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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations #837529 added January 1, 2015 at 10:38pm
Restrictions: None
The First (Six) Days of Christmas
NOTE: I'm atrociously far behind in blogging for my own activity, so this first blog post is going to get caught up on the first several days that have already passed. So this is going to be one really long blog post! 
PROMPT (FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS): In honor of the number one, complete one review and write a blog entry linking that review and writing about your experience reviewing it. Bonus points will be given for affiliating the review with The Talent Pond!
I wrote a review for dblameck (David)  's entry in the last round of the "Paradise Cove Writing Challenge-On Hold"  : Review of "Halloween Dreams"  . I wanted to review this piece, not just because I've owed him this review for weeks ( ), but because David has always taken the time to enter Paradise Cove (and many other erotica contests on Writing.Com), even when no one else does. He's a fixture among erotica contest participants and always comes up with something interesting for his contest entries. Even more impressive is the fact that, even after all these years, he's still appreciative of the feedback he receives for all of his stories. For this first day of Christmas, it was a no brainer to pick this particular story of David's as the item I wanted to review.
PROMPT (SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS): In recognition of the number two, send out two unexpected merit badges and/or awardicons and then write a blog entry about your experience sending a surprise gift to someone. NOTE: If you can't afford to spend 20,000 GPs on two gifts, please let me know and we'll work something out.
I decided to send merit badges to people that I really admire on Writing.Com. I've had the privilege of meeting so many great people on this site; it seemed like narrowing this challenge down to only two recipients would be impossible. So instead of thinking, "Who does a really great job on this site?" I decided to approach it from a perspective of, "Who completely blows me away with the scope of what they've taken on at this site?" And two names immediately jumped to mind: Elle - on hiatus  and PatrickB  . I like to think of myself as a pretty involved person with a fairly long list of responsibilities I've taken on... but Elle and Patrick make me look like a part-timer. Every time I turn around, they're working on something new and continually donate truckloads of their time to a variety of activities. For this second day of Christmas, Elle and Patrick are clear picks for an unexpected merit badge in recognition of all that they do.
PROMPT (THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS): Out of respect for the power of the number three, head on over to "Invalid Item" and nominate three of your favorite items, activities, or people from the past year.
I decided to nominate the following for Quills:
Jay's debut novel is out now! for "Invalid Item" - I know she's been super busy lately and hasn't had a ton of time to put out more than the first two episodes, but I think this is such a wonderful idea with so much potential. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before things really take hold and at that point I think an audio aspect of the site that familiarizes members with one another in a more personal way and discusses features and news around the site is a fantastic idea.
NaNoNette for "I Write " - I'll admit that this group saved me from having a downright unproductive writing year. Giselle does a great job running this group and encouraging writers to keep generating work (and reviewing the work of others), and I especially love that some rounds will specifically focus on certain areas of writing like romance and erotica.
Sum1's Home  for "Anniversary Reviews" - Jim has been diligently keeping this forum going and has been doing a great job since he inherited it. I love this activity and wish I had more time to participate; there are very few activities on the site that recognize account anniversaries, and it's great that this activity promotes reviewing items for people who have account anniversaries in a given month.
I've got a lot more nominations to dole out before the awards happen this year, but these three are especially meaningful to me.
PROMPT (FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS): In order to give the number four its due credit, post four helpful or supportive forum posts (or replies to posts).
"Re: Group review signature" - I responded to this one even though the original question was posted a couple months ago because, well, it's one of my forums, and it's a question I should have answered a very long time ago. I'm really bad about remembering to check my own group forums, especially since new posts are pretty far and few between, but I feel bad that I took so long to respond to this simple one. I'm really going to make a point of monitoring my forums a little better in the new year.
