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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
 "The Soundtrackers Group" 
"Blogging Circle of Friends "
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"
"JAFBG"
"Take up Your Cross"
Thanks for stopping by! 
January 24, 2015 at 2:05pm January 24, 2015 at 2:05pm
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PROMPT: What personal responsibilities do we hold when we see something bad happening? Are these personal responsibilities different when the offender is a close friend or family member?
I think we have a moral obligation to act when something bad is happening to anyone, not just loved ones, assuming it's in our power to help change the outcome and it's not already being handled by someone else. But I also acknowledge that the victim being a loved is one probably more like to spur people to action. And I suppose it also has a lot to do with what bad thing is happening. The more inevitable or dangerous the anticipated outcome, the more reticent people are to step up or speak out. For example, I think people are generally less inclined to, say, bring themselves to the attention of a crazy person threatening someone else with a gun than they would be to, say, confront someone they caught shoplifting or slapping their child.
If the offender is a loved one, we have a greater responsibility to do something because these are people we know and care about and for whome we should have a vested interest in wanting to prevent them from doing bad things.
A lot of us, even when we know something bad is happening, will avoid getting involved. We might convince ourselves that we're running late to work and don't have time to stop and make sure the people in the two cars that just got in an accident in front of you are okay. Or we might think, "I don't need to call 911 about that mugging because there are tons of people around and I'm sure someone else will call." Or we might even say to ourselves, "I think it's terrible that her husband's cheating on her, but it's not my place to get in the middle of things." And while we might come up with a variety of justifications or excuses for why we don't want to get involved, I think that's a separate issue than whether we should. I'm sure we all have points in our lives where, after the fact, we think to ourselves, "I should have done something" or "I should have said something." That, to me, is always an indication that I had a moral responsibility to do something. Whether you think that little voice in your head is God, karma, your conscience, the universe, or whatever, it's something inside you saying that you should have taken personal responsibility and at least tried something.
In order to keep this blog entry from being a complete downer, though, I think those moments where you choose not to act when you kinda know you should have are natural parts of our existence. As humans, we're flawed and we make mistakes. The point is to learn from those mistakes and realize, "Gee, I felt really bad last time I said nothing when I saw that cashier giving a blind person back smaller bills instead of the correct change. I'm not going stay silent if I see something like that happen again."
We have a personal responsibility to help other people, and to do our best to communicate to our loved ones the important values we have and think they should embody themselves, especially when it comes to children, younger siblings, or other people in our lives who look to us for moral guidance or as a role model for their own behavior. That doesn't mean we're not going to make mistakes or that we should be two hours late to work because you stopped to help every old lady across the street, to check on the status of everyone involved in every accident, and to put a dollar in the change cup of every panhandler ... but we do have to accept responsibility for the fact that almost all of us have people in this world who look up to us as a behavioral example, and it's for the benefit of those people that we need to try and help when bad things happen that we have the ability to influence.
PROMPT: Let's talk about those lovely ellipsis points. Do you think they suggest faltered or fragmented speech? Should they be save for confusion, distress or the big reveal. Do you use them when you write? How about with dialogue, are they best used when one speaker interrupts another?
I have a serious problem overusing ellipses. In screenwriting, they typically indicate a pause or a sentence that trails off and is left unfinished. (Dashes, on the other hand, indicate a sentence being cut off or interrupted by something else.)
EXAMPLE
JOHN
Do you maybe want to...
JANE
Maybe want to what?
JOHN
You know, go upstairs and...
JANE
What kind of girl do you think I am?
I can't believe you think I'd just--
JOHN
Okay, geez. It was just a question. |
My problem is that I'm a very intuitive writer, where I'll create natural pauses not just in my spoken conversations, but also in my writing. I tend to put commas wherever I'd pause naturally in the delivery of a sentence if I were to read it aloud (even if a comma doesn't usually go there!), and then have to go back and edit them out. The same is true of ellipses ... I'll often use them in sentence to indicate a pause or shift in direction but ... like this sentence itself ... it probably could have been accomplished just as easily without so many ellipses. 
I don't think I'll ever entirely get rid of my ellipses. I cling to my lesser-utilized stylistic devices like ellipses and dashes to create variety in my writing. And they're standard conventions in screenwriting because they can so often help cue actors on how to deliver a line with the presence of other characters or events going on around them. But I know I definitely overuse them - especially in formal writing where perhaps the traditional comma, period, semicolon usage would be more appropriate - but I'll never get rid of them entirely. As long as there's a screenplay to write or an a casual email to draft, you're going to keep seeing ... um ... those ... three tiny sequential dots peppered throughout my writing!
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January 23, 2015 at 3:49pm January 23, 2015 at 3:49pm
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PROMPT: Are sports important.. can you compare sports to any aspect of life? Are sports important in terms of growth and development? Did you participate in sports yourself? Do you agree or disagree? I've heard people say sports today lack ethics, do you think that is true?
