Day: April 25, 2018

WPC — Lines

Fandango19 Comments

This week’s Photo Challenge is all about lines. We are supposed to “share a photo with a composition dominated by lines — hard or soft, straight or curvy, vertical or horizontal, or made in nature or as part of a cityscape.”

Maybe my first picture is taking the word “lines” a little to literally, as in long lines of people waiting at the DMV.

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My next picture shows the lines of wood planks in a backyard table I was refinishing.

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And then there is this one when my wife and I were shopping for tiles for our kitchen’s backsplash.

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And there’s the line of ducklings swimming in a pond between their parents.

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How about the roof lines of a local museum in the foreground, the tree lines in the field, and the street lines on the hill on the right?

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And finally, the lines made by a formation of clouds.

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Okay. Enough lines for today.

The KISS Principle

Fandango9 Comments

From Point A to Point B“Your plan is way too elaborate,” Jackson told his friend. “It’s convoluted and rife with potential points of failure.”

“I don’t understand,” Daryl said. “Can you please explain what you mean when you say my plan is too elaborate?”

“I’d be happy to elaborate,” Jackson said. “Have you ever heard of the KISS principle?”

“No. What is it?”

“Keep it simple, stupid.”

“Hey, who are you calling stupid?” Daryl said, folding his arms across his chest.

“No, no,” objected Jackson. “I’m not calling you stupid. KISS is an ancronym that stands for keep it simple, stupid. It means that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. So simplicity, rather than unnecessary complexity, is the best approach to creating a plan or resolving a problem.”

“So you do think I am stupid because I didn’t come up with a simple plan,” said Daryl.

“Not at all,” Jackson said. “I’m saying that your plan is like a Rube Goldberg approach.”

“Now you’re calling me a rube?” Daryl said. “I ain’t know country bumpkin.”

“No. I’m referring to Rube Goldberg. He was a cartoonist who was best known for his drawings depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways,” said Jackson.

“Okay, fine,” said Daryl. “How would you go about it?”

“Okay, keeping it simple, just unscrew the old bulb out of the lamp, take the new bulb, and screw it in,” Jackson explained. “Easy peasy, right?”

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “elaborate.”

#100WW — The Vacation

Fandango6 Comments

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“This is not what I had in mind,” Mary said.

“I don’t understand, honey,” Harry responded. “You said you wanted to get away from it all and spend a week by the sea. Just look outside the hotel window. The sea is just a few blocks away.”

“This isn’t getting away from it all,” Mary said. “Where’s that isolated beach bungalow where no one else is around and all we can hear are the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore and the crackling of the fire?”

Oh, that’s what getting away from it all means to you.”

(100 words)

Written for today’s 100 Word Wednesday prompt from Bikurgurl.

V is for Voice

Fandango17 Comments

DA7FDEA6-D87E-47FC-961A-A03636C901ACI’m so confused. Everything I’ve read about being a writer talks about finding your voice. I’ve never really understood what that means.

Someone told me that publishers and editors are looking for writers who have a distinctive voice. I was once told that I have a distinctive voice. But I was talking on the telephone to the person who said that.

So what, then, is voice when it comes to writing? I’ve read that finding your writing voice can be a struggle, whether you’re writing a novel, short story, flash fiction, or a blog post. No shit, Sherlock.

Your writer’s voice is supposed to be something that is uniquely your own. But what does that really mean? What the hell is writer’s voice? And how can you find something when you’re not even sure what it is?

Is it your style of writing? Is it your tone? Or is voice something else entirely?

According to one article I came upon, “voice is not only a unique way of putting words together, but a unique sensibility, a distinctive way of looking at the world, an outlook that enriches a writer’s oeuvre.”

I’m sorry, but that didn’t help at all. “A writer’s oeuvre”? Seriously?

Another article said that “your tone, choice of words, choice of content, and even punctuation make up your authorial voice.”

But some articles I read suggested that voice, tone, and style are entirely separate elements.

“Voice and tone reflect your attitude about your subject and your readers. Voice is who the readers hear talking in your writing, and tone is the way in which you are doing the writing. The tone of your writing can vary with the situation, while the voice — the essential, individual thoughts and expression — is still your own.”

And what about style? “Style is a technical term for the effect a writer can create through attitude, language, and the mechanics of writing.” The writer’s style is based on choices about diction, syntax/sentence structure, detail, dialogue, literary devices, and rhythm. Does the writer use simple language or complex language? Is the language concrete or abstract?

So it seems to me that a writer’s voice may be based upon elements such as word choice, sentence patterns, subject matter, and attitude.

Well, I’m sorry. Even after reading all of these articles, I still don’t get what voice is. I understand style. I get what tone is. But voice? Uh uh.

I guess it’s good that I don’t fancy myself to be a real writer. Or maybe I am a writer, but with a perpetual case of laryngitis.

One-Liner Wednesday — Don’t Ask

Fandango8 Comments

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“Never ask anyone over 70 how they feel. They’ll tell you.”

Barbara Bush 

I’m one of the lucky old farts who is in relatively good health for my advanced age. So go ahead. Don’t be afraid to ask me how I feel. I’ll simply say something like, “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

Well, except for my tinnitus, occasional bouts of vertigo, periodic lower back pain, an assortment of various muscle aches and pains, some digestive tract issues, frequent acid reflux, and intermittent migraines.

But otherwise, I’m fine.

Rest in peace, Barbara Bush.

Written for this week’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt from Linda G. Hill.