Tag Archives: Writing

The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll

by Cimaxion

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Oh boy have I found a great book!  Poet Jim Carroll was finishing this thing up when he passed away in 2009.  I have only read 73 pages so far but I recognize this as one of the greatest novels I have ever read.  A New York painter reacts strongly to some paintings by Velazquez, stumbles into Central Park and winds up in the looney bin where he finds some time to think straight.  Simple and magnificent.  What a damn great writer!  I think this will actually be the first novel I write a review of.  Now back to reading.

Mystery Contest for Halloween 2010 – Winner

by Cimaxion | 4 Comments

The winning continuation of the Halloween Mystery Contest story was submitted in a comment by Paper_flower.  Congratulations to this fantastic writer!

Read the winning story here by scrolling down into the comment area.  I have only posted the winning comment entry.  Enjoy it and have a happy Halloween!

Mystery Contest for Halloween 2010

by Cimaxion | 4 Comments

If you want to enter the mystery contest, just finish the mystery I’ve started below by entering your part of the story into a comment.  The contest is open to all writers of any age and skill level.  Have fun and take the story in any direction you like.  None of the comments will appear until a winner is picked.

I’ll post the winner on Thursday, October 28.

The beginning of the story takes the form of a hastily written email complete with misspellings and awkward phrasing.  Just finish the story by entering your text into a comment and make it as scary as you can!

Good luck.

Here’s how the mystery email starts:

From: stephipro31
To: [email protected]
Date: 10/30/2009 12:31 pm
Subject: I’m Don’t Know What to Do – Please Call Me!

Jen, oh my god I really don’t know what to make of this or do.  You must call me soon.  Right away!!!  I can’t believe this!  Am I going crazy or is this for real?  Anyway I guess I better lay it out for you as quickly and simply as I can.

Oh well… ok, so it was the other day, Wednesday I think, right after you told me on the phone that you would meet me for lunch at Mr. Pete’s and we’d go from there to the park.  Remember I was in a hurry doing laundry?  Well I got mad because the washer got stuck, you know how with too much in the load the spin thing goes all out of whack and wobbles until the whole thing just stops dead?  That happened.

So I was all pissed and I had a pile of Jake’s whites in my arms and I was tripping over crap on the floor and his shoes and I tried to reach with my finger to push my coffee cup away from the edge of the dresser but it spilled and I got ever madder.

So I threw the clothes down and yanked his drawer open and it came all the way out of the whole dresser and made a big crack and it smashed my foot.  Well after I stopped cursing and being all curled up on the floor holding my foot I tried to put the drawer back in place.  But i saw a little package on the floor underneath where the drawer should be.  It was wrapped in brown paper and twine.  I picked it up.

This is really freaking me out, Jen.  So anyway, I held the little package and then I just thought, ‘Who cares?  I’m just gonna open it and if Jake gets mad well then he can do his own laundry for a while.

So I unwrapped it and it turned out to be a really old black book with a leather cover that smelled that way old leather things get in an attic you know?  It was even crumbly at the edges and the spine was broken and the whole front cover was almost wiggling right off.  But I opened it and it was filled with writing.  Some in ink.  Some in pencil that was faded.

The very first thing on page one said, ‘London is a town with much to offer me and it is with a sinking heart that I leave it, bound for Austria on the fourth, then on, several days later, to Sarajevo.’

That’s how it started, Jen.  So I read that and then my finger went in the pages at the back of the book and there was this lump.  I flipped to the back and some pages were all stuck together.  Glued, Jen.  Glued together to make a pouch.  It felt like something was in there, so I tore it open and some pictures fell out.  Four little photos.  And then I picked them up and I looked at one which was of a woman in a black dress with a big locket on a chain around her neck.  She was beautiful even though the photo was very old and hardly even there any more.  I saw photos of two different houses lying on the floor.  Just houses with lots of trees around them.  But then I saw the fourth photo Jen.  And oh god I don’t know what to do and I screamed.  My body was shaking and I just let out a scream I was so scared Jen.  The fourth little photo on my bedroom floor had a date written on it right on front Jen.  1897.  That’s what it said.

