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 |  Hodgepodge of things. Contest entries, short stories, scenes, my newsletters and other ... |
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This book is a catchall for all those things that would make my portfolio unmanageable if I had them each in a separate item. I'm keeping short stories and contest entries, scenes and newsletters, notes and random stuff in here. If you were tagged in this item: I write all of my newsletters for Writing.Com here first. Until those newsletters are published, they are set to PRIVATE. So, you might be tagged in an invisible/unaccessible item. Don't worry. It's nothing inappropriate. You will see it in the official Writing.Com newsletter on its release day. |
| Pedro and Juan inspected the grain. "It's just not the same anymore since they engineered it genetically. They said it would be drought resistant. It's not." "I know. But what can we do, now that over 90% of all grain in the world has been modified? It will take us generations to reverse the process." "Yep, I know. Until we all grow three ears and cleft lips from having tampered with nature too much." The two farmers got on their horses and overlooked the land. As far as the eye could see, not a house in the way, no road cutting through, yet no nature. All their eyes could see were genetically modified organisms. |
| "So, who cares if your great-great-great-great grandfather was eaten by Captain Blight. I'm still not going fishing with you. If your ancestor being eaten by shipwrecked sailors proves anything, than only that flying with you is perilous." "He was your ancestor too." "Yes, but I don't go bragging about it." "Just come fishing with me this one time. You'll see how much fun you can have with me." "OK, just this one time." The two boobies took flight over the ocean. They dove in, the air cushions in their faces taking the brunt of the impact. Under water they fell right into a school of fish. Their beaks heavily laden with fish they came back up. "Told you that fishing with me is successful." "You did. I'm going to sit in my nest, come on by when your feathers have dried." |
Vivian  Sometimes the naysayers are just wrong. I'll admit my story doesn't match yours, but my husband I met November 9, 1961 and were married February 18, 1962. People told us the marriage wouldn't last six months, but we're still together over 48 years later. ~Viv~Mark  Congrats on your personal miracle; your love, life and family. It is an inspiration, as well as an amazing truth that defies logical belief.fyn  Got to love a great story that shouldn't have worked, was against the odds and still, despite anything and everything worked! Got one of those myself. I remember submitting a 'creative nonfiction story in college where I'd written about one of my adventures. The prof said no one would believe it--too strange--to many things just had to work and in real life they wouldn't--couldn't. Ah but they did, I replied. He still failed the paper as 'unbelievable.' Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction! lol. Congrats on a love-ly story! Grace Great newsletter! Real life really can be better than fiction and your story proves that true love exists outside of romance novels. I love it!  Incurable Romantic Giselle, your true life story of how you met your husband was a wonderful, well-told read, and I thank you for it, and for having the courage to post it. My story is somewhat similar to yours in the speed of the initial meeting of my late wife and I in high school. It took us 4 weeks to find the courage to confess our love. Like you and your husband, Linda was 16, I was 17. I think now you can see a little bit of the similarity I mentioned. The biggest difference that adds a wonderful element to yours, is the transcontinental part of the story. Linda and I had 11 1/2 wonderful years of marriage in our 14 year relationship before she passed away. Thank you again for sharing your story. It really made me feel good to find out that there are actually others whose relationships moved that rapidly and yet were very successful, as ours was. Congratulations to you and your husband on the success of your relationship. Coolhand I love when editors share their personal experiences. Your long-distance, unlikely love connection was quite a story. Now, I can see why you love romance. Great newsletter. StephBee - House Targaryen  I love stories like this. It shows that romance and love is very much alive in today's times. Thanks so much for sharing yours. Enclosed is a link to my story.*smiles* Steph "How I met my Husband"  sarahreed That has to be one of the sweetest romantic stories I've ever read! Thank you for sharing. It's great to see that the impossible is possible, especially when love is involved. The rhapsodic dreamer if this is true, i'm very happy for you. This is very romantic and gives me a hope that this type of incidients can happen in real life.Susanne I think that your story is great, and not very differrent from my own. I meet my husband to be in Thailand. I am Swedish, was living in London and was travelling for 2 months in Asia. He is Danish and was on a two week holdiay. We were in the same diving class. I then went back to London, he to Copenhagen but he had decided, just like your husband, that I was the one. It took a few trips and may telephone calls but 6 months later we deceided to give it a try. We commuted for two years then finally moved in together in Brussels, Belgium. We have been together now for 12 years and have 2 beautiful boys. I believe that real love crosses all distances and borders. Maybe long distance love knows it has to try harder and will always keep trying harder./Susanne in Sweden LJPC - the tortoise OMG, Giselle, the tale of your own romance with your husband was by far the best romance I've read recently! I probably wouldn't have believed it if it were fiction. Congrats to you for twelve years!  -- Laura sybaritescriobe Fabulous story, my friend. And thank you for highlighting my contest, "Paradise Cove Writing Challenge-On Hold" .  |
