A Brief Contemplation
On the Abecedarian challenge
With the recent Abecedarian challenge just closed, I wanted to take half a jiffy to collate my entries, jot down my thoughts, and shout out to some other Vocal writers whose submissions I enjoyed.
Here goes, then.
Entries Collated
From oldest to newest:
First up, Hitting Snooze on the New Year. Here it is:
I'm not a big fan of new years' resolutions. Not least because I am not quite sure where to put the apostrophe, and I don't like that. It's one of the many things about January I dislike.
I like these resolutions even less when they begin on the 1st of January (although I have done that this year, with my "story every day" challenge). I think, if a thing is worth beginning, it's usually worth beginning now, not waiting for an arbitrary date.
But if you are going to wait for a date for a new beginning, the middle of winter is surely the stupidest time to do it. Springtime is better, when you will naturally be more energised and motivated. I feel sure that this is why so many break their resolutions so early in the year! Listen to the seasons, not the calendar.
Hibernate gently my love
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Secondly, Little Brush Strokes of You
This one is my plea against over-editing. Most "rules" for writing can be broken if it's done consciously, and sometimes these things make up your signature.
Little brush strokes of You left in for effect
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Next up, Let's Dance.
I've said before,
I'm never so naked as I am on a page
I think it's also true to feel naked as a reader. To feel like the storyteller or lyricist has peeled back the layers of you, painted your innards across the sky for all to see.
I think most of us hope to resonate with someone. I know that whatever I write is finished by your eyes landing on it, and your perspective interpreting it. It's a connection, and interaction, and it's pretty special because it can span centuries and bridge the gap between the living and the otherwise. I wanted to explore that connection. Hope you like it 👍
Undressed completely, your /Voluptuous lips around the word-shaped pieces of my shelled self
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Last, but I don't know if least: A Horse Called Story
A great big bulky metaphor, spelled out for you in the title. Nothing subtle about this one! I've had this one tickling around in my skull for a while and I thought it was time I pinned it down to a page. I hope I did it justice.
Steer him with a light hand, see where he takes you/Trust the beast, give him his head
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Thoughts Jotted
I've enjoyed this challenge, and that surprised me, because I was a bit sceptical at first.
I didn't think I was going to enter at all. Then I thought I would just make one submission. I ended up doing four!
I don't think I have a snowball's chance in heck (it's even hotter than hell, if you're wondering) of placing. I think I've done OK with ideas and expression, but there is surely so much more on the table here. The other entries are just too good. Plenty of them combine forms in ways I didn't know were even possible! Some poets have been clever enough to make it rhyme, and I love that.
I've learned a bunch of new words. I didn't even know there were that many beginning with X and Z, to be quite honest with you.
To sum up
It was tricky, but I enjoyed it. I would never have given this kind of poetry a go if not for this challenge, so thank you Vocal for that.
Shout-outs Made
Ruminations on Broken Things by Teresa Renton.
Eloquent in the extreme, and will make you feel stuff. Please go give it some love:
Stand out line:
frail memories bleached by white hot anger
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You Need to Ask by The Dani Writer
We are so disconnected from our bodies, and I think even more so in recent times. This is an urgent message well written.
Stand out line, which is cleverer than me and i had to read it more than twice to make my brain get it:
Incommensurate appreciation metamorphoses the ratio of physiological
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Things We Love by The Invisible Writer
Positive, uplifting, wonderful imagery gorgeously written
Stand out line:
My everything spun around, your everything, spun around me
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Abecedarian Arthurian by Raymond G. Taylor
I have a soft spot for Arthurian legend, and here it's been expressed cleverly within the ABC format.
Stand out line:
Begging wiz Merlin to try to ensure
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Mary's Lament by Suze Kay
How this one didn't get Top Story is beyond me! This is truly stellar writing. My comment says:
I love it. The bit that sticks is that anyone could be "spoilt" by grace (love, sex, becoming a mother). It's jarring to me, and I'm not sure if I like it, but I'm also completely sure you intended that discomfort and I can only tip my hat to how cleverly you wrought it, with a surgeon's precision 😁
Stand out line: all of them!
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Honourable mention to this absolute blinder played by Paul Stewart:
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Thank you for reading!
Did you enter? How did you find it?
If I've not yet put my eyes on your submission, please link to it in the comments. If I have, please link me to someone else's! What was your favourite entry?
About the Creator
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Comments (15)
Damn...missed this and the shout-out. Suze's and Teresa's were two of my favourite reads from that challenge. Well done for doing this - I enjoy a good curation piece! :)
Abecedarians give you a clear structure, but they’re tricky with some of the letters! I read some excellent ones, and a bunch that didn’t seem like abecedarians at all, because they flowed so well. I’m going to take a look at some of these you’ve suggested!
What a wonderful list!!
Regarding a shoutout, I'll offer https://vocal.media/poets/twixt by Mackenzie who never disappoints. The beauty and power of this piece lies in its brevity, as a whole. Lovely word choices and a helpful glossary at the end :)
Ooh what a fabulous post (and not just because you have me a shoutout lol and thank you so much). I appreciate you offering this curation as it's too easy to miss stuff. I'm going to sit down with a cuppa, or hide somewhere, and read them all. Thank you xx
I entered once and that was enough for me. At your suggestion I read the shout outs. Brilliant entries, one and all.
Excellent selection, L.C., including a couple I hadn't yet read.
I learnt a lotttttt of new words too reading everyone's Abecedarian!
This is a great primer to how you think and process writing. I can especially relate to the experience of another writer stripping me naked. Each time it has happened my reaction has been a kind of visceral terror, as if the veil hiding the secret places in my heart were suddenly rent from top to bottom and the world gazed in horror at my hidden self. Conrad’s Lord Jim was the first book to do that but not the last. Reading and writing make us human and to be truly human is to be naked before all.
Supposed to be in bed after a long day on an early shift and I'm STILL reading some L. C. Schafer. Soooooo worth it! Especially for this line: "I know that whatever I write is finished by your eyes landing on it, and your perspective interpreting it. It's a connection, and interaction, and it's pretty special because it can span centuries and bridge the gap between the living and the otherwise." Acegirl thas gon' send me off to sweet sleeps ! Thank you so much for being you, and much appreciation for the shout-outs. (I've now got massive amounts to read added to my massive amounts 'to-read' pile.) Ain't no party like a "Vocalizer's party" (and me seriously questioning my single and double quotation marks usage...I am beyond tired and need to go to bed but YOU still ROCK Lady!)
I wholly agree on the apostrophe thing. It gets me every time. Also, I love how you added little snippets of your work, sharing your favorite lines. You should make a post one day of all your favorite quotes <3
All your entries were great, as were the ones you chose as shout outs. I hadn't seen Paul's or Will's yet, so thanks for sharing.
All good advice. I couldn’t think of anything for this challenge 😭next time!
Mary's lament was SO good, I'm rooting for it. It was a weird one, this challenge. It didn't turn me on as such, but it was so easy to approach when I sat down with half an hour, that I ended up doing several too.
I've yet to read so many of these, but I've been sincerely blown away by the creativity for this challenge. Looking forward to trying to get to some of these this weekend :) Good luck in the challenge! I think I ended up with 6 entries. It was a lot of fun!