Not My Brightest Moment

[teddy_radiator]

Ashwinder posted the latest chapter of Lay Me Low (Chapter 12) and I'm ever increasingly grateful to my alpha and betas for getting me to the point where I only had five cavities on this (compared to the 40 I had on TPP for As Morning Falls Chapter 4 - lack of beta, anyone?).

I am still reeling from Sempra's stunning artwork for Chapter 10 and Chapter 11. She has done illustrations for Chapters 2 and 3 as well, and I'm just blown away by her, as always. I often say that our Muses are drinking buddies.

I posted a poem to LJ_Scribe yesterday, but just as I sent it off, I realised it was not an automatic posting, and was subject to the moderator's discretion whether or not it would be posted. It hasn't been, so I guess I didn't make the cut, but the dumb thing is that I wrote it on the posting - I have no other copy of it.

I know, dumb as a very dumb thing. I've written to the mod and asked if she would send it back to me, but if she doesn't, serves me right. I can be such a dope at times. At times, I'm amazed my birth certificate has finished printing.

Comments

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

Ah, sorry about losing the poem, love. We always pay for our lessons in some way. After having LJ "eat" some of my entries, I NEVER type directly into the post space; I always copy and paste from my files. They are particularly apt to lose long comments as well, so if a comment I make turns out to be lengthy, I always copy it first, just in case it gets lost and I have to paste it.

I hope they can get it back to you!

[laurielover1912.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they'll send it back at some point, have no fear.

Love your remark about your birth certificate!

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

I posted a poem to LJ_Scribe yesterday

So did I...actually Friday night. But I'm not thrilled with it, I doubt that it'll be a winner.

It's here, if anyone's interested: http://community.livejournal.com/lj_scribe/47906.html


but just as I sent it off, I realised it was not an automatic posting, and was subject to the moderator's discretion whether or not it would be posted. It hasn't been, so I guess I didn't make the cut

They take a LONG time to get around to approving submissions, based on my experience. My first entry I sent to them in the morning about 10am, the entry on the site says they posted it around 4pm, but I didn't get an email from them saying it had been approved until hours later, by which time I'd gotten offline, so I didn't see the email until the next morning.

For my current entry, it took about 6 hours for me to get an email stating I'd been approved.

I just did a quick scan of the site, but couldn't find anything with your name on it. Did you make sure to send it via "Post to this community", rather than sending it as a comment?

They really haven't provided any rules/guidelines for this thing, like I had an idea for a short prose entry, but I'd already sent my poem and I don't know if you're allowed to submit more than one entry. And I have no idea what they would consider unacceptable as an entry, except for something that is blatantly plagiarized.

IOW, I don't know if they have any ratings guidelines. Unless you sent something that is outright pornographic (and I doubt that you did), then I don't see why they wouldn't accept it. They should at least provide you an explanation if they reject it.

Perhaps because it's a holiday weekend they may be short-staffed, and it may be taking longer for them to approve entries...I noticed that there is NOTHING up for today, and very few for yesterday.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I would be surprised if they rejected it, June. It was more or less what I guess you'd call a 'Murder ballad', sort of like Caleb Meyer, but it wasn't pornographic or anything like that, but it did depict someone killing their man cause she caught him in bed with her best friend. Not exactly sweetness and light, but not inflammatory, either.

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

It was more or less what I guess you'd call a 'Murder ballad', sort of like Caleb Meyer, but it wasn't pornographic or anything like that, but it did depict someone killing their man cause she caught him in bed with her best friend. Not exactly sweetness and light, but not inflammatory, either.

That describes about 95 percent of the entries to the contest, based on what I saw with the first one, and what's up there now, so yours should fit right in! LOL

Really, the community seems to have been in deep-freeze today, you can't tell me that only you submitted an entry since last night, and yet nothing's shown up all day.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I feel really stoopid...serves me right for showing off...

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

*feel that???* That's the warm glow I'm feeling from your words... sorry, I had a bit of a misunderstanding there....they finally posted it, and as I wrote, I think I just made such a mountain out of a molehill, but I learned a big lesson...don't post something and not keep a copy...I'll stick to the waters I swim in.... warm currents of MuseLove...

Love you to pieces ... big hugs and squeeeeeesss!!!!

