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Casts of my ears by Leo Abaya

David Foster Wallace wrote, “Quentin Tarantino is interested in watching somebody’s ear getting cut off; David Lynch is interested in the ear.” Excellent point: all of Blue Velvet took off from the discovery of a human ear, while in Reservoir Dogs the ear-slicing was just part of a torture scene done to the tune of Stuck In The Middle With You.

In last week’s LitWit Challenge we presented readers with a pair of human ears, a tree, a gravestone and a stadium and asked them to make up a story.
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Your assignment should you choose to accept it is to build a story around this random sequence of photographs. Think of it as one of those nonverbal IQ tests where you have to figure out which image is next (except that you have to describe the visual).

Let’s give it a little Blue Velvet hommage: a pair of human ears cast by Leo Abaya

A grave in the old cemetery, Bristol, England

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

A tree in Kew Gardens, London

Maximum word count: 1,000.
Deadline: Sunday, 26 June 2011 at 11.59pm.
The prize: This stack of books.

One of John Burdett’s Bangkok thrillers, a Ruth Rendell mystery, a WWII spy novel by Alan Furst, stories by Roddy Doyle, stories about libraries, novels about chess and Russia and art and Paris.

And. . .go.

The Weekly LitWit Challenge is brought to you by our friends at National Bookstore.

ziggy! Who sent in the only entry, but we like it.

Congratulations, ziggy. You can pick up your books starting Thursday, 22 June 2011 at the Customer Service counter, National Bookstore at Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati. Just give them your full name. Their number is (02)8974562.

Was the photo sequence too easy for you? Here it is in a few sentences.

The last thing I remember is that chandelier. “It looks like a porno chandelier,” Ren remarked. I laughed and had another soju.

Then there was a sound between a whoosh and a roar, like thousands of people at a boarding gate trying to cram into a plane.

When I opened my eyes I saw a strangely familiar face observing me through dark glasses.

At least my wallet wasn’t stolen this time.

The Weekly LitWit Challenge is brought to you by our friends at National Bookstore.

The next LitWit Challenge is coming up.

Meanwhile here is Jhumpa Lahiri on how she became a writer.

Here are some random snapshots. Your assignment is to weave these images together into a story of 1,000 words or less. The images may appear in any order.

1. Gothicky chandelier. We spotted this at a new restaurant in Greenbelt 3 called Cerveseria. They serve tapas, paella, Iberian chicken. The interiors are dimly-lit Spanish-Gothic, with bookshelves.

2. Passengers waiting for their flight to Manila, Abu Dhabi airport, 2 am.

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Our regular contestants are exhausted and we need to find a new schtick (as do you).

While the Weekly LitWit Challenge goes on hiatus, we’re doing book reviews and author interviews and bringing back our hysterically popular Jock With A Book feature.

This is an artwork we spotted at the Tate Modern: a staircase made of fabric, dangling from the ceiling.

Write us a story about it. 1,000 words or less, due on or before Friday, 27 May 2011 at 11.59 pm.

The prize is a stack of hardcover books: 13 Steps Down by Ruth Rendell, Zugzwang by Ronan Bennet, The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst, and Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland.

We’re turning the Yucch-meter evaluations into a regular podcast so you can hear your work being discussed! Is that exciting or terrifying?

The Weekly LitWit Challenge is brought to you by our friends at National Bookstore.