Sports, or more generally athletics, are an incredibly important part of a successful life. According to the CDC , 34.9% of Americans (approx. 78.6 million) are considered not just overweight, but obese. And the estimated annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion in 2008, which calculates out to an average of $1,429 per year in added medical costs for those who are obsese over those who are not. When you look at statistics like that, I don't know how you can think that physical activity is anything other than one of the most important activities you can spend your time pursuing. And there are an endless number of activities you can participate in. If you're not one for competitive team sports like baseball, football, or basketball, you could participate in a competitive individual sports like tennis, golf ( ugh, I can't believe I'm calling that a sport), or martial arts. Hell, if you're not one for competitive sports at all, there are plenty of types of athletic activity that can be undertaken recreationally without the slightest hint of competition (although competitive versions do exist): hiking, surfing, cycling, running, rock climbing, skating, kayaking, weight lifting, skiing, etc.
But let's forget all that and pretend like "sports" is intended to mean an organized and/or competitive activity rather than something done recreationally or as part of a fitness routine. In those terms, sports are still vitally important to the growth and development of children. First, have you been around a kid who's been cooped up all day? Children have a ton of energy and if they don't have an outlet to expend that energy, it's going to be expended in different ways that you and your home probably won't appreciate as much. Second, a big part of growing up is learning to deal with issues that come up in sports all the time, such as how to handle winning (and defeat), how to come up with and employ a strategy for success, and how to interact with others whether they're on your side or against you. Growing up, I had friends in both the "sports" camp and the "non-sports" camp, and - while it wasn't 100% for either side - the friends who participated in sports or other competitive activities turned out significantly better adjusted to the challenges of the adult world than the friends who didn't have that experience dealing with those issues growing up. I'm not sure if it's accurate to say that sports can be directly analogous to any other aspect of a person's life, but there are definitely skills developed through participation in sports that will serve a person well in a variety of other areas of a person's life, both on and off the field.
That said, not every sports experience is a good experience. I participated in a few activities growing up, notably Little League baseball for four years, and martial arts for about five years. I really enjoyed playing Little League at the lower levels, but I stopped once I got to the point where it was an older group of kids (and parents) who took it much more seriously as the players developed the talent that would hopefully carry them to success on a high school team and in turn let them parlay that success into a scholarship at the college level. I distinctly remember the two events that led to me quitting baseball. The first was, after previously being hit by a pitch and being a little shaky at the plate, the opposing team's coach telling the pitcher to intentionally throw at my head to psyche me out. And the second was, after nearly getting hit in the head with a 70 MPH fastball and being very shaky after that, several of the parents approaching my coach and telling them to bench me so that I wouldn't tarnish the team's undefeated record for their sons who actually wanted to be seriously baseball players instead of someone like me who was just playing "for fun." (For the record, it was a recreational league.)
When sports get to that point, where the pressure or the external influences or the actual activity itself are no longer fun or enjoyable for the participants, I think they lose their value as healthy and positive ways to spend someone's time. Even if you're one of the people looking to build a competitive skillset, it's counterproductive to compete in a way that doesn't build the character and life skills that will make the players decent human beings as well as effective athletes. I don't think it's the sports themselves that lack ethics; I think it's more related to the personal ethics of the people playing. Sports is a very lucrative profession for some people, and there's no doubt that access to that vast amount of money and fame can have a corrupting effect on some. But to say that sports in general lack ethics is inaccurate, as there are plenty of athletes and coaches and managers and owners out there who believe in the the spirit of the game and the principles of fair play.
There was a great Freakonomics Podcast last year where they interviewed Andrew Luck (quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts) and discussed the fact that, through a labor dispute that amended rookie salary caps, Luck ended up signing a four-year $22 million contract as the number one overall pick during the 2012 NFL Draft when the number one overall pick from the 2010 NFL Draft (Sam Bradford) just two years earlier signed a six-year, $76 million contract. The overall number one from the 2009 NFL Draft (Matthew Stafford) signed a three-year $53 million contract the year before. When asked how he felt about getting "legislated out of" potentially as much as anywhere between $20 million and $50 million extra dollars, Luck replied, "There was an initial, maybe half a second pang of bitterness at my parents for not having my earlier. But once I realized that, you know, you can waste your whole life worrying about things you can’t control, right? So I haven’t lost any sleep over it. And actually, as I’ve sort of gone into year three now, and talking to folks in our union and or each other, our teammates and folks at the front office, I realize the thought process behind it all. And I’m OK with it."
There was also a moment during the currently-running 2014 Australian Open where Tim Smyczek, ranked 112th in the world, played Rafael Nadal (world number three and one of the greatest tennis players of all time), had an opportunity to gain an advantage that could have won him the match. After pushing Nadal for five grueling sets, Smyczek was only a few precious points away from taking out one of the best players in the world. It would have been a career-defining victory. And yet, in the very last game of the match, when saying nothing would have brought him one step closer to victory, Smyczek insisted that point be replayed after a shout from someone in the crowd caused Nadal to fault on his serve. Despite being within his rights to continue playing (the distraction wasn't his fault after all), Smyczek wasn't thinking about his own competitive advantage at that moment. He was thinking the fair thing to do for his opponent - who was clearly agitated at the disruption and resulting serve error - was to ask that he be allowed to replay the point.
I think that as long as there are guys like Andrew Luck (who also repeatedly reiterated how happy and lucky he is to be able to do something he loves for a living) and Tim Smyczek out there, it's inaccurate to claim that there are no ethics in sports. Is there corruption on some level? I'm sure. But have all ethics left the profession? Not hardly.
