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| Thank you for all of the Account Anniversary shout-outs! |
| Happy Belated Account Anniversary! |
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| Merit badges for free this week! FYI, here's how to find a merit badge that the recipient doesn't already have: Depending on your device, left or right click on the recipient’s handle A pop-up menu will appear with ‘View Portfolio’ at the top. Click on the ‘Badges’ link in the lower right corner of the pop-up menu The recipient’s Merit Badges screen will appear. Click on the red ‘Checklist’ link on the right side of the Merit Badges banner A list of the recipient’s badges will appear. Click on the ‘Needed Badges’ link under the Merit Badge Checklist heading The list will now show only badges that are not in the recipient’s collection. There will be a lot of badges shown that you are not allowed to give. The badges that you are allowed to give have a gray link that says ‘Give It!’. Scroll down the list until you find a suitable badge with a 'Give It!’ link. Click on the ‘Give It!’ link Wait a few seconds and the merit badge dialog boxes will appear with the recipient’s username already filled in. Type in your message and confirm the purchase. |
| I've just posted my most ambitious story yet. it's a sci-fi/noir mashup with androids, artificial intelligence, and a hard-drinking private eye. Chapter 1 was originally written as flash fiction for the October 2023 round of The Grim Reaper Contest - Closed  . The prompt was 'Horror Noir'. That story, Genifer, has a dark ending, but it isn't really horror. It was well received and won an award anyway. Friends in real life loved the characters in Genifer and urged me to expand the story and give Murphy a shot at redemption. Seven more chapters followed. My friends liked the full story and keep asking for more of Gennifer and Murphy. That's as good a review as an author can get (and perhaps the biggest challenge). So, if you're willing to invest 45 minutes, you may enjoy:
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Here's one last thank you to Schnujo's having school probs  and her merry band of merit badge donors. I've posted this before, but it bears repeating: Do you like merit badges? And awardicons? Do you enjoy a challenge? Want to improve your writing skills? If you answered Yes, then The Contest Challenge is for you!
I started the challenge in 2020, and I'm glad I did. Half my merit badges have come directly from Schnujo's recognition events (thanks again!). And I've earned many badges and awardicons from individual contests featured in the challenge. Another reward is getting helpful reviews from the good folks who host those individual contests (hooray for them too!). It's easy to write with passion. We're almost compelled to write when we care deeply about the genre, our characters, and we're working in our preferred format. It's much more challenging to change gears from love poems to horror stories (or for the cooking impaired to write out a recipe). Taking on the unfamiliar forces us to rely on writing skill more than enthusiasm, the monthly deadline helps to overcome procrastination, and we might even find a new love (opposites attract!). It took me 18 months to catch up with contests from prior years (an average of 3 entries per month). I've coasted along at one or two contests a month since then. In the process, I've written a number of stories and poems that simply wouldn't exist without Schnujo's challenge. Some of them are actually good, a few have won awards, and I've even gotten some Quill nominations. The sense of satisfaction from 'checking all the boxes' is second only to the joy of creating stories and poems that I can feel proud of. And that's what it's really all about. Trophies from individual contests:      ![Merit Badge in Red Wheelbarrow Poetry
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Congratulations! 1st place, [Link To Item #1390406] contest, May, 2023 for [Link To Item #2251696] . Excellent poem!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Red_Wheelbarrow_Poetry-2231099_8.gif) ![Merit Badge in Funny
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Congratulations on winning second place at [Link To Item #thssc] for your entry: [Link to Book Entry #1034546]! Way to go, and thanks for making me laugh. *^*Starr*^* ~Lornda A.K.A. The Queen of Comedy *^*Crown*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Funny-200.gif) ![Merit Badge in Divine Unity
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Congratulations on your third place win in Honoring the Dead! *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Divine_Unity-2193496_1.gif) ![Merit Badge in Horror Scary
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Congratulate on winning 2nd Place in [Link To Item #2046245] , October 2022 ! I'm pleased to award you this well-deserve win for [Link To Item #2282419] !](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Horror_Scary-900.gif) ![Merit Badge in Humorous Poetry Contest
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Congratulations on the third place win at [Link To Item #hpc] for your poem: [Link To Item #2270759] . Thanks for making me laugh, and keep writing the funny stuff! *^*Bigsmile*^* ~Lornda A.K.A. The Queen of Comedy *^*Crown*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Humorous_Poetry_Contest-1875103_14.gif) ![Merit Badge in Inspiring Poetry Ideas
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Congratulations on being in first place at my [Link To Item #2216416] !!!