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear! This is the main reason I don't post in a great many places, as well. An antipathy for rules. Do I HAVE TO have a beta? Then, I won't do it. Do I HAVE TO watch my language/subject matter? Then I won't do that as well! Because for me, that would take the fun out of it, and writing is a source of fun for me. Sure, it would be great to have a lot of people read my stuff. But not if it isn't fun to get it to them in the first place.

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

too many rules just turn me off

So far lj_scribe hasn't even bothered posting any rules, so I don't know if there are any or not. I suppose I could have just submitted my second entry and see if they got around to putting it up along with my first entry.

I'm just assuming that they'd reject something that was hardcore X-Rated, but if you look at some of the entries for both the first contest and this current one, some people are pushing the envelope with R-ratings...

But some entries' grammar (spelling, composition, punctuation) have been atrocious, and it's obvious that it wasn't an artistic choice, just that the writer's don't know grammar. But their entries have been put up to be voted on with no grammatical corrections.

Right now it's just being run as a fun thing, people can submit whatever they want and see if they get enough votes to win some tokens.

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

Yeah Baby!
Thats what I like ... fun things ... too many rules strip away all the fun ...

I think LJ tends to take a hands-off approach unless something forces their hand.

I say that based on what I saw happen with their Header Contest thing...they've run it for years, seemingly with no rules, until some people started ripping off other people's work and entering it as their own in the contest.

After a couple of times of being embarrassed by awarding first place to an entry that they subsequently had to retract because of complaints that it wasn't an original piece of work, the LJ Headers contest finally established the rule that all entries had to be original works by the person submitting the entry. Same thing has recently happened on their LJ Photo Contest group, i.e. entries that have been blatant plagiarism prompting the group to put in writing the rule that entries need to be original.

So I don't see lj_scribe getting too anal-retentive over rules; I suppose if a similar thing happens like with the Header and Photo contests and first place starts being given to entries that are plagiarized, they'll get around to stating that all entries have to be written by the submitter, but that's about it.

Like I said, I'm assuming they'd reject something that was outright X-rated pornography -- but that's just my assumption. There ARE no rules, at least as of this point in time. I've never seen outright "dirty pictures" on the Header and the Photo contests, but there's nothing in writing banning such entries.

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

If I draw stuff from other peoples writing ... Its because I am compelled by their writting ... The Muse presses me into action ... and that is my fundamental joy ...
I am ruled by Chaos and the spontaneous power of the imagination ...

There's nothing wrong with being inspired by someone else's work...like, if I'm particularly impressed by one of your drawings and I write a short story based on it, it's only good manners to state that I was inspired by your picture, but I'm not plagiarizing your art.

But if you came up with, say, a unique header that you put on the top of your LJ blog, and I took that header and submitted it to the current LJ Header contest and claimed it was my own, I'd be a plagiarizing bitch! ;-)

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

Yikes ... you're sounding sort of combative ... Im not looking for a fight with you

Oh, I apologize if that's the way I came off sounding.

No, I'm definitely not combative or looking for a fight with anyone; but I do admit to getting annoyed with those LJers who stole work done by others and submitted to one of LJ's contests as their own work, all for the sake of possibly winning a few LJ tokens...

I'm basically like you regarding rules, I figure just let things lie until and unless something forces a change. But plagiarizing someone else's work just pushes a major button with me.

Back in my college days when a no-talent professor of a creative writing class I was in implied that I had plagiarized either my class assignments, or my term paper, I brought years of my writings to the Dean of the department and registered a complaint. If the bitch professor didn't like my termpaper, then give me an F, but don't dare accuse me of plagiarizing!

Soapbox mode now turned off

;-)

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Umm, are y'all fussing at me? I'm sorry... :(

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

Oh, Sweetie... you have nothing to be sorry for! Venues that are good for one person just aren't necessarily good for another person, because of personality differences. I just have a thing about rules. Always did. Didn't follow them when I went to Catholic school. Not about to start now. For other people, it seems like much ado about nothing.

I love you, Sweetie, and I hope you didn't take all this the wrong way. It's very difficult to convey the mood of things sometimes.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

No problem. I just didn't want to offend you or Sempra. I hadn't really planned to do that lj_scribe thing, but it just worked really well with a little poem I was working on. If I had not been such a dolt, I would probably never have mentioned it. I don't really care if they publish it, and probably won't ever post to it again, but I like to try new stuff. It sometimes helps to make a better writer, but I've seen some of the entries on there already, and I'm not that impressed. I think I'll stick to what I do best: drabbles, fanfics, erotica, and the occasional epic like the one I'm labouring under at the moment! If you told me I'd be on Chapter 15 with no end in sight....

