Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Let’s Do A Twist…
As some of you know, I have a fiction blog over at R. Todd Writes, and for those that don’t, I invite you to click the link and check out some of my writing.
Here’s why I’m saying that. Today’s daily prompt (which I am actually writing about a day late), is all about twist endings and what not. Well, that happens to be something I really enjoy including in many of my stories. I find that the twist endings or the surprises in the last lines is akin to eating your bowl of Lucky Charms cereal and saving all the marshmallow (are they really marshmallow?) bits til the end.
When stories don’t end that way, I feel that there is some kind of let down. It’s the conclusion with out the fusion. The ending without the bending. The climax without the… nope, that’s all I had.
A lot of the novels I enjoy have this aspect in them: Ender’s Game; Wizard’s First Rule; Armor: all have endings that are twisted. The same is true with short stories: “The Lottery”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “Tell Tale Heart”… ok, so those are kind of dark too. But the point is that I like that they just don’t tell a story, but that they are almost hiding something in the telling that gets revealed in the end.
Maybe that’s why I like mysteries and puzzles so much. Or maybe it’s because I like these kind of stories that make me like mysteries and puzzles.. I’m sure they are connected. Somehow.
But, yeah, all that to say…
If you like twist endings, go check out my other page for some of the stories.
Again, that link is R. Todd Writes.
That’s R. Todd Writes.
(I totally wanted to sound like a radio commercial with those last two lines)
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “What a Twist!.”
http://ift.tt/1FaDhFoLet’s Do A Twist…
As some of you know, I have a fiction blog over at R. Todd Writes, and for those that don’t, I invite you to click the link and check out some of my writing.
Here’s why I’m saying that. Today’s daily prompt (which I am actually writing about a day late), is all about twist endings and what not. Well, that happens to be something I really enjoy including in many of my stories. I find that the twist endings or the surprises in the last lines is akin to eating your bowl of Lucky Charms cereal and saving all the marshmallow (are they really marshmallow?) bits til the end.
When stories don’t end that way, I feel that there is some kind of let down. It’s the conclusion with out the fusion. The ending without the bending. The climax without the… nope, that’s all I had.
A lot of the novels I enjoy have this aspect in them: Ender’s Game; Wizard’s First Rule; Armor: all have endings that are twisted. The same is true with short stories: “The Lottery”, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “Tell Tale Heart”… ok, so those are kind of dark too. But the point is that I like that they just don’t tell a story, but that they are almost hiding something in the telling that gets revealed in the end.
Maybe that’s why I like mysteries and puzzles so much. Or maybe it’s because I like these kind of stories that make me like mysteries and puzzles.. I’m sure they are connected. Somehow.
But, yeah, all that to say…
If you like twist endings, go check out my other page for some of the stories.
Again, that link is R. Todd Writes.
That’s R. Todd Writes.
(I totally wanted to sound like a radio commercial with those last two lines)
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “What a Twist!.”
http://ift.tt/1OReITqSaturday, March 28, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
My Buddy Dylan…
I have a poetry presentation I have to do tonight in my English class. Not a reading, but a critical analysis of a poem from our book. So, for 5 minutes I get to stand in front of a classroom filled with people who literally younger than half my age (there are only 5 of us in the class over the age of 35, everyone else is 20 and under with the majority of them being dual enrolled high school students), and explain the breakdown of a poem.
I was going to do Robert Frost and his “The Road Not Taken” (a highly misquoted and oft not understood poem), but I have already done that one this year for my American Literature class. Now, I love Frost, he is one of my top 5 favorites, and that particular poem ranks up there in my top 10. But I am a glutton for punishment, so I chose to pick someone else. So, flipping open my book, I started skimming through the pages of poets, looking at Tennyson (another favorite), Whitman, Keats, Brown, Cummings, Yeats…
And then my eyes were treated to something akin to Jason finding the fleece. A bright glow in the midst of the book.
Thomas.
Dylan Thomas to be exact.
And not just any Dylan Thomas poem, but what is quite honestly one of my absolute favorite poems of all time…
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”.
I could almost feel my heart beat a bit faster. This was it. This was the poem. This was the one I wanted to present.
I have loved this poem for a long time. I even have a copy of it taped to my desk. It’s raw. It’s powerful. It’s Thomas at his best. So, for the last few days I have been piecing together this presentation, digging into the life of Thomas, and finding out things about him that I never knew. Some insightful, some ironic. But anyway, I’m finally done. Presentation locked down. And now I just get to wait.
But, because you have hung in with me through this.. let me at least entertain you with the poem I am speaking of.. so.. without further ado… I present…
Do not go gentle into that good night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Awesome, right??
http://ift.tt/1E4T2zVMy Buddy Dylan…
I have a poetry presentation I have to do tonight in my English class. Not a reading, but a critical analysis of a poem from our book. So, for 5 minutes I get to stand in front of a classroom filled with people who literally younger than half my age (there are only 5 of us in the class over the age of 35, everyone else is 20 and under with the majority of them being dual enrolled high school students), and explain the breakdown of a poem.
I was going to do Robert Frost and his “The Road Not Taken” (a highly misquoted and oft not understood poem), but I have already done that one this year for my American Literature class. Now, I love Frost, he is one of my top 5 favorites, and that particular poem ranks up there in my top 10. But I am a glutton for punishment, so I chose to pick someone else. So, flipping open my book, I started skimming through the pages of poets, looking at Tennyson (another favorite), Whitman, Keats, Brown, Cummings, Yeats…
And then my eyes were treated to something akin to Jason finding the fleece. A bright glow in the midst of the book.
Thomas.
Dylan Thomas to be exact.
And not just any Dylan Thomas poem, but what is quite honestly one of my absolute favorite poems of all time…
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”.
I could almost feel my heart beat a bit faster. This was it. This was the poem. This was the one I wanted to present.
I have loved this poem for a long time. I even have a copy of it taped to my desk. It’s raw. It’s powerful. It’s Thomas at his best. So, for the last few days I have been piecing together this presentation, digging into the life of Thomas, and finding out things about him that I never knew. Some insightful, some ironic. But anyway, I’m finally done. Presentation locked down. And now I just get to wait.
But, because you have hung in with me through this.. let me at least entertain you with the poem I am speaking of.. so.. without further ado… I present…
Do not go gentle into that good night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Awesome, right??
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
A Joke A Day…
I’m more of a zinger kind of guy when it comes to the humor I like. Zinger as in.. short.. sweet.. funny.. deep and sometimes (read that as.. most times) even provocative (Who? Me? Never!) To that end, I tend to take the ones I like (from others and thoughts of my own) and create Instagram covers for them. It’s almost like my Peaches record album covers from back in the 80’s..
So.. here you have it.. a collection of my (or someone else’s) jokes…
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Ha Ha Ha.”
http://ift.tt/1GqoxSuA Joke A Day…
I’m more of a zinger kind of guy when it comes to the humor I like. Zinger as in.. short.. sweet.. funny.. deep and sometimes (read that as.. most times) even provocative (Who? Me? Never!) To that end, I tend to take the ones I like (from others and thoughts of my own) and create Instagram covers for them. It’s almost like my Peaches record album covers from back in the 80’s..
So.. here you have it.. a collection of my (or someone else’s) jokes…
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Ha Ha Ha.”