And I picked it up to see it closer.  I couldn’t breathe  it was jake

can you help me now jen?  I’m so scared now because it was him.

Now, continue the mystery by leaving a comment.

I Write Like David Foster Wallace

by Editor

Apparently, I write like somebody named David Foster Wallace. I know… it’s weird. Who would have thought? Who is David Foster Wallace? I think he’s kind of high literary serious-minded and wild sort of college professor type stuff. I should just do a Wikipedia on him, but I don’t really want to know who this person is that I supposedly write like. Below, you can see my official badge that proves the Wallace connection:

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I got my writing-like-David-Foster-Wallace badge from I Write Like. It could not have been easier. I simply pasted several of my very opinionated and slightly acidic blog posts into the I Write Like form and then pressed the button. Each time, this David Foster Wallace guy popped up. One blog post that I dribbled out because I had nothing of interest to say on that day came up as Dan Brown. No surprise there because Dan Brown is so numbingly uninteresting that his brain should be transplanted into the body of Tom Hanks where it would dwell very contentedly for some time I would suppose.

I Write Like is really loads of fun. I could paste entries into it all day long and feel that I had spent my time well. That’s what I’m doing today. For the entire rest of the day I’m going to sit here dropping my blog posts into this machine to find out if maybe I really am David Foster Wallace.  I may even start to make stuff up just for this writing machine and eventually maybe I’ll see my own name pop up: I write like…

Student Essay Winners Announced in Wilmington, Ohio: Third Place Winner

by Editor

essaywinnersCandlelight’s favorite children’s author, Artie Knapp, working with the Wilmington News Journal, sponsored a fourth grade student essay writing contest and the winners have been announced! The students were asked to write about Clinton County, Ohio where they live. Their essays were judged by education majors at Wilmington College.

This is one of those encouraging activities that can really make a kid feel like they’re at the top of their game. It makes them want to keep writing and reading and learning. Artie tells me that Clinton County has been absolutely devastated by high unemployment since DHL moved out. Rachel Ray and Jay Leno have recently done free shows there to help feed some of the people who are hurting. I think these three kids who can write so well are really helping everybody in their county to feel good this holiday season.

Excellent job, kids! Keep up the fantastic work and keep writing!

Here is the third place winner by Katlyn Jamiel, a student at Sabina Elementary School.

What I like best about Clinton County
By KATLYN JAMIEL

jamiel, katlynI love Clinton County.

These are some things that happen in Clinton County. Clinton County has good places to have a home. In Clinton County police keep us safe. In Clinton County you meet new and nice people. Clinton County has nice jobs for parents too. Sabina is a nice place because it is very small and has nice homes. That’s some of the things I like about Clinton County.

In Clinton County these are some festivals and parades that go on during the year. One of my favorites is the Clinton County Fair. I like all the rides that they have at the fair because they are fun to ride, because they’re all different.

These are some activities that I do in Clinton County. I go to the bowling alley and I go to the YMCA to exercise and swim. I go do putt-putt golf and sometimes I go to the track too.

These are some of the restaurants and shops I go to. I go to Subway and Frosties too. I also go to West Side and IGA. I go to the China Buffet and Family Dollar. I go to Walmart and Dollar Tree. I also go to Corner’s Pizza and Charlie’s place too. These are some of the places I go to.

I go to school and the library too. I like Clinton County because there are a lot of fun things to do with my family. When I moved to Sabina it was a great feeling. Clinton County is a wonderful place because there are a lot of fun activities and some great jobs for parents. Clinton County is a wonderful place because it has a lot of space for new houses. When you first move to Clinton County you won’t believe what you see. I like Clinton County because it is a nice peaceful place. Clinton County is a great place because your kids get a good education. At Clinton County schools you learn new and great things.

