Rhapsodist Writing Contest #4 – Bibblings and Scribblings (Not for Contest Consideration)
The high pitched squeal of the chalk against the blackboard emphatically reinforces the desperate convictions of a man in search of a decisive truth to the universe. His trembling hand forces down the chalk with uncertain desperation. He traces and retraces obscure symbols of his equations on a blackboard, whitewashed in the chalk dust of a million inadequate answers and incomplete thoughts impulsively wiped away into oblivion.
Behind an explosive cacophony of matted white hair, the man chews on the end of an empty pipe and chatters inaudible gibberish to himself. Every statement of incoherent babble ends with yet another question. He slams the chalk into the tray, pivots on wobbly legs to his right, and begins to stumble along as a drunken man during a roadside sobriety test. The entire time, his voice moves toward a crescendo while he stabs at phantom images in the air to emphasize key points of his argument. Everything slams to a halt when he slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand, lightly chuckles, violently lurches his body around to face the other direction, and proceeds to repeat the entire process. The untied ends of his bathrobe behave as a metronome to keep time as he marches back and forth across the floorboards in a vain attempt to arbitrate some deeper understanding while lurching in opposite directions and arguing each opposing side.
After a final pitched crescendo, he retreats to his desk littered with paper such that it mirrors the disorganized cacophony of his hair. Each page is tattooed with indecipherable scribbles, squiggles, and symbols. He is convinced somewhere in the midst of it all is the holy grail of his inconsolable suffering and indecision. Yet each page turned, distracts him into a different direction, and begins yet another incomplete revelation which must be teased out.
He is the modern Sisyphus searching for a divine truth to the universe.
Thoughts While Writing this Piece
First, this submission is not an official entry into the Rhapsodist contest. I was simply inspired to write something from the moment I’d first thought of this challenge.
When I first considered the idea of personifying indecision as the fourth Rhapsodist Writing Contest, the very first image of indecision which came to my mind was Albert Einstein. I’d read two different biographies on him while I was in college studying engineering and he always epitomized the absent-minded professor in my mind.
I felt what would define this personification was not so much the adjectives and descriptors used to describe the individual, but rather, the adverbs and descriptions of his actions arguing with himself would do a far better job. Indecision is more a verb than a noun or adjective (in my mind), so personifying indecision through actions seemed the most natural route.
I'd love to hear your thoughts of your own creative process when writing.
For me writing is an art.... one can inspire or motivate anyone by his writings......and. I think you possess a great skill in writing.....
GREAT POST
@amanrazz thanks for taking a moment to read through my own "unofficial" submission to the Rhapsodist contest.
I agree with you about writing as an art. It is the crystallization of thought , which can paint some of the most vivid pictures of places and imagination. I will never forget how profoundly I was impacted by Edgar Allen Poe. The first piece of his writing I ever read was The Cask of Amontillado and I was forever hooked. Somerset Maugham was another deep influence.
In terms of my writing - I'm an acquired taste more than a popular mainstream novelist (or blogger), but I do appreciate the kind words. Thanks again for the support.
You are quite the writer, my friend! By the way, Albert Einstein is God to me. No kidding, he truly is. Of course, he wasn't really God but I have that faith and that love for him which most humans reserve for God. And I have good reasons for my belief in him. Just one question: did you wish to say 'high pitched crescendo' there? I have never seen 'pitched' being used without an adverb before it and so I ask. But of course, it is quite obvious to me and I appreciate you for the fact that you are a more experienced and better writer than me :) Do drop by my blog and follow if you see what you like and like what you see.
@ashfreqk thanks for stopping by to check out my blog post. I appreciate it.
The phrase high pitched crescendo was intentional. I had to chuckle when you wrote that because Grammarly doesn't like my word/phrase mashups. It constantly is asking me about atypical words threaded together in phrases, but it's very much my style of fiction writing. I guess I see words and phrases in similar way a chef sees foods with flavor and texture.
An interesting aside, the feelings you express about Albert Einstein reminded me of an article I read a while back about Atheists creating a humanist bible composed of some of the greatest philosophers in human history (Rene Descartes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Aristotle, Plato, etc.). Curious if you've heard about this? I think I may include a small piece about it with some links in a future #fivenuggets episode.
I'm not sure I understand. I'm asking you whether you intended to write 'final high pitched crescendo' but wrote just 'final pitched crescendo' due to a mistake.
