Lumped under Misc stories posted: (movies) The Blob, Wargames, Local Hero, The Fountain, When Worlds Collide, Coming To America, Yellow Submarine, Rustler's Rhapsody, ¡Three Amigos!, Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy, Capricorn One, Outland, My Favorite Year, About Time, Volunteers, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Great Waldo Pepper, Return to Me, The Amazing Colossal Man, Support Your Local Sheriff, About Schmidt, D.O.A. 1988, Being There, Duel, The President's Analyst, Lars and the Real Girl, Puff the Magic Dragon, Witness, Paulie, Muriel's Wedding, Mystery Men, Rollerball 1975, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, The Court Jester, Brainstorm, Defending Your Life, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Runaway, Overboard 1987 (books) Shirley Jackson, James Thurber, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, The Railway Children, Kurt Vonnegut, Shel Silverstein, Lensman series, Berserker series, The Phantom Tollbooth (TV) Evening Shade (Games) Monopoly (Musical/Plays) Paint Your Wagon (Cartoons) Schoolhouse Rock!

And now the general background section...the updates section with ready-to-post list is in bold print and further down.

By profession I'm a chemist. By education I'm a business administrator. But I love being entertained, and yes it can be a challenging crossword puzzle or mindless viewing of some TV episode I've seen a dozen times already. That being said, it doesn't stop me from somethings wondering how a movie or TV show would have gone if something was changed in the plot.

It doesn't mean I'm an expert at writing, as any view of my stories will prove. I'm a fan of entertainment who doesn't know much about what he writes about, even less about spelling and grammar, and nothing about what 'real' people enjoy; an idea heartily endorsed by my wife. All I know is what I enjoy, and it doesn't necessarily match up with the mainstream or popular trends. I'm hardly a target demographic for Hollywood these days, but to be fair even though I haven't seen a single Twilight movie I haven't seen an Elvis movie either (unless you count Bubba Ho-Tep or Heartbreak Hotel).

I grew up a fan of science fiction, and could usually be seen carrying a book around reading between classes or on breaks at work. It was my favorite genre but it's usually the character interactions that draw me in, not the flash/bang/zap of special effects. Computer generated effects are great to depict what practicals cannot; but they can't take the place of character depth or a story that draws you in. All the epic space battles in the E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series took place in my head, but they were fought by characters; the technology was secondary.

As far as older influences, my classical reading list is mighty thin as a result, and I've only picked up a few titles here and there almost as much by accident as a purposeful choice.

But what about these stories?

All stories on this account are solo efforts by me unless otherwise noted in the author notes. You'll also notice that I tend towards the short one-shot variety of stories as I take an idea and explore it within a particular movie, TV show etc. Even my few longer stories are broken up into short chapters; I like to compartmentalize the writing into (hopefully) logical sections with a break that may or may not tease the next part.

Any movie-based sequels are probably from standalone films; they rather beg for continuation (in many cases, anyway) more than trying to redo an actual sequel. Of course this doesn't apply to one-shots that can fit in just about anywhere. And on rare occasions I might ignore sequels completely in a "What if" scenario.

If I see a category that has been set up but not written for yet (or only has stories posted that don't fit the fandom) I will consider it an unofficial challenge to come up with something to post provided I've seen the source material.

I tend to write from a humorous point of view. The humorous stories might have a grain of philosophic truth, and serious stories might have a few touches of humor. If life is a cafeteria tray, some of the food in the different sections tends to slop over the partitions and mix with its neighbors. Any life lessons or great insights gained from reading my material is unintentional and probably best left forgotten by the time you close your browser, or at least cross-checked with a reputable source. I don't write self-help books, run an advice booth or sit atop a mountain waiting for pilgrims.

You won't find much in the way of coarse language; my philosophy is rather old-fashioned in that profanity can be anywhere from potentially offensive to downright blasphemous. I prefer the more genteel way of speaking and will only use stronger language when the character would say it no other way. Likewise, any sexual activities between characters is going to happen offscreen behind that closed door/drawn curtain/thick copse of trees. If these guidelines make my stories less realistic, so be it.

I want my readers to laugh so hard they have to change their underwear, mist up and need to reach for the tissue to be able to read the screen, and cheer so strongly they knock over their drink. Okay, maybe an unreachable ideal but there it is. Ask me again when I've posted 100 stories and maybe I'll be more realistic. But I doubt it. (Note: Now that I've hit 100 I still want these things, but if necessary I'll settle for the readers to chuckle, sniff and give a little "yes!" instead to the appropriate passages.) (Okay, I'm at 200 and I'm holding steady at my reduced expectations. I do hope I get at least *something* on each story eventually.)

Because I am writing fan fiction, for obvious reasons I don't own the characters and settings created by the people of the original movie/show/play/book/game. Sometimes I'll create my own settings or characters to add minor or major roles to add to the original works, but they would not exist without those original creations of the entertainment industry. Thank you respective authors and artists for creating the playground that gives us an opportunity to bring in our toys and play.

If you're still reading this then thanks for making it this far! You're certainly made of sterner stuff than me. Hey, time for some music references:

Simple words can be come clever phrases
And chapters could turn into books
Yes if I could just get it on paper
But it's harder than it ever looks. - Jimmy Buffett

I could be a novelist
Tell secrets never heard
Pour my soul into each and every sentence
But I just can't find the words - Styx

And we were oh oh, so you know
Not the kind to dawdle
Will the things we wrote today
Sound as good tomorrow? - Elton John

Thanks for reading!
Walt and (on three stories so far) Craig

Series: I've got four five at the moment.

