No Longer Greek To Me OR I'm A Little Bit Smarter Today Than I Was Yesterday

Over here at this great writing blog, Storyfix, Larry Brooks taught me something new and then made me laugh a whole lotta times. 

Do you know what a  paraprosdokian is?
Can you close your eyes and spell it?

If you're anything like I was, the answer is no on both counts.

But I'm here to enlighten you.  To pay it forward. . .

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect.

For example:

– I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

– Do not argue with an idiot.  He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

– I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

– Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

– The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on the list.

– Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

– If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.

– We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.

– War does not determine who is right — only who is left.

– Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

– The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

– Evening news is where they begin with ‘Good evening,’ and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.

– To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

There are plenty more to chuckle over here if you're interested...  http://storyfix.com/monday-musings-and-mundane-morning-munchies

Enjoy.

merlotmom

Off The Blogger Grid

Wow.  It's been a long time.  My many thanks to those of you who are actually still receiving my posts, you are a patient group.

I could give you the excuse that I've been busy - with writing and general domestic chaos - it wouldn't be the first time and it would only be partially true.  The other part of that truth is that I am having a blogging identity crisis.

When I started merlotmom, as is representative of the blog's name, I was writing about the daily deeds and conundrums of being a SAHM.  My kids were 7 and 10 and I had plenty of stories and queries to share with my blogger friends and I loved hearing yours as well.

Now, my kids are 10 and 14, and I know some of you are comfortable sharing your family stories despite the ages of your kids,  but as my kids have grown, particularly my eldest, the issues have become more delicate I have found it increasingly difficult to make their daily dramas public.

In addition, I have FINALLY broken through the writer's block that set in last Spring and I have been working hard figuring out the process that will help me write my FREAKIN' first novel already.  I am not always as productive as I would like to be but I am trying to forgive myself and permit myself the time to find the right method for me.  It has meant confronting my demons, as they relate to my life-long fear of failure and lack of confidence.  This is my current journey and it has been tough.

A pleasant part of that journey has been visiting the plethora of writing blogs out there.  There are so many good ones with great articles on technique and advice that I feel as if I'm working toward that creative writing degree I always wanted but was too frightened to attempt.  This is where I am putting all my extra-familial energy right now.

Point is, I'm not sure "merlotmom" is still working for me, though, trust me, I am still drinking the merlot, I'm just doing it off the blogger grid these days.   I considered starting a writing blog (something with a different title for obvious reasons),  a journal of the trials and tribulations of writing my first novel, but that has already been done out there and part of me feels like a newbie who might not have much valid, literary knowledge or advice to offer. 

So, that, along with the reticence to publicize my continuing and ever-changing family soap operas, has left me at a blogging loss.  The identity crisis.

I love having a blog.  I love reading your comments and discovering you lurkers out there.  I just need to see if I can find a new niche for myself in bloggersville.  In the meantime, merlotmom will remain in case I have something permissible and brilliant to share.  Who knows?

I hope you'll be there if I do.