I am Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT  , your editor for this comedy newsletter. Traveling Traveling is a great way to see and experience new things. It also holds a good amount of potential for comedy. I honestly hope that everybody gets to travel at least once a year with friends, family, or, better yet, first time campers. Laurel and Hardy couldn't invent the amount of silly things that can happen on poorly prepared trips into the great outdoors. Every step needs proper attention. It begins with choosing the place to go to and knowing the weather that will be there. While that sounds as simple as a quick internet search, nothing compares to spending a night in warm weather equipment when Jack Frost is powdering the world in white. If you have read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," you will know never to leave your home without a towel. It comes in handy for a wide variety of purposes. Mainly for drying off after a shower. Don't just write a packing list. Read and follow it too. When traveling with kids, be advised that at least one will fall into a lake fully clothed. It's a law of nature. Absolutely amazing animals can be seen while camping. Watching animals in their natural habitat compares to nothing that can be seen on TV. The groundhogs in the campground had figured out that humans are quickly trained protectors from hawks. We got to witness a couple of groundhogs digging up from the ground right next to us and peacefully go about harvesting the grass into their burrow, with the whole human family standing watch and keeping the circling hawk away. A fact of camping life is that all spaces are being shared with wild life. The picnic table top is not safe from fox droppings, as we found out in the morning. Good the next table over was free. Frogs like wet habitats. The shower drain is such a place. Have fun with the selection of short stories, a mad-lib, and an image about camping and traveling. A little something about taking a road trip and not being prepared for it.
So, what is it really like coming home from vacation?
Travel prepared!
I can see strange trees.
As you travel, remember to enjoy the traveling part.
A dear friend says that just about anything can be fun as long as it has a spaceship. Even traveling to New York.
A first camping trip.
Have fun with this animal/comedy/travel mad-lib.
Nobody said traveling was safe for your life. Or for a monkey's life anyways.
KSutton working on 6th book  says: This is the story of how our lives became entwined with a unique individual. Our little Jack Russell Terrier, Penny.
Last time I wrote the Comedy Newsletter, I highlighted items that have squirrels in it. This was the comment I got. THANKFUL SONALI 17 WDC YEARS!  Ha ha! HOW did you come across that silly squirrel poem I wrote two years ago?  AND - don't forget our very own resident squirrel darkinI didn't forget about our resident squirrel, I figured everybody knows the Squirrel of Doom.  How can anybody miss her? That reminds me that we have a whole wolfpack! Even one that howls into the blue nightsky now. Congrats to our resident wolf Lonewolf  on the fitting blue background. |
| This was my Author Spotlight book/Blog item. Group Task: The group is to come up with a song. The title of the song is "My Crazy AS Group". Write a song using all the names of the people in your group. You can use the handle name or the real person's name, but not both. Each member will write a few lines and it is up to the Group Leader to put them together and present the song. You can create a private forum to create the item. Post the song in its entirety in the main AS forum on the final day with the post title being "Group __ Song". D1T1: Write an essay on what life for you would have been like had there been no Writing.com in less than 500 words. Put a word count at the bottom. This is essential. D1T2: Write a poem not exceeding 20 lines (minimum 14 lines) which is inspired by the nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Either the theme or the format or both should be related to the present poem. D2T1: Write a mystery story about you getting lost on Mars while on a reconnaissance mission. Keep the story over 300 words and under 1000 words. Accuracy of space-related terms and topography of Mars will fetch more points. The rest can be imagination! D2T2: Interview any two senior moderators (violet cases) with just five questions. The mail you send to them must be appended to the task so that we can see your communication skills (just copy the mail body and attach the name of the moderator to whom the mail is sent. We will allow you one extra day to submit this task as the senior moderators could be busy and take some time responding. The questions can be anything in nature, but not boring ones like "how is the weather where you live" or "what is your age/sex/location" stuff. The more creative the question, the more the senior moderators will enjoy answering them. However, no abuse or insult will be tolerated. Please be courteous and polite. D3T1: Write a story containing the six words listed below, and end this story with the phrase: "And that's where I stand in history." The words: concord, apple, squirrel, vermouth, tupperware, vase. The story should be a minimum of 500 words. Try and think out of the box while thinking up the uses of these words. Use the "underline" WritingML tool to highlight the six words. As all the six words are nouns, you would be hardpressed to conjugate the words in some other way, though I can think of "squirelled" and "concorded". D3T2: Write a funny article/monologue on the following topic: "You know you are addicted to Writing.com when ..." Use the title to create as many funny things you can think of that you have either done yourself or seen others do. For example, your spouse calls you to bed and you say "No darling, I've got a headache" as you are still enjoying WDC, your other "life-partner". Minimum 350 words. D4T1: Write a newspaper report about a political or environmental issue that occurs in a small town where you work for a