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| Facebook is a better social media platform for feedback. 46 likes and 16 people commenting about my trip to Thailand. Here? 8 likes, no comments. BUT... at least 3 active WDCers commented at fb, plus more that are inactive or no longer here. This place functions well for me as a place to store my writings. So, a Scarlett's List of Five: 1. There's no incentive for me to blog here as no one comments anyways whether I do or don't. 45 days between comments. I enter a blog weekly and update daily. Nothing.  Going forward: I'll continue to blog because it's a bad habit. But, I'm journaling again and it's easier to work out thoughts on paper. 2. There's no reason for me to read blogs. A. Bloggers don't seem to mind if I don't. B. Bloggers don't read mine. So, I won't be around like I used to be. I have no use for a website that has no use for me. 3. Contests: I really like some and started writing to at least three in September but didn't finish and post. October? I will or I won't. It's not like I don't care, but it takes effort on my part and some days I don't have the interest or energy. I do want to enter Journalistic Intentions. 4. If I lower my expectations about WDC I'll be happier. There is little sense of community and less sense of communication. 5. I will renew this month. I have the money and WDC is okay for editing and great for storage. |
I'm still alive. I tried to take a break (barely) ... so no guarantee about October. I travel in November. I'll be posting updates in
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Today is Suzanne's birthday. I haven't seen or heard of her in years. So an old memory in prose-poetry form:
A comment that you've read it would be appreciated. |
Thank you, Lilli Munster ☕️ 🧿 for the awardicon. I am an emotional person. I tend in fall for someone at first sight. Hard to capture that but I don't forget, even if my memory falters with details. I can tell where and when I met Mark, Kevin, Gary... as if it were a snapshot. With others it's a bit blurry, but if I feel a connection, I don't easily forget. I wrote a bunch of these for NaNoWriMo in 2011 and published 22 of them as "This and Every November" in 2013. I still have copies.  They are listed here: "This and Every November (prose letters) "  Thanks again for your kindness. |
Meaty ogre contest now open is trying hard to promote this contest. Nibbles would be appreciated, especially from story tellers like Queen NormaJean Cheering Queen, Thankful Sonali sign postcards, Graywriter is on a cruise (just read "Higher Ground")...nice , a bit teary after reading "Coming Home" Bikerider, any luck yet, RumTumTugger is Tina?
Visit http://www.theyfightcrime.org and write a 1000 word story using the two characters the page generates. He's an underprivileged drug-addicted astronaut with a passion for fast cars. She's a hard-bitten thirtysomething doctor descended from a line of powerful witches. They fight crime! He's an oversexed neurotic rock star gone bad. She's a blind winged mercenary from a secret island of warrior women. They fight crime! He's a sword-wielding bohemian firefighter in a wheelchair. She's a disco-crazy motormouth mercenary operating on the wrong side of the law. They fight crime! I immediately thought of a loud-mouth politician from Georgia...  or would this be better: He's a globe-trotting dishevelled assassin in a wheelchair. She's a violent kleptomaniac Valkyrie from beyond the grave They fight crime! Don't like wheelchairs? He's an otherworldly playboy stage actor who believes he can never love again. She's a mentally unstable goth archaeologist with an incredible destiny. They fight crime! Why do I get vampire vibes?  Anyhoo... the website will amuse anyone who dares go there. I DARE YOU! Imagine me as the soon-to-be-dead (or worse) body if you please. I can handle it.  i shall rise again... |
 I was hoping... RumTumTugger is Tina I love the prompts, just as I loved the tropes at Journalistic Intentions. I'm not a storyteller, so I need help. That said... some of the pairings are hilarious (frenemies perhaps?). I can see mixing the crime/detective genre with romance, comedy, tragedy, travel, dark, even historical, sci-fi, fantasy, pet... anything really. I can draw characters. I'm weak at setting out a plot. |
| This was one of the exact prompt used when I taught my first adult writing class (hunts through notes - lesson 7)... back in 2010. So good to see the website is still alive and kicking. |
I think we're up to 6 entries for
A couple more would be nice... before midnight. Needs to be 18+, GC or XGC. New or old. My entry.  