PROMPT: "My story was a complete success. The audience was a failure." ~ Ashleigh Brilliant. When you sit down to blog or write a short story do you consider what the audience expectations are? How important are each word, sentence when it comes to your target audience? If not, who are you writing for?
For me, audience consideration is an important part of the writing process, but not ultimately who I write for. I write for myself. My only barometer of success is how happy I am personally with the resulting story. If other people like it too, that's wonderful and certainly what I'm hoping for ... but it's just icing on the cake rather than the reason I'm baking in the first place.
Weighing audiences expectations and opinions is a path that leads you along a very rapid descent into neurotic writer territory. It's hard enough trying to make something that pleases an entire audience on a macro level, and damn near impossible on the micro level when you're talking about individual word choice and sentence structure. It can be challenging to ignore all the different voices weighing in on the work you're creating, but consider that an audience is supposed to be comprised of spectators (which are, by definition, watchers or observers) rather than participants. Coaches of sports teams don't go into the stands and solicit football plays from the fans. Companies don't call up television viewers at home and ask whether they liked the commercial or have any thoughts on how to better advertise their product. I think we have to take a similar approach as writers (i.e., creators of a product) where our obligation is to provide the content, which audiences can enjoy or avoid at their discretion. A writers' job isn't to write to audience expectations; it's to create the best work you can, and that work will hopefully live up to or even exceed the audience's expectations.
Understanding your audience, though, is an incredibly important part of being a writer. While you shouldn't write differently to chase their expectations, you also have to be aware of what it is they do expect and be realistic about whether you can provide that to them or not. I know a lot of writers who have dreams of being a big, successful novelist like James Patterson but write stuff that's more like Chuck Palahniuk. Or they want to be a big-time screenwriter like Aaron Sorkin but write material that's closer to something from Roger Corman. If you don't understand your audience, your own expectations are probably going to be drastically off-base. And that's not even getting into the issues of genre conventions and how a writer needs to provide what an audience expects if they're going to write in a particular genre. A romance novel with no sexy stuff and all period drama and history is probably not going to sell very well. Neither will a mystery novel where the who, what, when, why, and how are never in doubt.
While I find the Ashleigh Brilliant quote to be very amusing, it's also, to me, one of the worst ways to go about being a writer. If you think about writing approaches on a bell curve where the largest middle chunk is what's successful, at one end of the curve back where you only have the occasional errant success, is the type of writer who spends too much time trying to please everyone and ends up never writing anything uniquely theirs because so much effort is being expended trying to write what they think other people want. But at the other end of the curve are writers who think like this quote and figure, "Hey, my work is perfect. If you don't like it, then there's something wrong with you." Either extreme is very dangerous if you want to have a healthy and successful/lucrative relationship with your audience.
When it comes to my own writing, I consider my audience and their expectations at the outset. When I'm first thinking up a concept, or developing a premise, or drafting an outline, I'll often ask myself whether a particular character or narrative beat is in line with something the audience would expect or appreciate. That's part of the process of writing commercially; understanding what your audience wants. But that's where the audience consideration ends. Once I've finished the outlining and I pretty much know what I want to write, the how of it is up to me. The books of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs and Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton are all essentially the same "what" (female character investigates a crime) ... but they're each bestselling authors in their own right because the details and the "how" are all different. When it comes to genre fiction in particular, if an author has an obligation to meet a certain set of audience expectations, the audience has an obligation to let the author meet those expectations in his or her own way. After all, the "how" is what distinguishes one author from another.
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January 22, 2015 at 7:33pm January 22, 2015 at 7:33pm
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PROMPT: Discuss necessary evils. Do you believe any exist? What are they?
I think necessary evils exist all around us. Without getting too far into a philosophical debate and for the sake of this argument, let's define evil as doing something that you know is wrong. And, in that context, I think there are necessary evils all around us. Lying, for example, is something I know is wrong, but I absolutely lie to people for a variety of reasons and in a variety of capacities; everything from little white lies to spare someone's feelings, to great big lies of omission to avoid unpleasant confrontations. Similarly, I think we can all agree that murdering someone is pretty much wrong ... but I definitely think there are situations where the taking of a life is justified if it means preserving the lives of others, like shooting a bomber before he can set off his ordnance, or assassinating a genocidal dictator to prevent further mass murder.
In a world as filled with gray - and straight-up black if we're being perfectly honest - evil is going to exist. And where evil exists, it seems to me a given that people will be put in a position of participating in a necessary evil in order to serve the greater good. Similarly, if one believes in the "lesser of two evils" principle, I think there's a pretty implicit indication that one of those evils is necessary. Two of the biggest issues in political debates are taxes and medical care ... and I don't know anyone who says, "Yay, taxes are awesome!" or, "Boy, my health insurance company sure is swell!" But dealing with taxes and health insurance companies is the lesser evil when compared to the alternatives of having no state or federal money to pay for things like infrastructure, or dealing with medical costs without having any insurance coverage. If people are forced to choose between two evils, the lesser one becomes necessary unless you can opt-out altogether or for some reason think that choosing the greater evil is a good idea. 
It would be impossible to come up with a comprehensive list of necessary evils, but I think they can be summed up into the following general definition: a necessary evil is one that's chosen in order to prevent the existence or perpetuation of a worse evil.
