Call for Admin Role!

As this forum needs a revival, it is difficult to run this forum alone. Catherine (@wynstep) has not answered to my previous post. I don’t know if she will. I don’t even know if she could harm the site. So, I have removed her admin priviledge.
A panel of three admins would be perfect. Even two would be fine.

Criteria:
1. Sincere for the cause of the forum.
2. Active participation in forum activities.
3. Innovative.

Comment on this post by Thursday, Janauary 7, 12 noon (GMT).

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I’m calling all the authors of the forum here. I don’t know how many of you are still active and want to contribute here. You should at least know about the changes happening here. Please let me know if you want to continue contributing as author.
@ishitarc1908 @wordsfromarifa @21timetraveler @arpitastravelblog @thelink19 @theakilaedlajournal @adriennea3 @infobloomer @raniamanda @twinkietalks @amommasview @anandartist @ananyabha @andysmerdon @angieskitchenshenanigans @annfishervirtualworld @agord2015 @anushababbar @anwyn84 @janimey @jaipurthrumylens @ashishvision @audreydcunningham @kingsoracle @thecajkovic @beckybwinch @bennabdycollins @bethanyaharvey @bobbyshabangu @brendablagdon @btarmstrong @beckyaluoch @camelliasentry @cathylynnbrooks @chrissiepollock @caa1032 @cmssr @colettebates @continuingwithme @crawcraftsbeasties @createtoenchant @cyndilenz @wynstep @dancinglightofgrace @darshith0000 @dalees107 @derekjlee @devilrockz @diane507 @divorcinganarc @donnainthesouth @dsmcknight @dj120 @esk11 @empress2inspire @escapetolife @feelings161 @fictionalkevin @funsimplicity @foodeezjunction @gadouer @garthmr @garyloggins @geekkate @gritsandpineconescom @getyourlenson @gutsy4 @haripriyakm @hlindschinger @himadas @hst4haiku @infobloomer @iaminaplace @iamabloggertoo @icerene01 @indira2412 @irenecorl4u2013 @ivanproust @insomniacbee @iamdonovan @janimey @jaipurthrumylens @jadekeahi @jahnavichintakunta @jdjung @jeanburkespraker @jsackmom @jenmotivates12 @jennierawling @jgreenwwl @jessmcombs @joseelavallee @myusername432 @justdreadfull @kangopie @kayeraye @kmmyrman @keithmiketom @kelliblogs @kokoboocro @koolitzable @kmmyrman @laduchessederat @languorouspages @lifeobserverwrites @lizarebeca @loriastratton @lulaharp @lyndapoysor @lilacsky22 @maddy1953 @mylittlespaceinthesun @mumbletymuse @mkjackie99 @myusername432 @maidsdayoff @mariawanders @marja1701 @megselizabeth86 @meloheart @drmegsorick @sumitagrawal01 @middleagedrager @missams35 @mray0n @dhyanmukta @insomniacbee @nandininautiyal @natashart @neildsilva @niciacruz @nicolaauckland @nikimeadows01 @niyati16 @noorainsobiya @notionlux @myesteriousgirlneerja @offshoreausterity @ohmyglai @oliveole @onetarhayes @donnamcmillen300 @avenscent @preciousvalencia1 @princeramsey @ramida78 @ranu802 @rdmaxwell55 @robertmgoldstein @rugwed @revrumblefish @raforbeginners @lilacsky22 @sashay909 @sasmiths1112 @sabahahmed252015 @sabahbatul110 @sadhanacs @samjhamdy @santoshnc @sarahsatticoftreasures @cthisnthat @sheridanj2015 @shinepositivepower @squeezzoo @shubh2110 @sirtonix @srinathtk86 @ssfeathersbones @revrumblefish @stanito @startingtheclimb @suekwoodward @suzieqsavings @surbhisachdeva89 @suzannebowditch @teiyaoloilolesoipei @theanonymoustalker @thedesivagabond @transporterlegacy @tradru @theartofamessyhouse @thebrunetteinthepinkscarf @thediybistro @celiacathlete @thismodernitch @thumbup69 @tourmalinenow @vellissima @vikrambishla @itsvishakha @wanderlaur @wynstep @welshshortbread @continuingwithme @whatsandrathinks @whitneyparchman @xaranahara @sassandsauce @yentll02 @zenaidawheels

Sandeept (@sandeept252)

One Proud Post

Last month, I received an email from @pamkirst2014. She had written about a weekly/bi-weekly theme. “The contributor,” she had written, “should share “One Proud Post” from their blog.” She had given me some dates to choose from; I chose the the top one: December 24. I sat in front of my laptop in the morning to write this post but something came up and I got busy throughout the day. At 5:00 p.m., I remember again. And here I am still trying to find out which one post I’m proud of.

