Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Fractales: here’s the idea.
Remember that dumb blonde joke? It led me to realize the power of the internet*. As blog memes go, the blonde joke possessed humor, originality, and minimal sting to its host — all you had to do was post a bloody link, for heaven’s sake, and rave about the joke. Easy**. Consequently, like any catchy meme, it spread like wildfire.
But what did that meme produce? A single joke. I thought: you know, with a little extra effort, we might have had our own version of the Aristocrats gag, but it wouldn’t have been one joke — it would have been hundreds of them. Thousands.
What we ought to do is tell a story. Tell a million of ’em. It will be just like a story chain, only we need to start at the end, not the beginning. If you think about that fractal tree image, you’ll see the logic in this, since folks will want to follow the story forwards, not backwards. If we (the writers) work backwards, your audience will get to read the story forwards.
Of course, some of them will want to add to the story, and they will do so by continuing the backwards writing process.
I’m going to call this a fractale. Catchy, eh?*** This meme may die a cold, lonely death, but what do we have to lose? Go on, do it! Leave your mark on the tree.
Above, I will post the end of the story and the rules of the game. The rest is up to you.
D.
*No, really. Why must you always assume I’m joking?
**Not like some memes that ask you to name one hundred things you want to do before you die, your one hundred most favoritest songs, and so forth. “Item 99: I would like to finish this meme before I die.”
***A cursory google tells me that ‘fractale’ is French for ‘fractal.’ I don’t see anyone else using the term in this fashion.
Cool idea. I may participate…
Also: I made a Christmas tree with that fractal tool (by accident!) — see it here.
Neat on both counts, Pat ;o)
I’m laughing. Apart from being a lot of fun, this is the ultimate in hit whoredom, all blogs lead to Doug *g*
I intend to earn that blogwhore of the year award, Jona. Are you in?
Umm…errr…I’m not sure I’d be any good, but I do keep coming back to see if I’m struck by inspiration, and I’ll swing by Pat to see if I should join in further down a branch :o)
Jona, if you’d like to hop in further down the story, Sapphire Writer has picked up the thread. Check it out.
Oops. Bit of an identity crisis this morning.