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A lot of people write about 'mature' subjects (blood-and-gore are almost PG around here, at least in American culture) but half of WDC won't read them. So... a contest helps them to be 'seen', Itty Bitty Scaredy Kitti; plus more entries unlock more prizes.  I don't mind losing to excellent entries by top-shelf poets and story-tellers. |
| I'm going on hiatus for September. I'll be around but won't be reading blogs. Sorry, but 'no one' is reading mine. Also, birthday parties trigger traumas, so I won't be joining in the fun. I need to focus on self-care, self-assessment and deciding where I go from here. |
I wouldn't write this if it weren't true: you'll be missed.  Take special care of you. |
| We will miss you on WdC this month, but do what's best for you! I understand birthdays being triggering. I've been really strapped for time lately at work, or I would have kept up more with your blogs. Sorry about that! I know it's hard not to take it personally, but it almost always has nothing to do with the actual content and more to do with people just not seeing it. Keep writing, even if no one is commenting! |
In going through my old items I came across this from 2020 (so not so old). It's auto-biographical and although the 'scratches' don't show they're still there. Could use a few more views, a comment here below, or a review if you are so inclined. It's a hybrid prose/poem similar to a haibun in form albeit not in theme. I've entered it into the "SENIOR CENTER FORUM" before it closes in a couple days.
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| I penned a 'pregunta' in response to Rhymer Reisen's red wasp, combining Express-it-in-Eight's prompt 'aflame', Beholden and Bianca's challenge for "The Writer's Cramp" . I won't enter it as I'm bitem-bound ... and lazy. A question, an answer. The pregunta (that's Spanish for 'question', 'pergunta' in Portuguese) is essential a form of a series of Q&A couplets. For me to make it poetic I would use rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, repetition... something. Rhymer's Red-bum Rising Does any old wasp set your ass aflame? Only when it's red and bears your name. So, it's okay to call you what I choose? Try it, punk, you've only one life to lose. Oh, touchy now like some wimpy snowflake! More like a blustery blizzard scrubbing your face. So about that pimple on your ass... Pop it quickly or kiss it fast. © Copyright 2022 Kåre Enga [179.74a] (27.august.2022) 8 lines; near rhyme aa,bb,cc,dd; 10/9 10/10 9/11 9/8 In my p-log entry: "Uma pergunta [74] (18+)" |
| Clerihews are supposed to be 'funny'. “Revenge is a dish best served cold” Melania smiled sweetly to Don as she flipped her off-switch to on. I'll gladly take off this blue dress if you call Hillary now and confess. © Copyright 2022 Kåre Enga [179.73] (26.august.2022) In "“Revenge is a dish best served cold” [73] clerihew" in response to the Aug 27 (due by noon) prompt "Clerihew" at "The Writer's Cramp" . Alternative 2nd part: I'll gladly confess to the deed if you call Jill and Joe and concede. |
Look out for rainbows!   Happening now. Let the show begin Cloud-crowds to the west. Folks scatter when drops go splat! August's thunderfest. [179.72c] A Brazilian hiaku maybe? " Haiku, Brazilian" Check out "The Writer's Cramp" then write one for Bianca and enter! |
| LET'S TALK PROCESS! As my writer-friends know I'm scatter-brained and easily distracted... much like a cat.  So, it's normal for me to channel my inner Feline and vomit all over the page.  Then... someone (usually me) has to clean up the mess. Sometimes there're diamonds hidden among the hairballs.  For "The Writer's Cramp" Bianca, bless her pea-pickin' heart, wants us to write ONE doublet by noon tomorrow.  Well, never one to follow directions, I gagged up a bunch of... seven of them. I've cleaned them up some but left the originals as popnotes (in "Doublets [179.70]" ) to amuse the curious (or bored). Ah... since dialects divide us (they needn't, but...), some observations: choc'late is two syllables [a] choc-o-late like e-ve-ry would be three; 'all y'all' and 'ya' are American, mostly Southern, slang [b]; Goddess/God? a matter of linguistics and/or belief [b]; two-fer-one poems [b,c] twinsies, brothers from another mother; 'delicious' [d] is a double entendre as Delicious is a well-known apple where I grew up; 'gimme' [e] is slang for 'give me'; [f] is admittedly an aliterative hisssss and 'last night' can mean yesterday or 'YOUR last night' as sometimes I like the humor of ambiguity; 'vittles' = chow, grub, food, y'know? [g]. So these