When this exercise was hosted over at Porky's Expanse!, he always chose the word for the Expanders! challenge based on some relevant happening or theme. Here on the East Coast of the U.S., Hurricane Irene dominated the news this week, breaking out of the usual storm pattern to strike the heavily-populated Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states with high winds, storm surges, and torrential floodwaters causing significant physical damage to powerlines, trees, roads, and buildings, all at what ordinarily would have been the peak of the tourist season, which will undoubtedly result in a heavy economic hit to the region, as well. In the midst of awareness of such devastation, it is easy to shut down or hyperfocus, and miss that ordinary life is still happening all around us. For example, police outside of the disaster areas are still doing their routine jobs, making routine speeding stops, but sometimes, in the midst of the ordinary routine, they find things they didn't expect to. And finally, still going with the idea of exploding our everyday experience of ordinary things, lest you think that this week's post is going to be too heavy, I leave you with images of effervescent light and beauty from an unexpected source. The single word of inspiration common to them all? "Blow" - and that is the word of the week.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
C'nor, at Lunching on Lamias, gives consent to use any of his entries, which are partly located on his blog, but mostly strewn throughout the comment threads here.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, close, shock, balance, and field, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Flash Fearsday: Eye of the Storm
The voice of the storm howls out a warning.
Its arms sweep out a path of destruction.
But the eye, the eye is calm and silent.
Watching...
***************************************************************************************
This is my response to the August 25th, 2011 Flash Fearsday challenge over at Lunching on Lamias.
Its arms sweep out a path of destruction.
But the eye, the eye is calm and silent.
Watching...
***************************************************************************************
This is my response to the August 25th, 2011 Flash Fearsday challenge over at Lunching on Lamias.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Expansion Joints Challenge, part 25: "Field"
When this exercise was hosted over at Porky's Expanse!, he always chose the word for the Expanders! challenge based on some relevant happening or theme. This week saw the release of the first ever footage of a Coronal Mass Ejection traveling from the Sun all the way to the Earth, and the images give us a great deal of new information about, among other things, the solar magnetic influences active during these "solar storms", the details of which have been largely hidden from us until now, although many in the far north or far south have been privileged enough to witness the spectacular auroras that result from the terrestrial atmospheric interactions with such events. In a decidedly less cosmic arena, the US Democratic party faithful quaked in fear at the week's news, when it became clear that not every Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential race is a religious fanatic with an IQ below room temperature. The more rational elements in the Republican party quaked in fear when they saw his polling numbers in relation to the rest of the candidates. Here in the blogosphere, we had this lovely image lending us inspiration for poetry and stories, and Porky's latest post on agriculture spaces in gaming, all of which led inexorably to the word of the week: field.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
C'nor, at Lunching on Lamias, gives consent to use any of his entries, which are partly located on his blog, but mostly strewn throughout the comment threads here.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, close, shock, and balance, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
C'nor, at Lunching on Lamias, gives consent to use any of his entries, which are partly located on his blog, but mostly strewn throughout the comment threads here.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, close, shock, and balance, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Flash Fearsdismayed
"Are you certain it's vanished completely?"
"Vanished? It's like it was never there at all. No trace."
"What will we do with Thursdays now?"
************************************************************************************
This is my response to the gaping hole in the fabric of space-time that appears to have swallowed this week's Flash Fearsday challenge over at Lunching on Lamias. The horror of it all!
"Vanished? It's like it was never there at all. No trace."
"What will we do with Thursdays now?"
************************************************************************************
This is my response to the gaping hole in the fabric of space-time that appears to have swallowed this week's Flash Fearsday challenge over at Lunching on Lamias. The horror of it all!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Expansion Joints Challenge, part 24; "Balance"
When this exercise was hosted over at Porky's Expanse!, he always chose the word for the Expanders! challenge based on some relevant happening or theme. This weeks lead-in is going to be short, if not particularly sweet, as the juggling act inherent in life is proving difficult right at the moment. Still, writing here and reading the responses is one of the parts of my life that counts in the "fun" column, and I am loathe to let it slide in favor of more "responsible" pursuits. The word for the week is "balance", something I strive for always but, much like some other people in the news, don't always attain.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, close, and shock, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, close, and shock, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Expansion Joints, part 23: "Shock"
This is my response to part 23 of the Expansion Joints Challenge.
***************************************************************************************
"The atmosphere was highly charged, Commander."
"Political unrest?"
"No, electrons. Gave 'Shock Troops' new meaning."
***************************************************************************************
"The atmosphere was highly charged, Commander."
"Political unrest?"
"No, electrons. Gave 'Shock Troops' new meaning."
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Expansion Joints Challenge, part 23: "Shock"
When this exercise was hosted over at Porky's Expanse!, he always chose the word for the Expanders! challenge based on some relevant happening or theme. This week has been a series of what might be best described as adrenaline rushes, although none of them were what I would describe as exciting, exactly. Standard and Poors' unprecedented downgrading of the US government's credit rating as a result of the unexpectedly reckless brinkmanship in Washington D.C. sent reverberations through world financial markets, and caused wild stock fluctuations, as well as some extraordinarily explosive rhetoric directed at the US Congress from within the population. (One of the businesses near my home has a scrolling marquee that now reads "US Congress - Hang 'Em High".) London and its suburbs erupted in days of riots that began over a police killing, as the world watched aghast. And closer at hand, I found out the hard way at the dentist's office that I really *am* allergic to some local anesthetics...it apparently takes longer to spell "anaphylaxis" than it does to start having it in response to an injection. Against that background, can there be any doubt that the most appropriate word for the week is "shock"?
