plot scenario generator

I think I’m going to try this with some of my students.

another book “me-me”

Feel free to tag yourselves . . .

a nasty case of the vapours

Why heroines die in classic fiction

To read classic fiction is to know that if the heroine gets wet, a swift descent into brain fever and death bed scenes is assured within a chapter or so.

But, dear reader, have you ever wondered what was actually wrong with these swooning creatures?

For, I confess, part of me has always longed to grab them and say: “You only got your slippers wet. For heaven’s sake, girl, just get a grip!”

I’ve also wondered what exactly the vapours were and why women used to swoon so much back then. Was it simply a plot device? Why do you think modern-day heroines don’t get the vapours? Is this a medical or psychological phenomenon? Or maybe a bit of both?

cabanon press

Cabanon Press

These images are a selection of the weekly illustrations produced by Tom Gauld for the Guardian Saturday Review letters page. Each image relates to a letter sent to the newspaper about literature or the arts.

I stumbled upon this site the other day and thought you might enjoy it too.

page 123

Aaarr, I be tagged by th’ saucy wench alejna , begad!

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag 5 people

The nearest book is here on my bedside table - The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies, which I am presently rereading. I happen to be on page 124 at the moment so I just read this bit last night before falling asleep with the lamp on and the book in my hands. Okay here goes. . .

‘Poshrat!‘ she screamed again, and spat in my face. This was a scene we had played many times in our life together, my Mother and I, and I knew better than to try to wipe away the spittle. It was something that had to be endured, and in the end it would probably work out as I wished.

The Rebel Angels is book one of The Cornish Trilogy . An excellent read.

And now, at the risk of alejna making me walk th’ plank aaarr, rather than tagging 5 people I’ll make this a self-tagging ‘me-me’.

Let us know what’s on your page 123!

 

rules for writers

An oldie but a goodie . . .

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague (they’re old hat).
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don’t use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
28. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Can you think of any more?

Number 29 is dedicated to Archie & FFE and the pic is for alejna.

things I miss…

I came across this old post from last year on Letters Home the other day. Oh how I wish everyone had a ‘recent comments’ widget for people just passing through or for when I’m just having a quick look around a few blogs without using my feedreader. In fact, I probably would have just read the comment to this post on my feedreader without clicking on the post itself. But seeing it on ian’s sidebar I clicked on the comment and saw the original post. Anyhoodle … it was all about things ian misses from the places he used to live after having moved on to somewhere else.

Like ian, I’ve lived in a few different places since leaving my birthplace Winnipeg, Canada (aka Winterpeg) at age 25. Since then I’ve lived in Toronto, Bristol in England, and Salamanca & Seville in Spain. Here is my list of things I miss …

books 2008

Healingmagichands started a page last year to list all the books she read in 2007, which I meant to copy emulate but didn’t get round to doing. And so I thought I’d try it this year because I think it would be nice to have a record of what I’ve read. So it will be on this page , which can also be found in the top right hand corner.

I’ll be updating it here from time to time. Usually on a monthly basis or else whenever I need a quick post to keep up with my blog 365 commitment.

terry pratchett

Pratchett has Alzheimer’s disease

Author Terry Pratchett is suffering from a rare form of early Alzheimer’s disease, it has been revealed.

He said: “I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news.

“I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s, which lay behind this year’s ‘phantom stroke’.”

He added: “We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism.

I first saw this on Paul Kidby’s website yesterday, via a post on Ask h2g2. Mr Pratchett is also quoted as saying he would prefer it if people “keep things cheerful”, but it’s hard not to feel sadness and concern.

the blog readability test

What level of education is required to understand your blog?

I’m personally quite happy that nobody needs a PhD to read my blog, so this result makes me feel like casa az is open to everyone, which was kinda the idea from the start.

Meanwhile, I tested this test by putting in the URL of my new travelblog, which is basically all photos and very little text, and it came out with it needing a High School level to understand it. Go figure . . .

Also, when you copy and paste the html there is some sort of cheesy advertising link for cash advance loans at the bottom (which I eliminated). So yeah, it’s pretty much a load of crap, but what the heckity. It’s now after midnight and now day 23 . . .

~ swiped from Lori ~