creativity to grow on

Before we start, let me quote some essential details from my introductory post from Week One, outlining the basics of this month's themed contest. To skip this, scroll directly to the prompt, located midway through this post!

Throughout this contest (and any time, truly), you can reach me fairly instantly by two reliable methods: 1. You can send me a Facebook message, or 2. You can pop an e-mail over to write.brain.dependent@gmail.com – either outreach pings my phone in real time, and I can respond accordingly.

Remember, the open door policy at the Flame isn't just for show -- reach out! The Mod Hydra is here to help, and to ensure that your experience is positive and constructive.

Welcome to Week Two of the theme, "Can you elaborate?" I understand there may have been some confusion about prompt limitations last week, so I've quoted the 'Basic Premise' portion below with a few choice edits in hopes that there will be no further miscommunication. I do not believe in limiting the creative mind unfairly or unnecessarily, so let's nip that in the bud!:

Basic Premise: You are presented with an example of a synopsis for an episode of a television series (there is so necessity to have seen, or to be familiar with, either the episode or the show). Using this synopsis, write your entry. You may also use the title of the episode or something you know about the series or episode quoted to inspire your entry. You do not have to use the name of the character mentioned in the synopsis. These parts of each month’s prompt are interchangeable at the entrant’s discretion; however, you may like to make a clear statement in an Author’s Note about the origin of your inspiration if you deviate unexpectedly from the episode title and/or synopsis provided as each month’s prompt. All forms of writing are welcome!

Again, if anyone has any questions, the Hydra's three silly heads are here to make sure everyone has a good time. Now, without further ado, the prompt for Week Two!

House, M.D. [S6E8]: ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ –“For the ailing patient, intelligence is a miserable burden.”

I've heard people say Hemingway was crushed by the weight of his own genius. Obviously I'm not claiming to understand what that must be like, but I feel as though I have come close to being able to imagine it every so often. In a world where one mustn't look far to find ignorance, for those of us who have worked hard to be enlightened and educated it can feel like suffocation to caught suddenly in the company of those who either have not come as far, or who choose never to try. Ignorance can feel as heavy as humidity in the presence of the wrong kinds of people, even when it isn't their intention to cause you that kind of discomfort.

In the quoted episode of House, the doctor treats a patient whose intelligence is a celebrated gift, but for whom the gift has become a terrible burden. When we meet the patient, he has deliberately chosen a lifestyle much simpler and less demanding than what he knew before, and has abandoned any pursuits that require the use of his brilliant mind. As the episode unfolds, we learn more about how he has willfully suppressed his mind, if only to feel less alone in a crowded room.

This week, how will you explore the maddening choice between brilliance and ignorance? Or the awful suffering of having to hide your thoughts and ideas, if only to continue to fit in with the people around you? Show us your take on the idea of a gift being a burden, or interpret the prompt in a brand new way, and show us something altogether unexpected. Write what you must!

Remember, to advance to main voting for Week Two, you must have survived Week One voting. If not, your entry (or entries) still qualifies for Just For Fun voting and is welcome in the poll! You can access the poll below. Entries are due Sunday, August 16th at 2345 Eastern Time. No sign-ups are necessary for this contest.

---

Submit Here

RicoChey had some technical difficulties logging in so I am posting this for her.

We all have that one person in life who inspires us in a very particular way. Or maybe we have one person for each way we need to be inspired. Regardless of how many inspirational people I've been blessed with, there is one who stands out as being my inspiration to become funny.

My Aunt Phyllis is one of the funniest people I have ever known. The way she tells a story gets me laughing long before she even approaches the punch line.
The telling involves:
Dramatic body language.
Exaggerated facial expressions.
Conspiratorially murmured back story and internal dialog.
Closing words delivered with a loud cackle or guffaw once she sees that she's got you hooked.

I could spend hours with my aunt and never get bored or run out of things to say. She's also a really good cook.

Back when I was young, I got to spend a lot of time with Aunt Phyllis (or Ant P as I usually refer to her on cards and emails) and since I was (by her own statement) one of the few people who laughed at her jokes she made sure to tell them all to me.

In the early Eighties, Ant P gave me a book to read just before my family's summer road trip. She passed it on because it made her laugh until she cried. Ant P assumed it would have a similar result on me. The book was Erma Bombeck's "If Life Is A Bowl Of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pits?"

I loved it and went on to read the handful of others that were published.



Erma Bombeck was a humorist writer with a number of Ohio newspapers throughout her early career. Around 1964 she hit on a subject that propelled her column "At Wit's End" out of her small local paper into national newspaper syndication. By 1967 she was traveling the country giving lectures and radio interviews, and Double Day had compiled some of her articles into a book that shared the same name as her column.

What writing gold was it that Mrs. Bombeck discovered? Hyperbole, coincidence, and the relatable situations seen daily by a mother and a housewife. She made the mundane hilarious. With insight into a husband's snoring, a child's inability to put his clothes away, an entire household's ignorance of the empty toilet paper roll, and the dangers of gift shops in Europe - she helped a nation laugh at themselves and appreciate their own families a little more.

Here are some examples I found typed out on the internet, but if you happen upon one of her books it in the library or used bookstore (or on Kindle), pick it up. If you have a day where life is trying, reading a few pages of Erma Bombeck's take on things should give you a reason to smile.

