COMMENTS ON JUNE 2020 CWC 😇 KEEPING SAFE 😇

jjanssen

polowoman oh wow! Thanks all for doing whatever it is that enabled me to win. (I don’t know how the judging decision was made!)

jesi23

jjanssen (I don’t know how the judging decision was made!)

The extra ‘RULES’ are in a spoiler in the original post!

When it It was a Competition with ‘real’ prizes (Payback, I believe) hosted by @polowoman long before I started hosting the Challenge, the votes were simple ‘Kudos’ from members of the Community. Since our platform change mid-August 2019 to Flarum, we have had reactions, all of which, although with various interpretations, are meant to be ‘positive’ so the voting is a combined total number of ALL reactions received.

I am trying to help other members find the Creative Corner and to participate. We used to get more entries and more votes when the threads were ‘stickied’ at the top of General Discussion. However, any ‘stickies’ are shown at the top of All Discussions regardless of the TAG, so on the default setting, it was impossible to find ANYTHING beyond the stickied threads.

That is why we have our own new subTAG for Creative Corner for all these lovely topics which used to be stickied!

_{_🤡}

polowoman

jjanssen - Hi! Have just read your entry and to say I was moved to sympathy and a true sense of concern for you would be an understatement. I realise a few months have passed since the possible contracting and to learn that you were not infected came as such a relief, and if there is anything good which can come from your experience, aside from the negative blood tests, it's that you will be extra cautious in future. I am sorry you suffered 4 weeks or so of feeling ill due to the treatment, not to mention the related stress, but imagine that with the passage of time, you certainly feel that the month of suffering has been worth it for the excellent outcome. As to whether a factual piece can be deemed creative, from my view is that it can be. When I hosted the CWC I welcomed both true and invented storylines, in any written form, as I feel that any written piece has to be created whether factual, based on truth or made up, and in many ways it is harder to be creative when revealing the truth than to fabricate a tale as it can be difficult to express thoughts and feelings on a particularl sensitive subject. So to quote the title of one Shakespeare's plays, all's well that ends well, and I so pleased this is an actuality for you.

zeenat5

jjanssen

Wow read your story, and must say, when its actually something you go through and to narrae also is hard, maybe am wrong as its how I feel… but thanks for sharing, and am glad you are safe and okay. tcare :🙂

jesi23

amejoy Well Done! I am looking forward to reading everyone’s entries! It would be good to get more people reading the essays and giving reactions somehow.

As people get to know it is here, we ought to get more participation. Somehow we need to figure out some way to encourage more ‘voting’ and discussion about the stories as well. _{_🤡}

polowoman

jesi23 @frenchielove - Just read your poem and it really encapsulates life today, and confirms that we are not alone in taking all the precautions. It is a living nightmare at the moment but I live in hope that the virus will pass, though I doubt it will without an effective vaccine available for all. Take care and stay safe.

polowoman

frenchielove - Was in the midst of a message to you when it seems to have posted itself but there is now no sign of it on this thead. However, I found your poem so appropriate for these worrying and unprecedented times. It was reassuring to find that we are not alone in taking all the precautions but we must continue to do so till the virus has passed, though I doubt this will be before an effective vaccine is available to all. I too greatly value the wonderful work of the NHS workers, your children among them, and spent many years in the NHS. I was office-based working for doctors and know the dedication of medical staff, and realise they are risking their lives to save others during this pandemic. 🌈 🩺

frenchielove

polowoman thank you, the poem was a bit light hearted but I didn't intend to make light of it all, just sometimes, it all gets a bit much. You are always such an encouraging critic 🤗

polowoman

frenchielove - You poem didn't come across as very light-hearted as it contains some very good advice, and no advice is better than when it is being put into practice by the person recommending it. I am pleased to hear that you are adhering to much the same measures as we (and many others) are as it should keep us as all safe as possible. We received a supermarket delivery yesterday and between us managed to clean with antibacterial wipes all wipable packaging for the fridge and freezer (in cases of cardboard outers we removed the contents which were all in wipable containers) and I put them into reusable bags. What a palaver and a lot of hard work but hopefully it will ensure a greater degree of safety. The cupboard items I have transferred to large reusable bags and am leaving for 72+ hours before putting them away. Maybe over the top but we feel it's best to be safe than sorry. Returning to the reason for the CWC, with your contributions to all the theads, it is easy for me to be encouraging as they are all so good and usually have sensible messages within the poem or story. Take care and stay safe, my friend, and I hope your entry will be the first of many of this subject, and from you in future. 😀

amejoy

Well done @frenchielove for getting the ball rolling with such a clever poem. You've found some nifty rhymes about the anti virus measures. Hope that your family continue to stay safe in their work too.