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, and close, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, opening, and close, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Expansion Joints Challenge, part 22: "Close"
After promising that I would try never to be late again, I am even later this week. Perhaps if I told you all (falsely, mind you) that I couldn't care less about being late, and that I'll post these things when the mood strikes, I'll be on time next week...although, for reasons that will soon become clear, I doubt it.
When this exercise was hosted over at Porky's Expanse!, he always chose the word for the Expanders! challenge based on some relevant happening or theme. This week has been one that has had the US and the rest of the world teetering on the edge of drastic financial uncertainty. As I write this, it appears that, at the 59th minute of the 11th hour, this Congress may have finally decided that we need to pay our bills, after all, although they still don't appear to grasp that actual revenue may be required to continue to do this. So the side show at the monkey house appears to be over, for the moment. Nearer to home, the sets are struck and the run of the play is ended, leaving all of us with mixed emotions, as the teamwork and camaraderie among the cast and crew were very enjoyable, although the hours and work involved in the production were grueling. It felt like saying goodbye to family to dismantle the sets, put away the costumes and props, and leave the theater and the rest of the troupe behind for the last time until next spring. I promised you at the beginning that you would soon understand why next week's Expansion Joints might well be delayed, and so I move on to the last bit of news to incorporate into the theme: a tropical storm, which is now forecast to be a hurricane by the time it reaches my neck of the woods this weekend, appears to be bearing down on us, and while the forecast track contains quite a bit of uncertainty, these sorts of things can shut down power and internet access even if they are technically near-misses. With all of that to consider, the word this week is a little different. Usually, the words I choose can be used as more than one part of speech, or have at least two different meanings, to give you all a bit of flexibility and/or to torture you with the need to make a decision. Well, this week it is even worse. The word of the week is "close", and I leave it to you to decide which of the words that share that spelling I mean. Both of them fit.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, and opening, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
When this exercise was hosted over at Porky's Expanse!, he always chose the word for the Expanders! challenge based on some relevant happening or theme. This week has been one that has had the US and the rest of the world teetering on the edge of drastic financial uncertainty. As I write this, it appears that, at the 59th minute of the 11th hour, this Congress may have finally decided that we need to pay our bills, after all, although they still don't appear to grasp that actual revenue may be required to continue to do this. So the side show at the monkey house appears to be over, for the moment. Nearer to home, the sets are struck and the run of the play is ended, leaving all of us with mixed emotions, as the teamwork and camaraderie among the cast and crew were very enjoyable, although the hours and work involved in the production were grueling. It felt like saying goodbye to family to dismantle the sets, put away the costumes and props, and leave the theater and the rest of the troupe behind for the last time until next spring. I promised you at the beginning that you would soon understand why next week's Expansion Joints might well be delayed, and so I move on to the last bit of news to incorporate into the theme: a tropical storm, which is now forecast to be a hurricane by the time it reaches my neck of the woods this weekend, appears to be bearing down on us, and while the forecast track contains quite a bit of uncertainty, these sorts of things can shut down power and internet access even if they are technically near-misses. With all of that to consider, the word this week is a little different. Usually, the words I choose can be used as more than one part of speech, or have at least two different meanings, to give you all a bit of flexibility and/or to torture you with the need to make a decision. Well, this week it is even worse. The word of the week is "close", and I leave it to you to decide which of the words that share that spelling I mean. Both of them fit.
If you aren't familiar with the Expansion Joints project, it all began over at Porky's Expanse!.
The rules are just as they are described over at Porky's: as much narrative as you can cram into fifteen words, one of which must be the word of the week.
This can take the form of
1. An epyllion,or litle epic, a stand-alone fifteen-word narrative, or
2. An epos, or 'epic'. Instead of an independent 15-word story, you can choose to develop someone else's story from a previous week, or extend your own story from week to week. Just write the next installment. If it has 15 words, uses the word of the week, and continues the story, you've done it.
There are two important things to think about if you choose epos. First, you should have the permission of the person who wrote the story you will develop. If anyone writes a 15-word epyllion or adds to an epos and is happy for others to develop it later, please say so, with something like 'for use in an epos'. Second, by using specific elements of someone else's story, we technically create a derivative work, so it's best to avoid this.
There are a number of generous contributors who have given express permission to use some of their writing as the basis for epos:
Porky, the founder of the project, offers up all of his contributions.
GDMNW has opened up the three stories here.
Dave G_Nplusplus makes any of his Expanders! stories available for use in an epos.
Arlequin has an epos running on his Expanders! page, and he has graciously extended permission to play with any or all of the contributions there.
Andy, over at The Creepy Corridor, has also made his epos posts available for expansion.
And, as always, feel free to use any of the stories on this blog that are tagged as "Expansion Joints" in an epos.
Words that have previously made an appearance in an Expanders!/Expansion Joints include: food, fort, stuff, elf, rogue, pass, fool, hammer, note, temper, table, twisted, missing, sacrifice, spirit, rush, tie, line, free, break, cut, and opening, in case you are of an historical bent, or wish to write a complete set.
When you've finished writing your entry for this week, either post your 15-word story directly in the comments here, or leave a link in the comments to the blog page where we can find it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)