Blessings, Sharmelle](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Inspiring_Poetry_Ideas-2259846_14.gif) ![Merit Badge in Zodiac Sagittarius
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*^*Bigsmile*^* Congratulatons on winning first place in [Link To Item #2262851] ! Here is your very own centaur! *^*Wink*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/astrology-Zodiac_Sagittarius.gif) Best of all, several Quill nominations! So, get started today! This is the one contest where everybody wins. This testimonial is an unsolicited endorsement from Fans of Schnujo. |
 WOW! What a wonderful testimonial!  Thank you! I even clicked Save this Note.  You're so amazing! Congratulations on all the MBs and awardicons!  That's an impressive haul. And a special congratulations on your Quill nominations!  How fabulous!!! Thank you, again! You're amazing and I'm so in awe of, not to mention, grateful to you and all the people like you who worked so hard to catch up and now stay caught up! Without participants like you, "The Contest Challenge" would be another abandoned activity, so thank you for your active participation! Thank you!!!    |
| I owe thanks to a bunch of people. First is Schnujo's having school probs . I've received more than 70 merit badges for completing seven years of the The Contest Challenge . So, to her and all who participated in the giving: Meritorious Thanks! That leads into thanks for all the good folks who host contests on WDC and inspire us to create. Without a variety of contests, the Contest Challenge couldn't push us out of our comfort zone. To those who dream up interesting prompts and quirky rules to stretch our imagination and test our writing skills: Thanks for your hospitality and hard work! Those contests helped me produce some good work in 2023. I also want to thank the kind folks who nominated several of my poems and stories for a Quill Award. Your critical acclaim means a lot to me. Thanks for your endorsement! And perhaps the biggest thanks go to those who reward my efforts by actually reading my stuff. You're the ones who keep me going. Without readers, I'd have given up long ago. So, whether you've fanned me, added me to your favorites, or just dropped by as a casual reader: Thanks for your time and attention! Partial List: ♥HOOves♥   Adherennium  Ѧͷͷΐ   Benjamin Black  BƖųҽyҽʐ 🤍  Brenpoet ☘️ Richard ☘️  buddhangela  Christmas Dutchessbarbie  Fictiøn Ðiva the Wørd Weava  Angel Wolf GERVIC  Cubby~On the road again! H❀pe Joan ForeverDreamer John  Kit  ❄️Krista❄️  Broken Angel Just LeJenD'  Beacon-Light In College  Lilli ☕  Lori J Sky D. White Lornda  THANKFUL SONALI Get Well Ken  oldmonty Starling Patrece ~ PiriPica Marvelous Friend  Choconut  🌻 pwheeler ~ love joy peace  I Heart My Sox  rupali Lorelei Shay~Shay Sharmelle  Legendary❤️Mask  Creativity in words dogpack saving 4premium+ Warped Sanity  Whata MamasGirl  William Cole winklett  Arakun the Twisted Raccoon  🐕GeminiGem🎁  StephBee  Annette Sophy on the road  Solace.Bring billywilcox Beck Firing back up! |π÷∆€¥ 23 Yrs on WDC!  K5Rakitan  𝓦𝓮𝓫W𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱  David the Dark one! Jess is 20 on WDC!  citizen journalist 5k |
| Here's a big thank you for all of the anniversary wishes! ![Merit Badge in Writing.Com 5th Anniversary
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Congratulations on your 5th Writing.Com Account Anniversary!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/achievements-Writing=46Com__5th_Anniversary.gif) An anniversary is always an opportunity to look back and reflect. I've been on WDC for five years and it's been good for me and for my writing. My successes include more than 600 merit badges and nearly 100 awardicons. I've been nominated for several Quill Awards, and I've even won a few. I've created 230 items in my portfolio that have garnered a total of more than 30,000 views. That's not quite the same as being published, but it's enough to keep me going. My success here is largely due to the helpful WDC members who have encouraged me and given me useful reviews. I owe thanks to many fans and casual readers, but a long list would be awkward. You know who you are because this post is showing up in your personal newsfeed. I'm especially grateful to the good people who offer inspiration through contests, challenges, and activities. They put in a lot of time and effort to make WDC a fun place to hang out. They challenge us to move out of our comfort zone and try new things. And they promote the single best practice of all, simply writing. Thanks to Schnujo's having school probs I've created two merit badges: ![Merit Badge in Words Whirling 'Round