sensational yellow-journalism type of paper. Your job is to exagerrate the event/s so that the paper will sell the next day! Try to make the readers of this task laugh, and if the judges do so, then you have hit the mark! We need a headline, a sub-headline, a fictitious journalist name, a newspaper name, a town name, a report and "editor's take" on the report. Minimum 300 words. Try to be as humorous as possible, but the writing style should be journalistic jargon. D4T2: Interview any three of your own group members. No questions related to personal or Writing.com issues. Anything else goes. You can even send questions and answers to each other. Only three questions per interviewee. The same questions cannot be asked to all the three friends. So, we need to see nine questions in all, with nine best possible answers. No humour here, please. We want this to be as sanguine and serious as possible. This is important. D5T1: Write a story for children aged 6-10. The setting should be on a beach or at an amusement park. It should feature children, fun, a little scary, and at least one adult and one animal, not an insect or an arachnid, but a mammal. No fantasy, no magic, and no adult themes. Rating under 13+. Minimum word count 500. Maximum 1000. D5T2: Review five of the following seven items and paste the reviews with the WritingML into your task with the bitem link of the item reviewed at the top of each pasted review. Keep reviews nice and helpful. Be creative, not kitschy. Suggest a few editing errors (if any). Don't let the review turn into an editing correction. Create a rating using the  WritingML below each pasted review so that we know what rating you gave them. Make each review public and add the following line at the bottom of each review using your own WritingML creativity: Review done as a task for "AUTHORS' SPOTLIGHT - Season 6" by 30DBC Creator/Founder .Items are: "The Nearness of You" by jblackgloves number 35. "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor "My Love" by Christina~Thanks StoryMaster "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor D6T1:Write an essay, not exceeding 750 words, on your writing journey through life. Tell us when you began to write, what you wrote, who were the teachers or mentors or relatives who guided you, who discouraged you, which authors' work stimulated you, inspired you to write, how you went about improving your work, and so on. D6T2: Write an impassioned account of the experience you got in this contest (Authors' Spotlight). Tell us what you gained, what you lost, in short, everything you can remember. Try and make the item light-hearted, honest, and heart-felt. Minimum word count ... oh, it does not matter. It can be a poem, a dialogue, a monologue, a story, an article, a news-item, or any darn thing you want. Just enjoy writing about it! Thanks. My activities:
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| Day 6 Task 2: Write an impassioned account of the experience you got in this contest (Authors' Spotlight). Tell us what you gained, what you lost, in short, everything you can remember. Try and make the item light-hearted, honest, and heart-felt. Minimum word count ... oh, it does not matter. It can be a poem, a dialogue, a monologue, a story, an article, a news-item, or any darn thing you want. Just enjoy writing about it! Thanks. My Authors’ Spotlight To be a part of this contest was great experience, as it made me go out of my comfort zone. The interviews with senior moderators, as well as my fellow group members added a level of involvement rarely seen in any contests. I learned about other people on a different level than I ever could by reading their work or even communicating via email. Random questions draw very interesting answers. For the creative writing parts, I don’t know how much will be appreciated. Some of the prompts weren’t the kind of things I would normally enter a contest for, so I was forced to go out of my wheelhouse quite a bit. Once I got past my initial frustration, I was able to write for the prompts and even like a couple of my stories. What I found hardest was the two tasks per day requirement and the reviews. Except for one item none of those poems would have been anything I would have normally commented on, and I’m afraid it shows. I did have a lot of fun, and to split the contestants into groups was a very good idea. It created some great moments in our private forum. Of course what little competition we had between the groups was minimal, it was more funny than truly competitive. This contest also showed me how hard it is, to keep at it for several days in a row. I did that once for the seven years’ anniversary of "The Writer's Cramp" by Sophy  , to write for each day’s prompt. And I also entered "15 for 15 Contest --- Closed" by Legerdemain  , which was a great challenge. I like those challenges, as they require quite a bit of discipline, which I don’t necessarily have. To be honest, I am happy it’s over. But not in a bad way. I feel accomplished that I was able to do this. I was on time with everything except for the reviews for day 5, which I thought were my least favorite task out of the twelve. Oh, and not to forget the song lyrics. My goodness. I was the last one to add to that song. That was hard. Really hard. Poetry, lyrics, all that isn’t in me. I love short stories. This Authors’ Spotlight Season 5 was a lot of fun. I might consider doing it again, if Dr. Taher lets me. 393 words without task description |