frenchielove

amejoy thank you. That means a lot

netes81

@frenchielove your poem is lovely. It put a smile on my face - the zoflora line struck a personal chord 😊
It was also very poignant 😔
I really enjoyed it. Well done 🤗

frenchielove

netes81 thank you so much. Just read yours @jjanssen which I found incredibly moving. Thank you for sharing and being so brave telling your family. That must have been hard 🤗

jjanssen

frenchielove thank you. I have made a couple of edits to the end of my post since you first read it.

I adored your poem.

frenchielove

jjanssen yes, just re read it, thank goodness you are safe ❤️

jesi23

jjanssen

Thank you for sharing your story. The ‘Creative Writing Challenge’ is not necessarily fictional. My essays never are particularly fictional if that is what you are thinking, so, telling the truth is not a reason for disqualification. Any essay which is your own work is eligible! It is more the encouragement to write that is the reason for the Challenge, not an encouragement to invent tales. Both fiction and non-fiction have their places in the library and periodicals.

I think you have been very brave to share this, and you didn’t need to say whether you had made it up or not.

It is important to consider consequences of idle actions, words and thoughts before indulging in activities which are designed (in the short term) to make us feel better about ourselves. You certainly found out the hard way that caution is not stupid; saying ‘NO!’ is always an option.

_{_🤡}

amejoy

@jjanssen When I saw this month's topic I soon remembered the Don't Die Of Ignorance HIV/AIDS Campaign of 35 years ago. Although the situation isn't quite so stark these days, experiences like yours show that people still need to be vigilant to keep themselves safe. It must've been quite difficult for you to decide to share your nasty scare on this forum (& I'm sure that real life accounts are welcome here). I'm pleased to see that you have several caring people in your life and that your men's group was a help and that all was ultimately well. It was also interesting that you had side effects to deal with from the PEP, as these have never been mentioned when debates about long term use of PEP by gay men have been in the news. I do hope that life's roller coaster is on a gentler bit of track for you currently.

amejoy

amejoy Just realised that I've confused PEP with PrEP, but it's possible that side effects are still a factor?

frenchielove

Omg! amejoy just read your entry, I was actually holding my breath. Brilliant piece of work, well done you! 🤗

polowoman

amejoy - You built up the tension from the outset in your story, and though I knew there had to be a happy ending, as Emma must have related the tale to someone for it to be known at all, I still felt a sense of apprehension throughout. I was, of course, relieved when the happy ending loomed, and looking back realised that you had written in a way that many dramas and comedies are portrayed. A character, who could easily explain an unusual situation and thus relieve others of worry and suspicion, never mentions the reason for doing something out of the ordinary and this leads to a tangled web on which the story hinges. Well done - tension is not something I write well but admire in others. I have a lot to learn from your approach to writing.

amejoy

frenchielove Thanks very much! I am pleased that it drew you in.

jesi23

polowoman

Thank you, Lauretta for your insightful critique of the entries! The one thing I miss about the old competition is your ability to express something for all the entries to encourage and assist! There are times I find responding to entries quite a writing challenge in itself, as being dyslexic my thoughts are not always well catalogued, even in my own head, let alone to express to others!

_{_🤡}

amejoy

polowoman Thanks very much for your comments. I am glad that I sustained the tension and your attention. I very much welcome having a topic as a starting point, as it has changed my vague notions of maybe writing something, into my actually writing these short pieces!

polowoman

jesi23 - Many thanks for your kind words, Jes. While writing my comments on the entries, I sometimes wonder if I am overstepping the mark as I no long host the CWC, so to find that you approve is such a relief and a compliment. I am more than happy to continue to do this, if that suits you. I like to encourage writers and always find that evey piece has a few positive points, and higlighting these can help a writer to concentrate on their strenths, and realise their weaknesses. I know this from personal experience and appreciate helpful tips from others. Over the years I have informally appraised the written pieces of colleagues at the writers' group, have reviewed books online and last year I was among a few to beta read a book for an author ( a big step up for me). All in all, I hope my critiques are helpful and encouraging.