Today’s morning prompt is “author”. Come join us in Second Life® or work from home at 6am PDT for 15 minutes of writing inspired by the word.
Please feel free to add your dash piece to the comments section of this blog post below.
FAQs
I found #dailydash/#writersdash on Twitter, what is it?
The Writers’ Dash (#writersdash or #dailydash on Twitter) is a 15-minute free writing exercise held on Twitter, Facebook and Second Life® every weekday. At 5:30am & 5:30pm PDT we share the word prompt on our social media channels; the live event begins in Second Life® at 6am & 6pm PDT. Write whatever comes to you. Don’t fixate too heavily on what you are writing and disengage your inner editor – the key is for you to get the words on the page first; you can worry about editing later. If you are attending the live event in Second Life® there will be an opportunity for you to show your work to the other participants after the 15 minutes are up. If you are unable to attend the live event you can share your work on our blog. Just look out for the prompt post and leave your dash piece as a comment.
Do I have to do the Writers’ Dash in Second Life®?
No, you can do it at home, if you prefer. We share the prompt word at 5:30am & 5:30pm PDT on Twitter and Facebook and start the timer in Second Life® at 6am/6pm PDT every weekday.
How do I join the live event in Second Life®?
You will first need to join Second Life® through the Second Life® website. Go to http://www.secondlife.com to start the process. It’s free to join.
Click on the JOIN NOW button and this will take you to the Registration screen. Here you simply fill in your personal details and choose a name and look for your avatar. Don’t worry too much about your avatar’s appearance as there will be plenty of opportunity to tweak it once you are inworld.
Once you have completed your Registration, you’ll be asked to download and install the Second Life® viewer to your computer. You will then be taken to a screen that allows you to choose which community gateway to enter. This is important as we want you to go through as smooth a transition as possible. Please choose the Caledon (Victorian Steampunk) Community Gateway. Once you have chosen the gateway you will find yourself appearing inworld at the University of Oxbridge in Caledon. Now begins your brief induction.
Follow the signs and read the information boards as you come to them. There is also a brief Second Life® tutorial provided on screen. Try and absorb as much information as possible but be mindful that you can always return to Caledon at a later date if there is something you feel you missed. At the very least try and understand the most important concepts such as how to move, how to talk and your camera controls.
Once you have completed the Orientation Tutorial you will need to find your way to Milk Wood. This is the sim that is home to Virtual Writers, Inc. At the bottom of your screen you will see a search tab. Click on this and look for Milk Wood. Now the teleporting fun begins. Click on ‘Teleport’ and you will be moved from your present location to our welcome area. Make sure you save the landmark so that you can easily return there.
We look forward to meeting you at one of our various daily writing events. Don’t forget to click on one of the group joiners so you can stay abreast of happenings in the writing community. You can also join Virtual Writers, Inc. through the search facility. Simply put Virtual Writers, Inc. under group search, click on the group name to bring up the profile screen. Then click ‘View Full Profile’ followed by ‘Join’.
About Virtual Writers, Inc.
Virtual Writers, Inc. is a free online writers’ community first established in 2007 and committed to showcasing established and emerging writers in a range of interactive and immersive environments. Here we learn to experiment with digital, social and virtual world platforms to push the creative envelope and develop a strong, unique voice.
We provide a wealth of opportunities for writers to meet other writers, share resources, access new markets, attend online writing events, workshops and interactive readings, and discover the best writers’ conferences, competitions, colonies and literary organisations.
If you want to become involved in an active writing community then visit us on Second Life® , our writers’ network, or our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and Google+) and get interactive. To learn more about our services please contact us through our online contact form.
Whether you are dashing in Second Life®, on Twitter or Facebook we welcome your dashes in the comments section below.
AUTHOR
.
I’d love to think of myself as a poet or author,
but an “Author” writes things that are special
while I just jot down what tumbles out of my head.
.
I love to read stories, essays, poems, explanations
and have dabbled in each form.
.
Imagining plots, characters, scenery is easy enough
but developing a cohesive narrative can be sticky.
.
So…to all the real Authors out there,
I admire you and thoroughly enjoy reading your writings.
.
For myself, I put words on paper
(or on electronic devices of various kinds)
and have fun with the effort.
.
Franja Russell 8-1-2012
My grandfather taught me how to play Scrabble.
Somewhere on the shelf with the golf and pool trophies was his masters points notebook.
But all those years ago, he’d never sit at the dining table to play.
Instead, he’d circle the table, looking over shoulders, shaking his head when my mother or grandmother would look for help, and he’d rearrange the tiles.
“Where does that go?” they’d say.
He’d point at the board.
“Oh!” and they’d smile and place the tiles.
These days, I imagine him screaming more than frowning.
I probably shouldn’t play Scrabble on my phone while driving.
“He is the author,” everyone pointed at the short bald woman with a wart on her nose.
The president of the Warped Organization walked towards her and stretched out his arm, wanting to shake the short woman’s hand, but she did not move. She stood to one side of the room, leaning against the wall, trying to look relaxed in a very discomforting situation for her. She hated crowds.
“We would like to congratulate you on your prize. You have written an inspiring book that will empower many to build their own virtual realities,” the president said enthusiastically.
The woman shook her head. The crowd sneered.
“See these people, “she started. “They will never be anything else but petty, small-minded and selfish.”
The crowd protested in a cacophony of angry comments.
“They’ll always look at me and think to themselves, look at that ridiculously short, bald woman with a wart on her nose. They will never be inspired to do anything wonderful, let alone to create their own virtual realities. And they need to, desperately. Look, that one is fat. That one is crippled. The one next to him is so tall his trousers are too short for him. And I could go on and find something about each and every one of them. They will be forever lost in a poor, boring reality of problems like being jobless, having no money, no house to live in, no food, being ill.”
The crowd was growing restless.
“Simpletons, they are simpletons. They have no ambitions, no dreams. Their intellectual landscape is as dry as the worst desert on the surface of this Earth.”
“But surely, dear madam, you think that your book will plow new ground for new futures,” the president mumbled, more weary of the crowd’s reaction than interested in reasoning with the author.
“No. They are dead.”
That’s it. The crowd had reached its limit. Some people threw stones at the woman, others threw umbrellas and personal belongings, some of the men in the front row ran towards the stage, their fists ready to hit.
Before anything tragic could happen, the author clicked what looked like a tattoo on her arm and, much to everyone’s amazement including the intellectually illuminated president of the Warped Association, the author disappeared into thin air.
A voice was heard, while the virtual transportation was being completed.
“Try to catch me now.”
One of the men from the crowd still managed to catch a glimpse of a tall blond woman with blue eyes vanishing into some unknown virtual world.
Even authors cannot resist a cliché…
©2012 Lizzie Gudkov
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