| Day 6 Task 1:Write an essay, not exceeding 750 words, on your writing journey through life. Tell us when you began to write, what you wrote, who were the teachers or mentors or relatives who guided you, who discouraged you, which authors' work stimulated you, inspired you to write, how you went about improving your work, and so on. I learned to write in first grade in France. I have no recollections of any creative writing assignments in that time, as the French school system was still kind of restrictive and very authoritarian at that time. I moved to Germany for second grade and was put in the class of Frau Reich. That was her real name. It’s not her fault, to have such a name in Germany. She was awesome. She taught me German from second to sixth grade and English from third to sixth grade. She is the one person who laid the foundation for the writing you see here. In third and fourth grade she had us write a lot of creative stories, using prompts. I remember one day, our prompt was to write about the journey of a coin. Now, I took some artist’s liberty and turned the coin into a five Deutsche Mark bill. I remember parts of this story to this day and I got a top grade for thinking outside the box. Frau Reich was always very proud of me, as she loved languages and I was talented at those. In middle school I had a teacher who thought he was the reincarnated Edgar Allan Poe. He wore his hair, mustache and even fashion like him! Again, a true fact. Unfortunately, he thought my twelve and thirteen year old brain would be able to process the madness that is E. A. Poe in all its glory. But I wasn’t able to cope with that lunatic’s imagination. Now don’t get me wrong, the man was a genius, but not to me. When I was a young teen, alcoholism and his other vices were completely incomprehensible to me. Wanna-be Edgar Allan Poe got me expelled from school for talking back one day, when I put the latest volume of twisted poetry down on his desk and told him in no uncertain terms that the stuff in those books sucks. I had a woman German teacher from half of eighth grade through tenth grade. She was cool, but I don’t have many memories about the things we learned. From eleventh through thirteenth grade (the norm in Germany) I had a teacher who hated me. He hated me since I arrived at that school in eighth grade and he had kept his grudge. (I wonder if he and E. A. Poe worshipper knew each other) To make a long story short, he failed me in German on my last exam, to try and keep me from graduating with a high school diploma. Not very encouraging. Around the time I was nineteen and twenty, I wrote some erotica. It was meant for me and nobody else. A boyfriend snooped, read it and told me it was awful. I didn’t try creative writing again until I moved to California in 2006 at 35. My husband, some friends and I played this role playing game “Shadow Run”. It’s a very low key game, in terms of what you need. There are rule books, to give a frame work and books to help spark adventures, but the players use dice, paper and pencil for notes. That’s it. Not electronics, gadgets, very relaxing in a world of fast paced video games. My husband was always the game master. One day he told me and the other guy we played with, to write back stories to our characters. It was meant to be one or two pages. I wrote seven pages. Then, I started thinking about my character and his world. I was also very depressed at the time and felt that life, child rearing, my marriage, all of it was futile. So I escaped into my hero’s world. I wrote a first book of about 200 pages. Then I wrote a second book of 400 pages. The third book was slimmer, maybe 100 pages. In May 2008 I found Writing.com, things changed. My horizon expanded beyond my own world. In the beginning I read and reviewed mostly. About six weeks ago, I returned to my roots. I write every day. Sometimes a flash fiction, a contest entry, or I polish an older piece. Reviews and feedback have helped me get better and grow a thicker skin to critique, as long as it stays polite. I still hate it when people tell me my work sucks, but it doesn’t stop me. Because on WDC, there are people who will extend a virtual hug and keep me writing, even if they don’t like my stuff. 750 words without task description |
| My group - it's a part of me I blend in so WordImperfect-ly I'll always be a part of the loop That's my crazy AS group My groups sings rather blithely; I sparkle with a flash of Jewel-erific integrity. Some feel we are a bit screwy; But truly, we are only batty. My group is filled with wonderful people the strangest of which might be Meeple. Together we have created a song; we're sure you'll want to sing along. In my group, I darken the day with lurking shadows and clouds of gray. In your heart, feel Darkskye's shade; know the Gee Spotlighters are never afraid! I'm one of them, the Gee Spotlighters! For six days, we had some fun. Octobersun makes dark days brighter. Creativity was free to run. |
| Day 5 Task 2: Review five of the following seven items and paste the reviews with the WritingML into your task with the bitem link of the item reviewed at the top of each pasted review. Keep reviews nice and helpful. Be creative, not kitschy. Suggest a few editing errors (if any). Don't let the review turn into an editing correction. Create a rating using the WritingML below each pasted review so that we know what rating you gave them. Make each review public and add the following line at the bottom of each review using your own WritingML creativity: Review done as a task for "AUTHORS' SPOTLIGHT - Season 6" by 30DBC Creator/Founder . Hallo, I am here to give you feedback for
This speaks of true love, as told of in the intro. Only somebody who's beyond temporary infatuation and has found that sweet spot of loving somebody day in day out, even on their off days can write such a beautiful tribute. As peotry goes, it's always a very personal style of writing. Your was \very free form, I guess. I don't know much about poetry technology and can't really comment on this aspect. But in this case I found it to be mostly a list of sweet things the writer feels and thinks about their love, without a discernable rhyme or rhythm to it. It put a smile on my face nonetheless. Rated for a fun read.Thanks and write on. ~~~***~~~***~~~ Hallo, I am here to give you feedback for
Without knowing any background of the writer, this reads like a protest against parents and society's norms in general. The poem has a clear message, which is being given with a poetic voice. I could not recognize any form or rhythm, but in free form, this doesn't matter. This poem focuses on the message and makes no excuses for anybody. It also addresses the topic of alcoholism and what it does to children and families. Rating Thanks for sharing, write on. ~~~***~~~***~~~ Hallo, I am here to give you feedback for
