Just Being Nosy
Looking through a few Forum threads I see some Cloudies have made 400 or more posts (500 or more, 600, 700, 800 or more). Ecky thump, says I to myself, how long have some people been around? I’ve been Clouding since March (this year, this millennium). How about everyone else?
There again, how did you find out about the Cloud? I found out via advertising for the York Festival. Clearly there were ways of finding out a lot earlier (800 or more posts ago, for instance) but I never came across them. Were people thinking to themselves, “Wouldn’t it be nice to find an online community of writers?” – cos the thought never crossed my mind.
There again, how often do you log on – once a day, a week, a month? Or do you disappear into your project, re-merge several months later, knock up a hundred posts, then disappear again?
Or – paradoxical one this – do you never post?
I’m just being nosy. Anyone else feeling that way?
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Of late, life has intruded and I've barely had time to visit. I post occasionally, usually under Critiques when there's something I feel I might be able to help with. I enjoy the banter on the site, and think there are so many talented writers here.
i think i was one of the first WW clients back in 05. at the time there were only about 4 editors on their list and by the time i rustled up the necessary a few weeks later there was about ten. now, as you all know, there are numerous.
i was invited to the Cloud's opening ceremony but although i signed up straight away, i didn't really have any time to give it (i barely had time for my own writing, never mind casual browsing). anyway i quit my job last year (hooray!) and now have more time for networking; and i honestly believe that, after gaining the necessary skills, getting out there and networking with other writers is the best way to progress. they mightn't be able to help you dirctly, i.e. get you published, but if they like you and your stuff they will want you to quote them when you submit. it definitely seemed to work for me anyway. otherwise without friends to quote or some other damn good way to attract attention to your work, you're just another submission
harry has been hugely supportive over the years and without WW i might have been stuck in the widerness forever. but i've never noticed him boasting about his success stories; i can't believe there aren't any, so have i just missed them, or are they shy?
I've been around for about a year, maybe a bit longer. I found some info on the site on WW's main site and managed to get myself on here. I'm not as active on here as i used to be, but that is due to actually sitting down and writing properly again.
Jak
I was also interested on the views by people who knew nothing of the poet’s life. Heidi and a few others did some ‘lit-crit’ and heir comments re-inforce the view of a critic of the ‘Times Literary Supplement’.
This is the review. from the paper. (This post might seem a bit odd. If you think Jeffery Archer's style leaves something ti be desired, my grandfather's prose would cause total heartache. He style is something higher on the colpur spectrum than purple!I think I commented, in my biography, that editing his style is rather like hacking though aSouth sea forest with a machette.
The poem caught the attention of one critic of the 'Times Literary Supplement' who gave the poetry book a short review on the back pages of the paper in 1931:
'And although his two longest poems 'The Slave Girl' and The Zangewahee' could only have been written by one who had shipped before the mast, it is not of actual voyages they tell but of strange ordeals on immortal seas and of one whose imagination seeks tirelessly and hungrily the 'splendour of a dream' and who knows that the dream is shattered at the moment of its taking shape, and a desire for the 'Buried light / Of all that was mortal, beautiful and bright'.
'Yet the dream is so real to him that his romantic hunger seldom degenerates into sentimental yearning. Occasionally, indeed, he slips into conventional prettiness, but, generally his sense of the infinite and of theremote of 'far-off grief and hope' or of the laughter that is 'The overflowing of setting suns on shores / Of boundlessness and mountain peaks of light' is crystallised in delicate and distinctive images while any tendency to luxuriance and exoticism is counterbalanced by the buoyant force of his rhythm and the tense virility of his diction. Certainly this little volume proves that it is possible to mint the true gold of romance in an unromantic age'.
Actually, on the subject of names; anyone know why people with the surname Wilson are often called "Tug"?
Mcallan: "It's my first time on a site of intelligent adults" - I suspect you could be talking for a few of us there, but not, apparently -
EmmaD: who says "the other place I hang out had been going for four years or so, when I joined in 2004... " Am curious: is there another place like the Cloud? (Dare you say, or would it get immediately swamped by invading Cloudies?)
Maryluv: I wonder if you, or anyone, remembers The Goodies and Ecky Thump, the ancient Lancastrian art of self-defence? (Sorry to hear about the park bench, by the way.)
Tony: I surmise the Cloud formed about 18 months ago with you as one of the founder droplets. Any observations on its progress/evolution? One notable aspect is the welcome normally given by -
Weens: like cdm and many others, I was first greeted by you and made to feel welcome. Come on everybody, three cheers for Weens!
cdm: "I've never come across a friendlier site" - I hope this view is shared by all (if not, here's your chance to grumble - go on, we enjoy a bit of controversy!)
Jill: LRD = Lord of the Rings for Dummies? Left Right Down (joystick instructions) er, I'm floundering
Mark: aha, WW began in 2005, did it? And so the whole history emerges, bit by bit. (Well done for ditching the day job - let us know if it hurts and we'll see about a whip round)
Jak: "actually sitting down and writing properly again" - good point: does Clouding distract us from the main business? (Thinking of posts rather than plots?)
Marion: how galling not be the 666th!
Barb: on another topic - great hint about talc - the ants gave up on us after we put it down. (Hang on, this isn't another topic - this is an example of how advice from fellow Cloudies smoothes our passage through life!)
Angeriana: "already on three major forums" - ecky thump! (to quote the immortal Goodies)
AlanP: Alan Plater? Surely not! (There are logical objections to the identification but ouija boards can achieve wonderful things, they say.)
