Mysterious Man - [Collaboration]

Voice.club
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Hello everyone - we’re excited to announce our first collaborative writing event! Let your imagination soar as you write together, inspired by the picture and the prompt “Mysterious Man”.

Several of you have already started writing! Thanks to @LindaRock for submitting the first entry snippet to kick it off. The story is starting to take shape now. We look forward to more of you adding your unique slant.

@MelissaTaggart - you may enjoy the references that refer to another time.

@Christer - you might work your dialogue magic!

@MargaridaBrei - we look forward to your fine attention to detail and your eagle eye!

@CarrieOLeary - come join our first collab. We’ve missed your wonderful humor.

@Lotchie - we always enjoy everything you write.

@Regina - your many years of writing experience can add so much to our story!

You can find more details here:

As you become more familiar with the new collab format, you can discuss “Mysterious Man” with each other here on this topic thread as the story grows. Before the countdown ends and while the story is still open, and in progress, this Discourse topic is the place to exchange feedback and suggestions, or brainstorm about direction of the story.

You can also leave questions, comments or feedback for the Voice Team here on this topic thread.

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@Lotchie - We received your new collab entry snippet - great work! It looks like you accidentally added the same snippet twice. Question - did you run into issues or bugs that caused the snippet to be entered twice?

We assume that this was unintentional so we deleted the duplicate. Please review your most recent new collab entry and let us know if it is correct.

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I am sorry for having a duplicate entry. It was due to a poor internet connection. And thank you so much for correcting my words. I love it.

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I love this! Years ago, I met weekly with a group of writers who did “round robin” writing. We started a story, then passed the paper and pencil around the table and each person added a sentence or two to the story. This reminds me of that wonderful experience.

Looks like we’re almost up to 350 words. Does anyone know the exact word count?

I guess it’s time for us to all work together to come up with a great ending that ties up some of the loose threads of the story! That’s quite a challenge …

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Voice.club - Fiction - Mysterious Man - a Voice Club collaboration
Final Version - [2024.07.13]

[This story was written by Linda Rock, Julie Harris, Susan Giles, Chris, Lotchie, Carrie O’Leary, and Margarida Brei as our first Voice Club collaboration.]

https://Voice.club - A thick blanket of fog obscured the approaching figure in the coal-black cloak. It was the click-clacking of his black button boots against cobbled stones that announced his arrival.

I’d heard about him all my life - who hadn’t? The dark-haired man with the featureless face, always enveloped in fog and mist, even on the brightest night. Each evening for the past month he had stood, voiceless, waiting for . . . for what? As I continued to gaze, something new about the scene caught my attention.

A soft sound of beautiful jazz trumpet penetrated the mist, revealing a fearless street musician leaning into a lamp-post, bowing reverently to the mysterious man as he slowly passed by.

From my window, I watched as the man replaced his hat with a black hood. His motive remained hidden, even in his enigmatic smile. His thoughts were impossible to guess.

“Beware the mysterious man. He’s dangerous,” Mother had always warned me. But each time he appeared, I felt safe and somehow special. Protected. He couldn’t possibly harm me.

Huddled together on the steps of the workhouse, a group of old women viewed the stranger suspiciously, searching his face for any sign of compassion. One woman spat at his feet as he passed, another made the sign of the devil, averting her eyes in case he looked into her soul.

Why do the old women despise him? Why does the jazz player revere him? Why do I long to be close to him? Who is this man?

Chaos crashed through my mind as the mysterious man stared at me, commanding, “Minion, you are mine!” Mother had been right. And yet … his eyes told a different story. What if his words had not been hurled at me, but were instead a scream torn from his own searing memories?

Slowly backing away, I realised I was right. His tormented gaze was not focused on me but on the bleak, prison-like workhouse itself. What terror did it hold for him?

As he moved toward one particularly frail woman, his eternal fog dissolved into white light. “Come, Mother. It’s time,” he whispered tenderly. “Let’s go home.”

Thanks to our wonderful writers - @LindaRock @JulieRHarris @SusanGiles @Chris @Lotchie @CarrieOLeary @MargaridaBrei

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Really enjoyed the ending. It was much better than the ones that were rolling around in my mind. I enjoy being a part of such a creative community. Looking forward to the next Collab!

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A perfect ending! Loved being part of the collaboration, it really fires up the imagination. Looking forward to the next!

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I agree, @SusanGiles I also had an ending in mind, but I liked this one better! What a unique group, and what a great story for our first Collab.

I especially appreciated the snippets from @LindaRock She started the story with a few carefully selected words - “click-clacking”, “coal black cloak” “black button boots” - that not only set the tone and the period of time, but also were rhythmic and full of very effective alliteration. The jazz player portrayed by @Chris also helped set the mood and time period, especially the “leaning into a lamp-post”. I could almost imagine the gas street lights.

I really enjoyed the addition made by @Lotchie Exchanging the hat for a black hood sent shivers down my spine! The introduction of the workhouse by @LindaRock toward the end was brilliant, and the portrayal of the old women by @CarrieOLeary was incredibly descriptive.

The turning point for me were the words spat out in the snippet by @MargaridaBrei What a moment!

Amazing how the ending finally tied all the seemingly unrelated fragments together. What a team!

I was also impressed by the AI voice that read the story. “Her” expression and emotion really conveyed the undertones of the story.

Great job, everyone!

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Being part of this site and collaborating with all the wonderful and great writers is really a blessing. Thank you all. And congratulations to all of us for a great job.