Tag: bad decisions

3RD Word Of The Day Challenge

Published by John T M Herres on January 15, 2017

3RD Word Of The Day Challenge The “rules.” For this installment, I opted to not go with the actual Dictionary.com word, which they have as igneous. Didn’t resonate with me, so I looked to some of the lists that are there. I went through 4 groups, and happened upon absquatulate. How’s that for a word? I has an easy meaning. Here’s how the website defines it: Absquatulate [ab-skwoch–uh-leyt] verb (used without object), absquatulated, absquatulating. Slang. to flee; abscond: The old prospector absquatulated with our picks and shovel. Funky old word, ain’t it? But, first, a word from our sponsor: As a grammatical rule, I have been taught that most two-syllable adjectives, when written in comparative or superlative form, would use “more” and “most,” respectively. It would appear, however, there are exceptions. For instance; Stupid VS Stupider. I cringe when I see the word “stupider,” as I’ve always known “more stupid” is the correct writing. By this article, I have been mistaken. Oh, well. Since each can be correct, I’ll just go with how I use them and suffer others to use which one they wish. I’ll still cringe, though. On with the show! Jesse decided he needed to leave town. His girlfriend had dumped him, his best friend basically disowned him. As it turned out, the two had found they got along better together than they did with him and had been running around behind his back. Jesse never saw it, though. His attention usually focused on trying to get something for nothing. He would steal from others and sell the…

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#BlogBattle Week56- Indiscriminate

#BlogBattle Week56- Indiscriminate

Published by John T M Herres on April 5, 2016

Time for another #BlogBattle Indiscriminate is the word prompt for this, the first week of April, 2016. First order of business: Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! So, I am really trying to get with it. I’m still so far off base, I am having trouble organizing all I need to do. Of course, now that warm weather is catching the tail of the rainy season, grass is growing at a near exponential rate… Not really, but it seems so at times. So I’m having to work mowing (which is horrible to my physical damages) into at least a day every week. Then at least a day for recovery. Serious. This week, I think I’m going another new direction. I shall, once again, ask you all to be the judges.…

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#BlogBattle 47- Forest

Published by John T M Herres on February 2, 2016

Here we are, submitting another story for the #BlogBattle posts. Now, for another surprise, this is close enough to reality to call non-fiction, by the teachings I’ve had. I say, “…a surprise…” because I do non-fiction about as often as Romance, which I did on the last submission I made. Let us not dwell on reasons or excuses, I’ll just write what pops up. Like I can control my thoughts, right? Be that as it may. On to brighter things: #BlogBattle Number 47 Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related. Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! My offering this week is a little, and by little, I mean a whopping 340 words, short about when Dad took us camping in our youth. Could be one of the reasons I like mid-70’s station wagons so…

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Silent Screams- a Short Poem

Silent Screams- a Short Poem

Published by John T M Herres on January 19, 2016

I wrote this little poem back in Oct2014. Goodness, that long ago? Anyway, it began as most of my writings do, something started me thinking about a silent scream, and this is what came out of it. It is a bit dark, as my Sister told me at the time, but there’s a certain… relatability to it. I think, anyway. So, here it is again, for all to inspect and/or pick apart: Silent Screams Life behind these padded walls, as surreal as a dream A dream where even silence screams, but only silent screams Silent screams of ancient Queens beheaded on a stage The stage, surrounded by noisy throng Some hawking wares secured with tongs Some yammering of someone else’s wrongs One standing above, above any reproach Heralding merits and valiant deeds like a coach A coach who stores the team behind padded walls Yes, life behind these padded walls. wishing t’were a dream For here, unlike in dreams, the silence screams, but not silent screams Not silent screams from ancient Queens beheaded on a stage.

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#BlogBattle 44- Worm

Published by John T M Herres on January 12, 2016

Once again, I try my hand at a #BlogBattle. I am trying to get a better handle on things related to my writing, and coming up with a story based on a prompt is supposed to be a good exercise. One I do not avail myself of too frequently. If anyone hasn’t seen, my end-of-year experience left much- way too much- to be desired, and it’s taking a bit of, not just time, but effort to better some things in my day to day operations so I won’t have to go through it again. So, I again post a brand new story for this week’s offering. #BlogBattle 44- The prompted word is “worm.” Rules: 1000 words max. Fictional tales (or true if you really want). PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related. Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST. Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! Each winner will receive an awesome #BlogBattle Winner Badge to…

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My Unhappy Holidays

Published by John T M Herres on January 1, 2016

Here’s hoping 2016 is your most fabulous year yet!

I know there are those who had a fabulous xmas season. Then, there are those who had an unmemorable vacation and others who drank it all away, or some other form of mind-altering substance had a hand in the festivities. To those, I say, “Glad you had **” being whatever form their celebration took.

