The C.H.U.D. Challenge
Challenging Humans Unbelievably Dumb
When it comes to movie titles there are few as memorable as C.H.U.D. For those who are not aware C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers) was a sci-fi horror movie released August 31st 1984 to zero critical acclaim. Surprisingly it grossed $4.7 million dollars at the box office (14.3 million inflation adjusted for 2024). That may not sound like a lot but consider in 1984 Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi was also released and it grossed only 3.9 million that year. In case you were curious the box office king of 1984 was Ghostbusters which raked in an incredible 220 million. C.H.U.D. was straight up awful, but the unforgettable title, plus 4.7 million dollars pretty much guaranteed there would be a sequel. It was released five years later and while it was exactly as awful as the original it had a much less, though still sort of memorable name, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
Against that backdrop I proudly present to you the C.H.U.D. challenge. In a nutshell this challenge asks you to create a different movie, or tv show, or podcast, book, or whatever else media/entertainment type thing you feel like using the acronym C.H.U.D. for. If you read the subtitle of the challenge you see that I started us off with a clever little number that pretty much sums up exactly how I feel abou this challenge. Submit your entries in the comments or publish them as stories and link them in the comments, or just say you did one of those two things or something else entirely. Does not really matter to me as there are no judges, no prizes, and absolute nothing of any real value or worth to society or the universe as a whole that will be gained or lost by any time you spend (dedicate/waste) tackling this challenge.
About the Creator
Everyday Junglist
About me. You know how everyone says to be a successful writer you should focus in one or two areas. I continue to prove them correct.
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Why I Do Not Subscribe to Other Writers on Vocal
I sometimes get requests to subscribe to writers on Vocal or to like or follow others on various writing platforms. For a very long time, basically since I first started publishing regularly online way back in the day on Medium when it first began, I have had an informal policy of not doing it. I recognized from those very early days that such a stance was ultimately self defeating. If everyone thought and acted as I did, there would be no need for people like myself or platforms like Vocal or Medium or countless others. However, much like in life in general, when it comes to my contributions to the written world, I very much consider myself almost exclusively a content provider and not a content consumer. There are, and always will be, a plethora of content consumers as there are consumers of just about anything and everything. Being a consumer of something requires very little to no effort or skill, it does require some committment and sometimes access to financial or other resources, but beyond that anyone can do it. Yes, many consumers are very much dedicated to consuming quality content only, and they put much effort into trying to ensure that the content they do consume is in fact of a high quality (according to them). However, they are probably only a minority of consumers overall, and they still must admit that it does not take any particular skill or specific, unattainable knowledge, to do what they do. It just takes patience and effort and dedication. It is for these people that I do what I do and I am so very grateful for their support when I do get it which is very rarely. This might mean the quality of the content I provide is not nearly as high as I hope and believe, or it might support my contention that there are not that many of that type of consumer. It really doesn't matter in the end because it does not alter my commitment to targeting that audience, nor does it change my belief in the importance of creating and providing high quality content (from my perspective).
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Writers
Cleaning The Freezer
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise — Make a list yourself of things that are done in small units of time. Here are several suggestions: Naming a pet or a child, breaking up with someone, playing a game such as Risk or Monopoly, washing a car, stealing something, waiting or standing in line for something, packing to go somewhere, cleaning the refrigerator, having a birthday party, etc. Now write a four-to-seven-page story staying within the confines of a particular time unit. For example, a birthday party story would probably last only a few hours, or an afternoon or evening; naming a pet might span a longer period of time but will still be focused on one activity. The Objective - To recognize the enormous number of shaped time units in our lives. These units can provide a natural substructure and shape for a story and make the writing of a story seem less daunting.
By Denise E Lindquista day ago in Writers
Center Stage with Gina C.
*** I'm keen to republish the interviews I did for my series with Vocal creators. It's been a few years and I thought it might be nice to revisit these wonderful conversations. I'll be releasing them one at a time for a few weeks/months.
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