PROMPT: "Twilight again. Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end." Edward Do you ever wish certain days would never end? Why?
I'm too mercurial to be satisfied with a single day that never ends, no matter how great it might be. Even when an experience is really, really amazing, I often find myself looking to the horizon for what's next. Moreover, my idea of what's ideal changes from time to time. So while one day I might find lounging on the couch and surfing the web with a good movie in the background to be extremely satisfying and exactly the thing I want to be doing, it's just as often that the thought of sitting on the couch all day is a mortifying thought and I want nothing more than to get out of the apartment for a little while and do something. So even if I'm having a positively delightful day in which things couldn't possibly get any better, I'd still probably want that day to end at some point so I can look forward to what the next day has in store for me.
I think the horizon-gazing is what makes me so even-tempered and laid back most of the time. Since I'm always at least partially looking toward the future, it's easier for me to get through the bad times in the present since I know they're temporary. If I'm having money trouble, or a stressful day at work, or am running late, it's easier to cope with those things when you're keeping at least part of your perspective on what's ahead and realize that tomorrow's going to be an entirely different day.
Now if you're asking me if there are ever days that I wouldn't mind stretching out for a few more hours ... that's another matter entirely. There are definitely days I've experienced where I wouldn't mind clinging on to the moment for another couple minutes or hours. There are so many amazing moments a life can offer and it'd be foolish to say that I wouldn't want a single extra moment with some of them if I could manage it.
I suppose the real issue is one of ever/never/forever, which I've always struggled with. As mentioned above, I like change. I enjoy new challenges and new experiences and opportunities that take me out of my comfort zone. If you're asking me to commit to something for all time, I'm probably going to opt out. Like, I think being immortal would be cool for the first few centuries, or maybe the first millennium. But I bet there'd be a point where I'd think, "You know, I think I'd like to try being dead for a while." So if the question is an unqualified, "Would you want to always" or "Would you be happy never," my answer is probably no. I want options! 
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January 15, 2015 at 3:34pm January 15, 2015 at 3:34pm
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PROMPT: When making decisions in life, do you listen to your head or heart more? Are you more of a logical or emotional thinker?
I'm definitely more of a logical thinker. I rarely go into a situation without considering a variety of outcomes, and I rarely make a plan without at least considering several different alternatives. About a year ago, I took the StrengthsFinder test, which is one of those "let's categorize your abilities into a handy list" type of tests. Apparently there are 34 different talents you can have, including things like connectedness, discipline, empathy, strategic, etc. and the test will provide you with the top five talents you exhibit based on your answers to their scenarios and questions. My top five talents were (in order):
 Input - likes to collect and archive information
Responsibility - takes ownership of what they do, values loyalty
Adaptability - likes to "go with the flow" and adjust to changing circumstances
Intellection - introspective and likes intellectually-stimulating discussion/activities
Arranger - organized, can figure out how different pieces can be efficiently utilized
With the exception of Responsibility (since I suppose logical and emotional people can both have a strong or weak sense of personal responsibility), the other four of my five top talents are all related to some kind of data processing. My wife, who is definitely an emotional decision maker, has talents like Harmony (seeking areas of agreement and avoiding conflict) and Empathy (sensing and understanding the feelings of other people), but mine all involve some kind of collation of data. Input and Intellection are all about the acquisition and discussion of data, and Adaptability and Arranger are all about taking data and shaping it (or myself) as needed.
It's not that I don't feel emotional about decisions I have to make, though. I definitely feel strongly about some decisions and I'm definitely not the guy who's going to boot up a spreadsheet so I can run a statistical analysis on whether it's a good idea to get married, have a baby, send a loved one to an assisted living facility, etc. But I'm also definitely not the one who's going to make a snap decision and say, "Well this is how I'm feeling so let's do it!" I like to use the emotion I feel to guide my general feeling or initial opinion on a course of action... then I like to do my research and make sure I can justify the decision I'm feeling like I should make.
I know I always can sometimes drive my wife crazy whenever we have a serious life decision. I'm the guy who will read every word of the information packets on the health benefits provided by each of our employers and then mock up a few situations so I can do the math and figure out which plan is a better fit for our needs. I'm the guy who will look at 200 reviews of ten different models of toaster before I buy one. And I'm the guy who will research and test drive twenty different vehicles before settling on the new car I want to buy. And don't even get me started on electronics. Since I have a passion for technology, it's even worse when we're buying a TV or a new computer.
But all of that tedious work (well, my wife thinks it's tedious; I think it's fun ) does come with the added upside that buyer's remorse is almost never an issue for me. Once I finally make a decision to buy something, I tend to enjoy the hell out of it and keep it around until it's on its last legs.
All things considered, I'm really lucky that I married my wife, because our approaches to decision-making really complement one another. She's the one who reels me in and says, "This is one of those times when you should go with your gut" or, "Is a new set of spatulas really worth researching for a week?" And I'm the one that says, "Maybe we should weigh our options before we pick our health insurance. I know it seems like a no-brainer on the page, but what happens if one of us gets really sick, or into an accident?" Between the two of us, we're usually able to make pretty good decisions, but that's because she offsets my natural inclination to be logical about everything and consider every option before committing to a course of action.
