Day: June 6, 2022

Share Your World — June 6, 2022

Fandango13 Comments

It’s hard to believe that it’s already June, isn’t it? Well, it is and it’s also the first Share Your World prompt of the month. Here are Melanie’s questions.

When you were a kid, did you eat the crusts on your sandwich or not?

I did. My mother refused to cut off the crust, claiming that the crust was the healthiest part of the bread. I still don’t know if that’s true.

Are you a fan of musicals? Why or why not?

Live, stage musicals are okay. Some I’ve really enjoyed. Others not so much. But I’m not a fan of movie musicals.

Is it difficult to do what you do (for a living, hobby etc.)? If you’re retired, what you ‘did’ previously for a job can be substituted.

I’m retired, but when I was working I had a lot of roles, from managing a large call center to system design to tech sales support. And all modesty aside, I was damn good at my various jobs. Were they difficult to do? Well, if I could do them successfully, how hard could they have been?

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? (Doesn’t have to be a rock concert either).

I’ve been to so many live rock concerts that it’s hard to pick just one. That said, Jackson Browne recorded his live album, Running on Empty, at his concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, on August 27, 1977 and my wife and I were there. So that one definitely stands out. Billy Joel is great in person and I’ve been to no fewer than four Eagles live performances and they were all outstanding. Oh man, I could keep going, but suffice it to say that I probably suffer today from tinnitus for having gone to hundreds of rock concert over the years.

Looking back over your life, what is one thing you’re grateful for? One thing you really regret?

I’m grateful for having met and married my amazing wife. I regret that I was too self-absorbed when my parents were still alive to take the time to hear their life stories.

Blogging Insights — Reading is Fundamental

Fandango8 Comments

It’s Monday and Dr. Tanya is back with her weekly Blogging Insights prompt. She provides us with a quote about blogging or writing and asks us to express our opinion about said quote.

This week’s quote is from author George R.R. Martin.

“You need to read everything. Read fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers. Read history, historical fiction, biography. Read mystery novels, fantasy, SF, horror, mainstream, literary classics, adventure, satire. Every writer has something to teach you, for good or ill. (And yes, you can learn from bad books as well as good ones — what not to do).”

Writing is storytelling. Unless you’re writing technical specifications or manuals, your writing needs to tell a story, whether fiction or nonfiction.

As with any craft or trade, you need to study the masters, to learn from those who have come before you. And if the craft you want to hone is writing, then you must do your homework. You must read how other writers have told their stories.

So I have to agree with George R.R. Martin. If you want to be a good writer, you need to be a good reader. Even if, like me these days, much of your reading is other bloggers’ posts.

The Letter J

Fandango5 Comments

Deb, over at Nope, Not Pam, has this weekly challenge called A Letter a Week where she gives us a place, an emotion, an adjective, a verb, and an animal all starting with the same letter. Then she asks us to write a post using those items and the letter she has given us, which this week is the letter J.

Here are Deb’s J-words:

Place – jumping castle
Emotion – jaded
Adjective – jinxed
Verb – jiggle
Animal – jaguar

Anita asked her classmate Diane if she was planning on having one of those inflatable jumping castle set up in her backyard for her birthday party again this year. She knew the answer was going to be yes, because Diane’s parents set one up every year for her birthday.

Anita was self-conscious about her weight and she remembered at Diane’s party last year when some of the other girls teased her, saying that when she jumped around in the inflatable castle, her belly fat jiggled like Jello.

When Anita’s mom asked her if she was going to Diane’s birthday party this coming weekend, Anita started to cry. Her mom asked her what was wrong. “I’m so fat and ugly and I feel jinxed because I’m unable, no matter how hard I try, to lose weight. I’m embarrassed to be around my so-called friends because they make fun of me.”

“Oh sweetheart, those girls can be so mean and you’re too young to feel so jaded about being a little overweight,” Anita’s mom said. “I wish you would have talked to me sooner about how you are feeling. Listen, sweetie, I’m going to call my personal trainer. He won’t be able to help you lose weight in time for Diane’s party, but I promise you that if you work with him, in a few months you’ll have a figure as sleek as a jaguar’s.”

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #172

Fandango14 Comments

Welcome to Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge. Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenging bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.

The photograph below is from shutterstock.com.

For the visually challenged writer, the photo is of a man sitting in front of some electronic devices and speakers. He’s typing on a keyboard and is staring at a computer monitor.

If this week’s image inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post. I hope it will generate some great posts.

Please create a pingback to this post or manually add your link in the comments.

FOWC with Fandango — Replaceable

Fandango15 Comments
FOWC

It’s June 6, 2022. Welcome to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “replaceable.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. Show them some love.