I have published more than 250 articles on my blog Stories of Sandeept since I started it in 2015. There are so many posts that I’m proud of. Which one should I choose? Please bear my rant as I decide to share the link to the One Proud Post. (I’ll take names of others but won’t share the link here.)

The first article that comes to my mind is “Some Women Who Died For Love”. This Valentine eve post got a huge boost from Blogger’s World when it was published. It still is my highest viewed post till date. Someone even plagiarized it on Quora!

“4 Exemplary Stories of Friendship From the Mahabharata” is the next one I’m proud out. It’s one post that is keeping my blog busy even when I don’t post a thing.

No doubt, I’m proud of these posts but showing my pride solely on the basis of statistics feels… odd. There must be others that I’m proud of, based on their content.

I’m now remembering a lot of articles that I wrote on Nepali. A lot of them were related to politics and so many predictions I have made have come true. (I should be proud but these predictions have had negative outcomes!) @onetarhayes often complains of those “foreign” script that she cannot understand. Mentioning them here makes no sense at all.

There are several posts related to book reviews, music and movies that I have loved. One article about the Nepali folk-music band “Night” is the one I remember the most. Whoever has heard them, loves them. But very few people talk about them. Very few mainstream media talk about them. Even in this surge of YouTube content in Nepal, they continue to remain underground most of the time. I feel great that I found them and wrote something about them.

But discovering others is not the most difficult task in the world. The most difficult thing is to find yourself. I have struggled a lot trying to find myself. Once, inspired by love, I wrote a letter to my Soul-Mate. I still read the letter to remind myself I am capable of loving someone unconditionally but also regret that I was not brave enough. Then, there are articles in which I wrote about near-death experiences. For a few days after such events, a rush of inspiration would come upon me, but it would fade away and I would feel more miserable.

To admit I am miserable, that I am not “the wisest” or “the most-hardworking”, and to confess that I am hiding a ton of problems under my smile was the hardest thing I had to do. This I did on my post: “Isolation”. This is the first and only article I was scared of posting. Before posting, I had to ask my best friend and friends from college, “Will you believe me if I say I am not friendly, that I deliberately push people away from me?” Only when they ensured that they would, I posted it. And the response I received was nothing short of magic. We opened up a lot. I came to know so many things about my friends, and in the process, I discovered something about myself. All of us have experienced nightmares. Everyone has faced problems in friendship and families. But we all crave for love, and only love can help us escape the “hell” we experience. And that’s the post, I’ll forever be proud of.

#oneproudpost

You’re Invited: BW PARTY

Party Date: 23 October

2 days to go!

All invited whether or not ever having been active members of this forum – bring all your “friends and relations”, business associates and the lonely old lady who lives next door! The more, the merrier!

Come and introduce your blogs, get to know others and have fun!