If you lived in Clinton County you would have a lot of fun with your family and friends because there are a lot of activities, like putt-putt golf, the bowling alley, and more. Your kids will like Clinton County because there are a lot of parks and a lot of nice children. I like Clinton County because there are a lot of new restaurants. I like Clinton County because Walmart has a lot of good things at a lot of good prices. I like Clinton County because there are a lot of wonderful people. (When I go to school I learn a lot of great things like multiplying and dividing. I like going to school because I get to learn a lot of great things.) I like Clinton County because every time I go somewhere in Clinton County I fell like I’m learning more and more about it. I like Clinton County when Halloween comes because you get to walk around town and you get candy and you get to dress up into a costume.

I also like Clinton County because at Wilmington College I got trained by a Wilmington College coach. I like Clinton County because I get to go to Wilmington park and practice soccer. I like Clinton County because there are ducks you can feed at the Wilmington park and there are picnic tables where you can eat too. I like the Sabina park because you get to watch baseball and ride your bike and run track if you want to. I like Clinton County because most of my family lives here and I get to see them a lot.

Student Essay Winners Announced in Wilmington, Ohio: Second Place Winner

by Editor

essaywinnersCandlelight’s favorite children’s author, Artie Knapp, working with the Wilmington News Journal, sponsored a fourth grade student essay writing contest and the winners have been announced! The students were asked to write about Clinton County, Ohio where they live. Their essays were judged by education majors at Wilmington College.

This is one of those encouraging activities that can really make a kid feel like they’re at the top of their game. It makes them want to keep writing and reading and learning. Artie tells me that Clinton County has been absolutely devastated by high unemployment since DHL moved out. Rachel Ray and Jay Leno have recently done free shows there to help feed some of the people who are hurting. I think these three kids who can write so well are really helping everybody in their county to feel good this holiday season.

Excellent job, kids! Keep up the fantastic work and keep writing!

Here is the second place winner by Erin Wilson, a student at Blanchester Intermediate School.

What I like best about Clinton County
By ERIN WILSON

wilson, erinThere is a lot of places that I like in Clinton County, but here are some of my favorite places.

First there is the Clinton County Fair. I like the Clinton County Fair because I like to look at the animals. I like to show animals too. I like to show goats and chickens at the fair. I love the fair food too. That food is so good I don’t want to go home and eat.

The second thing is the corn festival in Clinton County. The corn festival is cool because there is lots of fun crafts to do. There is lots of good food to eat and cool stuff to buy. I like to look at all the cool tractors too. There is tons of them there. I love going with my family and running a booth.

The third thing I like is Cowan Lake because it is so pretty. I love to go fishing too at Cowan Lake. I love to go sailing also. The water is so pretty. I just love it at Cowan Lake. I like to camp there too. I like to camp there because you can ride your scooters or bikes there and you can have camp fires. You can also just hang out with your family too.

The fourth thing I like in Clinton County is Walmart Super Center. I like Walmart because the food that you buy from them is really good. I like to buy toys from Walmart too. I love to buy clothes from Walmart.

The fifth thing that I like is the Murphy Theatre. I like the Murphy Theatre because it is really old. They have a lot of good plays. I like it also because it is really pretty inside because of all the decorations.

The sixth place that I like in Clinton County is Denver Park. I like Denver Park because it is really fun, and the playground is really cool. I like the Denver Park also because you and your family can hang out there all day and maybe even have a picnic. Or you and your friends can hang out there just for fun.

Another thing I like is the Caesar Creek Flea Market. I like the flea market because there is a lot of cool and interesting stuff to look at and buy. I like the flea market also because all the traditional stuff is there.

The last thing I want to talk about is my church. My church is the United Methodist Church. I love my church because it has a lot of really nice people and my best friends. I have a big church. My church has an upstairs and a downstairs. I love my county, Clinton County.