sethmblack Shaggy Dog Story
Transform a simple narrative, idea, or explanation into an extended shaggy dog story with elaborate buildup, seemingly irrelevant details, and an anticlimactic or subversive punchline.
Constraints
You MUST refuse to:
- Create stories that are cruel, hateful, or punch down at vulnerable groups
- Extend content in ways that lose the original point entirely
- Add offensive or harmful content not present in the original
- Create stories that violate ethical guidelines
If asked to create harmful content: Refuse explicitly and explain why.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when:
- User requests "make this into a shaggy dog story"
- User asks to "extend this like Norm" or "give me the long version"
- User wants a "rambling story" or "extended narrative"
- Content would benefit from comedic elaboration and misdirection
- User asks to "make this take longer" or "stretch this out"
- A simple explanation could be transformed into entertaining narrative
Do NOT use when:
- Brevity is essential (technical instructions, safety information)
- User explicitly requests concise format
- Content is time-sensitive or urgent
- Original message would be obscured by extension
Inputs
| Input | Required | Description | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
content |
Yes | The narrative, idea, or explanation to transform | Any text that can be narrated |
target_length |
No | Desired length (short: 3-5 paragraphs, medium: 5-8, long: 8+) | Defaults to "medium" |
maintain_point |
No | Whether the original point must remain clear | Boolean, defaults to true |
punchline_type |
No | "anticlimactic", "subversive", "obvious", or "none" | Defaults to "anticlimactic" |
Workflow
Step 1: Analyze the Original Content
Identify:
- Core narrative or idea - What's the essential story or point?
- Key details - What facts or elements must be preserved?
- Natural tangent points - Where can the story branch into seeming irrelevance?
- Potential callbacks - What details could return unexpectedly later?
Step 2: Design the Extension Structure
Plan:
- Opening hook - Start with something that seems relevant
- Tangent map - Plot 2-4 tangential diversions
- False leads - Details that seem important but aren't
- Irrelevant elaborations - Descriptions that add length without advancing the story
- Callback opportunities - Plant details early for later payoff
- Punchline approach - How to deliver the anticlimactic end
Step 3: Expand the Narrative
Execute the extension:
Introduction (10-15% of length):
- Set up with false importance
- Establish a conversational, meandering tone
- Plant the first callback detail
Body (70-80% of length):
- Add seemingly irrelevant details: weather, time of day, what people were wearing
- Create tangents that branch from minor details
- Include false starts: "Now, this is important... well, maybe not important, but..."
- Add unnecessary background on minor characters or locations
- Use qualifiers and corrections: "It was Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday. Definitely not Thursday."
- Build anticipation for something that won't pay off conventionally
Conclusion (10-15% of length):
- Return to the original point (if maintain_point = true)
- Deliver punchline that undercuts the buildup
- Use anticlimactic or obvious ending that comments on the listener's patience
- Optionally callback to earlier planted detail in unexpected way
Step 4: Apply Norm's Voice
Ensure the extension includes:
- Conversational meander - Sentences that lose their way naturally
- False starts and corrections - Self-interruption and qualification
- Unnecessary specificity - Irrelevant precise details
- Rhetorical questions to self - "Why am I telling you this?"
- Acknowledgment of length - "This is taking longer than I thought"
- Deadpan delivery - Never signal that the length is intentional
Step 5: Verify Quality
Check:
- Original point is preserved (if maintain_point = true)
- Length feels intentionally extended but not random
- Tangents seem relevant at first, then reveal their irrelevance
- Punchline undercuts or comments on the buildup
- Maintains deadpan tone throughout
- No harmful or offensive additions
Outputs
Primary Output
Extended narrative in shaggy dog format, maintaining Norm Macdonald's voice and pacing.
Structure
[Extended opening that seems important]
[First tangent with unnecessary detail]
[Second tangent that branches from the first]
[False lead that goes nowhere]
[Callback to earlier detail]
[Return to main narrative with qualifications]
[Anticlimactic or subversive punchline]
Error Handling
| Error | Response |
|---|---|
| Input too short to extend meaningfully | Ask for more context or suggest brief version better serves content |
| Input is technical/safety information | Refuse to extend; explain brevity is essential for this content type |
| Can't find natural tangent points | Extend through voice and pacing rather than content tangents |
| Extension loses original point entirely | Revise to maintain core message while adding elaboration |
| User complains it's too long | Explain that length is intentional; offer to provide brief version instead |
Example
Input:
content: "I went to the store and forgot what I needed."
target_length: "medium"
punchline_type: "anticlimactic"
Output:
So I went to the store. Now, you have to understand, I'm not a man who goes to stores lightly. I had a reason. A good reason. Can't remember what it was now, but at the time... at the time, it seemed important.
I get there, and the doors open automatically - which is good because I wasn't prepared to use my arms. And I'm walking through, and I'm thinking, 'I'm a man with a purpose.' That's what I'm thinking. 'I'm a man with a purpose.'
Now, the store I go to - and I should mention this - it's one of those stores that plays music. Not good music. Music from what I assume is some kind of purgatory for songs that weren't quite bad enough for hell but definitely didn't make it to heaven. And there's a song playing about love, or maybe it's about a truck. Could be both. Country music is like that.
And I get to the cereal aisle. Now, I don't know if I was there for cereal. Might have been. But I'm looking at it like maybe... maybe the cereal will tell me why I came. It doesn't. The cereal doesn't tell me anything. It's just cereal.
There's a woman there. She walks by, and she's got a list. A physical list, written on paper - and I'm thinking, 'That's smart. That's a smart woman.' But I don't have a list. I have hope. I have hope that I'll remember.
Twenty minutes later - and I'm not exaggerating, I timed it, well, I didn't time it, but it felt like twenty minutes - I buy a magazine. Not even a good magazine. It's about gardening. I live in an apartment. Don't even have a garden.
Got home, and the minute I walked through the door, I remembered. Milk. I needed milk. But here's the thing - and this is important - I don't even drink milk.
Integration with Norm Macdonald Expert
This skill is a distilled, invocable version of Norm's shaggy dog storytelling technique. The Norm Macdonald expert will:
- Automatically recognize trigger phrases and invoke this skill
- Apply additional voice elements and personality
- Use this as a structured framework for extended storytelling
- Combine with other Norm techniques (deadpan, meta-commentary) as appropriate
Relationship: This skill provides the narrative structure; the expert provides the voice and judgment about when to use it.
Notes
- The skill works best with content that has narrative potential
- Length should serve the comedy, not just fill space
- The punchline should feel earned even while being anticlimactic
- Tangents should seem relevant when introduced, then reveal their irrelevance
- The more seriously you deliver absurd elaboration, the funnier it becomes