@ishitarc1908, @niciacruz, @wordsfromarifa, @21timetraveler, @thelink19, @adriennea3, @infobloomer, @raniamanda, @amommasview, @anandartist, @andysmerdon, @angieskitchenshenanigans, @annfishervirtualworld, @agord2015, @anushababbar, @arpitastravelblog, @thecajkovic, @bennabdycollins, @bethanyaharvey, @bobbyshabangu, @brendablagdon, @cathylynnbrooks, @niyati16, @colettebates, @darshith0000, @audreydcunningham, @camelliasentry, @wynstep, @princeramsey, @clockworkindigo, @visionofdestinyuganda, @continuingwithme, @crawcraftsbeasties, @dawnmarie823, @derekjlee, @devilrockz, @divorcinganarc, @donnainthesouth, @dj120, @drmegsorick, @dhyanmukta, @createtoenchant, @laikassuvaikais, @languorouspages, @megselizabeth86, @thestayengagedexperiment, @esk11, @feelings161, @fictionalkevin, @avenscent, @funsimplicity, @getyourlenson, @lizarebeca, @foodeezjunction, @agord2015, @garthmr, @garyloggins, @thegeneviever, @mumbletymuse, @gritsandpineconescom, @gritsandpineconescom, @myusername432, @robertmgoldstein, @bethanyaharvey, @haripriyakm, @hlindschinger, @hjsportsed, @contenttocapture, @hst4haiku, @kristinavanhoos, @lulaharp, @maddy1953, @onetarhayes, @iaminaplace, @iamabloggertoo, @indira2412, @irenecorl4u2013, @ivanproust, @insomniacbee, @janimey, @mkjackie99, @jahnavichintakunta, @aventuraroxy, @jessmcombs, @jeanburkespraker, @jsackmom, @jennierawling, @ashishvision, @jadekeahi, @justdreadfull, @kayeraye, @kelliblogs @k, @koolitzable @k, @dalees107, @laikassuvaikais, @laduchessederat, @lifeobserverwrites, @loriastratton, @confusionandknitting, @mylittlespaceinthesun, @kmmyrman, @maidsdayoff, @alongthesideoftheroad, @nandininautiyal, @neildsilva, @nicolaauckland, @worthinessambassador, @noorainsobiya, @santoshnc, @notionlux, @alongthesideoftheroad, @offshoreausterity, @ohmyglai, @sarahsatticoftreasures @o, @teiyaoloilolesoipei, @teiyaoloilolesoipei, @donnamcmillen300, @princeramsey, @iaminaplace, @lyndapoysor, @pamkirst2014, @preciousvalencia1, @piyushavir, @whitneyparchman, @raniamanda, @middleagedrager, @ramida78, @ranu802, @rdmaxwell55, @robertmgoldstein, @lilacsky22, @raforbeginners, @camelliasentry, @funsimplicity, @loriastratton, @beckyaluoch, @sumitagrawal01, @sashay909, @natashart, @sasmiths1112, @btarmstrong, @anandartist, @sirtonix, @bennabdycollins @iamdonovan, @vellissima, @vikrambishla, @wordsfromarifa, @suekwoodward, @wanderlusteternal, @welshshortbread, @whitneyparchman, @xaranahara, @yentll02, @justdreadfull, @revrumblefish

Apologies to anyone who accidentally got left out, whose @ call sign didn’t work, those who got pinged twice (three times?), &c., &c.! I repeat: All are invited whether listed above or not! Hope to see you all on the 23rd!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all – and since we’re not meant to publish loads of pictures here in order not to slow the site down, here’s a link to my Christmas photo post:

Christmas Lights on the Cutty Sark

This forum seems a bit dead recently…

…so in addition to wishing you all a merry Christmas, this is a wake-up call – in case any of you would like to continue here, it might be a good new year’s resolution to return here to post and chat again.

So I hope you will forgive me for tagging you all (I will not keep doing this):

@21timetraveler @adriennea3 @anandartist @ananyabha @anushababbar @anwyn84 @arpitastravelblog @avenscent @aventuraroxy @beckyaluoch @beckybwinch @bethanyaharvey @bharath10291 @brendablagdon @camelliasentry @cathylynnbrooks @colettebates @continuingwithme @createtoenchant @cthisnthat @dalees107 @darshith0000 @devilrockz @dawnmarie823 @divorcinganarc @drmegsorick @feelings161 @fictionalkevin @foodeezjunction @fjjjuneau @francescabergamasco @freakreborn @garthmr @garyloggins @getyourlenson @graceanneoscar @gutsy4 @haripriyakm @himadas @iamabloggertoo @hlindschinger @iamdonovan @icerene01 @insomniacbee @indira2412 @ishitarc1908 @ivanproust @jahnavichintakunta @jaipurthrumylens @jdjung @jenmotivates12 @jennifernicholewells @jessmcombs @joseelavallee @jsackmom @justdreadfull @koolitzable @kristinavanhoos @laduchessederat @laikassuvaikais @lilacsky22 @lulaharp @lyndapoysor @maddy1953 @maidsdayoff @meloheart @missams35 @mkjackie99 @mumbletymuse @myesteriousgirlneerja @myusername432 @nandininautiyal @niciacruz @niyati16 @notionlux @ohmyglai @oliveole @onetarhayes @pamkirst2014 @piyushavir @raforbeginners @ranu802 @revrumblefish @robertmgoldstein @rugwed @sadhanacs @sandeept252 @santoshnc @sashay909 @sasmiths1112 @sheridanj2015 @shinepositivepower @sirtonix @srinathtk86 @stanito @startingtheclimb @sumitagrawal01 @surbhisachdeva89 @suzannebowditch @theanonymoustalker @thedesivagabond @thegeneviever @thepreciouslifeofprecious @vellissima @vikrambishla @vnajac @wanderlaur @wanderlusteternal @welshshortbread @whatsandrathinks @wordsfromarifa @worthinessambassador @wynstep @xaranahara

If I missed anybody out, my apologies, you all were meant to be included!

