Storytelling Rules to Consider

Found on Get Scribbling.

Foodie Pen Pals Expired Quietly

You may not be inspired by this trek through my bookmarks, the ones with linkrot. But, I hope it has some inspiration, interest and something for those who like history too. Of course, they have all of those for me. Why else would I have kept the link?

Foodie Pen Pals had a lot of rules, but they were exchanging food through the mail. A terrifically interesting idea. It even had a branch in the UK (also closed/ abandoned now).

Here’s a detailed explanation of the program:
-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail.
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you have a blog, feel free to post about your box whenever you receive it.
– Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!
***If you’re in Europe, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!
————

FOODIE PENPAL SIGN UP FORM
Sound like fun? If you’re a US or Canadian resident please click the link below to fill out the form:
CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE FORM!
YOU MUST SUBMIT THIS FORM BY 7PM EST ON THE 4TH OF THE MONTH TO BE GUARANTEED A SPOT. IF YOU FILL IT OUT BETWEEN 7PM AND 11:59PM EST, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE INCLUDED DEPENDING ON WHEN I HAVE TIME TO START WORKING ON MATCHUPS. IF YOU FILL IT OUT ON THE 5TH OF THE MONTH, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO START UNTIL THE NEXT MONTH.
***IF YOU SUBMIT YOUR INFO VIA THE FORM, YOU WILL GET A RESPONSE IF I RECEIVE IT. IF YOU DON’T GET A RESPONSE, PLEASE FOLLOW UP AS THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A TECHNICAL GLITCH**

Foodie Penpals Terms & Conditions
“By signing up to participate in Foodie Penpals, you are hereby agreeing to the following terms and conditions:
–Condition 1: You will contact the person you are matched with withing 72 hours of receiving your match to discuss dietary needs, allergies and food preferences.
–Condition 2: You will make an effort to meet the dietary needs of your penpal- ie not sending animal products to vegans, dairy products if your match tries to avoid dairy or junk food if they ask for healthy snacks.
–Condition 3: You will mail your box by the 15th of the month. It is HIGHLY recommended that you purchase delivery confirmation/get a tracking number for your package. It is very inexpensive and can be used to prove that you sent your package in the event that it gets lost.
If your match does not receive a package for the month, you will receive a warning. If it happens two months in a row, you will no longer be able to participate in the program
–Condition 4: In the event that you do not receive a package, Lindsay and The Lean Green Bean blog cannot be held accountable. By agreeing to participate in FPP, we cannot 100% guarantee that you will receive a package. The mail gets lost occasionally and your partner may fail to deliver.
-Condition 5: Using the foodie penpals email list to send out personal or spam emails promoting your blog, giveaways, etc is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Doing so is grounds for immediate dismissal from the program as it is a violation of the other participants’ privacy.
Failure to comply with these terms and conditions is grounds for dismissal from the Foodie Penpals Program.”

Did Disqus Kill Commenting?

When you think about it, did Disqus kill blog commenting? I stopped commenting on other sites because of Disqus. Having to register for their service and even then most of the time I would have to login with it only to have it not find my account. Far too much trouble when something like Twitter was so much simpler. Now I just leave a note on Twitter, with a link referring to whatever I wanted to comment on. Much easier, less stress, and it works.

By the way, Disqus is now spamming you but you can pay for it to stop. Or just stop using Disqus. People might start commenting on your site again, or not. I think the days of leaving comments on blogs are gone. Too much hassle to deal with software, like Disqus

Seven Days for Seven Answers no More

Seven Days Seven Answers - Daily cues to spark your writing creativity. 

A little sad when something clever and creative disappears online. I had Seven Days Seven Answers in my bookmarks as a site for writing inspiration. But, going through and checking each link, manually, I have found it long closed up. The link still active enough, on Blogger, to pass automated link checks. Anyway, I'm preserving the ideas from the site here. Sure, Blogger will keep it all up until Google decides to stop hosting Blogger. But, I like giving it an extra archive. 

I found an abandoned Twitter account for the site too. 