PROMPT: "Everything with you is a long story." Does this apply to you, people you know or characters in your stories?
I don't think I'm usually prone to telling long stories, although I'm sure I've done it on more than one occasion, but the real reason this prompt inspired me is because I have a friend for whom everything is most definitely a long story. He's one of those guys who will start with, "Did I tell you what happened at work today?" And if he gets going will immediately backtrack and say, "Well, first I need to give you a little backstory. So three weeks ago my boss said... and then last week Francine mentioned... and by the way, I forgot to mention that [whatever] is kind of an inside joke between everyone at the office..." and after about twenty minutes of context, additional explanation, asides, and sidetracked anecdotes, we'll finally get to "what happened at work" that day. 
On the one hand, I think it's a pretty remarkable thing to be able to lose yourself so entirely in a story and all of its nuances that you don't even notice that your audience is losing interest or falling asleep. There's something impressive about a person's ability to so engross themselves in a story that the length of time it takes to tell is irrelevant to them. Then again, the storyteller in me (and especially the inner editor) wants to scream, "I don't need to know all that! Get to the meat of the story!"
I suppose that reaction shouldn't be too surprising, since it's how I approach reading too. I get burned out by writers with a longwinded approach to description and detail. I rarely pick up a book that's over 500 pages because - unless I have it on good authority that it's because the book is crammed full of action - it's usually an indicator to me that a book is too overwritten for my tastes. I like things simple and straightforward and don't have as much appreciation for the nuances and little details as perhaps others do. So while I definitely don't think I'm particularly longwinded myself, there are definitely quite a few people out there (especially my friend mentioned above) for whom I feel everything with them is a "long story."
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January 13, 2015 at 2:02pm January 13, 2015 at 2:02pm
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PROMPT: Perseverance is the difference between good and great... Do you believe this to be true, or do you think there are other mitigating factors to take into consideration when it comes to success? Is all that hard work really worth it.
For me, the three parts of this question all have different answers.
Do you believe that perseverance is the difference between good and great? Absolutely. I think that greatness comes from talent developed over time, so the difference between a good writer and a great writer is the time they put into to foster their talent. The difference between a good athlete and a great athlete is the tenacity with which they push themselves to greater heights. The difference between a good musician and a great musician is the amount of time spent practicing.
Do you think there are other mitigating factors to take into consideration when it comes to success? This is the other part, where I say that I do think there has to be a natural talent for something in there somewhere. Some people just aren't particularly apt at certain things, so I think it's incorrect to say that perseverance is the only factor that determines greatness. I'm okay at math, but I'll never be great because no matter how much I may study and practice and read about the subject, numbers just don't come naturally to me the way that words do. Similarly, some people don't have the coordination required to be an athlete, or the language skills to be an effective public speaker. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't think you can be great at something you don't have a knack for. You can eventually become competent or even good at it, but greatness - for me - is reserved for those who have the natural talent and properly develop it in order to achieve amazing results that most of us can only dream of.
I also think that luck has something to do with success. Maybe it's just because I work in a field where I see so many success (and failure) stories among people I would consider equally hardworking and comparably talented, but there's got to be some kind of intangible involved to explain why some people make it and some people don't... or why some people have astronomical success while others are only mildly successful. One of my favorite quotes is Seneca's, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" because it takes some of the mysticism out of luck. It's not necessarily this completely random force of nature that you either stumble upon or you don't; there is a way to make yourself "luckier" and better exploit those opportunities when they arise.
Is all that hard work really worth it? I suppose this part of the prompt really comes down to the issue of whether you enjoy the hard work. Obviously isn't not going to be all sunshine and rainbows because there's work involved, so it's more a question of whether the activity or discipline you're pursuing brings you joy. Do you like playing a musical instrument? Is exercising and training fun for you? Does writing stories bring you satisfaction? If it does, then I think the hard work will ultimately be worth it because you're getting some enjoyment out of the process. If you hate every minute of what you're practicing, it might not be worth it because you're not feeling personally fulfilled by that hard work.
Perseverance is a key ingredient to success (and by extension, greatness). It's certainly not the only ingredient, as one also needs some form of talent and a bit of luck, but the road to greatness is a long one and the destination can be ephemeral... perseverance is what allows you to stays the course once you've started the journey.
PROMPT: Can some fiction, TV shows, and movies make us question the reality and life, by expanding our thinking?
I have to believe this is true, or it would be hard to take my writing efforts seriously. As I've grown older, I've become more and more convinced that we all need to do some good in the world. It's not enough to just focus on yourself and getting yourself through life; you also have to commit something of yourself to the service of others. And there are times when I look at my writing (and my day job) and think, "I should be a doctor, or an attorney in the public defender's office, or running a nonprofit company instead of working a desk job for a private entertainment company and writing stories in my spare time.
But I've also seen firsthand the transformative power of a good story. Some people read a story or watch a movie/show and learn something about themselves or others through the characters and situations. Others might gain some insight into a situation they weren't otherwise familiar with through the lens of carefully crafted fiction. And still others might have their lives improved by the simple escapism provided during a time when they need a break from their own reality.
I don't think every piece of fiction, television, or cinema is meant to make us ask ourselves deep philosophical questions or change the way we think about something, but it's absolutely a possibility depending on the subject matter and the audience's willingness to accept that change.