Wow, you've really given a very deep and precise description to your poem's style. Your poem speaks of your wonder at the creation of Earth in just seven days. An amazingly well writen testament to your faith and beliefs. There were some nice visuals for me. I liked the nature descriptions and the mention of the animals. Thanks for sharing your art and educating me in poetry. Rating ~~~***~~~***~~~ Hallo, I am here to give you feedback for
That's a cool story. I enjoyed finding out about Johnny's new power. So much fun. But how will he see the what the teachers write on the boards now? His brain will go into overdrive, re-learning to process everything in different colors and learn through hearing. I know this is flash fiction, but I can't help wondering if Johnny will some day learn to turn the power off and see normally again, even if it takes him concentration. This was highly imaginative, the different colors for "gases" were a fun effect.Consider giving Superman a capital "s". Fun read, thanks. Rating  ~~~***~~~***~~~ Hallo, I am here to give you feedback for
This is a good article about an experience. What strikes me, is that at the end I found out that your family and mine was house hunting at the same time. We bought our first home in summer of 2001 and were expecting our second child at the time. 9/11 impacted our lives too and hadn't we bought the house when we did. We wouldn't have been able to any longer after that fateful date. I also emphasize with the learning process that only happens from homeownership. A well written article, nicely laid out and following the events in chronological order. An enjoyable and informative read. Well done. Rating |
| Day 4 Task 2: Interview any three of your own group members. No questions related to personal or Writing.com issues. Anything else goes. You can even send questions and answers to each other. Only three questions per interviewee. The same questions cannot be asked to all the three friends. So, we need to see nine questions in all, with nine best possible answers. No humour here, please. We want this to be as sanguine and serious as possible. This is important. Hallo darkskye , for day four, we have to interview each other with three questions.Question 1: When shopping, do you use coupons, only shop during reduced price sales, go to warehouse clubs or don't worry about all that and go buy what you need when you need it? Well, it depends on what I am shopping for. If it is groceries, than no I do not usually use coupons. I do however try to buy the items that are on sale. However, if I am shopping for clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. it almost always has to be on sale for me to buy it. As well, I am a rather "cheap" person. Generally, I just don't like to spend money. I prefer saving it. I will make the exception though if I find something that really catches my eye and I can't pass it up. Question 2: When traveling abroad, do you prefer to rent a car or use public transportation like trains and busses? If you don't travel far, what would be your choice between rented car and train, hypothetically speaking? Unfortunately, I do not travel far. Someday, I hope to change that though. However, hypothetically speaking, I would rather rent a car. I have actually never been on a train, but I know how much I enjoy traveling in a car when driving any distance. I also prefer the freedom I have in a car. I can go my own speed(to an extent of course), I can choose my own music, and I do not have to stick to any specific schedule. Question 3: Do you have an opinion on video games? Positive or negative? Well, video games are one of my much-loved hobbies. I have been playing them since I was three years old starting off with Mario. As for whether or not I have a positive or negative opinion on them, I think it really depends on what type of video game and how much a person plays them. Excessive violence, foul language, and blood/gore is not the best influence, especially for younger children. Today, that seems the way video games are leaning. Myself, I play video games where thought, strategy, and a good storyline are often main factors. However, video games like many other things can become addictive. I do believe this can have a negative impact on a person and even affect their lifestyle. Overall, video games can be an enjoyable hobby if violence is not a large part of the video game and if the time spent playing them is kept as moderate as possible. ~~~***~~~***~~~ Hallo Meeple . For our next task, I must ask you three questions, not personal and not relating to Writing.com. Hum, where do I start? Question 1: Which countries, besides the one you reside in, have you visited? New Zealand, Mexico, Holland, Germany, Austria. Question 2: Is there a special spot on Earth, that you would love to travel to, if neither money, health or other issues were an object? I love studying genealogy and my ideal trip would be to take all my research and head out to Ireland, Sweden, Germany and France. If I had to pick a single 'spot' it would be the location where my Irish ancestors lived. Question 3: Without telling me the state or city you reside in, can you tell me of a natural spectacle (caves, geysers, other) that are amazing to experience and if you have been there? There are Sea Caves eroded into the rocky shores of Lake Superior. They are a wonderful experience in the summertime - when you go by boat, but I have never had a chance to see them in the winter, when you have to reach them by snowshoe or cross country skis. I intend to, someday. ~~~***~~~***~~~ From Jewel Busy Busy Busy! Hello October. Hope thee help! Question 1: Every city has a number of people who make things run smoothly. Police, Fire department, mayor, teachers, etc. Which one of those do you think has the biggest impact on life in general? You know, I think teachers are the ones we should be worshiping. They educate our young, teach