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I just finished an item, I hope to enter it in the "The Bard's Hall Contest"  If anyone has a chance to take a look, I have trouble with these 300-word-count flash fiction prompts. and since I see in the new posted rules that we cannot edit after posting I need to sort out any big issues before I post my entry.
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| I've added a new entry to my book, ""Oh, Really, Joey, you can't say that!"" : "Of Prompts and Recycled Posting" Hope your head doesn't start spinning |
Y esterday or the day before, I saw a post in our news feed inquiring about Nano Write Month. But before I could double-check, I got sidetracked until this morning. So, for that person that I missed replying to... here is some sad information about (NaNoWriMo). The official National Novel Writing Month contest, which traditionally ran every November, is no longer operating. The nonprofit organization behind it announced its shutdown in early 2025 due to financial struggles, following years of challenges, including controversies over AI policies. I haven’t seen any comparable substitutions. But I/We have our ear to the rail, listening for the next big writing thing to come down the tracks. For those needing more info try this link: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/articl... . |
| Incidentally, "Publishers Weekly" is a great periodical; it contains tons of information that those actively working in the craft will find invaluable, offering a wealth of current insights about writing. There a free and subscription options as low as $15 a month or an annual fee of $199. I am not employed or compensated by them in any way, just saying I get lots of good info from them. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/articl... |
Joey's Summer Sparkle  - Publishers Weekly is indeed a great resource. I've been known to refer to it myself back when I was active. Two things I've never understood, though: 1. Why does anyone need a special contest or calendar month to write? You're writers; get to it! 2. Who thought it was a good idea to make it November, the month that begins the runup to all the big Western holidays, most of which involve travel for family gatherings, not to mention all the prep involved? Genius move, that. I'm surprised and impressed that it lasted as long as it did...  |
Okay, I just entered a new post in my BLOG. It was sparked/inspired by Charity Marie - <3   's post "A Date" This posting is a result of her comments. After reading her post, I asked myself, When was the last time I dated anyone? "My Last Date" |
Oh, for the love of WdC, I can't believe I missed ⱲєbⱲitϚћ is 18  's WdC anniversary... 18 years, oh my. But luckily for us, I set up a few trail cams this last spring, and look what they caught slipping through one of our special enchanted backdrops. Though I must admit it appears she knew the camera was there, or she has excellent reflexes and turned to face the lens when it clicked, which I am sure is why her staff is at the ready.  Happy Anniversary, WebbY! And I ... we all (as if I could speak for everyone) love you! We give thanks to all the lords of magic for letting you come out and play with us. |
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| Wow, I was doing some maintenance in my Portfolio and noticed one of my items last month "Dance of the Fairies" got 220 views yet only one very short review, nobody else even bothered to rate it. Good or bad. That is not how things used to be on WdC. Yes, I know getting reviews has always been a challenge. However, folks used to leave a comment or two, even if it wasn't a full review. Over these last few years, I have been thinking that I have improved in our craft. Now I wonder. I try as much as I can to stay on the sidelines of the political fray, being mindful of my fellow writers' egos and feelings. I have even learned to show a little empathy for those who have not been blessed with the same luck as my household. Yet it seems the harder I work to grow and learn, the farther I slip into oblivion, or is it the abyss? Bowels of Sheol notwithstanding, I'd even welcome the disparaging remarks if it sparked a bit of passion. but I cannot seem to get even a heartfelt... "Joey you suck... go eat worms and die" So the question begs, is it me, am I so out of touch with my efforts that I can only garner attention if I spark the contempt and ire of the malcontents in our forum? If so, then perhaps I should reevaluate and look for greener pastures... (oh, see how low I am to be lazed into embracing the cliche?) |
Angelica Weatherby- Heat On  I am not sure, Amazing is the correct descriptor, more especially the old stuff, most of which should have been long forgotten and relegated to the recycle bin. Yet it is interesting to look back over 12 years of stuff and see the differences. (I started to say improvements) Alas, the world is a marvelous place, full of wonder and grace, if we can find the time to witness. A word of note for those who might see this post, our dear Angelica jumped right in and added her voice to the review column. Which I deeply appreciated. But so as not to offend my fellow writers here on WdC... I was lamenting, wallowing in a bit of despair, not trolling for reviews. As I mentioned in my reply to her review, it took me four days to write this, and after seeing the responses-or lack thereof-I had a sudden case of "Woe is me." When I thought about the return on the investment, hence my self-indulgence pity party. |
