The Verge

Ever get a fortune from a fortune cookie that haunts you? I have.
I got a fortune a few weeks ago that pumped me up, shot me down, and then leveled me out.

"You are on the verge of something big."

Oh. My. God. Really? Wild thoughts flew through my head. One of those editors who has my manuscript may actually be reading it. Maybe I'm going to get an offer, any day now. Maybe the story I'm working on now will be a hit. Maybe I'll find time to write that screenplay novel I've been thinking about and it will be a box-office smash. Wow, this is it! I'm on the VERGE of something BIG. I know it! Woooo!

Silly that a little slip of paper could make me dream so much.

Weeks went by and nothing 'big' happened. I went back to my story and reality hit me full force. It was just a silly little paper. My current WIP is still unfinished, I've received no calls from editors (or emails or postcards, for that matter), and time to write a screenplay? Pah.

I settled back into the hard work of writing my novel. (Did anyone mention that writing is hard work? It is. Be prepared.) Stupid me, getting my hopes up. On the verge of something big... yeah right. Grumble, grumble. Down I went, and my hopes of 'big' tumbled down with me.

I had nothing better to do, soI wrote some more. I brainstormed with Katia (Thanks, K!) and got excited again. I cleared my head and found a way around a block that I've had. This story is working once more. I'm enjoying the necessary hard work.

And then it dawned on me: I am on the verge of something big!

Dictionary.com (because I'm too lazy to find my Webster's dictionary) defines the "verge" as "the edge, rim, or margin of something." Also: "the limit or point beyond which something begins or occurs; brink."

And there I am! I'm on the edge... I'm at the brink. Aren't we all?

Aren't we all at the point where we could have something bigger, be someone better, do something great? We're ALL on the verge. So what pushes us over the edge, into greatness? What gets us past thr point which something (big) begins or occurs? What's the difference between being on the brink of something great and the actual greatness?

Shouldn't be too tough to figure out: hard work. You know, people, if you haven't learned this already then you haven't watched The Karate Kid enough. Hard work. Practice practice practice and all that jazz. Everyone who is successful will tell you: it's not easy.

Back to work I go! I've got to work myself off this darned VERGE. Kind of tired of sitting on the edge. I've got to put in the effort to get to that BIG... and so I shall.

My most recent fortune cookie fortune: "A big fortune will descend upon you this year."

Now let's define "this year."

-PLB

Scrabbling

Not scrambling... Scrabbling.

You can find the game of Scrabble in many forms online. Recently, I came across it as "Words With Friends" on Facebook. I made the mistake of clicking on it to see what this game was all about, since I saw multiple friends playing it. I saw it was Scrabble and quickly clicked off. No thanks, no Scrabble for me.

But nooooo.... I couldn't get away from it so easily. Several friends sent "invitations" to games. Okay, I have this innate sentimentality about being there for friends. I hate to let friends down, even in something as simple as playing a game. So I would just play these two rounds and be done with it. I was okay with walking away as a two-time WWF winner and never playing again. (I won, but I also didn't really enjoy the victory.)

Ack! It was not so easy to walk away. I won those two games and got sucked into two more games with some serious WWF addicts. Maybe they're word-aholics. Strategists. On-line game lovers. Zealots. Who knows. All I know is that I am NOT addicted to this game. I am not still enjoying this.

Why not, you ask? I'm a writer, shouldn't I enjoy a word game? Not really.When I'm writing, I toil enough over words. I try to find the right word with the right meaning for the situation. I try to use kid-friendly words in my writing, and somewhat intelligent-sounding words in my work reports. I consider the tone, meaning, rhythm, and even the sound of the words when I write. If I'm going to struggle to find words, I at least want those words to contribute to a story in some way.

Scrabble is not really about words. It's about points. It's about placement. It's a strategy to put the right letters in the right place... but not really words. Yes, it helps to know if "hu" is really a word (it isn't), but there are so many programs and websites available to help you verify and spell words that you don't even really need to know the words. You just need to know where to plug your letters in correctly to maximize your points.

The one benefit of WWF that I've found so far: it does make you think about words. I've looked up plenty of non-words lately (like romula), and learned some new words too (like morula). (Morula is a stage of egg-division in an embryo, and is worth 30+ points if placed correctly.) Did you know that scrabbling is actually a word? To scrabble is to dig frantically, or to struggle for possession of something. Seems appropriate for this game--wouldn't you agree?

I'm giving up Words with Friends and going back to my writing. And, I'm decreeing here and now: no more Words with Friends!

Just as soon as these two games are over.

-PLB