them right from wrong, and generally help raise the community. If they were not there, the world would be a sad place indeed. Our children would lack a proper education, wouldn't know how to interact with one another, and society in general.Question 2: Can you give me your brief opinion on classical and any kind of modern music? Which one do you prefer, if any, and why. Classical music can be both soothing and boring at the same time. It truly takes a master to produce such a mixture of harsh and soothing at the same time. I have to admit, I'm a bit baffled at classical music. It tends to put me to sleep, although it does make for good listening while you are doing a project. There are no words to distract you.I prefer to listen to Pop I guess you could call it or 80's. Or pretty much anything else besides rap. I hate rap. Pop is happy, upbeat and suite my personality. It sometimes has a meaning behind the lyrics, and sometimes it doesn't. It's there to keep me company and gives me something to dance to on a happy day. If' I'm sad, it usually cheers me up. Question 3: Have you ever pondered why dogs and cats like to live in the presence of humans more than squirrels? I'm guessing it's because dogs and cats have been raised around people more than squirrels ever have. Also, dogs are more pack oriented then squirrels, even though cats really aren't. It would be interesting to see a tame squirrel though!~~~***~~~***~~~ Hallo Indelible Ink , can I interview you? You can interview me! Question 1: If given the time, opportunity and unlimited funds for it, what would be the one topic you would like to find out EVERYTHING about? That's pretty easy. The human brain, or more specifically, psychology. I had an alcoholic father - now deceased - so my brother, mother and I grew up in a pretty strange environment. My brother became a psychologist as a result (he was curious as to why my dad was like he was and he has made a career out of trying to answer that question). My curiosity is more of a general nature...I've taken almost every psychology class available in my area..my interest is not limited to one specific field in psychology...I just find it all really, really fascinating & it's a subject of which I never tire. Question 2: Do you think newspapers are wasting too much space and resources to report on celebrities, or do you feel those people deserve all the attention? Could you briefly explain your point? My feeling is that, most definitely they are wasting their resources (and our time) with the heavy "wall-to-wall" coverage allotted celebrities. On the other hand, I also realize that the "bottom line" for a newspaper is to sell as many copies as possible. So if the "fluff" improves the paper's bottom line, I can't argue with the strategy, because we, as consumers, apparently love to read about it. Question 3: Fruits and vegetables are healthy, no doubt about that. Can you tell me which of each is your favorite and why? Fruits: blueberries...not sure why...I've loved them ever since I can remember. Veggies: carrots..I like the taste, the shape as it's easy to snack on while doing just about anything, and the shape also makes it a good candidate for "dipping". |
| Day 3 Task 2: Write a funny article/monologue on the following topic: "You know you are addicted to Writing.com when ..." Use the title to create as many funny things you can think of that you have either done yourself or seen others do. For example, your spouse calls you to bed and you say "No darling, I've got a headache" as you are still enjoying WDC, your other "life-partner". Minimum 350 words. "You know you are addicted to Writing.com when ..." When you have been reading and reviewing so much that the page headers with the Writing.com font float around in your dreams. You know, it’s bad, when the first thing you do in the morning is log on, to see who replied to your reviews, who reviewed you, and how many other emails from friends are waiting. When you go about your day, play with children, go to the gym or even shop for groceries, and you can’t turn off the thoughts about your last review, you know you’re addicted. Have you stopped paying bills, cooking dinner or doing laundry; because you just wanted to “check my Writing.com account really quickly,” and it turned out to be another marathon session until the wee hours of the morning? Sounds addicted to me. How many times have you had coffee late in the day, to make it through another night of reviews? To finish up that contest entry before the deadline? I know you have, you’re having coffee right now! You know you’re addicted to Writing.com when you can’t talk about normal TV programs any longer. The names of mega stars are strange to you. The most watched TV show of all times doesn’t ring a bell. Your last bit of information from the real world comes from the headlines your internet provider flashes at you before you click on your favorite link to Writing.com. You know you’re blurring the lines of reality when your only reason to leave the house is to let your brain rest for your next writing, reading and reviewing binge. Because you know that as soon as you’ve pretended to participate in “normal” life for about an hour, maybe two, you’ll start getting cranky. As you come home, you kick your shoes off, flip the laptop open, or turn on the desk top, maybe both. You probably own two or three computers and live in walking distance to an internet café, to ensure constant and secure access to your own personal vice. Your Christmas wish list is a comfortable and anatomically correct chair, so you can sit for more hours. The best present you ever received was a laptop table, which now allows you to sit in bed and type away on your laptop. You know you are addicted when you start wondering if there is a way to access your account while on the treadmill at the gym. Time for an intervention when you realize your kids have stopped growing for lack of regular feeding and your butt has gained ten pounds because all you eat are snacks at the desk or in bed. And I have the very best support group for you. They’re all there with you, ready to love you, understand you, send you their best wishes on your way to recovery. Your 702,000 Writing.com friends will send you their best wishes in emails, forums in your honor and even merit badges. Hours upon hours of emails to reciprocate to and thank you C-notes to send will keep you busy and help you get over the feeling of wasting your time. 527 words without task description |
