Some links may be affiliate links. I may earn money if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on this site.
Rob Knowlan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
National Peanut Day 2023
Somewhat fitting that today is National 🥜 Peanut 🥜 Day since they comprise such a large part of my diet.
Crunchy
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. ~Noel Coward
So, as usual, I’m ridiculously far behind on things I need to do.
The great thing about deadlines is how they get washed out by a little rain. My internet is so unstable lately and it’s really killing my productivity.
Well, you can only do what you can do. When my internet goes down, I can’t do much.
That’s not entirely true. Getting knocked offline allows me to take care of things like washing the dishes, dematting the cat, catching up on writing videos I’ve downloaded to watch when I’m not busy working…
So, online or offline, I’m still doing something to move the ball forward. 🏈 It’s hard not to be stressed about being unable to do my work, but Mother Nature is no respecter of schedules.
Tasty
George Washington Carver and the 300 Uses of a Peanut
She is, however, kind enough to provide these tasty little legumes for me to nosh on.
I’ve always loved eating nuts generally, and peanuts in particular.
Like many Americans, I like peanut butter. I don’t understand why this is not globally popular, but to each their own.
Shelled
If you can’t convince them, confuse them. ~Harry S. Truman
There are a number of ways to confuse your readers. Obviously, the first is to simply be a really bad writer who can’t tell a story. We’ll just leave that there.
We can use more productive and deliberate forms of confusing in our writing. It’s the heart of the mystery genre, to be sure, but even with other genres we can use a variety of types of misdirection.
Why?
Well, while familiar stories are heartwarming and reassuring, they’re a bit predictable.
You can take a familiar story and add a little twist to keep it fresh. Subverting tropes is one way to keep a familiar formula fresh. You can even use red herrings outside the mystery genre by misleading the reader about who the real antagonist of the story is.
In fact, misdirection is a key factor in humor. Some of the most basic jokes are based on temporary confusion.
When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar.
Something as simple as that can take the reader a second to ponder what you actually just said and then the smile.
So, a little misdirection in your story gets the reader thinking “what the heck is going on“? If you’re doing it right, that’s because you’ve introduced an unexpected surprise into an otherwise predictable scenario. If you’re doing it wrong, they’re just confused because you’re spouting gibberish.
That’s basically it for today. Slow internet ensured I accomplished precisely zip today. Definitely the wrong kind of hump for this unproductive Hump Day.