"Re: Re: Dyslexic Writing" - I answered this post because, while I thought everyone else had already provided great advice, no one had yet talked about the subjectivity of what's considered to be the appropriate amount of description and I wanted to make sure he wasn't asking the question because he was feeling pressured by a review or other feedback to try and make his writing something it's not. I'm a very sparse writer myself and I can't count the number of times I've gotten a suggestion to include more detail and description not because the story or characters needed it, but because a particular reader's personal opinion was that description needs to include lots and lots of sensory detail. And as many of us have experienced, not every review is kind and constructive, so I just wanted to make sure that - in addition to getting great advice about how to add detail to his descriptions, that it may not be 100% necessary to do so in every situation.
"Re: Pen name dilemma" - I wanted to respond to this post because, although the original poster already received the best advice one can get in these situations (consult an attorney!), I also wanted to provide a little general non-legal advice. I spend a lot of time giving people the "ask a lawyer" answer because I deal with business questions a lot, and I've discovered that quite frequently that scares people away or convinces them that their concerns are either a very serious problem or require legal action... so I always try to clarify a situation as best I can by saying, "Yes, absolutely consult an attorney if this is going to be a legal problem for you, but generally speaking, here's how this stuff usually pans out."
"Happy New Year!" - This was the final post I made because I felt I needed to send some words of encouragement to another one of my forums that's been very quiet over the years. I'm so grateful that I have volunteers to help me (still need to go through those applications!) with my genre groups, and I'm really looking forward to sitting down with them and figuring out a new direction for the group... one that includes forum responses and active group leaders! 
PROMPT (FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS): To give the number five its props, post five meaningful and/or thoughtful blog comments on other Blog Harbor members' blogs. Bonus points if you comment on blog posts connected to this activity!
"Confession Time" by abcoachnz-Sometimes around - I posted a comment to this blog post because I can sympathize with someone trying to manage a great deal of information in an organized way. I'm always trying to optimize the way I view information, be it on WdC, Twitter, Facebook, or a news site. I think it's important to try out a variety of different approaches and methods until you find the one that produces the best results and reading experience for your needs, so I'm glad I was able to weigh in with a process that's worked for me.
"Invalid Entry" by {suser_id:} - I think it's really cool that so many people are enjoying this challenge and really diving into some areas of the site that frequently get overlooked or that they don't normally check during their normal routine. In all honesty, I just thought it would be a fun and diverse activity, but I wanted to post on a few member's blogs and tell them how happy I am that they're getting something out of the challenge that I didn't even expect! Any time we can get great members like these to find and give some attention to those areas that aren't always at the forefront is a good day, IMO.
"The Third Day of Christmas. " by Prosperous Snow celebrating  - In this case, my choice was more about the blogger than the blog post. Prosperous Snow celebrating has been a reliable and talented participant in more of my contests, challenges, and activities than I could possibly count, and I just wanted to through a little recognition and thanks her way for always being up for a challenge and willing to try something new. I was extra excited that I picked something that pulled her out of her comfort zone and got her to try something she's been meaning to do for a while.
"Invalid Entry" by {suser_id:} - It was fun to comment on a blog entry from the very beginning of the contest. It feels like ages ago that the review challenge was issued (well, ages ago for you... trying to cram eight of these into one catch-up blog post has left them all feeling rather fresh in my mind  ), and it was fun to go back and get a look into the thought process of a blogger who was just starting out on this crazy short-term adventure. Plus, ohsoquiet is a really great addition to the WdC family, so it was nice to stop by her blog and leave a comment!
"Invalid Entry" by {suser_id:} - I'll admit that this one was just for fun. I consider Ken a good friend and we've been through quite a few activities together over the years. I was going to comment on another of his posts and mention how happy I was that he's enjoying the challenge and trying this detestable activity known as blogging... but I couldn't resist taking the opportunity to poke a little fun at him for breaking bending the rules and using the same person for two different challenges in this activity. It's a shame I have to disqualify him...  (Just kidding, Ken!)
PROMPT (SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS): To celebrate the awesomeness that is the number six, complete six surveys, quizzes, and/or polls from six different WdC members.