| Day 2 Task 2: Interview any two senior moderators (violet cases) with just five questions. The mail you send to them must be appended to the task so that we can see your communication skills (just copy the mail body and attach the name of the moderator to whom the mail is sent. We will allow you one extra day to submit this task as the senior moderators could be busy and take some time responding. The questions can be anything in nature, but not boring ones like "how is the weather where you live" or "what is your age/sex/location" stuff. The more creative the question, the more the senior moderators will enjoy answering them. However, no abuse or insult will be tolerated. Please be courteous and polite. Dear Joy  I am a contestant in "AUTHORS' SPOTLIGHT - Season 6" Today my task is to interview you with five questions. My entry into the contest is due by July 16th at midnight WDC time. If you don’t have the time/muse/will to answer, I fully understand and have no hard feelings. Question 1: Do you still have your very first static item that you ever posted to Writing.com in your portfolio? Yes. It is "THIRST" . I was hesitant to put up anything for a couple of weeks, until I got to know the site a little. Then I put up this one, and out of sentiment, I never deleted it. Question 2: Of the total time you spend on average on Writing.com, how does this time break up in % between a) writing (& posting what you wrote) I don’t write while on WdC. I write in a word file or in a notebook then in a word file. Of the total time spent on WdC, copy and paste is probably 2%. b) administrative tasks for groups/activities you run 50 % c) browse for pleasure 6 % d) reading & reviewing 40% e) answering questions in the technical help forums? 2% Question 3: Which published author, or authors, have influenced you? First as a reader and later to pick up writing for yourself? So many authors I have loved that it is impossible to count. I started writing when I was eight, and it has been a few decades since. The very first books that impressed me were the biographies of famous people that came in orange hardcovers, which only the old-timers may remember. As authors, Dostoyevski was the first one, then came the other Russian writers, and the French together with the existentialists, and I loved AJ Cronin in my growing years. After that, my favorite authors have become a horde. Question 4: Is there any single book that has inspired you for a major decision in your life? For example, when I was out of school and didn’t know what to do with my life, I read “The Stand” by Stephen King. It was one of my main reasons to become a nurse. I wanted to know what to do in case of a disaster. Have you had a similar experience? Rumi’s poetry has greatly inspired my way of being in life. Question 5: Have you ever done something like jumping out of a plane with a parachute or bungee jumping? If you did, would you do it again? If you didn’t, are you thinking that it’s still on the list of things to do in life? Once, when I was young, I went out in a small dinghy in the middle of a rough sea. I would never ever do that again. ***~~~***~~~*** Dear kiyasama I am a contestant in "AUTHORS' SPOTLIGHT - Season 6" Today my task is to interview you with five questions. My entry into the contest is due by July 16th at midnight WDC time. If you don’t have the time/muse/will to answer, I fully understand and have no hard feelings. Question 1: Do you still have your very first static item that you ever posted to Writing.com in your portfolio? Yes, I do. It’s
Question 2: Of the total time you spend on average on Writing.com, how does this time break up in % between a) writing (& posting what you wrote) – unfortunately this has decreased as real life has gotten in the way and my writing time is all but none existent. So I’d say about 20%. b) administrative tasks for groups/activities you run – this definitely takes up more of my time as I have to do a daily check-up of most of them as well as have reminders of when what contest runs/ends, which forums have to be updated and the list goes on. So I’ll put this at 60% c) browse for pleasure – Hmm…about 10%...although I’d loop this with question (b) above. d) reading & reviewing – Again, time constraints get in the way, but when I really have time and nothing much to do, I do enjoy checking out new items especially from the newbies. e) answering questions in the technical help forums? – I check this daily, but sometimes I don’t get to answer everything as others around the site do the work *lol* So I’d loop this with (b) as well. Question 3: Which published author, or authors, have influenced you? First as a reader and later to pick up writing for yourself? Authors that have influenced me…let’s see…Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn is my favorite book of all time), Stephen King (love most of his works), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho especially), Tom Wolfe (A Man in Full especially), Jeffery Archer (Kane and Abel…read this book! If you haven’t already!), Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart – classic!), Wole Soyinka (fantastic playwright). Question 4: Is there any single book that has inspired you for a major decision in your life? For example, when I was out of school and didn’t know what to do with my life, I read “The Stand” by Stephen King. It was one of my main reasons to become a nurse. I wanted to know what to do in case of a disaster. Have you had a similar experience? Well now, Stephen King fan, eh? Nice. I can’t say for sure which book gave me my ‘ah-ha’ moment, but I will say that reading ‘Huckleberry Finn’ made me LOVE the whole reading/writing