are the 7. If you have time, please quickly read and tell me which you liked the most (or disliked the least): No calories, they said At lunch, salted chocolate cookies beckon. At home, "I reckon I could lose some weight." [70a] Goddess visits Texas I created all y'all out of love — Zap! Unfortunately, ya didn't listen. [70b] Zapped Our Lord created us-all lovingly; unfortunately, we can't get along. [70c] Apple of my eye Were you always delicious? Me the worm that dearly wanted to make you my home? [70d] San Diego would be hell Just gimme the smell of lightning, the clap of thunder, rain washing away ennui. [70e] Last Night Slithering past the sentry at sunset, Sally seeks the heat of your warm embrace. [70f] Priorities On the run to fetch some bread-n-vittles, slow down to pet the whining puppy's head. [70g] WHICH ONE(S) DO YOU LIKE THE BEST? What is your process? |
| Thank you everyone! Amazed to get any responses at all. But... regarding Texas, Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008, considering the news, the weather, and the Texans I know... there seems to be a lot of drama in Texas these days (just these days?). And considering that many Texans live in 'God's Country' the image of being Zapped! seemed to fit. However, considering my experience from living in Kansas/Oklahoma they would fit as well. Montanans aren't as dramatic, imho. |
| Every state has its issues, we have our problems too. Still the best in the USA. lol |
| I'm a little late to the party, but 70c stuck out to me the most among the choices. However, 70e was a close second. |
For "The Writer's Cramp"
Unfortunately I didn't see the "Pie" part of the prompt. A waste of a bitem? I'm bitem-bound again. Note to self: writing to a form AND a topic doesn't work well for me. Too constricting. I put a lot of effort into this, making a word form that's not very poetic ... poetic by rhythm and rhyme. Perhaps another contest? Free verse? Or is 'pi' a 'form'? A hatchling... waiting until sunrise, shivering through winter's last twilight, quivering as his first word spoken, sets the world on fire, his thoughts to rage, now torching, our bright green hills of home; then the next word, whispered soft as glass, pumps his heart, lifting wings to sing melodic memories of ancient myths, he — keens a descant, croons the harmony, warns that this — this too shall pass; hidden, we prepare our escape before his breath turns all to cinders, steam and ash. © Copyright 2022 Kåre Enga [179.69] (23.august.2022) 80 words, 16 lines like π 3.141592653589793 |
| I made mistakes! Does this mean my brain is slipping? Probably. I responded to 𝘽𝙊𝙊eyez 👻's helpful review: Corrected! Yessss... passss. *hissing*  I did leave a word out on line 6 from the original. But by putting it back I had one syllable too many. The 3.14159... becomes 6/3/6/3/6/9/3/6/6/3/12/9/12/12/3 to help me establish a rhythm [corrected that]. I was thrilled when my Muse came up with shivering/quivering.  And... I could be writing about a dragon. I've seen a lot of GOT ads. Looks like this might be a keeper... so I'll need to axe something else. |
Poets: you have until noon WDC time to post an elfje (elevenie) at
I tend to go overboard when my brain's in gear "Elfje '22" : 10 elevenie (elfje). I don't need: chills, fever, headaches, and your tsk-tsk-tsk to know I'm truly sick. [68a] Political Show Conspiracies Couldn't they imagine life without drama? We demand truth — or consequences. [68b] Saturday night at the casino Grapes of Wrath, bright rainbow bruises, all fights fade to purple. [68c] Lotus of Battambang1 Nine doorways beckon. Enter and leave all doubts and pain behind. [68d] Atheist condemned This! This way leads to heaven; why do you choose hell? [68e] An atheist responds I'd rather die as I live: lovingly embracing all — especially you. [68i] Ringing When in doubt, call an expert. My line be2 always busy. [68f] Squeeze One. Two halves. Our hearts beat fragrant, healthy, juicy, vibrant orange. [68g] January Your head swivels east and west never answering, committing, explaining, Janus. [68h] © Copyright 2022 Kåre Enga [179.68] (22.august.2022) 10x5 = 50 total lines I'm supposed to post ONE. No idea which is best. Footnotes |
| I like all of them! If I had to pick one I'd probably pick "Saturday night at the Casino". I like the athiest ones too, but I think they kind of belong as a pair. Good luck! |
Anni Pon Thank you.  The atheist ones were indeed meant as a pair  or prayer? A call and response... a type of conversation. I had 9 written [a-h] but then out popped "An atheist's response" [i]. I'm not equally fond of all of them. But... I have to let my Muse speak... or else. Muses can be moody. Yep. I had fun writing "Saturday night at the casino". I seldom step into the casino/sport's-bar next door. Not too rowdy a crowd but I don't imbibe nor gamble. |
