I am experimenting this week- and for the first time ever I am making you read all the blogs I post this week. Well, you don’t have to, but I’d really like it if you did. I am attempting to tell the same piece of a story, but in different ways. Remember when you critique that these are first drafts that have not been edited at all- the point is to get the idea of different storytelling techniques.https://wakinguponthewrongsideof50.com/2021/10/04/and-now-for-something-completely-different/

Scotch or beer?

Isn’t that the first question I ask myself when I need to think out a problem?

Of course, the problem is that I’m an idiot. I guess beer goes better with idiocy. It’s the drink of frat parties and epic fail videos. Being stupid to the woman you love completely belongs in the epic fail category.

However, when you’re trying to apologize, or think about apologizing, maybe that’s a scotch situation. Scotch is a slow sipping deliberate sort of drink. Just dulls the edges. Scotch is contemplative.

So I guess beer right after you screw up. Scotch when you figure out how to put it back together. I’ll save the tequila for when she tells me to screw myself.

70 thoughts on “And Now for Something Completely Different- Part 2”

  1. Reading blogs is supposed to be FUN. I’m sorry, not interested in taking on a critiquing ASSIGNMENT. I think you should consider becoming a Writing Instructor. I have enough going on in daily life — I come to read Blogs for enjoyment, not work. I’m sure there are others who are up to the task, not me.

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      1. You are giving us an assignment… read / compare – that becomes critiquing in my mind. I’m not in school, I just want to come and read a Blog for quick enjoyment, not for work. I am already trying to get away from work assignments. I’m sure there are others who would enjoy this task… not me, I’m too tired. .

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      2. Ok. You don’t have to play. I got this idea from a post I wrote a few months ago about how we garner things from stories…first person vs second vs third. As judging by the comment I received (it was my third most viewed post this year) I thought it was something people would be interested in discussing. It’s not a critique of writing but of how we read. I get it if you don’t want to read and discuss. No worries.

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      3. I’m in a writing critique class right now, reading over 2,000 words a week. Any kind of reading and making a comment is a critique – no way around it. I cannot take on more. I do think you should consider starting a Writing Course. Most days you like to propose a question and have people discuss — this is perfect for teaching students of any age! Discussions are good, why not put it out there and get paid for it. Just a suggestion. Start with Community classes they offer, not sure who they take as instructors, you would have to check.

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      7. LOL – you do with us…. I have to get back to work. Having issues with WordPress. Every WordPress Blog I try to open gives me an ERROR message that if I open the site — someone can be stealing my passwords, etc. DEALING with a BROWSER issue right now… TIME CONSUMING — Troubleshooting — Good luck with your reviews.

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      8. Nah. I discuss things in an open forum. I have absolutely no desire to teach anyone anything. But I have the highest respect for those who do because I think being a teacher is the most undervalued profession there is. For some reason people think it’s “easy” yet it is quite possibly one of the hardest professions out there

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      11. I’m just offering reference to what the irate commenter meant when they said you mentioned critiques. I personally don’t have an issue this incredibly creative week long post. I love your blog it’s so engaging. It’s being in a forum.

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      1. I didn’t take this as a demand, I took it as a request. Then I have to make the decision is this what I want to be doing with my time right now. The answer is NO, so on to a blog that I want to read for entertainment. Like you said, each Blog is different, and we choose what we read and respond to — like reading the newspaper or watching a TV show – no interesting, move on that day.

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  3. Since I almost always ask myself question after question when contemplating problems this little scenario is relatable. Choice of alcohol as the first question though? Maybe a hint to the bigger picture that within that simple query lies part of the problem.

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  6. Hmmm. Alright, I for one, would like to see the story clips together….would help in analyzing…anyway, I like the counterpoint you draw upon here between three escape tactics, beer, scotch, and then finally tequila. What I’m getting is that our main character has some internal processing to do…😅

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  7. Like the creativity of using the different kinds of drinks. It brings more realness to the character I feel, You feel his pain more. Will we find out the dilemma that the main character is having?

