So I have a new contest idea. While reading for my audiobook last week, I was pleasantly re-introduced to one of my favorite sentences from the upcoming book. I smiled when I read it, and I remembered that one of my early readers (my sister, who has just started blogging and it's about freaking time) had marked it with a happy face on an early draft. So I thought I'd post the sentence here...only Mad Lib style.
That's right: I'll give you the parts of speech, and your job is to fill in the blanks.
The most creative entry will win a two-book prize: a copy of Picking Dandelions (the great new title from Sarah Cunningham) and a signed copy of my own Pocket Guide to the Bible.
Here's the Mad Lib sentence, with a little context to help you out:
-----------------
The practice of praying in my head -- of lining up stray thoughts to present them to God in an official, well-reasoned and coherent manner -- is like (verb ending in -ing) (plural noun) with a (noun) on a/an (place) (noun).
-----------------
Sample entry #1: ...is like plucking eyebrows with a cherrypicker on a restroom countertop.
Sample entry #2: ...is like hammering nails with a screwdriver on a Texas highway.
To be clear, I'm not judging based on how close you come to my original sentence, which I'm sure won't be nearly as entertaining as these submissions. Nor am I judging by whether or not your entry makes sense, or matches the context, or helps me overcome my prayer challenges, or anything else. I'm only judging by creativity.
Because creativity is good. And good writing is good. Especially when you're writing about the difficulties of prayer.
Have fun. Entries will be closed at 9 am tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 23).
Monday, February 22, 2010
O Me of Little Faith Mad Libs
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
31 comments:
...is like shoveling snowflakes with a fork on a blizzard-bombarded-Baltimore street.
is like pooping marbles with an Elmo doll on a Senate committee.
...is like herding Jack Russell Terriers with a hockey stick on a beach.
is like pocketing chicken meat with a spatula on a McDonald's back room counter.
The practice of praying in my head -- of lining up stray thoughts to present them to God in an official, well-reasoned and coherent manner -- is like herding cats with a laser pointer on a glass company truck rack.
Is like milking mice with a turkey baster on a trampoline.
... is like digging a hole to China with a plastic beach shovel on the top of Mount St Helens.
...is like soothing velociraptors with an airhorn on a fault line.
is like collecting stray birds with a lobster trap on a crashing airplane.
...is like shearing sheep with a lightsaber on a Six Flags roller coaster.
is like popping zits with a compass on a high school bus.
(Paying homage to Chris Farley)
...is like washing down a couple McGangbangs with a milkshake on a triathlon.
The practice of praying in my head -- of lining up stray thoughts to present them to God in an official, well-reasoned and coherent manner -- is like soaping myself with a pope on a heavenly rope.
is like vomitting picture frames with a tiger on a desert hockey rink.
is like riding llamas with an oversized unibrow on a chilly August morning.
. . . is like eating tater tots with a chopstick on a roller coaster.
is like re-animating gophers with a 9-volt battery on a trampoline.
Wow...I posted before I read the other responses...looks like Amy and I are both on a trampoline...doing strange things to small animals...weird coincidence or profound spiritual truth? I fear the former, but am intrigued by the latter.
is like twirling matches with a fork on a desert island.
...is like catching dust motes with a fly swatter on a windy day.
The practice of praying in my head -- of lining up stray thoughts to present them to God in an official, well-reasoned and coherent manner -- is like flying kites with a Filipino on a burning iceberg.
like catching water droplets with the eye of a needle in outer space.
The practice of praying in my head -- of lining up stray thoughts to present them to God in an official, well-reasoned and coherent manner -- is like...
...chasing chickens with a chainsaw on an ice skating rink.
The practice of praying in my head -- of lining up stray thoughts to present them to God in an official, well-reasoned and coherent manner -- is like catching flies with chopsticks on a Niagra Falls tightrope.
...is like choosing words with creativity on a Jason Boyett blog.
...is like picketing rickets with a cricket in a thicket.
...or, like flipping flapjacks with a flatiron on a flight to Florida...
...or.... dare I go on? :)
is like coalescing ruminations with a convoluted psyche.
I know my previous answer didn't follow the specific grammatical rules so I will try again . . .
is like resuscitating invertebrates with a barbiturate on a floodgate.
ooh! Like buffaloing buffalo with a buffalo on a buffalo (...in Buffalo?)
Hilarious explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo
This is fun.
Wow, Kev. Thanks for that link. Buffaloing Buffalo buffalo! Awesome.
...which I guess -- if you can use noun phrases instead of nouns -- could be written:
...like buffaloing Buffalo buffalo with a Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo on a Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo.
Feel free to disregard all my entries after the first one, this is just fun :)
Post a Comment