Alas, Joey's Summer Sparkle , you have hit on a universal truth. I see that you've been here almost since the beginning, and maybe that's why it's taken so long to see this phenomenon in action. It's that slow, gentle slide. This is my third incarnation here. Some of you may remember the others. I was first here in the early teens as Mr. Crusty  (long story) when I was working on my steampunk collection. I returned in the late teens as Blimprider  when it had grown to a series and was in its heyday. Now that I'm not worried about publishing anymore, I'm back as some sort of happy-go-lucky riverboat gambler, or I don't know what. Jack's my name, and that seems like fun, anyway. The point is, every time I've been back, separated by those hiatuses... hiati? Anyway, every time, I encounter less interaction than the last. I'm not doing serious business this time, I'm just pursuing a hobby. Odd-numbered days I review, even-numbered days, I write. I give a monthly AwardIcon for my favorite story of the previous month, and feature 5-star stories on my bio page, and yet as of this writing, I have given 110 reviews while receiving 34. But if you're going out in search of greener pastures, there aren't any. I know. I looked. Some sites like Smashwords and WattPad let visitors see their chat logs, and they're just full of people asking how they can attract more readers. So, that's a given. The reason I stay with WdC is that, so far at least, I haven't had my lineage, humanity, or right to keep wasting air challenged by trolls here. That may be because of the admins' policing, but regardless, this is a place I can come to enjoy conversations that generally don't end in death threats. That's worth something. Tell you what. I'll scan your port for my review subject today. Let me know if there's anything you'd specifically like eyes on, and if it's in my comfort zone, I'll make it that. I generally choose my reviews from the Please Review page, so if you drop something there now and then, I'll find it. Never let it be said that the riverboat gambler ignores distress signals! ... Jack  |
| I've only been here for 14 years, and I have noticed 3 things. 1) I get less abuse than I used to 2) I get less views than I used to 3) My own participation in WdC has no bearing on views I get. For the record, I don't care if I get reviews or not - I just feel happy when people read my stuff. Unless I ask for reviews... which, I must say, have been harder to get. I have one I want to submit, but, well, you know the drill... On that, I'm not sure if I've reviewed you or not... Need to hit your port, I think... |
| I don't care what people may say... Mage.space.com is pretty amazing. I typed in a prompt looking for an image to use with my quick contest entry, these are some of the images it provided... how can one's muse not be inspired |
| S 🤦 - I will also add that The Velvet Sundown, a completely AI generated band, has 2 "albums" on Spotify and Spotify is forcing this "music" into playlists. Why? Because it costs Spotify even less than the minimal they pay now (Spotify is theft, stealing from musicians; if you use Spotify, I lose a little respect for you). So we are being force-fed generative AI "art" in the music realm. Humans in art will soon be as rare as integrity in politics. |
| S 🤦 - Hi Steven, So any artist who creates with his hands, an image on anything but a cave wall, with anything other than blood and feces, is cheating and no longer an artist? I say no! If technology has advanced beyond Pen and ink, then it is up to the artist to adapt and use a broader brush ... learn how to write better prompts. If I post an image I drew in the public domain, it is not theft if someone uses it, provided it is posted for their free consumption. But if someone sneaks into a gallery without paying the entrance fees or copies my image from something I have for sale without my permission, then that is different. Mage.space.com doesn't use copyrighted material and will not create images, such as "memes," featuring known personalities. (Although I understand there are other programs without these standards.) However, is it theft to ask the program to create a picture of my character (based on my written description) dancing on a stage, "like" Michael Jackson? Or is it theft if the program makes me an image of my imagined muse as a fairy sprite fluttering in an enchanted wood? (Again, the picture is of a character I created in my head.)  That said, I am not a fan of deepfakes and images created to convey a false narrative. And it is a completely different standard when someone is offering something for profit and fails to disclose the use of AI. However, I think it's wrong to say that any use of this technology is inherently bad and bordering on hubris. It would be like calling modern writers thieves or hacks if they use a computer instead of a quill pen and inkwell. I understand that some writers need the feel of paper and pen; it's part of their creative process. The late Elmore Leonard was one of those writers; he never used anything more technical than his Cross pen and a yellow legal pad, and he created over fifty best-selling stories and screenplays. He also never flew in planes. He rode trains; was that cheating, especially when compared to using a horse and buggy? Hee hee, though his idea for 3:10 to Yuma happened in a train station while he waited for his wife to return with their tickets. The series Justified came from him watching the news and seeing a picture of an FBI agent holding a shotgun on her hip. He used someone else's idea and imagery that had been posted on an evening news program owned by a corporation. Yet, I don't feel like he owed them anything. |
| Joey's Summer Sparkle - Thank you for misrepresenting what I said. Where do you think the programme gets images from if not scraping? It needs a basis to create. Even if given permission, that makes it a form of plagiarism. AI is a tool; I have seen some glorious art work done using Photoshop. But that was a person creating using the tool of a computer, some AI to clean up things, and their actual human imagination, not plugging in a prompt and letting an algorithm create for them. But you do you. |
