CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

A week of recovering from being sick, and then studying to catch up - that was the week before last. This week was more study, an assignment and a half, and... you guessed it... more study. Next week, I have some tests. This week's progress report will be out shortly. Overview New words produced: 2,840 Old words revised: 2,274 Works completed: 0 Works revised: 0 Covers created: 0 Works published: 0 Works submitted: 0 Competitions Entered: 1 Tier 1 Tasks Annual 13: Added 2,274 words Annual 14: Added 2,840 words Tier 4 Tasks ChapBook21A: Added 83 words; ShortStory270: Added 556 words; Publishing Tasks Created 1 blog posts for this blog; New Arrivals The following ideas arrived this week: Chapbook21A: about a cute dog and a promise; ShortStory260—Thistledown’s Question: a piece of flash science fiction about a colony; ShortStory261—Pranksters: a piece of flash science fiction about another aspect of colony life; Sho...

So, this 1-inch/3-centimetre long spider was sitting on my kitchen wall - probably trying to get out of the rain. It's not deadly, with a bite that can cause mild local pain, redness and swelling. I've also seen it called a 'bug-mimicking swift spider', 'wasp-mimicking spider', and 'tribal mask spider'. When they move, they're rather difficult to photograph. Sites used to find out what spider this was include: http://www.sciencentre.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Spiders/Modern+Spiders+Infraorder+Araneomorphae/Swift+Spiders#.U0DYt1fis08 http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_spiders/SpidersFieldGuide.htm https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16163582 http://australian-insects.com/swift-ground-spider.php http://calamvalecreek.awardspace.com/swifty.html

This week, we’re looking at yet another form of cinquain—the Crown Cinquain. Again, it uses either a Crapsey Form 1 or a Crapsey Form 2 as a base, but this time it has five cinquain verses linked together to form a single large poem that is 25-lines long. For those of you who are new to this series, a cinquain is a five-line poem that has a set number of syllables (or word types) per line. Sometimes the title of a cinquain acts as a sixth line. Cinquains were invented by Adelaide Crapsey was an American poet who was inspired by the rules of Japanese poetry to create her own poetical form, the cinquain. Here’s an example, inspired by thoughts of a magical world: The fey Glittering bright Form gems on ancient trees Brightening the forest giants Glowing Shadows Flee from their light Flee from their laughter, The gleam of their smiles, their laughter Their swords The woods Are protected Defended by fierceness That terrifies despite its size An i...