#Authorstory – index & call for volunteers

(‘Authors Who Made History’ in progress, perhaps  …  please feel free to add a blog link to share a relevant current or past post of your own here if you wish.)

In the meantime, would anyone like to post for this feature during November (16th? 23rd? 30th?) or December? Your article can be any word-length and does not have to be a formal ‘essay’ style for this feature providing it is a ‘complete’ post. Please use the #authorstory tag. Images used in your post could be your own, or otherwise Commons or fair use compliant and clearly credited with the image source. There should be a clear policy here somewhere confirming your usual standard intellectual property rights as contributing/author members (see also final paragraph in this post). WordPress, BloggingU and commons type guidelines and founding principles apply. (Thanks 🙂

Latest #Shutterbug Showcase call for volunteers can be found here. NB: This ‘feature’ includes the potential for writing responses to the prompt and not only as a ‘photopost’.

@piyushavir – are you still available ‘on call’ as per sidebar info? hope all is well with you. ALSO Did you previously express an interest in posting a fave/rec. author for this and you wanting today/any other? Apologies if I’m mixing you up with someone else and no worries if you are too busy but please can you indicate your anticipated response time. (PS – thanks to whomever for sorting @admin issue earlier)

Link URLs indexed below to #authorstory posts featured previously:

#as, #blogging101, #writing101

The Revel is in the Details

Write a descriptive essay about the place you do your school work, I would tell my students. They would sigh, and they would labor, and they would hand in papers.

Jared’s essay might look like this:

My desk is four feet long and two feet wide. It is made of wood with metal legs. On top of it is my laptop, and a cup full of pens and pencils. I have a chair that is padded and has wheels.

A vague and sterile picture forms in my mind. So I go back to the writer.

Where is your working space, I ask him. Is it in your room?

No! Jared says, shocked–as if I should know exactly where he works. It’s in a corner of the family room.

Wow, I say. That’s open. Is it noisy?

Oh YEAH, he says. My sister always has the TV on, and she’s talking on the phone at the same time. And my mother comes through and yells at her every fifteen minutes because she hasn’t done her homework.

Now I’m starting to see the edges of this space more clearly. Does it have a window? I ask.

NO, he says; it’s in a corner with no windows, and it’s dark. I only have one of those cheap little lamps from Dollar General, the short kind that shines on your hands and only takes a 40 watt bulb. I have to slide my books under there to read them.

Is it cramped? I ask, the picture getting more and more clear.

Oh my gosh, says Jared. I have to climb over my dad’s lounge chair, practically, to get into my chair. Which is on wheels, but it doesn’t matter, because once I’m in the chair I can’t really move. So usually, what I do is, I wait until everyone goes to bed, and that’s when I do my best work. At midnight, when my sister shuts up, finally, and the house is quiet.

NOW I get it; there’s a clear picture of Jared’s working space. (Poor Jared! I think.)

Write down, I tell him, those things you just told me about the corner and the noise and the cramped space and the light.

He shrugs, like I’m a little but wacky, but he does it. And he writes a clear, rich description. We ditch the details about the size and components of the desk, and what is left creates a vivid picture of a very particular space.

---

It’s not the number of details; it is the importance of them that we have to consider.

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If I’m writing about what the kitchen’s like when I’m baking for Thanksgiving, I want to give an impression of the holiday bustle and feeling. I might talk about the flour drifting off the counter, the marble rolling pin (it was my mama’s) lolling next to the ceramic pie pan, which is waiting for the bottom shell to be rolled out and crimped. I’ll talk about smells–the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the rich roasting smell of pumpkin pie filling. The turkey’s thawing in my big roaster, and the Ohio State game is blaring from the family room. My husband slips in every twenty minutes or so–he is notorious for (yuck!) eating raw pie crust. The holiday baking kitchen is cluttered and warm and fragrant. I don’t have to mention the brand of my oven or the materials my counter-tops are made of to create that feeling in my reader’s mind.

