Writing Gooder

As the server for the Young Writers Society goes by Pacific Time, there’s still actually three hours left of July as I write this.  However, not much isn’t going to change between now and then.  So here are some stats for the month of July:

• Posts: 10,151
• New Users: 138
• New Topics: 796
• Page Views: 320,000
• Visits: 20,550
• Average Time on Site: 22 minutes
• Most Active City: St. Louis, MO
• Most Common Connection Type: Cable at 38%

Hyperbole is another one of those famous literary terms and means to exaggerate, usually grossly exaggerate.  “He’s as big as a house,” or “I’m as hungry as a horse,” are two famous ones, but you can come up with them aplenty.  So try coming up with a few yourself!

Quid Pro Quo: “What for What”

- Used when doing a favor for someone in exchange for a favor.

Solid matter – for example, a rock – is, in actual faqt, largely made up of empty space.

An atom is comprised of a nucleus (the bit in the middle), and electrons zipping around it. At the very least, I’m sure you’ve seen diagrams of them in your science classes. And if you haven’t, then perhaps you should pay more attention in science before you fail the subject.

If you’re really stuck at picturing it, I’ve been kind, and attached a pretty picture diagram to the left. (“Ah,” I hear someone saying, “that’s what that is.” And, “Ooh,” I hear another saying, “pwetty.”)

Now, if the nucleus happened to be the size of a football (or soccer ball, or whatever American’s happen to call it), then the nearest electron would be half a mile (or 0.8km) away. Essentially, an atom is 99.9% empty space.

And everything is made up of atoms. So, everything – including such ‘solid’ things as rocks – are actually 99.% empty space; everything is essentially nothingness, with only a little bit of substance.

(Please note: this does not mean you can walk through walls. Any attempt to do so is entirely at your own risk, although please do get back to me on how you do.)

There is a common belief that writers who are any good (and of course, if you are reading this, then you have to be good) generally suck at math. Well, we’re going to change that.

Let’s start with the basics: counting. It sounds really simple… one, two, three, and then it goes on all the way to the very last number (whatever that is) but actually it’s quite complex. For one, how are numbers real? Numbers are not intangible things — you can’t reach out and tickle 1,732, for instance. You can’t hear them, you can’t taste them, you can’t see them, you can’t smell them, you can’t touch them, so automatically the five senses go out.

So, while many adjectives (aka, descriptive words) describe how the five senses on a noun or verb, this cannot be for numbers. And, unlike adjectives that describe how we sense things in an emotional context, that cannot be so either, because numbers are definitely not based in the pathos.

So what are they? Descriptions of the environment around us.

This in itself is amazing. Think about it: counting probably started when people began divvying up food or materials up, and to keep track of it, a whole number system started. So the abstract was created from the definite; math came not as some way to torture people but as a more efficient way to handle society.

And how did it start? Counting.

Tempus Rerum Imperator: “Time Commands All Things.”

- The motto of the “Worshipful Company of Clockmakers,” which is one of the livery companies in London.

Allusion is one of those very popular literary terms, with students and English teachers alike. It typically means to make a brief reference to a historical event or another piece of literature. However, allusion can also mean to make a brief reference to a person or a place as well. Shakespeare makes prolific use of the device, especially in reference to the Bible, which is why most public high-schools still make students read Genesis and Exodus.

Using allusion can be a very effective means of conveying information. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. started his “I have a dream” speech with the words, “Five score years ago…” What are you reminded of right away? It’s an allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and so instantly conveys to the listener a huge amount of information without being verbose.

So have you ever used allusion in one of your poems or stories?

If you aren’t getting any writing done, why not close the browser, the instant messenger, the chat, the book, shut off the phone, the TV, etc, and actually open your word processor and try to write? If I did this, I know I would get a lot more done.

It’s like that with insomniacs too. Most people who think they have insomnia stay up, and aren’t lying down and trying to sleep, instead they are watching TV and they think it is insomnia. We think it’s writers block, but really it’s just a lot of distraction or laziness or .

Something to think on while you’re not writing. ^_~

Tomorrow I’m flying on my own via Minneapolis all the way to San Francisco, some 5000 miles away.  It’s a bit of a trip for me, really.  I’ve never travelled on my own before.  Bit daunting, to say the least.  Exciting too, though.

The reason I’m posting this up here is because there’s a mini YWS meet-up happening.  Strangely it seems to only include Moderators, but I think that’s just because we’ve all been around for so long.  I’ll be staying at both Meshugenah’s and Hunter’s homes, and meeting Crysi.  Snoink and Grif did say they’d be around too!

I’ve been a member of YWS since five days after it opened.  I’ve met a lot of great people on this site, and it feels so amazing to finally be able to fly all the way over and meet them properly at last.  I think it says a lot about this site that it brings people together in such a way that moves past just the internet.  A real community feel.  Obviously I’m not the only person to make friends just from this site — but I’m probably the only one stupid enough to fly 5000 miles to do it.  Luckily I’ll basically be having a holiday as well.  The weather in the UK has been pretty much awful all summer so I can’t wait for the sun.  And San Francisco — I’ve been wanting to go there for a long time.

One day I hope YWS will bring even more people together!

Poetry Jam! More info later…