Coffee Time Films is the 1st, and is simply a title pun based on a movie, tying it in with coffee. I make a poster for the pun, then follow it with a really short one-shot of the fake movie. Each one is independent of the others. Stories are (in no particular order) "Logan's Coffee Run", "Romancing the Scone", "A Few Good Menus", "Brewed in 60 Seconds", "Fahrenheit 190", "Lawrence of Arabica", "It's a Wonderful Latte" and "Karafe Kid".

Story with a Hole is the 2nd, a mystery story based on the game of the same name, where characters ask questions that can be answered yes or no until the mystery is solved. These are spread among different fandoms with those particular characters taking part, and no two stories are related in the series. These stories are "Operations Grounded", "Elementary My Dear Sheldon", "Key to Detecting", "Going Nowhere", "Homeward Bound", "Mr. Monk and the Story with a Hole" and "Yes or No Please".

The 3rd is by accident. I didn't intend on writing a series of stories based on the 1971 film Willy Wonka, it just sort of worked out that way. The current chronological order is "How Many Shades of Gray", "My Summer With Willy", "Let Them Eat Cake", "Chocolate Now That's An Idea", "Labor Pains", the movie (1971), "What Goes Up", "Echoes of a Remembered Tune" and "Introduction". If any stories come along later they will be inserted where necessary.

The 4th is a short series based on the Riverworld novels by Philip Jose Farmer (which also spawned two films). I wanted to cover what it might have been like for some other people to wake up from being dead along with the rest of humanity, along the banks of a river that winds around a world. This story series is the shortest and you'll find them all under the Riverworld movie category.

I wasn't planning on the 5th, but I wrote a story as a retelling of a movie in the form of a child's bedtime story and had fun with it so I may throw a few in here and have no idea how many I'll end up with. So far I have "Searching for the Scarlet Boat" (Hunt for Red October), "Make Money Not War" (Kelly's Heroes), "Man With the Golden Touché" (Goldfinger), "The Adventures of Buck or Two Bonsai After He Goes to a Different Dimension" (Buckaroo Bonzai) and "Greets, Eats Meats and Beats" (Conan the Barbarian). Any similarity between the father/daughter in my stories and Atticus and Scout Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird" is purely intentional.

Reviewing: When I read a story of my own choosing I like to point out a few things I like about it. I won't be critical because I don't want to discourage writers, and I'm in no position to know what constitutes good writing. However, if you ASK me for a critique then I will point out things that I would have done differently if I had written it and why, assuming I have time to read the suggested story. I'm not saying it's necessarily better, just my opinion that I'm expressing. And I ALWAYS sign any review I write.

If you've read something of mine and like it, feel free to give a little feedback. I can tell from the stats that they have been looked at, but there's no way to tell if anyone likes it unless you give a short shout out like a review; I'll gladly take a favorite if you don't want to write anything. Even a micro "I enjoyed it" is great; I appreciate that as much (or maybe even more) than a 14 page breakdown of the story itself. If I get somesome wrong like the spelling of a character or the name of a town please let me know so I can fix it. More than once I've managed to get an existing character's name wrong.

Requests: I never even considered this possibility until I got my first request about 20 stories into my postings. I might consider a request if it is for a relatively short story, provided I've seen the movie or TV show or read the book and an idea comes to mind OR your idea is something that fits into my 'style'. (For instance, I'm not going to do a horror story.) Don't get your hopes up unrealistically; if it's for something fairly recent I'm far less likely to have seen it. But if a request is made I will at least consider it instead of dismissing the idea outright. I occasionally do more than one story per category, but I'm more likely to move on to something I haven't covered yet. I've written four so far. Requested stories are: A Life Once Lived (The Fountain), Grandmas Always Know (Twilight Zone), The Thing's the Play (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure), Shanti-ly Lace (Jungle Book).

Posting: I plan on posting something every Saturday as long as I have material. If I haven't posted anything for several weeks it means 1) I'm dead 2) I've got no internet (about the same as #1) 3) It's the hermit life for me 4) My ideas have been wrung out like a sponge 5) I'm working on a reeeaaallly long story or 6) I simply don't have time to write what I want. In the case of #4 I'll probably finally take the time to read some stories on here instead of just writing them. In any case, if it's a planned sabbatical from writing I'll put it in the update section. Speaking of the update section...

UPDATES

09-04-19

Previous posting: Verily I Searched from Overboard (1987).

Most Recent Posting: Avoid that Left Turn at Albuquerque from Bugs Bunny.

Ready to Post:

Hide and Kill from The Pink Panther movie series.

Intermission from Strange Brew (1983).

Baffled Indeed from Baffled! (1973).

Junk in the Trunk from The 'Burbs (1989).

Everybody Works on Monday from Dave (1993).

Chanson pour le Monde from Apprentice Adept series (Piers Anthony).

What Wolf from An American Werewolf in London (1981).

Tuff Enuff from Bloodsport (1988).

Pong Lessons from Pong (drabble series).

Abide in Love from Young Sherlock Holmes (1985).

Vitriol from Stalag 17.

New Account from Crazy People (1990) and This is Spinal Tap (1984) crossover.

Vance Was the Name from The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000).

existing story chapter update

Quid Pro Quo from Wings.

Late-Breaking News from Rocket Gilbratar (1988).

Bricklaying for Dummies from Dirty Work (1933).

Original Episode from The Truman Show (1998).

Char-less' Web of Terror from Charlotte's Web (1973). (Halloween special)

Drop in the Bucket from Home for the Holidays (1995). (Thanksgiving special)

Idea stage whatever: I always have a list of some vague ideas written down for consideration, but nothing beyond a brief sentence description at most. Sometimes I just have the name of the show written down because I want to write a story but an idea hasn't popped up yet.

I do have an idea for a series where I watch the pilot of a show I've never seen and write whatever comes into my head but I don't know if I'll ever roll it out or not.