My answer to this prompt isn't entirely theoretical, though. Fight Club caused me to seriously question the issues of affluence, purpose, and masculinity in modern society. Inception took me down a rabbit hole that questioned whether the pursuit of truth is more important than the pursuit of happiness. Star Wars and E.T. opened my eyes to the possibility of life on other planets, and It's A Wonderful Life showed me that there are other possible directions a life can go, and to appreciate the one you've got while you've got it. 13 Reasons Why helped me understand how a compilation of little things can lead to depression and suicide, and The Fault In Our Stars taught me to be happy with my own little infinity, regardless of how big or small it is in comparison to the infinities of others.
These are just a handful of the books and movies that I've learned something from or that have caused me to think about larger issues than just the story and the characters in the movie. I think most of us, if pressed, could name a handful or more of books and motion pictures that did the same for them. And with so many people so affected by different stories and characters, I think it's impossible not to think that fiction has the power to transform our worldview. |
January 12, 2015 at 5:06am January 12, 2015 at 5:06am
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PROMPT: “Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.” - Gautama Buddha
What do you think? Is this true?
Way back in college when I took a comparative religion class, my favorite concept by far "samsara," which is the sanskrit word used to define the eternal cycle of birth, life, death, and reincarnation that's found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, and Sikhism. The general idea is that life is a repeating cycle that you go through with the consequences of your actions determining how you're reborn.
This obviously has a parallel with today's quote from Gautama Buddha, with the snake's process of shedding its skin acting as a metaphor for the way we repeatedly shed our past. Just like the concept of samsara, our lives are a constant cycle of new beginnings. There are times in our lives when we have to dispense with the old to bring in the new. For some of us, these cycles don't change that much (hence George Santayana's famous aphorism, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."), but for others, the act of shedding our past can be a transformative experience that opens up a world of new future possibilities.
If you think about all the different stages we go through in life, it becomes impossible to not see the truth in Gautama Buddha's words. Whether we're talking about the general path from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, or the climb up the corporate ladder, or the journey through personal relationships until we find the right person... all of that involves discarding who we once were as the new phase of our life begins. Whether we take something away from the experiencing of shedding the old skin is another matter entirely, but the fact that it happens is irrefutable.
I think the real question is not, "Is the idea that we have to shed our past over and over again true?" Instead, I think it might be more worthwhile to ask ourselves, "When we are forced to shed our past, what can we learn from it?"
PROMPT: What do you think “compassion” is? Can one show compassion even for one’s worst enemy?
The dictionary defines compassion as "sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others," which is pretty much how I define it as well. Some people might consider it synonymous with empathy, but I think it's closer to sympathy as there usually needs to be an element of misfortune or suffering involved for the subject of another's compassion. Empathy, on the other hand, can be felt for any emotion or feeling, not necessarily those that are tied to someone else's adversity.
As far as showing compassion for one's worst enemy, I definitely think it's a possibility... but I suppose it would largely depend on the circumstances. And the enemy. In my own situation, for example, if I have a "worst enemy" it would probably be one of two former bosses I've had who treated me like crap. In the case of one, it was flat-out lying about opportunities for advancement and deliberately keeping me in a lesser role despite a verbal agreement that it would only be a temporary stepping stone. In the case of another, it was setting me up to fail and belittle, then actively attempting to prevent my employment elsewhere when I decided to quit. And while I certainly despise those bosses for how I was treated, I think I would still feel compassion for them if they were going through a personal tragedy, like a battle with cancer or the loss of a loved one. It's simply a matter of perspective; I'm capable of feeling compassion for someone else's misfortune if that misfortune is greater than the one they've caused me. Of course, if either of them were in a situation where they had a terrible boss who misled them or tried to make their work life miserable, I would have less compassion for that scenario.
But I can definitely understand that there are people out there who have been so scarred and so traumatized by others, that there is no sympathy or compassion for anything that may befall the perpetrators in their own lives. It's a little hard to categorize and this is by no means an exhaustive or comprehensive list, but I can't think of many scenarios - no matter how tragic - where I would feel compassion for rapists, pedophiles, human traffickers, genocidal tyrants/warlords, etc. And I can completely understand how their victims may not be as inclined to feel sympathy for these villains the way I'd be able to feel it for my former bosses. Again, it's a relative measure. If one can feel compassion for someone else's misfortune if that misfortune is greater than the one they've caused... I think those people are out of luck because there's not a lot someone can do to them that's worse than what they've done to others.
I really struggle not to hold grudges against people who have wronged me. It's sometimes easier said than done, but I think a large part of what makes us human is our empathy with one another. And while empathy certain encapsulates more than one emotion, sympathy happens to be one of them. So in order to be truly empathetic, we have to feel for others in a variety of ways. That includes compassion, and it includes feeling it for people who maybe don't deserve it. |
January 5, 2015 at 9:24pm January 5, 2015 at 9:24pm
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PROMPT: For the glory of the number eleven, send notebook posts (or comments to notebook posts) to eleven different WdC members.
Linked 'Note' no longer available. - I posted on a new member's notebook post, welcomed her to the site, and offered some links and personal help if she ever has any questions about Writing.Com.
