Proper attire for a cold office.

Class Clown

We were to bring a pet to school the next day

or tell a story about our pet.

I brought a lobster on a string leash

and frightened the girls.

Flash Fiction: The Italian Grill

They had worked together for two years in the hot, cramped kitchen.  The chef patron was hell on wheels and treated his brigade with disrespect and a cruel hand. That day, the staff, lead by the sous chef had decided something needed to be done.

Supper that day was somber. The chef was nowhere to be seen. A regular patron signaled Charles, the maitre d', over to her table. One of her cutlets had a tattoo.

The Naipaul test: Can you tell an author's sex? | Books | guardian.co.uk

The Naipaul test: Can you tell an author's sex? | Books | guardian.co.uk

From my friend, Neil, Dated: 1958

DO NOT WORRY

There are two days in every week about which you should not worry, two days that should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, it faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever and is beyond our control to change.

All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is GONE.

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries, its burdens, its large promises and poor perceived performance.

Tomorrow’s sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds--- but it will rise.

Until it does, we have no contol of  tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

That leaves only one day – today. Any person can fight the battles of just one day.  It is only when you and I add the burdens of these awful eternities- yesterday and tomorrow- that we break down.

It is not the experience of today that drives men mad- it is the remorse and bitterness for something, which happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow brings.

Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time. Live in the NOW of our lives.
##

Words are not what they seem [infographic] | Grammar Newsletter

Words are not what they seem [infographic] | Grammar Newsletter: "Words are not what they seem [infographic]
By Victoria / Category: infographic, language, vocabulary / May, 2nd 2011 / Print Story

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Pinsky on Twitter : Harriet Staff : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation

Pinsky on Twitter : Harriet Staff : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation: "The entire brief article can be found here < http://bigthink.com/ideas/38631 > . At the bottom of the article, Pinsky reads his poem “The City” and then “revises” it into a tweet.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

phraseup* - find the right words

phraseup* - find the right words: "phraseup* assists you with writing by finding and filling-in the words you can't remember
Sentence: enter your half-baked sentence here, using * to indicate the missing parts

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Rumjhum’s Ruminations – Minimalism Thy Name is Benjamin C Krause « Flash Fiction Chronicles

Rumjhum’s Ruminations – Minimalism Thy Name is Benjamin C Krause « Flash Fiction Chronicles: "Benjamin C Krause:Passion has nothing to do with it. I’m a perfectionist, and it’s easier to get 5 words exactly right and in the right order than 5,000. Similarly, when editing, it’s easier to make sure 20 words are exactly right and in the right order than 2,000.

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cyC9j.jpg (2592×1952)

cyC9j.jpg (2592×1952) Text in Art

Site Updates for the Week of 5/9 « Flash Fiction Chronicles

Site Updates for the Week of 5/9 « Flash Fiction Chronicles: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Things I Do That Make Me Write Badly or Not At All « Flash Fiction Chronicles

Things I Do That Make Me Write Badly or Not At All « Flash Fiction Chronicles:
Posted by Gay Degani

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FLASH MARKETS « Flash Fiction Chronicles

FLASH MARKETS « Flash Fiction Chronicles: "FLASH MARKETS

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Internet Anagram Server : Animated Gifs

Internet Anagram Server : Animated Gifs: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Poem. A Job Well Done

A Job Well Done

The snarling trucks
enter the muddy lot
a few minutes apart.

Radios playing.
Trucks with rifle racks, pipe racks,

racks of blinding lights.

Watching the tradesmen build
the new house behind the park,
I marveled at how fast they moved
when the sun had not yet risen.
Lifting heavy timbers, large panels,
and swing cold iron in the morning mist.

They wore ball caps, helmets.
and heavy vests.
Poked wads of chew between
teeth and lip.
One fellow held a Dixie cup to his mouth as if to drink,
spitting a stream of brown slurry into the cup.
He donned his overalls and made jokes with the other men
about his hard night
and hard girlfriend.

All the carpenters girded and strapped like warriors.
A claw hammer, nail gun, razor knife, wide belts,
hooks, buckles, pencils, and loops -
a pocket for cell phone. a pouch for nails.
I saw bright yellow tapes, blue chalk,
armored knees, and steel-toed boots.

Men scrambled up metal ladders
bowing from their weight
skipped across the edge of planks, high in the air.
Motors buzzed, air hissed, blades whirled,

I still had sleep in my eyes.
I could smell fresh fir, pine and cedar,
compressor oil and tar paper.

An artist snapped a blue chalk line.
A puff of blue dust went into the air.
Another used the spirit level and
telling bubble
to plumb a post.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Men shot staples into the roof.

They now owned a better view
of a ball of fire
rising over the leafless trees,
casting a hard, white, light onto the
buildings and trucks.

A few boasted a view
of forming rainbow
or the young couple across the way,
sitting at their kitchen table,
the first breakfast
in their new home.

##

11-29
Rev. 6-20100

Rules of comedy improv and acting | Pan Theater

This might be useful to comedy writers, too.

Rules of comedy improv and acting | Pan Theater: "The rules of improv comedy and improv theater. This is a guide to basic improvisational theater techniques and methods. Be sure to also see our Rules of Improv Part II.

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Writing Guide: Audience

Writing Guide: Audience: "Writing Guide: Audience

When we talk to someone face-to-face, we know just who we are talking to. We automatically adjust our speech to be sure we are communicating our message. Many writers don't make those same adjustments when they write to different audiences, usually because they don't take the time to think about who will be reading what they write. To be sure that we communicate clearly in writing, we need to adjust our message--how we say to and what information we include--by recognizing that different readers can best understand different messages.

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What words do you use??

• Gender: In general, women tend to use more pronouns and references to other people. Men are more likely to use articles, prepositions and big words.
• Age: As people get older, they typically refer to themselves less, use more positive-emotion words and fewer negative-emotion words, and use more future-tense verbs and fewer past-tense verbs.
• Honesty: When telling the truth, people are more likely to use first-person singular pronouns such as “I.” They also use exclusive words such as “except” and “but.” These words may indicate that a person is making a distinction between what they did do and what they did not do—liars often do not deal well with such complex constructions.
• Depression and suicide risk: Public figures and published poets use more first-person singular pronouns when they are depressed or suicidal, possibly indicating excessive self-absorption and social isolation.
• Reaction to trauma: In the days and weeks after a cultural upheaval, people use “I” less and “we” more, suggesting a social bonding effect.