SURVEY: "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor - I have to admit that this was a really perplexing survey. I wanted to respond because there were a lot of fields and I have a feeling Zhen might not get too many responses with such a long, involved survey. I think it was an interesting survey at first, with valuable sociopolitical and moral questions that could be used to design a philosophy or code of conduct... but as the survey went on, the questions became stranger and the options of Always True, Almost Always True, Maybe Sometimes False, Almost Always False, and Illegal And Unethical didn't always apply. For example, one of the questions simply stated two separate ideas: "When everything leads to an obvious answer, do anything else instead. While driving in rain at night, turn off the headlights and stop the windshield wipers, then wonder why visibility is reduced." Driving without your headlights on IS illegal, but the larger question of doing something other than the obvious choice is hardly illegal and may not even be unethical given the circumstances (it might just be a perfectly legal and innocent personal choice), so it was difficult to find a response that was appropriate for both ideas. Similarly, questions like "'No, your honour, it was not murder because I did not tell the victim I wanted to kill her, and instead I kept my intention and plan to kill a secret,' is an acceptable defense in a murder trial with a plea of not guilty" are a bit of a conundrum because, on the one hand, it's not an acceptable defense in the sense that the victim's awareness of premeditation is not a consideration for determining premeditation... but there's no law or ethical issue that would prevent someone from choosing that as a defense strategy if they were so inclined. So is the statement "illegal and unethical" because it's certainly not a way out of a first degree murder charge? Or is it true because that IS technically an acceptable defense (although certainly not an advisable one)? And finally, some questions seemed to be really leading, although for what purpose I'm not sure. Like, "Mustard in coffee is good. Fish on ice cream tastes good. Giving a bad in trade for a received good is appropriate." I think it's safe to say that the last statement is probably not generally acceptable, but I fail to see how that relates to mustard in coffee or fish on ice cream... but then again, I can't say either of those things are never right because I'm not a chef and I have no idea if those flavors could go together in an unexpected way. I thought bacon ice cream and coffee on a pork spice rub were crazy too until I tried a good recipe... Anyway, I'm not sure to what end all my answers will serve, but I hope Zhen got some use out of them.
SURVEY: "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor - Paul has a very interesting approach to linguistics. He's often trying to redefine words and assign them different meanings, so I thought I would complete his survey and help him with at least my limited independent perspective. I have to admit that I don't always understand why Paul is looking to redefine concepts and language that has worked perfectly well for hundreds, if not thousands of years, but then again, I suppose it's guys like Paul who eventually get their name on a word etymology entry and credit for introducing new definitions into our linguistic traditions rather than the guys like me who say, "Hey, the traditional definition of that word works for me! Why change it?"
QUIZ: "The Stephen King Trivia" by iKïyå§ama  - I thought it would be fun to test my Stephen King knowledge... unfortunately, this quiz focused on a lot of his stories that I haven't read, so it was less "Oh, oh! I know that answer!" and more like, "Well, I'm just going to give it my best guess..." I still managed to get six out of ten right, but I can't really attribute that to anything other than dumb luck. I think there were only three that I actually knew the answer to without guessing.
QUIZ: "Are you Evil Minion Material?" by Dragonlord - I couldn't resist taking this one, to find out if I'm loyal minion material for an evil overlord. As I suspected, though, I'm not really minion material. I scored a 38 out of 50, which apparently means I'm more of a villain myself. What can I say? When I see an opportunity to take advantage, I guess I jump on it... even if it's against my own evil master. 
POLL: "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor - I chose this poll because it was the first poll on the list that didn't involve questions about giantesses, what kind of inanimate objects you'd want to turn your rivals into, or where on the pollster's body you'd want to live if you were miniaturized.  I went with the first normal-sounding poll I could find... the sexiest color and style of nylons! I ended up picking black (sheer) from the list of options, although I was surprised that black, white, and "nude" were the only color options. I was sure the poll would have included other traditionally "sexy" colors like red or blue or green or purple. From the results, it seems like things are pretty evenly split.
POLL: "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor - I thought this was a fun poll that asked the respondent to fantasize about the kind of feedback they would want to get on their first book. There were some creative answers and it was fun to think about getting a novel published and imagining what kind of feedback might make me happy to receive as an author.
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