| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: say--no creation of mortal mind is perfect. Perchance he
has detected a weakness that it will be well to know at
once. Come, my good fellow, and what may be the one
contingency I have overlooked?"
As he spoke Carthoris observed the servant closely for
the first time. He saw a man of giant stature and handsome,
as are all those of the race of Martian red men; but the
fellow's lips were thin and cruel, and across one cheek
was the faint, white line of a sword-cut from the
right temple to the corner of the mouth.
"Come," urged the Prince of Helium. "Speak!"
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Little Britain by Washington Irving: shouts of merriment, the snatches of song, and now and then
the choral bursts of half a dozen discordant voices, which issue
from this jovial mansion. At such times the street is lined with
listeners, who enjoy a delight equal to that of gazing into a
confectioner's window, or snuffing up the steams of a
cookshop.
There are two annual events which produce great stir and
sensation in Little Britain; these are St. Bartholomew's Fair,
and the Lord Mayor's Day. During the time of the fair, which
is held in the adjoining regions of Smithfield, there is nothing
going on but gossiping and gadding about. The late quiet
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The First Men In The Moon by H. G. Wells: extreme slipperiness of the footpath. Exactly as he came against the sun
he stopped, pulled out a watch, hesitated. Then with a sort of convulsive
gesture he turned and retreated with every manifestation of haste, no
longer gesticulating, but going with ample strides that showed the
relatively large size of his feet - they were, I remember, grotesquely
exaggerated in size by adhesive clay - to the best possible advantage.
This occurred on the first day of my sojourn, when my play-writing energy
was at its height and I regarded the incident simply as an annoying
distraction - the waste of five minutes. I returned to my scenario. But
when next evening the apparition was repeated with remarkable precision,
and again the next evening, and indeed every evening when rain was not
The First Men In The Moon |