Love you too!

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

I think I've come to the realization that drabbles are what I do best. When I try to write a longer piece, I find that it must have this thing called a "plot". And if THAT weren't enough, things must reach a resolution by the end! It's tiring just contemplating such a thing! I prefer writing little vignettes... peeks into some larger story that even I don't have a clue about.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Don't I know it! I'm sooooo close to wrapping this all together beautifully, but you know what? I'm not going to worry. The Muse has walked every step with me, and when I got to a fork in the road and didn't know what to do, he just put his arm around me and guilded me in the right direction. I just relaxed each time, and he snuggled up and told me what to do... so that's what I'll do now. He tells me not to worry, so I won't.

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

Whenever I worry about a project I'm working on... or worry because I HAVE no current project to work on... my Muse chides me with "What? You mean you don't trust me by now?" Then he comes through for me beautifully. I have learned to trust him... but worry is a very hard habit to break!

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Amen, my beloved sister. I am the poster-child for worry and lack of confidence. The more I trust, though, the more things happen. We are going to definitely record the Muse lyrics - the ones I sent you the other day? The guy that is financing the recording read it today, and was in tears. He said, "We HAVE to do this!" Yep, I still think I've got to do it all myself, but when I remember I don't, nice, nice things happen to me....like you....

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

OooooooOOOOOO!! I want a recording!

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I promise - it will also have another song I wrote, and me singing on the song As Morning Falls, which was the inspiration for my fanfic of the same title (my secretly favourite one).

I would be proud to send you a CD of it. It's the closest thing to art I can create, to show you my appreciation for all you've done for me.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

No worries, Sempra love..I love you to bits and that's the bottom line...I love you because of what you say and how you say it...if you're aiming at me, I know it's cause you care...

Writing long stuff is tough, but I'm determined to see this to the end of my idea. I had this endgame set up from the start, and I'm getting there. I just wasn't planning on it taking so long. I'm just letting the Muse drive... he knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifting snow....

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

but I've seen some of the entries on there already, and I'm not that impressed.

Same here.

Someone even asked the moderators how they were going to make sure that it didn't turn into a popularity contest where someone just gets all their family and friends to vote for their entry regardless of the quality of the entry? No one bothered answering him. (See, you aren't the only one they ignore! LOL)


If you told me I'd be on Chapter 15 with no end in sight....

Tell me about it! My own fanfic was only going to be a couple of chapters...now it's up to 22 chapters (in addition to the 2-part Prologue), it'll probably be at least 35 when it's done...and it's evolved into a multi-volume tome (for each decade from 1969-1990s) plus final Epilogue... :-P

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

I DO have to thank the Catholic church for bequeathing to me a lifelong love of rebelling against "authority". After all, everyone needs a hobby, preferably one that is liable to upset people who possess moral certitude.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I'm a little envious! It's obvious I missed out on all the fun, religion-wise. My stepkids were raised Catholic - I'll live vicariously while they're here..

I grew up in the Southern Baptist church, and the only thing we could rebelliously do was enjoy drinking secretly, clearing our throats with authority and dancing (we SC Baptists believe that when David danced before the Lord, he was probably doing The Shag.). Other than that, we were expected to be good (which meant don't get caught).

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

As I recall, it was David's shagging that caused so much trouble!

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Dancing can be so sexy!!!!

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

Dancing is merely foreplay performed in a vertical position... with one's clothes on... in public.

At least, when it's done right, it is. When I dance, people think I'm having a seizure. They descend upon me in an effort to keep me from swallowing my tongue. Which is silly, because it's my partner's tongue that I'm usually trying to swallow!

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Naughty, naughty Mimi! I've heard it called the vertical manifestation of horizontal intent!

The Hubs does the 80's-Adam-Ant dance. I tend to do the Southern-girl-not-quite-drunk-enough-to-take-off-her-shirt-and-climb-up-on-the-table daintz.

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

Dear me! I could NEVER go to Heaven! I wouldn't know a soul! ;)

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Yep, all that halo-polishing...now, if I could get a really boss set of wings and go wherever I wanted, I might put in a transfer...

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

I believe it was Mark Twain who said something to the effect that you go to Heaven for the scenery, but to Hell to find interesting conversation...

;-)