Yes, in the first sci-fi story, I had a nice character introduced, all ready to be fleshed out, and she got killed off in the next post. It’s kind of fun to react to how others think the story should go.
Well, so much for what I wrote! 
But hey, with a little tailoring I can use the character I made and still get some use out of it.
BTW, good post Lute! I think I have an idea what this Bruiser looks like.
And thanks for the links!
I was so busy finding sources for period slang that I had neglected to completely read the OP. Let’s say Joe’s fuzzy mouth wasn’t rectified by the first sip of water.
That was always one of my favorite parts too. And it wasn’t just killing. I think it was in the second western I was all ready to treat one character as the stereotypical “Hooker with a heart of gold” when someone had her put a knife to a baby’s throat. 
So much for that idea, and it actually worked out better than my old cliche idea.
Why, who would ever do a thing like that? * :bats eyes innocently:*
We’re off to a good start - thanks for the posts so far. Hope everyone likes the SDMB naming in-jokes. I made another in-joke (from another genre entirely) in the OP. Anyone figure it out?
The law firm references Agatha Christie?
Sounds like the guy lives in his office. But why would the secretary come in on a Sunday morning?
Possibly making sure her mealticket, such as it is, hasn’t finally drank himself to death. Or something.
I envision him having a ratty apartment somewhere. And the secretary worried about him when she didn’t find him there… to take him to church? I dunno. Just a thought.
Nope.
It’s the Depression. He works half-days on Sundays, and his secretary needs all the hours she can get.
I believe the 5 day work week came around after WW2?
In those older threads, a lot of us communicated via e-mail about major things like that. For instance, in the first sci-fi thread, I had Baker’s (the OP) okay for the climatic fight scene and the later denoument.
The control thread idea came to me because I thought it would be better for everyone to see the behind the scenes discussions, instead of just a cliquish few. The continuing interest in these types of threads seems to have positively proved that point.
Again, thanks to Ivylass for introducing to the Dope this genre of story threads.
Baker, why should we ignore your post #6 in the story thread, as you suggest in the last italicized sentence? Seems OK to me.
It conflicts with the one that proceeds it. After I got it written I didn’t preview and another poster had beat me by about twenty minutes. Guess I didn’t think they could be reconciled.
…aaaaaand nice recovery, Lunar Saltlick. We’re back in bidness. Looks like Maynard’s borderline alcoholism might excuse a number of continuity glitches.
Heh heh heh…have fun with that post, guys!
Half the fun of these things is setting up the pitch with no idea how the batter is going to swing. No, in case you were wondering, I don’t know what is written on the back of the business card, or why it would bother Linda and Maynard so much. Enjoy stretching your imaginations.
I would also like to point out in the first Western thread, I had Belle tell someone her beloved Jesse was dead.
Shortly after that, a poster wrote that Jesse, beaten into an inch of his life, had escaped his captors. I admit I squeed a bit on that one.
In case anyone is interested in the very first “Finish” story, here’s the Western that** ivylass** mentioned. We didn’t do control threads then, so comments are scattered into it.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=174740&highlight=Finish+Western
Sorry I screwed up on the HMS. I tried to fix it this morning. But go ahead and drop that story line if you want.
My only contribution; is the James Thompson named after the pulp author Jim Thompson?