Top 10 Most Read Poetry - Ballad
a poem that tells a story and was traditionally set to music. Usually follows a form of rhymed (abcb) quatrains alternating four-stress and three-stress lines.
Gentle Healer by Ticklishboy30 Complete
Audre Lorde Knows What I Mean – 2021 in review by AC Benus Long-Term Hold
Love Looked at Me and Laughed and other poems by AC Benus Complete
a Glass Floor Underfoot by AC Benus Complete
A Loving Memory by Ticklishboy30 Co
This short story is a short story written long ago by Graeme (almost 20 years!) but it shouldn't be missed. Please take the time to read and review this series of snapshots, as he termed it, that fits right in with the theme I'm using to feature this month's stories!
Length: 3,175
Description: Snapshots of lives as a young boy grows up, a young couple age, and an old man goes through his retirement.
A reader said: No guarantees in life.😬 ~AlexLittel
If you want
I have a weekend off from anything so I'm actually here Thanks again to Cia to helping out the past couple of weeks.
You know what? I'm at a loss for words this week. No, I'm not drunk and/or incapacitated.
We are in our annual Victoria Day weekend in Canada, so they means we get rain and snow. No snow this year though.
I decided to start on a plumbing project in my shower, and I bought some new apparatuses and thought today would be a good day to get them installed. When I bou
Around here, we’re already feeling summer vibes. On the other side of the globe, winter is closing in. In my opinion, vacationing on a tropical island never sounds wrong wherever you live. Are you ready?
PT #281
Use as many tropical tropes as possible to describe the stop of your cruise ship on a tropical island.
PT #282
Combine common tropes such as the hero journey, love triangle, lost memory, anti-hero, or enemies to lovers with tropical tropes without (challenge!)
For 2025, the Secret Author Contest theme is going to be "Reveal the Truth". Now... the only one you can reveal the truth to in real life is your beta/editor, but in the story there should be some link to the theme of revealing the truth in some way. A juicy secret that comes out, a bitter reveal that one doesn't want to believe, best friends that finally end up doing the horizontal tango and the betting pool reveals who won on how long it took them to get there? Authors, you decide how it plays
Top 1 Most Read Paranormal - Cryptid
Features creatures from folklore, mythology, or cryptozoology, such as Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, or Chupacabra. The narrative often revolves around encounters with these mysterious beings.
A Night on Pine Ridge by Myr Complete
Top 2 Most Read Paranormal - Cursed Objects
Focuses on objects with supernatural or cursed properties. The plot typically involves characters trying to understand or break the curse associated with the
Here is a great story by a great author done by another great author Enjoy!
The Life of Seeon
by comicfan
Reviewer: Aditus
Status: Complete
Word Count: 32,006
If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans (Woody Allen). That came to mind when I first read The Life of Seeon.
Seeon is the fifth and youngest child of the High King of Toleran Maon. Even though he is a prince, he’ll never wear the crown. He’s given the choice to become either
Hellooooo!
How is everybody ?
First off, can you shout out your love to Cia this week? You probably didn't notice, but she used her magic powers and went in and put in the stories of the week in last week's blog and published it I'm hoping she will be able to help me out this week too!
This weekend, I got convinced last weekend, when I probably could claim I was not of a clear mind and not to be held responsible for anything I committed too , to do something questionable.
We're back after a brief hiatus while the Poetry Anthology and Comicality Tribute were featured. If you haven't had a chance to check them out, please do so!
@Aditus and I absolutely love everyone's enthusiasm for the new twists on the prompt blog. Since we had so much participation the last time, we're going to put some limits in place to make the resulting story more manageable for us.
The idea is to write a story backwards. I will provide the ending,
Oooooooo, baby! We are back with another round of GA's favorite blog game, Author Guess Who. Y'all know the drill. This month's mysterious author has answered a lovely list of questions, and it's your job to figure out who it is. So grab your magnifying glasses, put on an old fashioned detective hat, do a Sherlock Holmes impression, and get to work! Let's see what the anonymous author has to say...
• • • • •
What sparked the writing fire? How did your author story begin?
Just the facts:
BUCOLIC Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
BUCOLIC Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
BUCOLIC Synonyms: 372 Similar Words & Phrases
bucolic
Bucolic (/bjuːˈkɒlɪk/ or /bjuːˈkɑːlɪk/) means relating to the pleasant, peaceful, and idealized aspects of the countryside, rural life, or shepherds.
Definition and
In storytelling, a bucolic setting—defined by idyllic, rural, and pastoral landscapes—serves as a powerful narrative tool that goes far beyond simple background decoration. Writers and filmmakers use bucolic elements to manipulate pacing, contrast character growth, and ground abstract themes in tangible visuals,
Here is why bucolic settings are so important in storytelling:
The Archetype of the "Safe Haven": Bucolic settings often represent the ultimate emotional anchor or the "St
The word bucolic comes from the ancient Greek word boukolikos (βουκολικός), meaning "rustic" or "pertaining to herdsmen". It combines boûs (βοῦς) meaning "ox" or "cow" (which also gives us words like bovine) and -kolos (-κολος) meaning "tending" or "keeper", and together they form boukólos (βουκόλος) meaning a "cowherd" or "oxherd". The Greek term passed into Latin as būcolicus, keeping its association with herdsmen and pastoral themes.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
A harbinger in storytelling is a person, object, event, or symbol that foretells or announces an upcoming development—such as a major plot twist, a character's downfall, or a shift in tone.
Why Harbinger Matters in Storytelling:
Builds Anticipation and Suspense: A harbinger plants a seed in the audience's mind. Readers or viewers begin to guess what will happen next, creating emotional investment and tension.
Creates Structural Unity: When a future event finally arrives, a well-pl
A harbinger is a person or thing that signals, foreshadows, or announces the approach of another or an event. It is derived from the Old French herbergeor (host or provider of lodging) and the verb herbergier (to set up camp or take shelter). It is rooted in the Proto-West Germanic compound *harjabergu, meaning an army camp or shelter (harja meaning "army" and bergu meaning "protection" or "shelter") and shares the same Germanic root as the word harbor.
The earliest known use of the nou
Just the facts:
HARBINGER Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
HARBINGER Synonyms: 57 Similar Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
Antonyms
Strict direct opposites do not exist, as "harbinger" is a descriptive noun, but functional opposites relate to results, conclusions, or followers:
Descendant / Follower: One or that which comes after rather than before.
Result / Consequence / Aftermath: What comes at the end or as a consequ