Yes, quite a few, at least using 'like' in a general sense. Though I don't think it's really fair on the Cloud to promote rival set-ups - I don't do the reverse, either. Everyone has a different model - some are competitive (which usually means they become snake-pits), some you pay a little for, some you have to apply to join, some are invitation-only, some are published-only, some are foul to any published writers who put their heads round the door a rare few like the Cloud and the other one are a happy mixed eco-system of published and unpublished... Depends what you want, really. And apart from structure, all those differences result in different atmospheres and etiquettes.
The poetry was written by a composer of military marches. ( 'Bouyant force of his rhythm.' )
There are many intelligent writers on 'word cloud' whose opinions are worth having.
I'm reasonably active on here although it goes in fits and starts depending on my other activities. I did try another site - Litopia - which I found very lacking in friendliness, intelligence and usefulness compared to this one. It may be a matter of taste, but Litopia is one of those places which treats you like a child. There's a definite pecking order and stars awarded for number of posts etc. There were a few nice sorts on there but unfortunately they were overwhelmed by some opinionated and bossy characters.
I'm also impressed with the general level of talent on this site and by its democratic nature. There are some brilliant people here.
"There, now I have allies to confirm that is my original title: copyrighted, right!!!" No copyright in a title, unfortunately... ;-)
The story concerned lawyers - well educated - one has with a Cambridge degree and a degree from Harvard University. They meet on a golf club and discuss a crime. Did a women blow her own brains out or not? They all chortle about the whole thing on the golf course at the end of the story. Jeffery Archer was close to the source of power, wealth and privilege and knows about such things! It is no worse than many similar writers who have a popular audience.
I don't know anyone who is into writing - or even reading for that matter! I don't want to bore my mates by talking about something which they have no interest in; besides, they tend to think that anyone who's interested in anything other than beer and football is gay.
It's been so great to be able to talk about creative stuff (not just writing) with people on the WC, I worry that I might be getting over-excited and posting too much. You would tell me if I was, wouldn't you?
All you guys, but particularly Emma and Harry have contributed to my education as a writer. On the Cloud, I have felt a sense of belonging and camaraderie that I have not found elsewhere on the web. I tend to use different sites for different purposes - Facebook, for instance, is where I keep up with my student offspring and let off steam about the frustrations and joys of my life. But I still prefer to meet people than talk to them through the ether. Bringing the two world together at York was a joy!
I think Wrathnar's point is a biggie for a lot of us - "I don't know anyone who is into writing" - so we end up (or used to) keeping quiet about what most matters to us. (How sad!) (How not sad any more!)
There again, some of us may have had the experience of confessing to someone, who immediately fixes us with a messianic stare and says, "Wow! You're into writing? Fantastic! Let me tell you about the plot of what I'm working on!" Two hours later your facial muscles are struggling to maintain their expression of polite interest.
John's point about York - wonder how many of us will pitch up there next year. Will the Uni be big enough?
If time and energy permitted I would like to critique more and post more but as things are I have found WC both helpful, supportive and interesting. Hardly ever dull....
who else but a Cloudy would send me a message of support and advice for a day out in London. Thank you Wrath, I was touched.
And Tony, even travelled to a canal to take photos for me and put them on a cd, that is way over the top of expectations from an acqaintance on a web site, could only be a cloudy.
I have joined other sites but the good folk of cloud are a bright, intelligent, helpful group.
I look in most days, though try to restrict myself, it is too easy to spend time floating among clouds rather than writing.
I am grateful to Harry.
I use 'Ecky Thump' instead of swearing. Obviously not a true southerner.
Long may TWC continue. If not, I would have to search you all out and collect email addresses. Weens, thankyou. Jill, thanks. And to Mike, and Tony, Call, Whisks, and many others for your kind comments.
For a site that is primarily to gain business from hopeful writers it is one of the best.
Long may we continue.
Other forums: I used to log into the Modern Antiquarian site, but it was clearly run by an ideological cabal who had their own views on what's what - and even expelled someone for being too flakey. (Well yes, he was flakey, but that can be interesting.)
Ecky thump - anyone heard of Eckankar, the Eck current, the living Eck master Sri Darwin Gross, his predecessor as living Eck master Sri Paul Twitchell? You might think all that was low grade satire if you found it in a novel, but it was true folks (back in the early eighties). Maybe it still is. Maybe I'm offending sensibilities right now. I grovel. (Eek- have just checked google/wiki - yup it still exists - yup I'm being offensive. Soz.)
Back to more Cloudy business - do you use google as a spellcheck (start typing a word and the correct version pops up with lots of suggested sites in a drop-down list)? Course you do. How slow of me to discover it only recently.
It was clear at York just how bonded Cloudsters have become. I just wish I had time to be here more. Speaking of which, I really shouldn't be here now ... Doh!
Oh, and Tony, we had orginally intended to charge for the site, but rapidly backed off when we discovered (A) the software was a bit crap, and (B) everyone was having too much fun with a free site anyway. I hate social networky things, but I love this.
NB: Wikipedia entry on Ecky Thump includes this useful nugget:
"In the episode Kung Fu Kapers of the British comedy series The Goodies, Ecky thump is a martial art hailing from Lancashire based upon the use of Black pudding sausages as weapons."
Ha, I just googled "wracked up" just in case that was the spelling, and it gave me a drop down list all spelt without the 'w'. Then I googled "spelt" - looks a complicated one that, but "spelled" is probably safer.)
BP: vicar? cute? uh?
Very excited as going home tomorrow for holidays. Yippee!
Very excited as going home tomorrow for holidays. Yippee!
Hang on, what was that flash of movement? Think it was Debi rushing past.
Note to Harry - does the Cloud pay for itself via the adverts? Does its value (or cost) rise with numbers of members? I can't imagine the economics of this.
Click here to sign up now.