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Wednesday, May. 1, 2024

2:35am EDT

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Toe in the Water

by Beholden

Rated: 13+ · Book · Experience · #2223922

A tentative blog to test the temperature.

Ten years ago I was writing several blogs on various subjects - F1 motor racing, Music, Classic Cars, Great Romances and, most crushingly, a personal journal that included my thoughts on America, memories of England and Africa, opinion, humour, writing and anything else that occurred. It all became too much (I was attempting to update the journal every day) and I collapsed, exhausted and thoroughly disillusioned in the end.

So this blog is indeed a Toe in the Water, a place to document my thoughts in and on WdC but with a determination not to get sucked into the blog whirlpool ever again. Here's hoping.

Signature for those who are nominated for a Quill Award in 2021

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 25, 2024 at 7:55pm
In response to "Cliché"

Agreed! I hope everyone congratulated whoever came up with that idea for the episode!

1 Like

Beholden

Apr 25, 2024 at 7:35pm
In response to "Cliché"

Thank you for your kind thoughts, Schnujo. I remember that episode of Star Trek! It was really cool - and hard to get one's head around the idea of talking like that. But it did sound quite poetic. What was it ? Something like in the far land of Angevin, Mortello meets the grivensor. And so on. Brilliant!

1 Like

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 25, 2024 at 7:03pm
In response to "Cliché"

I love how you look at cliches! Good for you! I agree that they have their place and can be used, so long as we are aware of what we are doing and are specifically using them with the knowledge and understanding that they are cliches.

This entry reminds me of an episode of Star Trek (The Next Generation, I think it was) where they were trying to learn to communicate with a new species. If I recall, they could understand the words (through a translator), but not the meaning until they hit upon the idea that they were speaking in local cultural context, basically using cliches.

I've always remembered that episode and thought that was a fun idea.

BTW, you are a REALLY impressive poet! I don't think I knew that. That's a pretty fabulous poem! Well done!!

Thank you for sharing your own ideas on cliches!

intuey of House Lannister

Apr 23, 2024 at 6:48am
In response to "Review, Anyone?"

Quite good is quite a good compliment

1 Like

Beholden

Apr 23, 2024 at 6:10am
In response to "Review, Anyone?"

Ah, now you're asking, Intuey. The truth is that Paddy McGinty's Ghost started out as a sort of misheard version of the song, Paddy McGinty's Goat. I liked the error and decided it could be the basis of a decent story to meet the requirements on a contest that was running in celebration of Ireland. I started with only a title and a picture prompt to go on and just followed the trail from there.

Like most of the stories I write in that way, I wasn't that impressed with it at first. But I liked it better on reading it much later, so I guess you could say it's about middling in my affections now. "Quite good" would be a good way to describe it.

1 Like

Beholden

Apr 23, 2024 at 6:01am
In response to "Music to My Ears"

As my father would say when asked how he knew something, a little bird told me. No, I have no idea where that comes from - it's probably a quote from an obscure movie.

And that is certainly eclectic taste in music. Even more than mine, I think.

1 Like

intuey of House Lannister

Apr 23, 2024 at 5:55am
In response to "Review, Anyone?"

As someone who just reviewed an item in your port, I can't help but wonder, Did I pick an item that you'd throw out? I hope not. I thought it was quite good.

intuey of House Lannister

Apr 23, 2024 at 5:49am
In response to "Music to My Ears"

Since you asked, yes, my music taste are eclectic. How did you know?

That is if liking everything from a bit of hard rock, classic rock to Bette Midler, Cher, Elton John, the Beatles, Seager, Classical, jazz, the blues, etc... is considered eclectic.

1 Like

Ned

Apr 23, 2024 at 5:37am
In response to "Music to My Ears"

1. Because everyone wants to be interesting. Also, it's safer to like everything because people are always looking for a fight these days.

2. To find out if the other person is eclectic enough and if not, we can fight them.

1 Like

Beholden

Apr 19, 2024 at 5:34am
In response to "Tomorrow Today"

No aspersions were intended to be cast at all by this post, least of all on you, Kiya. The thought is not new and is expressed in most religions as the fallen nature of man (to use the Christian way of putting it). It's just that I read the question being asked somewhere yesterday and it sparked that response in me when I asked it of myself. My answer was indeed, "Sorry, I don't have a clue."

It is kind of you to say the post is well articulated and I hope you're right. But as for being a sir, mea non culpa, fortunately.

1 Like

July 26, 2020 at 1:52pm

#989192

Prompts and All That

Prompts and All That

I had a thought and it’s my thought so it makes no claim to infallibility. But it just might be true and is certainly worth thinking about. This comes from over a year’s participating in contests and a sudden realisation of what’s wrong with prompts. If I may phrase it succinctly:

The longer the prompt, the less scope for imagination.

The best prompt of all is the one-worder for it invites a multitude of interpretations and has no hope of restricting a contestant to a particular path. As words get added, the boundaries march inward until, eventually, the contestants are forced into the position of merely putting the finishing touches to a piece that the contest owner wants to see. Those, I never write for, considering that, if it’s that important that the piece be written, the prompt originator should write it themself.

I have a strong belief that this is what decreases the number of entrants and, ultimately, leads to the demise of the contest. It is possibly a factor, at least.

Give me one or two words to play with and I’m happy to set them free into the fields of my imagination. But tell me the story and then ask me to end it and I’ll look elsewhere. You might disagree - so tell me and show me where I’m wrong.

Word Count: 223

4 Like • Comment • View 3 comments

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