I love January! I know I'm too late to weigh in, but that's my favorite  I'd repeat Anni Pon  's response as my second choice(s). Good luck! |
| Project Axe I'm bitem-bound. Even posting for "The Writer's Cramp" costs a bitem. I'm running out of spare change... ... so previous unloved items must face the guillotine. Which will be spared? I wrote the following prose-poems in November 2011 and published 22 of them (chosen by 4 friends) in 2013. I still have ~100 books of This and Every November to put together... and give away. These pieces are on the cutting block: No r/r "Brown eyes [#28 Mark]" "This and every November [#4 Gary Mc]" "Final chords [#31 Myrt]" "Water lily [#33 Bonnie]" "Dental work [#25 José Enrique]" One r/r "Gypsy [#30]" "Walk among these hills [#34 Kelly Hart]" "Blue iris [#26 Irene Blumen] " "In the barber's chair [#24 Malcolm]" "All things sweet and Hungarian [#22]" If you think any should be saved please r/r. As prose-poems there are few if any contests that suit them. |
| Angelific Frankenstein I do have an external drive (somewhere). I have yahoo mail but lost valuable messages when I couldn't access it for months. I use WDC for storage. I pay for a premium level account because I can file things here (and sometimes find them). I travel... so WDC goes with me. I travel with a chromebook (due to space, weight). I'm not up-to-date with anything technical. Plus... I tend to lose things. 3 pairs of glasses... still haven't found them after months of decluttering and cleaning. I cope as best I can. |
| If offsite storage is an issue, then I'd store these in a book. I'd also wade through any other bitems, especially anything particularly short, or what you'd consider more on the 'meh' side of your own writing. I know we all love all our things, but sometimes things need to go in storage to make room for new things. I'd treat it as a rotational thing. Free up some bitem space, and once in a while, file a bitem into a book, and pull something else out of the book and put it in the bitem. As far as bitem submissions, you'd also leave yourself room for newer bitems. Recycled bitem space could also be used for contests that allow old entries. While it would show a new 'creation date', a dropnote indicating the original creation date is plenty enough honest for posterity. I'm nowhere near bitem-bound, and I still ruthlessly hack my stuff out of my port, or swap a bitem for a book entry if I'm not feeling great about it, or it's not worth eating up the bitem space (in my own opinion). Takes a bit of time to clean up a port and it's always hard to decide what to shuffle where. |
| The Ghost of Jayne's Lost Sock Good advice. Plus, I do need to make folders (an organizational trick). I have no clue where some things are stored. I cross-filed poems years ago but didn't keep it up. Because I usually write 365+ pieces/year (this is an 'off' year) and I've been here 17 years (writing for 23... since May '99) I have written over 7,000 during that time and over 10,000 total (a wild guess). It's why 'everything' is numbered and dated and have unique titles (I use all 30+ letters of the roman alphabet). No one cares but me, but it helps. I'd love to have a secretary (and an accountant and a house-keeper and a...). I have 10 reams of paper but no printer. If I printed stuff at the library I'd end up living there! |
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I understand that probably doesn't make up for a general lack of engagement from the community.
I haven't been here long enough to know what the community used to be like. I'm really curious to know what the site used to be like 10 years ago. Everyone is different in what they're looking for in a community. I came here to get inspiration and prompts and feedback from other writers. I've found that I usually need a push or a challenge to write or I won't do it. Some people find challenges, prompts and deadlines motivating, and some find them too constraining. Some people find merit badges, ratings and awards encouraging, some find direct metrics of "success" are damaging to their mental health.
You may be in the latter category. Of course, we would love you to stay on the site! I enjoy reading your writings. But I understand if you need to take breaks sometimes, or if you eventually decide that WdC doesn't fit what you need in a writing community anymore. But I hope that isn't the case!