| Oh, goodness, upon us all, I pray! I was just writing my response to "Question of the Day!" . Today's query concerns our experiences with striving for perfection. I penned my answer, but on further consideration, I thought it something to share for those who never dare to answer the "Questions of the day." Here's mine: I believe there is no such thing as perfection... as an Engineer, I learned early on that we cannot create it at any level of existence. Then I learned the secret to life and making things from my grandfather... "Tolerance." One cannot push a shaft of exactly one inch in diameter through a hole that also measures exactly one inch in diameter. There must be a difference in the sizes of the two items. But the difference needed is determined by the environment of existence. Everything affects the outcome: temperature, gravity, input force, alignment, the speed necessity, and a dozen other physical factors and considerations. The ease of accomplishing any goal is dictated by the distance we are from perfection. In my younger days, I briefly interned at a tool and die company. At an industry convention, our CEO boasted about our product line, touting our 0.003-inch drill bit. (three-thousandths of an inch) A few weeks later, a competitor sent us one of our bits with a 0.001 (one-thousandth of an inch) hole drilled through the end of our bit! For those who are not engineers or mathematicians, a human hair, on average, is about 70 microns in diameter, which is 0.0028 inches So the drill bit we worked so hard to make was about the size of a human hair, our competitor sent us our drill bit back with a hole one third of the diameter of that human hair. It was a humbling experience and a valuable lesson about striving for perfection.. |
| Oh, for the love of the blessed rules...I wrote a story for "The Writer's Cramp" . The prompt ..." Write a story or poem about what happens when a group of space-traveling elves crash land on Earth and approach us peacefully. How are they received? What do they want? Use Fantasy as one of your genres. I forgot to post it until the last minute and didn't include the word count. But then that's what happens when one doesn't pay closer attention. So, just to say I did here is my disqualified entry:
My wife liked it, but then she is prejudice. |
| So, yet another June is passing... and I asked Rainey, my muse, for inspiration... an idea for a new July handle. I wanted something that would make a red-blooded young fellow stand up and take notice of the season... She sent me this image: She sure knows how to provide the sparkle, don't you think? |
| I've added a new entry to my book, ""Oh, Really, Joey, you can't say that!"" : Okay, it’s time for my daily practice for my BLOG. I should note there is a bit of a fourth wall issue with this start, but you deserve an explanation for the shortcomings of this effect. I am trying to improve enough to not be laughed at by the pros I have been showing my work to. And yes, today’s norms in the industry are replete with multiple example images and tall columns. Using these formatting options here on WdC is possible, but since fewer than three or four people will ever look at this page, adding columns and owned or licensed images is just too difficult to master, especially in HTML. Hence, the return on investment is very low. But still, I practice as I must. Below are today’s thoughts and attempts to sound like someone with some knowledge… or at least someone who has learned how to research and write without using “Chat GPT.” Note to others, I do not consider “Grammarly” cheating, it is a tool to help me get the commas just a bit like they are meant to be. But the rest is my humble attempts at being informative.  |
| Joey's Summer Sparkle - It's not that I have sympathy for the electronics industry. Or that I'm worried we won't be able to use our devices for a while (well, I am; I'm here using one, but that's mostly an inconvenience). It's all the other disruptions: GPS down, shipping grinds to a halt, economy tanks. We can't sustain our current population without electricity: food harvesting and distribution, for starters; even though a large segment of the world population doesn't personally have electricity, most of us depend on it in one way or another. |
Robert Waltz  - I’m not too worried, as a boomer, I learned “Cursive” and have even been known to scribble print legibly on pre-printed forms. If the crayons are sharp. |
| Carrington event has long been in my notebook to write a short story set in our times. Not yet, good reminder. Nicely written. |
Ha, I just remembered to post my entry in S 🤦 's "Horror Writing Contest" . I wrote it last week and waited to do some editing, and almost forgot about it. The contest has what appears to be five solid entries... Oh, Steven, how fun for you to now have to pick a winner.
There are still a few hours left... So, how about let's make Steven's job as a judge even harder... or one could think of it as supporting our friend who is on and contributing every day, and doing so from the bottom of the world... although according to many astrologers, they say there is no top or bottom to our universe and that it is just human arrogance that decided north is up. The truth is that Canada could be the butt of the world instead of its hat. |
So as may nears its end... I am anticipating the call of Summer... I woke my Muse asking her to inspire... and so she did!
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My entry for the "The Writer's Cramp" is complete, five and a half hours later!
A mere 1000 words—oh, how hard it was to trim/cut the word count from the 3000 it was after the first draft. but I hope it still makes sense? |
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Writing the tale is not my problem figuring out what to cut is... everything I write plays as a vibrant movie in my brain. It's why my elevator proposals suck.