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Filtering Out

Backstory: I was at a training for work, "Learning with the Brain in Mind." I wrote this super-short throughout the course of the day to keep myself awake and to prove that I learned something from the session. It's ten seconds in Clark's life, from his brain's point of view. Enjoy.

Brava. You managed to write a story in which about two thirds or three quarters (I didn't count) of the "sentences" completely lacked verbs -- and you managed to pull it off.

Mind-numbingly boring work meetings can be excellent catalysts for creativity. My own story, The (Semi)Annual Safety Seminar was written under similar circumstances.

Not that I would wish such boredom on anyone, but if one is stuck mandatory meetings, story writing can definitely help the time go a bit faster...

Joy,
Lynn

LOL...I know - Word's grammar check put up a hearty objection to this story!

An interesting example of how Clark actually sees the world when Lois screams. It might be another fun exercise to see what happens to his POV under happier circumstances.



Anyway, back to your story, I liked how very visual it was -- as if I were reading one of the early comics. In this frame, you see this. In the next, that. Here's Clark leaving his desk. Lois must have screamed for Superman.

Very cool !

I love the structure of this story. The sensory details...then the small, but huge impact line about Lois' heartbeat. How you repeated this throughout made 'Lois' even that much more important in this piece of work.


This detail--with even a type word count--is so awesome. I can really see Clark catching this, knowing this.


Love really is the most important thing, isn't it? . With all his power, with all his ability, Clark's steadfast loyalty to Lois is on full display. You showed how the world stops for Clark, nothing else matters, if he has any concern for her well-being.

Powerful . Great job!
Laura

The brain is a fantastic biological machine, here we get a glimpse of a Kryptonian one. As always when Lois is in trouble, Clark goes into high gear!

This story is a result of you attending one of those long boring meetings? Hope you attend a couple more, this was very interesting.

I LOVE this. What a great concept. It reminds me of the writing exercises I did in my college creative writing class, only we would take only one sense to focus on.

I love the Matrixy "bullet time" feel of this. Every little thing noticed and highlighted. In my own head, I heard a very slow heartbeat (Clark's) ticking off every couple of things noticed.

Well done! I particularly loved the detail of the older, lead based paint in some places messing with his x-ray vision. Totally inspired!

Thanks to everyone who left feedback. I'm happy you all understood and appreciated it - I know it's a rather unusual story. And special thanks to Laura, who encouraged me to post it.

Behind the eight ball (I blame the packing), but I finally got a chance to read this.

This was absolutely wonderful, and so powerful! The whole feel of it- all those little details that would escape the human senses- was different, but made for such an intriguing story. As Laura said, you can *feel* the way the whole world stops for Clark when Lois is in trouble.

Brava!

Hi Susan!
How do you find time between quizzing FoLCs to still make up stuff for *next year’s* quizzes?

And yet, one screwdriver stuck in it and it all comes apart at the seams.

Oooh! Is his brain going to start filtering out Lois’s cries for help because they become so frequent as to turn into a constant background noise?

At least it’s not yet slowing down.

Approximately…

Maybe if she put it one finger to the right and then showed him? Also,

Aww…he’s like a bird. No wonder our little homing pigeon is always finding its way back to Lois.

Left field: I recently read an article on how several dozen apartment buildings in Swiss cities are contaminated with radiation because they used to use radioactive paint for the glow-in-the-dark digits. Anyhow, what if a significant amount of Kryptonite crashed onto Earth and someone had the idea of using the innately glowing rock for watch making? What if Clark himself got such a watch and always remained a tad sickly and never fully came into his powers until he lost it on one of his travels? What if there’s still thousands of those watches out there in Metropolis?

So, what if said flesh were on the other side of said solid surface when it explodes inward?

So, would this still be considered attempted murder or just unlawful discharge of a firearm?



He really does have a one-track mind

Fun one!

Michael

Ha! Well, the quizzes were easier than last year because I created that spreadsheet during the year to categorize all the stories. Wanna know something insane? To make it even easier for the next year's quizzes, I've already started gathering quotes and excerpts for stories as they're posted this year. It's always easier to do things a little at a time than all at once, and it doesn't take that long to gather them immediately after I've read a story. So creating next year's Kerth quizzes will be a breeze!

'Organization' and 'L&C'--two of my favorite things / / .

Love the planning ahead, Susan!
Laura

Ooh, I really liked this! As a writer, I'm always trying to think of details that Clark would always be hearing and filtering out, but I've never thought of so many! I was really impressed by how much detail and how many different senses you were able to draw out. The urgency was very clear throughout even though it was, in effect, a list. And I love how her heartbeat was always there, in between the hundreds of other things! I had to smile when I saw that it was only ten seconds too -- and people think Superman is boring! Whole epics pass in seconds of his life! Great job -- I'm in awe of this little story!

Wow, what a description! I love how you zone in in on those few seconds, because it would feel like a lifetime. Every little second counts. For Clark, that's going to be the most terrifying and urgent matter there is. You do a great job of showing the instinctiveness of that: find her. Save her. Get her to safety.
I also love this because it gives a little bit of insight into what Clark's regular rescues are like. They may not always have the urgency Lois does, but every time his hearing kicks in his focus is tied to it.