CyberCornEntropic

#13: Dog Days of Summer
DOG
CAMPING
STARS

#14: Special 46th Birthday Edition
SQUIRREL, MOUSE, BUNNY, SKUNK and/or LEPTICTIDIUM (any one or more or all)
BIRTHDAY
BRIDGE

(species chosen: BUNNY, SKUNK)

#15: The War of the Worlds broadcast of 1938...
RADIO
PANIC
ALIENS

#16: Thanksgiving
TURKEY
PILGRIM
STUFFING
THANKSGIVING

The Toughest Turkey That Ever Were by CyberCornEntropic

#17: Holiday Season
DEER
GIFTS
HOLIDAYS

Moon Rabbit - Part 8 by CyberCornEntropic

#18: New Year's Resolutions
MOUSE
YEAR
RESOLUTION

Moon Rabbit - Part 10 by CyberCornEntropic

Happy writing!

d.m.f.

Viewed:	23 times
Added:	13 years, 5 months ago 31 Oct 2011 05:40 CET

3 Comments on this Journal

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CyberCornEntropic

13 years, 4 months ago

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Believe it or not, years and years ago in high school, I did come up with my own furry alien species called the Bozz. They were basically a furrified version of some generic cheesy, rubber-headed aliens from some B-movie flick (not any flick in particular, however). Their schtick was that they were basically the army of near-identical mooks the heroes have to mow down in order to reach the Bid Bad... only they loved being mowed down. Although not literally made of rubber, their bodies behaved like it, so they were hard to actually permanently hurt. Because they saw great honor in getting beaten up during the course of duty, they happily hired out as mooks for cash-strapped evil (and otherwise) overlords.

Well, why not? They were aliens. :p

dmfalk

13 years, 4 months ago

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@ CyberCornEntropic

Sounds like one part Mars Attacks! and one part Spaced Invaders, with just a pinch of MiB. :)

d.m.f.

CyberCornEntropic

13 years, 4 months ago

link

@ dmfalk

Could be. Truth be told, I was more influenced by the Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons at the time. I made some drawings of some Bozz, plus an animation of one getting pied in the face, but that was years ago. Maybe someday I'll update them, although, knowing me, probably not any time soon. ;p

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