Hey again, Pattycakes!
You have no idea how happy this story makes me. XD I've been giving gleeful practice speeches in its honor. Your main character is definitely coming along, and in this section, you did amazingly with working in the debate terms into the story without being too obtrusive.
The one thing that you have to remember when you're writing comedy is that the humor shouldn't come only from your main character, but from how his world affects him. If it banks on only him making snarky comments, then you should write a standup routine and not a story. The great thing about fiction is that you can experiment with those "wild cards"--what kinds of wacky situations can he get stuck in? How do crazy people wreak havoc on his life?
A few ideas for the "background" things:
- Race. I just came to the strange realization that, in my 98% white school, our extemp team is 75% foreign (2 Chinese, 2 Indian, 1 Pakistani, 1 Persian). Speech and debate is a great melting pot (or cess pool, depending how much of a Neo-Nazi you are) of people, that it really kind of puts together--in a microcosm--the state of race relations in the US in one small group of kids.
- Elitism. Your main character notes that this takes place on a college campus--how cutthroat are the students in order to get in? The lengths people will go to to get into college (and get into college cheap) are intense, especially amongst a group of people who have similar test scores and ambitions.
- Outsiders vs. insiders. How do people who aren't in debate react to people who are? During the height of competition, it tends to get a little cultish. Bring on the team spirit and let the outsider eyebrows rise.
- Adults vs. Students. Who acts more like their title description? In debate, it's usually the other way around--and then there are those weird moments of inspired silliness that make it fun.
^_^ Thanks for PMing me. You know where to find me if you have any questions or have the next bit up.
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