What is it?Seven Days Seven Answers is a daily opportunity for creativity. Each day of the week is assigned a category. A question, scenario, or some sort of prompt will be posted asking for you to respond. Every post will have a winning response which receives an award. The goal is to reach the Winners Circle by collecting a win on each of the seven days (or a combination of days and wildcards) and becoming an Ultimate Winner.
Where do I write?You can either respond in the comments of the post or in a post on your own blog (provide a link in the comments for that cue).
How do I know if I'm responding correctly?Cues are deliberately vague and open to interpretation. That's the point! Whatever springs to your mind as an "answer", that's the correct response.
How often can I answer?Answer every day. Don't answer every day (though you risk making me cry). I don't even mind if you answer multiple times on an entry. 
How long do I have to write? When are winners announced?You can write on old prompts forever if you like. Winners will be announced in approximately one week.
How are winners chosen?Winners can be chosen by any number of methods.I'll pick the entry I like bestI'll let someone else pick the entry they like bestPollRandom selectionEeny meeny miney moOr whatever other method sounds good at the time
How do wildcards work? Some days, instead of posting a prompt in the regular category, a wildcard will be posted instead. The winning response on that day will receive a special wildcard award which counts towards the "seven awards" on any day the participant is missing. 
What do Daily Winners receive?Daily winners receive their name (and a link to an appropriate website) on the daily winners page. They also receive the right to post the shiny winners button on their website if they want. In addition, winners receive the unwavering respect and serious street cred among their peers. From time to time, there may be small prizes given to a randomly-chosen daily winner. 
What about the Ultimate Winners and the Winners Circle?Winners who have collected wins for all 7 days will also receive their name (and a link) on the Winners Circle page. They may also receive a tangible prize but we'll deal with that when we get there.Cues and Days
 In the News: (Day 1)This category features news-related prompts.Sample cues:Given a headline, write the story that goes with it.Explain an out-of-context quote.Write a follow-up story to a recent event.Checklist (Day 2)A list of words will be accompanied by a scenario in which to use them. 
Now What? (Day 3)Write what comes next.Sample cues:What happens next in a story or scene?Finish a phrase.Tell what happens in a situation.Letters (Day 4)Given either a first line or a set-up, write a letter appropriate to the situation.
Storytime (Day 5)When a new story begins, a starting paragraph will be provided. Everyone will write paragraph #2. A winner will be chosen and the next week everyone will write paragraph #3. And so on, building on the previous winners, until we reach a conclusion. That particular cue category lasted for about a month before I decided to replace it.
So I Have This Friend... (Day 5)Give your best advice to this friend.
A Thousand Words (Day 6)On this day, a photo will be provided. Sample cues:Explain what happened before (or after) this photo was taken.Write a caption.Take Two (Day 7)Given a second chance, how would this be different? Rewrite the ending to a book, movie, scene, fable, quote, etc. 
WildcardThis category can be absolutely anything. Absolutely. Anything.

I Want a Vintage/ Antique Library Cart

First, you should know, they are far more expensive than you would expect. (I was surprised). A new cart is also very expensive, plus there will be some assembly required with almost all of them. I can do the assembly, but… I’d still rather have an old cart assembled by someone else long ago. I don’t mind some wear, authentic wear, not contrived to look worn and aged. Fake aging is too artificial. Besides, wouldn’t an old cart be much happier cleaned up and given a fresh coat of paint? I don’t want a sad cart.

This one was on a site from the UK. Even pricier but I really like the look of it.

This one was found by someone else and done over. I would rather have it painted a nice showy red - make it look glamorous.

I found a few vintage/ antique carts online. Most are too expensive once you consider the shipping and the dollar difference from anything in the US. Paying double the asking price just doesn’t seem fair. Even when they say free shipping, that doesn’t mean they will stick to it when it comes to me.

So, I will continue to poke around on the Internet from time to time and see what I find.

The best bargain I could find online for a new book cart was from Wayfair. The company is new to Canada (or at least new to me in Canada). They offer free shipping and likely it is free shipping when it originates here. But, why is the price so much different just over the colour? I like the plain silver better than the white or black. I just think it’s odd. It’s not an old cart though, so no history to it. Likely I’d have to put the wheels on, if not more assembly. So… it is tempting. I’ve begun trying to let go some of my books and the cart would help in sorting them. Plus, I could keep it for the books I use most often and whatever I have on hand in fiction to be read.

Reward the Author

Have you seen something like this before? The reader has a vote in how much the author is paid for the article. I say a vote because I don’t know if the author is paid the amount I picked. Is this a good way to pay web writers? It is based on readers and reader opinions about the content.

I found it at China Highlights.com.