"Note: I made this awesome veggie chili last night. It st..." - I had to comment on this one because the recipe sounds delicious!
Note # - Great advice about writers block and a strategy for overcoming it.
"Note: Writing again! Sending oxooxo to all here,that I k..." - Sent some encouraging words to someone who's writing again.
Note # - Had a fantastic idea about putting Quills-eligible items in your highlighted items so people can quickly peruse your port, check out your eligible items, and nominate if they're so inclined. Fantastic idea, goldenautumn!
Note # - Sent some words of encouragement to an eleven-year-old attempting to write her first book.
"Note: Entered a book reading challenge... 104 books be..." - A goal of reading 104 books in a calendar year pretty much puts my goal of a book a week to shame.
Note # - Wanted to have a little fun with a clever post about New Years' related gym attendance.
"Note: Heading to the chocolate exhibit at the Academy of..." - She had me at "chocolate exhibit."
"Note: I have some great stories I might write in this ne..." - Writing encouragement for the new year.
Note # - Ah, email storage capacity limits... my old nemesis... 
PROMPT: To finish out the challenge, respect the number twelve by combining anything you've already done for this challenge for twelve new WdC members. They can be all the same or different or any combination (e.g., you can do 12 more newsfeed posts, or 6 newsfeed/4 cNotes/2 reviews or any other combination you want that adds up to twelve.)
Honestly, this challenge was a lot harder than I intended it to be. Not being able to repeat any users (yeah, I think we've all got a few double-ups by accident, which is fine) meant that there would be 78 unique recipients of each person's holiday cheer during this activity. On the face of things, that doesn't seem like that many... but since I went through this challenge along with everyone else, I quickly gained an appreciation for the strategy involved in who you pick when. Finding interesting newsfeed posts - or finding people to fan - can be pretty darn challenging when you've already used up a ton of people with the forum posts, cNotes, review, and blog comments!
I decided to keep things simple on this last day; it's the first day back at work and while I'd love to have been able to do at least one from each of the eleven previous days, I'm running a little short on time and doubt I'll be able to finish up before the deadline tomorrow afternoon WdC time, so I complete this activity with the following:
I fanned pinkbarbie, Osirantinous  , 💙 Carly-wrimo 2024  , and goldenautumn. Honestly, the ten we did a few days ago wasn't nearly enough so I felt like I should spend at least some of these extra challenges fanning some more people that I should have been following a long time ago. I know a couple of these are repeats from earlier in the challenge, but they definitely deserve to be the exception to the rule!
I also nominated the following items for Quills:
BEST CONTEST: "The Weekly Quickie Contest"
BEST CONTEST: " Magic Words Contest "
BEST MULTIPLE-PERSON ACTIVITY: "Merit Badge Projects"
BEST MULTIPLE-PERSON ACTIVITY: "Invalid Item"
And, to wrap things up, I sent out four surprise "just because" merit badges to some WdC members. I had to put this challenge near the very beginning of the Twelve Days in order to make it cost-effective for everyone who wanted to participate, but I had always wanted to give out more than just the two that were required. And now is my chance! Here's the last four to complete my twelve additional holiday cheer efforts for the day:
I sincerely hope everybody enjoyed the challenge; I had a blast and it was fun to be reminded about some of the features of the site that I think a lot of us overlook on a day-by-day basis. I know I'm going to try to be better about fanning people and good items, sending cNotes, and sharing some good cheer around the site all year round instead of just these twelve days of the year.
Thanks to everyone who participated! 
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January 3, 2015 at 12:54pm January 3, 2015 at 12:54pm
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PROMPT: As a tribute to the austerity of the number ten, fan ten different authors or items that you haven't already. (Refresher: to "like" an item or author, click the "+" at the top right between the email and print icons. The "+" will turn into a finger with a string on it to indicate you've made it a favorite... and clicking it again will turn the icon into a horn which indicates you're a fan. You can check to see which items you've already fanned - and who is a fan of you! - by clicking on the Fans tab in your portfolio.)
I'm going to break my own rules a bit with this blog entry... even though I've not repeated a single person yet in any of these 12 Days of Christmas activities, I'm going to ignore that rule today. And it's not going to be a detailed blog post with reasons why I chose each person today because the reason why I chose each of these people is the same. These are WdC members that I've worked with, chatted with, competed against, or otherwise interacted with on Writing.Com for a decent period of time, and whose contributions to the site I greatly value. I decided to fan the following ten people not because I'm just discovering them now or because they did anything specific recently... I'm fanning them now because I should have done it a very long time ago and I just now realized that I didn't. 
I'm pretty bad with the favorites and fanning thing on this site. I have tons of old contests and activities still bookmarked, even ones that haven't been updated for years or members who haven't logged in since 2013... and yet I always seem to forget to make new favorites when something comes along, unless it's an activity where I need to be able to see it pop up in my favorites (like an auction or forum). For 2015, I'm going to try to be better about cleaning out the old stuff (A Midsummer Night's Scream and Erotic Tales of Pleasure & Pain haven't had a round since 2012... I think it's safe to say they're not coming back anytime soon!), and adding the new activities and individuals that I'd like to get to know better in the coming year. So I'm starting with the following:
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January 3, 2015 at 11:40am January 3, 2015 at 11:40am
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Twelve Days of Christmas
This is the second time I'm writing this blog post... the first time I accidentally closed out the tab along with a few others as I was wrapping things up. Oops.  So forgive me if I just kind of abbreviate my previous thoughts and summarize instead.