process. I read ‘Tom Sawyer’ first actually, but there was something so …childish about it. It was a good book, don’t get me wrong, but I came to know about ‘Huckleberry Finn’ because of my father. Apparently, many considered it an ‘adult’ book or a much more difficult book than Tom Sawyer, and I didn’t understand why. But I picked it up and decided to give it a try and at first, it just seems like the adventure of a young boy who runs away with a black slave and all their shenanigans as they travel along the South. However, and after a few more reads, one comes to appreciate what Mark Twain was trying to say. Through the eyes of a child, he exposes the hypocrisy of slave ownerships, of fathers who aren’t there, of lies and secrets and of how society determines who is really ‘free’ or not. Mark Twain brings a human side to slavery and the relationship between Jim and Huck is one that cannot be overemphasized enough. It really was unheard of at the time and I applaud Twain for being daring enough to tackle such a taboo issue in a ‘book for children’. Great stuff. Question 5: Have you ever done something like jumping out of a plane with a parachute or bungee jumping? If you did, would you do it again? If you didn’t, are you thinking that it’s still on the list of things to do in life? Eh….nope. Considering I’m scared of heights. It’s definitely NOT on my to-do list. *lol* ***~~~***~~~*** Dear Kathleen I am a contestant in "AUTHORS' SPOTLIGHT - Season 6" Today my task is to interview you with five questions. My entry into the contest is due by July 16th at midnight WDC time. If you don’t have the time/muse/will to answer, I fully understand and have no hard feelings. Hello, Octobersun. I am honored that you chose to interview me and would be happy to participate even though I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow and still need to pack. Thankfully, you've not included any questions about procrastination. Hopefully, my reply isn't too late for you but had to spend a few extra hours finishing up in the cubicle so I could get away for a few days...~whine!~Question 1: Do you still have your very first static item that you ever posted to Writing.com in your portfolio? Yes, I do still have my first static item. In fact, I have several of my first items in my port and can remember how excited I was when those r&r's started rolling my way. I enjoy reading through them as I try to convince myself my writing has improved over the last seven years. I consider myself a casual writer and never feel a pressure to write so I need my earlier writings as fillers in my port. Question 2: Of the total time you spend on average on Writing.com, how does this time break up in % between a) writing (& posting what you wrote) Writing = 15%; Posting = 5%. I have a number of unfinished writings on my computer that need a line or two, or some editing that one of these days I'll be inspired to finish and post. I love contest prompts and will begin something but never finish in time for the contest closing. b) administrative tasks for groups/activities you run = 15%. The only constant group would be RAOK but I enjoy running periodic activities that would fluctuate this percentage. c) browse for pleasure = 20% I belong to several groups and try to keep abreast of what is happening even if I'm not participating or posting. d) reading & reviewing = 25% I do more reading than reviewing as this would include time spent in reading and responding to emails which is always my first priority when signing into Writing.Com. This would also include responding to IM's, either personal or responding to questions. e) answering questions in the technical help forums? 20% I usually sign in during the evening hours and always run through several forums (there are others other than technical and non-technical) to keep in touch with the happenings during the day but most times questions have already been addressed. Question 3: Which published author, or authors, have influenced you? First as a reader and later to pick up writing for yourself? As a casual writer, I can't really pick an author that has influenced me. I am an avid reader of romance mystery but have never attempted to write this genre myself even in short story format. I enjoy writing poetry but am sure any of our great poetry writers past or present would love to gnaw my pencil in two, or stomp on my keyboard. Question 4: Is there any single book that has inspired you for a major decision in your life? For example, when I was out of school and didn’t know what to do with my life, I read “The Stand” by Stephen King. It was one of my main reasons to become a nurse. I wanted to know what to do in case of a disaster. Have you had a similar experience? Not really. If I were inspired by most of the books I've read, I'd either be living happily forever after on some island with the cabana boy or be incarcerated. Question 5: Have you ever done something like jumping out of a plane with a parachute or bungee jumping? If you did, would you do it again? If you didn’t, are you thinking that it’s still on the list of things to do in life? Are you kidding me? I climbed on the roof once and didn't have my cell phone w/me or the darn fire dept. would have been here along with the entire 5:00 news force. I eventually had to climb down the ladder for food and water. Great questions! |
| Day 1Task 2: Write a poem not exceeding 20 lines (minimum 14 lines) which is inspired by the nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Either the theme, or the format, or both, should be related to the original rhyme. We have no black sheep Sheep in the family Family mine of five Five people all of us Us who live together Together in Harmony Harmony was our address Address in a city City shaped like Crescent Crescent City blues Blue sky turned black Black as night at four Four hours for a mile Mile out of the storm Storm that killed a thousand Thousand miles between friends Friends ripped apart Apart by Katrina’s rage Rage drove us out, not apart! 19 lines |
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