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Congratulations on your new merit badge! Thank you for supporting the Writing.Com community with your inspirations, participation and activities. We sincerely appreciate it! -SMs](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Words_Whirling_=Round-2264190_8.gif) ![Merit Badge in Write What You're Like
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Congratulations on your new merit badge! Thank you for supporting the Writing.Com community with your inspirations, participation and activities. We sincerely appreciate it! -SMs](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Write_What_You=re_Like-2264190.gif) I've also created three trinkets that can be collected in these blog entries: My failures have been my own fault. I'm uninformed and inept when it comes to social media. I never open a Facebook, I've no time for Tik-Tok, I'm not a Twitter, and I don't know how to make a mark with my brand. I have to admit that it's foolish to think I could maintain personal connections on WDC when I can't even do it in real life. Social interactions have always felt like a performance to me. I learn my lines, play my part, and keep any real thoughts to myself. It's a good strategy for friendly acquaintances, but it's always a relief to drop the act and move on. So, going forward, I intend to spend less time on the newsfeed and focus more on writing. Again, thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement. I wish you all well. |
  13 verses for Friday the 13th 
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| Have you ever felt that that there just aren't enough sweet Halloween songs? "Song for the Season - Scream a Little Scream" |
| I finally opened a second hand book that's been on my shelf for years and found an interesting bookmark. It's a photo of the 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps baseball card. It appears to be professionally done and it's in a clear plastic sleeve. Since it's a photo, the back is blank, no stats included. So, the question of the day is: What's the strangest thing you've come across in a used book? |
| Attention Sci-Fi fans! "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells is on sale today for $1.99 at Amazon. I'm 5 chapters in and I'm already hooked! The Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series by American author Martha Wells. The series is about a part robot, part human construct designed as a Security Unit (SecUnit). The SecUnit manages to override its governor module, thus enabling it to develop independence, which it primarily uses to watch soap operas. |
| Merit badges for free this week! FYI, here's how to find a merit badge that the recipient doesn't already have: Depending on your device, left or right click on the recipient’s handle A pop-up menu will appear with ‘View Portfolio’ at the top. Click on the ‘Badges’ link in the lower right corner of the pop-up menu The recipient’s Merit Badges screen will appear. Click on the red ‘Checklist’ link on the right side of the Merit Badges banner A list of the recipient’s badges will appear. Click on the ‘Needed Badges’ link under the Merit Badge Checklist heading The list will now show only badges that are not in the recipient’s collection. There will be a lot of badges shown that you are not allowed to give. The badges that you are allowed to give have a gray link that says ‘Give It!’. Scroll down the list until you find a suitable badge with a 'Give It!’ link. Click on the ‘Give It!’ link Wait a few seconds and the merit badge dialog boxes will appear with the recipient’s username already filled in. Type in your message and confirm the purchase. |
To clarify, you left click on their handle. If you right click, a different box pops up. It's still useful, but not for sending MBs.  THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS! I've saved your note for future reference, in case I manage to remember that you wrote it. It will be a nice addition to my instructions on how to send a MB. I don't want to overwhelm the folks with TOO much info.  But you did a GREAT job of making it clear and concise. Unlike some people I know...   jackson, since I was just teaching you about sending MBs this morning, here's more helpful info. |
| Thanks for the clarification Schnujo's having school probs The clicks may be different on a smartphone or tablet. And I mouse left-handed, so that may also make a difference.  |
| I just posted my entry for: Long, Long, Long
Only three days left to enter this round! |
un: 
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