Then, there are those who had one similar to the misfortune I experienced. Or worse.

No, no one close to me passed on (to my knowledge). I still have a place to stay, out of the temperamental weather. There is food to eat, and I can access a little money from either my brother or Ma if an emergency came up.

Here is the reason for my heading:

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#BlogBattle Week 38 POST

#BlogBattle Week 38 POST

Published by John T M Herres on December 1, 2015

#BlogBattle time again! This is the Thirty-Eighth issue for Rachael Ritchey! Greetings, once again, one and all! Welcome to another episode of… yeah, forget that. But, I do offer another #BlogBattle entry. The rules, of course: (Which I may have forgotten a time or two.) Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related. Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! Okay. Now we have that out of the way, can you tell I might be a little excited here? Maybe. I had a thought. When “delving in my mental cavern” for a possible story, this hit me. As I wrote, I did notice it rhymed, but instead of making it a poem, it sounded pretty good coming out in story form. So, that is how I will tender it to you. I really hope y’all like this. At…

#BlogBattle #34

Published by John T M Herres on November 3, 2015

#BlogBattle Week 34 Theme will be CAVE As usual, the standard rules apply: Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family-friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! So, after many weeks of not having anything to offer, I return to submit for your approval one of the two stories I have dealing with a “Cave.” I doubt if our esteemed Hostess will like either of these offerings, as they could both be considered “Horror.” Of course, as usual, I did not know that at the time of writing them, but when they were done, well… So, I have posted Deadly Cavern independently, as it is closer to 3000 words. For my offering to the #BlogBattle, I have severely cut portions of a tale called Escape, mostly describing articles found in the cave. In fact, I have been able to cut almost…

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Deadly Cavern

Deadly Cavern

Published by John T M Herres on October 31, 2015

Deadly Cavern (c) 2012, by John T. M. Herres “Are you sure this is it?” Jake squatted down and leaned his head into the opening. Barely three-and-a-half feet high and two feet wide, the jagged, oblong hole seemed to want to swallow anyone who dared to enter. Moving forward, he withdrew his green flip-top lighter, the tell-tale ‘click-zip’ of the lid and striker echoing into the darkness. The flame leapt up and began an erratic dance, flashing yellow and blue, leaning toward the black emptiness as if it were eager to lead the way further into the tunnel. “I got a breeze,” he said, the rock absorbing most of the timbre of his voice yet still bouncing it around a few times before fading entirely. “It has to go somewhere.” He backed out and stood, looking over to Harry for some kind of verification. “Well, we didn’t come all this way for nothing.” They secured their backpacks, switched on their flashlights, and ducked into the entrance. There were stories circulating the region that some others had tried exploring the cavern, never to be seen again. The boys shrugged off all warnings, dismissing them as “old wives’ tales”. “Stick close in case there are surprises,” Jake called from the lead. No matter how confident he acted, something in the back of his mind told him not to go in. “Not scared, are you?” Harry’s voice quavered slightly. Maybe he had the same misgivings, but Jake knew him well enough to…

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Traffic Stop

Published by John T M Herres on August 9, 2015

So, here we go again: #BlogBattle Number 22 I tried – I really did – to submit stories for a couple of the #BlogBattles in the past weeks, but none of them would close out; the endings just would not form, and they sat unfinished even after time had ended to post them. I may still try to finish them and “publish” them anyway. Who knows? The prompt for this week is “Time,” and I have just the story for it. I wrote this for one of my lessons while taking a sort-of correspondence course from Long Ridge Writers Group. My instructor, Kris Franklin, told me the ending needed work. Go figure. Reading it in the original wording, I can see the end is unexciting, kind of a let-down, really. Hopefully, by the time the post must be submitted, I’ll have gotten some response to a cry for help I sent out. We shall see… UPDATE – I have gotten the feedback I requested, and Rachel Ritchey has given me the green light to enter it. She graciously agreed to have a look at it, and gave valuable insight. Thanks, Rachael! Traffic Stop “I really don’t have time for this!” Joe gripped his steering wheel too tightly as the long line ahead of him moved forward another foot. He glanced again at his watch. Forty-five seconds since last time he looked, though he could have sworn five minutes had passed. Deep breath, let it out in a rush. “What…

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Tag: bad decisions

3RD Word Of The Day Challenge

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#BlogBattle Week56- Indiscriminate

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#BlogBattle 47- Forest

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Silent Screams- a Short Poem

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#BlogBattle 44- Worm

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My Unhappy Holidays

Here’s hoping 2016 is your most fabulous year yet!

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#BlogBattle Week 38 POST

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#BlogBattle #34

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Deadly Cavern

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Traffic Stop

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Tag: bad decisions

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Here’s hoping 2016 is your most fabulous year yet!

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