First, a few one-liners Goodreads users have shared -

“Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.”

“Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.”

“My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.”

“Sometimes I can't figure designers out. It's as if they flunked human anatomy.”

“All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them.”

 

These are a bit longer -

( Read more... )
 

( Read more... )
 

 

Let's talk today about early influences in our reading. It could be humor,  mysteries...anything - what did you read in your youth that stuck with you and helped form the writer you are today? Also, talk to me about how you incorporate humor into your writing. What's your style?

---

 

Brigit's Flame reminders:

We have an ongoing contest for June, the topic is Lost & Found and while it's not due until the end of the month, you should be working on it now.

Kathy shared a quick writing game with us yesterday - go check it out.

Flamestorming is happening on June 14th. Make a note on your calendar to join us in Google Hangouts for writing sprints and community bonding.

 

In honor of Mother's Day your second writing sprint prompt is -

If your birth month falls during January through June your prompt is:

Your protagonist's mother

If your birth month falls during July through December your prompt is:

Your antagonist's mother

Tell us a story about her. Have a conversation with her. Interview her outside the courthouse. Pull the character's file out of their therapists cabinet and describe what it reveals. How has she influenced them? Perhaps she died when they were young and new leaving only an absence to build a shape around. However you see her - however your character sees her we want to know.

Use only as directed:

This game is open to the whole community, not just those who signed up to write for May's theme. For those who are working on their month-long story, the sprints are meant to help you explore your characters, settings, plot, and other components. The content of your resulting sprint DOES NOT need to be included in your final story. It is an exercise for you, not a requirement.

If you want to share what you wrote in the sprint, paste a link in the comments below. Sharing is also not required.

If you write something today and want to share it with us we'll read it, and share some #commentlove as the reader sees fit. There is no voting for this exercise.

Typically a sprint would be timed, but since we are scattered across time zones and have work and families to attend to the only limitation I will give you is this - the time to share your sprint results with us will end Monday night at midnight (wherever you are).

The first writing sprint shared yesterday is still open until midnight tonight. Go check it out if you missed it.

There will be another sprint on Friday. Our flamestorming session is tentatively set for next Sunday around 4pm EDT.

#gospark your muse and hug your mothers if you've got 'em.
Happy writing.

Happy April, Flamefolk!

RicoChey is hosting our themes for the month of April and has challenged us to write a four part play or story over the course of the month. For Week One, Act I she has 'roused us with a quote from Hamlet -
"We know what we are, but know not what we may be." These words were spoken by Ophelia in her grief-wrought ramblings - when everyone thought her mad - and yet the phrase seems so very wise.



Did our writers find it to be wisdom, folly, or something altogether ethereal? Now is your time to decide.

Your reading list:

Title: Growth
Author: ayumidah
Word count: 552
Warnings: none

Title: I know who I am...
Author: bluegerl
Word count: 790 appr.
Warnings: nil.

Title: Know Me
Author: Kathy/darlinleo
Word Count: 152
Warnings: none
Genre: Cento Poetry

Title: Willa the Wisp Act 1
Author: skyllairae
Word Count: 707
Warnings: none
Genre: supernatural/adventure

Title: A Stranger Comes To Call
Author: jlly_Tami
Word Count: ~1,500
Warnings: none so far
Genre: science fiction

JFF

Title: I am King tonight.
Author: bluegerl
Word count: 340
Warnings: not really

The polls close by 11:45pm on Wednesday (EDT).
With this competition the goal is to write a four part story, so we will suspend weekly eliminations and choose the best, complete work that meets the three acts and an epilogue criteria at the end of the month. There will be a poll each week to provide feedback for the writer on how well received their story was, but the votes that choose a winner will not happen until May 1st.

Additionally, we'd like to tighten things up around the competition. Typically when we click our vote it is after deciding which story(ies) we enjoyed the most. This month when you are voting, also consider how well the writer has met the criteria given or worked in the weekly prompt. Though we want everyone to be creatively inspired, we also hope to improve our skills as writers by practicing with different forms and writing outside of our comfort zones.

The contest is now closed to new competitors, but we encourage any latecomers to submit as JFF if their inner bard is provoked by a prompt.

Be sure to spread some comment love, let your fellow writers know they are appreciated. If it's an off-site blog and you have trouble with commenting, feel free to share your comments here and we'll pass them along. In fact, I encourage you to share some [constructive] public thoughts below with the community. Let's talk about what we read, together.

We love it when our Embers write, but we also need the community to come together and read what's being submitted. Even if you didn't have time to write this week, please take a few minutes to read and encourage your friends to read as well. Share our fire!

VOTING POLLS

Just a few reminders today, mon Flames.

A Shakespeare inspired month-long contest is in the offing.
Go forth and pen Act I with a mind  to The Bard's line -
"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."
Week one submissions are due Sunday by 11:45 pm edt.

It's a poem a day in April, or what we like to call APAD.
Dive in now and sing to us of beauty true.
Your soul will thank you.

And then there's Camp NaNoWriMo for all you rugged types.
Sit by the fire with Cedar and thousands of other campers - spinning yarns, telling tall-tales, and eating virtual S'mores.

See you tomorrow.