PROMPT (SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS): To respect the power of the number seven, visit "The Shameless "Plug" Page" , "Activities @ Writing.Com" , and/or "Writing Contests @ Writing.Com" and promote the items, activities, or contests of seven WdC members. Bonus points if those things are from Blog Harbor members!
"Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor (Contests) - I'm still struggling to get into poetry, but this is one of my go-to contests. I love the different prompts and options for entries; the variety helps me get inspired... as does the dark and twisted subject matter!
"The Pressure Valve - closed for now." by CeruleanSon  (Contests) - The prompts for this steampunk contest are always interesting; hopefully one of these days I'll be able to enter more frequently than I have in the past!
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" by Lyn's a Witchy Woman  (Activities) - Lyn's done a great job managing Blog City and transitioned everything over seamlessly when Cindy suddenly dropped it in her lap. She does a great job with the daily prompts too.
"Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor (Activities) - I haven't participated in this activity yet, but it's on my list of things to check out. It seems like a blast.
"Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor (Plug) - A great holiday story from a great writer.
"Hey, life? Are you kidding me?" by audra_branson (Plug) - She's one of my favorite bloggers and, even though she doesn't blog as much as she used to, it's always a delight to read her writing.
"Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor (Marketplace) - I think I've lost count of the number of image shops that Brooke's helped open or provided the images for, but this one will always be my favorite because it also benefits the Talent Pond.
PROMPT (EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS): Because the number eight is so influential, purchase some raffle tickets for eight WdC members. Bonus points if you buy each of those eight members exactly eight tickets and/or purchase them from eight separate raffles.
8 tickets to "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor for sunnystarr - For sending such positive reviews at the beginning of the year.
8 tickets to {litem:2022861) for Robyn is PUBLISHED!  - For being such a great secret santa this year.
8 tickets to {litem:2021739) for Future Mrs. Boo  - Just because.
8 tickets to {litem:2021048) for Dawn Embers  - For being my longtime collaborator in crime over at the UENG.
8 tickets to {litem:1979797) for Charlie ~ and Ghostranch and Cinn  - For being great Blog Harbor bloggers.
8 tickets to "The Cube" by Jeff  (when it reopens) for Prosperous Snow celebrating  - For always being so supportive of my writing, my blog activities, and my general insanity around the site.
PROMPT (NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS): To celebrate the number nine, send nine different WdC members cNotes. Bonus points if you send them nine separate cNotes and personalize each one rather than mass-mailing/copying one cNote to nine people.
First, I sent A*Monaing*Faith and Andrew a dragon cNote wishing them both a great week. I know Andrew is busy with The Quills and Faith has been busy in her personal life lately, but I'm hoping to work with both of them again soon.
Then I sent a cNote to Mara ♣ McBain  , Adriana Noir , and NickiD89  to commend their writing ability and tell them I miss them, since we haven't talked much recently.
After that, I sent a cNote to lizco252 and Fivesixer  thanking them for being so creative and setting the bar high for the rest of us. Beth comes up with the best challenges, and Norb is one of the best bloggers I know. Whenever I'm trying to come up with an activity or write a blog post, these are the two I often measure myself up against.
Finally, I sent a cNote to Emily  and Indelible Ink , two friends who haven't had much time to be on WdC lately, but who I hope will have a chance to come back and say hello at some point in 2015.
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January 1, 2015 at 5:19am January 1, 2015 at 5:19am
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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 In Schaumburg  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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![Merit Badge in Attention to Detail
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I know The Quills is a monumental undertaking every year, and I just wanted to send you a little something to show my appreciation for all the tallying, number-crunching, designing, judging, and presenting you do every year. Thanks for everything!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Attention_to_Detail-125.gif)
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Your notebook post about putting Quill-eligible items in our Recommended Items area of our port was brilliant. It was such a great idea, I just had to send you something in recognition of how great it was! *^*Bigsmile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Originality.gif)
![Merit Badge in Newsletters
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For being one of the most consistent and positive contributors to my newsletters. Thanks for always taking the time to write in with your thoughts, ideas, concerns, and appreciation! *^*Bigsmile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Newsletters-2180.gif)
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Congratulations on shedding your "newbie" status and graduating to the next leg of the journey! On your way to "old-timer" status there will likely be lots of activities, contests, reviews, and maybe even a changing case color in your future. Stick with it... this is a great site and it just gets better and better with age. *^*Smile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Work_In_Progress.gif)
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Okay, maybe it's not exactly a secret, but I wanted to start the new year by sending this badge to someone that I really admire for all the work they do around Writing.Com. I'm in awe of the sheer number of activities you're involved in, and you still find time to do independent things like give MBs away through your notebook. Thanks for being someone I look up to on this site!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Secret_Admirer.gif)
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I wanted to start the new year by telling a couple people on this site how much I admire them. I chose this editing MB for you because I'm incredibly impressed with the amount of work you put into the Art of Criticism Newsletter and all of its associated activities. I don't know where you find the time, but the rest of us are better for it. Thank you for all that you do!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Editing-2180.gif)