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    1. No. Mainly because I don’t know what the dilemma is😆 I was trying to pick a piece of a universal story line (boy meets girl, loses, gets back) and play with the section of when the guy is debating if/how to rectify his mistake

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  11. This is going to be fun! I will have to go back and read yesterday’s! I think of scotch as a cold weather drink….in a hot cup of something or other. I’m actually back to blogging again so I may need a sip or two!

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  15. I likes me some fine interior monologue, and for just a splash of the subjective…well/bar scotch just fuels the fume into you get to the Walker level of Black or Blue or single malt better, whereas even a mediocre bourbon can sip slip one into the contemplative. Looking forward to part three.

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    1. One of my questions was going to be if the brands of alcohol matter…like if I said Miller high life, or Guinness, what’s the different word picture does the reader get?

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  16. Pingback: And Now for Something Completely Different- Part 3 – Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

  17. I like the rationale of selecting beer or scotch. You lined out the arguments for each very well! But, as everyone knows, wine is the correct answer! The only question left is red or white. 🤣

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    1. 😉yet…that brings up a whole other question (and I’ll preface by saying that my husband is a wine drinker/snob) is wine seen as more feminine? Then, because the other drinks can be drunk one portion at a time, would the assumption be that the character drank the whole bottle, or could you say that they stopped after a glass or two? What inference would the reader make?

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      1. You bring up a good point. I know quite a few men who enjoy wine. I suppose more context would be helpful as to what sort of man is contemplating this dilemma. Back story is needed. But, it’s just as easy to drink a 6-pack of beer or a bottle of scotch if someone would want to over indulge or drown their misery in a bottle.

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  18. I can’t really make a comment about beer or scotch. I don’t drink either. So I guess a nice cup of coffee or a glass of wine. But wine isn’t really the best thing for making decisions. I’m never been much of a drinker.

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    1. Well, if the character were me, the decision would be Darjeeling, lemon ginger or chamomile cause that’s how I roll….but, would you be rooting for the guy to get the girl back based on this snippet, or would you think the girl should just run? What, as a reader, do you infer about the character

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      2. If I’m understanding you correctly, you think this is the same story? If that’s what you think, that wasn’t my goal. My goal is four different ways of telling a snippet of a story. This is another way to show a guy thinking about saying I’m sorry

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      3. I was confused. I thought your first one said it was four different ways to tell the same story. But then there was no connection and so I became confused at what was going on or thought I had missed a few episodes. Now I’m just confused.

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      5. Ok. I probably shouldn’t have said the same story…it’s actually the same small part of a story. In this case, in between the universal boy loses girl, boy gets girl back again, there’s a thought process that the guy goes through…he knows he screwed up, and he wants to apologize but is still in the thought process. On Monday I told the thinking out portion and I used the uncomfortable chair and third person top show the mans thought process. Yesterday I did first person, and I used alcohol to show how the guy begins to think and which drink goes with each stage. Today I did it as a text, or epistolary, or dialogue to show the thought process of trying to figure out how to apologize. Tomorrow, I’ll do another style of how an author might show a reader what the protagonist is going through

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      6. Thanks. I missed one.I loved the uncomfortable chair portion. It was poetic and very poignant. I wasn’t as clear using the drink analogy. And I am still looking for the dialogue apology section. I will have to find that. I think for me I need more details and more to read

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      7. To be fair, I’m making this up as I go along. I had an idea based on comments from a post a few months ago that got me thinking about what we bring to a story when we read it versus what the author actually writes. I’m ending up with more questions, of course, but I’ve been having fun doing this

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      8. I dont mean to be ignorant but where does the piece Allude to the guy trying to get the girl back? I am feeling like I’ve missed the whole section of the story with the info or context clues clues. I’m feeling clueless. Usually I’m pretty sharp. Was there dialogue I missed? Pros? I’m totally confused.

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  20. Pingback: And Now For Something Completely Different: Part Four – Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50
  21. Pingback: The Conclusion – Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

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