If I’m writing to impress though–well, to start, I’d be writing about someone else’s kitchen. If I wanted to show a kitchen that was high end, I’d talk about marble counter-tops and stainless appliances and travertine tile. I’d mention that the stove-top had eight burners, that the wall-mounted ovens were double, that one could fit eight diners around the marble-topped island. I’d be creating a picture of an entirely different kitchen (and trust me, that IS entirely different from mine). And I’d be writing it with a completely different purpose in mind.

Writing descriptively means picking just the right details. It means closing our eyes and saying, When I think of graduation day, what do I hear? The roar of a crowd, the murmur of a mother, the pounding beat of “Pomp and Circumstance”? Whose face do I see? What do I feel–the scratch of the polyester, the heat of the sun baking the back of my neck?

Often just an image or a scent or a mention of the kind of framed art that hangs on the wall can evoke the picture we want to create. ‘Black leather swivel chair’ suggests one kind of office. ‘Cheap fake panelling’ gives us another office setting entirely.

We should revel in the details, but we don’t have to use too many. We just have to–and sometimes this is the hard part–use the ones that count.

Happy blogging, my friends!

#monthly
#creative writing

Let’s Rule it… Rule it.

#ideas
I think I am jinxed!
When I go out of town, and wifey and Mom are home alone, I come back to find that they aren’t speaking with each other. When I switch on the TV to watch news after a week, I learn that America is left with not one candidate they want to really truly vote for in the coming elections. When I eat out and return home after dinner, I realize that wifey had made my favorite chhole-bhature for dinner, and when I decide to ditch the office party and arrive home in time for dinner, I end up shoveling down khichhadi!
So when I returned to Blogger’s World this morning (baited by Colette’s post,) I wasn’t surprised. It appears that the jinx is still strong for I once again see locked horns amidst clouds of steam rising from some heated discussions.
The point is – can we have a quick discussion on the rules of posting to the forum? Which are rules that we find most irksome? If each of us could list the rules we dislike, we could statistically come up with a list of, say, five rules that the majority wants to follow. As they would be OUR rules, conformance should improve (fingers-crossed, we never know with the Anandhotep-Types,) and we would feel more relaxed, posting, commenting, or even snapping at the heels of one-another.
Those among you who want to pack me up in a holdall and shunt me off to another galaxy would be glad to know that Mom and wifey would thank you for it, and even pay the price of the holdall.
@colettebates @ishitarc1908 @21timetraveler @darshith0000 @devilrockz @empress2inspire @fictionalkevin @himadas @lulaharp @onetarhayes @kristinavanhoos @koolitzable @mumbletymuse @myusername432 @oliveole @piyushavir @ramida78 @sumitagrawal01 @sandeept252 @sarahsatticoftreasures @wynstep
This post is for all the members to comment upon…but I am tagging only the member I know personally and I trust that they’ll excuse my temerity.

Calling Volunteers for Author Story Weekly Feature!

Hello, Everyone!

This post is to call for volunteers for Wednesdays Author Story feature for the months of August and September 2016. We have 2 remaining slots to fill for August 2016.

We need volunteers for:

August 3 – Rashmi @sashay909
August 10 – Colette @colettebates
August 17 – Grace Anne @graceanneoscar
August 24 – Bharat @bharath10291
August 31 – Vandana @feelings161
September 7 –
September 14 –
September 21 –
September 28 –

Please nominate yourself in the comments section below! Thank you!

@cathylynnbrooks @onetarhayes @colettebates @jahnavichintakunta @feelings161 @anushababbar @ananyabha @brendablagdon@cathylynnbrooks @dawnmarie823 @darshith0000 @graceanneoscar @haripriyakm @iamabloggertoo @iamdonovan @indira2412 @jennifernicholewells @kristinavanhoos @kmmyrman @kokoboocro @lulaharp @mylittlespaceinthesun @mkjackie99 @niyati16 @noorainsobiya @nikissimplelife @pamkirst2014 @piyushavir @raforbeginners @sirtonix @thebrunetteinthepinkscarf @vnajac @whatsandrathinks @wanderlusteternal @xaranahara @yentll02 @zenaidawheels @surbhisachdeva89 @niyati16 @ananyabha @bharath10291

#weekly #schedule

New Weekly Monday Feature

Hi All,

Thanks for voting  for the name of the new weekly feature.

We now have the new name with us. May we have the drum rolls, please.

#discussion, #feedback, #mondaymagic

Vote for Name of New Weekly Feature on Monday

Hi All,

Following our discussion on the new feature for Monday, it seems that the consensus is to go for travel or inspirational posts. 

#discussion, #feedback