tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post6748491954772346178..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Setting aside the award, the real question is why?Katherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-8288656444739560732013-04-08T13:12:21.253+01:002013-04-08T13:12:21.253+01:00Indeed, you have disappointed me, Bill. Never mind...Indeed, you <i>have</i> disappointed me, Bill. Never mind. I'm off tomorrow to the States, where I always buy my annual supply of tick repellant for Gypsy, my dog. No awards for defeating those ticks, though. Perhaps I ought to keep sheep. Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-64152400183041976422013-04-08T10:27:33.197+01:002013-04-08T10:27:33.197+01:00Sorry to disappoint you, Lee, but my thinking'...Sorry to disappoint you, Lee, but my thinking's not as subtle as yours. Originally, this was just about the tick. The award came along a couple of days before it was scheduled to appear and so I added it as a wee boast.<br /><br />Reb, I know we always want our readers to be affected by what we write but gastric upheaval doesn't come high on the list. On the other hand, I'll take whatever I can get.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-42232601826532927012013-04-07T22:58:37.125+01:002013-04-07T22:58:37.125+01:00Thanks, Bill. On the fourth day of my extended wat...Thanks, Bill. On the fourth day of my extended water fast I needed something to turn my stomach and shrink still more by heaving. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-54734774475202578622013-04-07T18:19:52.597+01:002013-04-07T18:19:52.597+01:00Let me see. Awards and sheep ticks. Awards and she...Let me see. Awards and sheep ticks. Awards and sheep. I <i>knew</i> there had to be a reason why you chose the <i>sheep</i> tick to illustrate your point about awards.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-18234994079099709082013-04-07T16:02:28.678+01:002013-04-07T16:02:28.678+01:00I bow before your exegetical skills in teasing out...I bow before your exegetical skills in teasing out the true allegorical meaning of this posting, Julia (even though I was unaware of it myself).<br /><br />And, Ms Whippett, the effortlessly applied Cartesianism of your fusion of spiritual and physical is an object lesson in lateral thinking.<br /><br />Cerebral? Moi?Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-13792902274133779022013-04-07T15:53:30.272+01:002013-04-07T15:53:30.272+01:00Oh very good madwippitt, no fleas on you
Oh very good madwippitt, no fleas on you<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-27300121361728574062013-04-07T15:40:22.151+01:002013-04-07T15:40:22.151+01:00As every fule no, ticks are essential for the cont...As every fule no, ticks are essential for the continuation of civilisation as we know it: no market researcher or exam candidate looking at their multiple-choice exam paper could survive without them. As the instructions always say: please place tick in the box provided.madwippitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02595748471651052552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16995715596727263972013-04-07T15:26:40.313+01:002013-04-07T15:26:40.313+01:00I took the point of the parable to be that we writ...I took the point of the parable to be that we writers are like sheep-ticks, crawling up the grass stem to deliver our one book a year then falling back into dulled exhaustion as we incubate the next one. What IS the point? Scribo ergo sum or Sum ergo scribo. Not a lot in it really<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-57526341601111367572013-04-07T13:59:07.540+01:002013-04-07T13:59:07.540+01:00Thanks, Dan. In the present educational climate, t...Thanks, Dan. In the present educational climate, the old stress on critical thinking seems to have no place but when I use the term 'thought-provoking' in reviews, it's always intended as a positive. Yes we're in the entertainment business, but if we can simultaneously 'provoke' reflection on (and appreciation of) the lives we're all living, that's enriching.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-75681587573938757692013-04-07T13:23:02.667+01:002013-04-07T13:23:02.667+01:00Huge congratulations, Bill. And Chris, there's...Huge congratulations, Bill. And Chris, there's no such thing as too cerebral! As people with access to even one or two readers, it is almost a humanitarian duty for writers to exercise every synapse they have to get people to appreciate every precious moment of life and cast off every shackle that prevents it :)Dan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16431390384849168452013-04-07T12:24:05.268+01:002013-04-07T12:24:05.268+01:00Sorry, Chris. But you know it's all a front an...Sorry, Chris. But you know it's all a front anyway.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-59548973420638952362013-04-07T12:22:30.084+01:002013-04-07T12:22:30.084+01:00Thanks Lydia. I'm with you on mozzies, by the ...Thanks Lydia. I'm with you on mozzies, by the way. And you're right to focus not on the absurdity of the question why but on enjoying the fact that we're here at all and in a position to enjoy what comes along.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-30391883547141308192013-04-07T12:20:13.254+01:002013-04-07T12:20:13.254+01:00Bill Kirton, you are far too cerebral!Bill Kirton, you are far too cerebral!Chris Longmuirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488093821886798927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-22943899416620557572013-04-07T11:57:14.360+01:002013-04-07T11:57:14.360+01:00Happy to repeat my congratulations to you Bill, I ...Happy to repeat my congratulations to you Bill, I know as a poet that many awards are limited to certain elite circles etc so indie awards are a new and good thing voted for by actual readers. I see no harm in you taking innocent, non-British pleasure in this - as human beings let alone as writers, most of us need validation and recognition, from friends and strangers, to keep us going especially in this sometimes rather solitary working life. So Yay! and thrice yay as Lydia would say, props to you!! There are many life forms which seem pointless, my personal bete noire is the mozzie which seems to fulfill no purpose but to increase suffering, especially mine - I don't even begrudge them a bit of blood, but I do object to the massive agonising weals lasting for weeks that the little bastards leave me with. The point I suppose is that there is no point, things evolved by chance and keep going, we don't need a reason to live or to write or to enjoy anything good that comes along like a squirrel, sheep or whatevs to feed us briefly before another period of obscurity! Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-82132494878840589082013-04-07T11:15:27.284+01:002013-04-07T11:15:27.284+01:00Guilty as charged, Cally. Since most award givers ...Guilty as charged, Cally. Since most award givers actively encourage nominees to canvas for votes (which I dutifully did), the award is an indication of how many 'friends' you have and/or how many of them are willing to vote. Nonetheless, it is, in theory at least, an aid to marketing. It helped get the book onto the Awesome Indies list and I do like the idea of getting more readers.<br /><br />And if the purpose of a sheep tick is to pass on Lyme Disease, God or Who/Whatever his/her/its equivalent is, is even more cynical than I've always given him/her/it credit for.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-55349623544562127752013-04-07T09:40:41.355+01:002013-04-07T09:40:41.355+01:00Ah yes Mr Existentialist - the POINT. I think the ...Ah yes Mr Existentialist - the POINT. I think the sheep tick is less absurd in purpose than awards. The sheep tick, after all can pass Lyme's Disease on to humans which while it may not kill them, can dramatically alter their entire future lives! (which I guess makes it more or less as powerful/purposeful as a merchant banker!) <br />Awards on the other hand, yes, I (think) I'm agreeing with you - assuming your point was that awards are absurd. What are they good for? Well, they can boost the ego or sales. That's about it. I think all awards are fundamentally pointless. Either they are MAINSTREAM in which case the 'elite' factor or the 'sales' factor is primary or they are INDIE in which case (in my experience) they show either how many friends you have or how slick your marketing operation is. Without wishing to denigrate any of your work (which I wouldn't!) I personally don't think that awards won or lost give any indication of how 'good' a piece of writing is, and their function (rather akin to the sheep tick) may simply be to keep writers busy doing something completely pointless - chasing external validation and/or fame/money. The Daoist position would be not to engage with the whole process because it is fundamentally a waste of time. And that's the one I take. Gives me a lot more time for more fruitful activity- feasting, mating and yes, writing! CallyPhillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15481379296340077102noreply@blogger.com