Wow! That is certainly a very interesting piece of info! I'll check it out :) I am something between an agnostic and an atheist and even a theist! I just can't place myself somewhere 😅
Ah, I just realized it was the phrase from the first sentence, third paragraph. The answer to that is yes, it was intentional. In my mind, the phrase high pitched crescendo is redundant, because the phrase pitched crescendo already paints the picture of high-frenzied (pitched = sloped and crescendo = peak).
After reading a biography on Michael Angelo, I took a different perspective on writing. I purposely edit my finished work to communicate my thoughts in as few words as possible. Its something to do with stripping the finished piece down to its essence. Perhaps I'm just a bit too esoteric but I think there is an elegance in simplicity and wordplay.
I'm certain at least some people, if not many, feel that you are esoteric. You made me look up 'esoteric' . :P You are very good with your words my friend! Wish you good luck and good health! 🙂
you wrote it very nicely everyone should see this once.
@cityslicker thanks or checking this piece out. I appreciate it.
I'm glad you enjoyed this post. I generally don't write much fiction, but I was inspired for this particular contest and I hope it inspires others to give it a shot as well.
Wonderful! Thanks, @lpfaust I get some valuable knowledge from your posts.
Great post) Thank you! I often when I write, I delete text, and in the end I can not write anything and transfer the writing for the next time)
@stanniksenya I have so many half-finished pieces siiting on my hard drive. At some point, I'm sure most will see the light of day, but I can relate to where you are at.
I think everyone should learn, invest into this wonderfull way of communication. One of the oldest one. To express yourself or something with the written word is so deep.
I made a course in creative writing for writing fiction.
I know I am writing better in german than in English. But during the course, i never expected that there are so many ways to express yourself only wit a focus on particular words.
For me writing is an art.
@modernpastor thanks for taking some time to check out my "unoffical" entry for the Rhapsodist Writing Contest which I sponsor and run.
I have always been fascinated by writing since I was a child reading my first books. Ironically, at that age it was all about mystery novels. I have always felt the word choices in a great piece of writing create layers and textures similar to great paintings or great food. The phonetics of word choices, the meter created by the syllables of those words and the conjunctions picked can set a mood, pull a reader into your mind and transport them to a different place - real or imagined.
After learning two foreign languages (Spanish and French), I started to enjoy colloquial phrases - saying s in one language which have no literal translation into another. Language is such a powerful medium for any artist.
I would love to encourage you to enter into the weekly Rhapsodist Writing Challenge to compete for the prize.
Once upon a time Steemit had a very active fiction community which published chapter novels and tons of creative writing. Once HF 19 came through, all of that changed and much of the writing disappeared. I'd like to bring much of it back, and I think flash fiction is the first step. I would appreciate any help you could provide to encourage more people to enter into this contest. As time goes on, I do plan to expand/increase the reward pool, and I have some other ideas on how to expand the Rhapsodist Writing Contest to support long form writing as well.
Hey my fiend,
this sounds really interesting and I can feel your passion.
Tell me how can I participate exactly in the weekly Rhapsodist Writing challange?
@modernpastor I release a new contest every Sunday, and the contest runs through the following Sunday until 11:59 UTC. The Rhapsodist Contest #4 has already closed. I will be posting Contest #5 (including the rules to participate) later this evening.
I'd love to have you join the participants and spread the word to encourage any of your students to participate as ell.
Wow, never Einstein did not consider indecisive ... But it's true, he would not have guessed otherwise that everything is relative :)
@dlina-v-metrah it was Einstein who said it was all relative after all.
The irony of how absent minded he could be outside of his realm of expertise was something of legend.
wow very good.
@nijhum thanks for stopping by to check out the post. Glad you enjoyed it.
welcome dear friend.
your post is always unique container so i like your post.
I agree, that indecision is more a verb.
I have tried to personify indecision through actions...
And I admire your great skill in writing...)
@ir3k thanks for checking out this piece. Great to see competitors in the current contest looking at my stuff to.
I generally stay in the realm of non-fiction, but every once and a while I dabble in the fiction realm. I guess all the exposure to classic fiction rubbed off onto my particular writing style.
if it was a entry in the contest it was a clear winner my friend hahah :)
@steemphotography fiction is generally not something I do on a regular basis , I just dabble in it from time to time. I appreciate the kind words about my writing.
In my opinion, I think my writing is more acquired taste than mainstream novelist or blogger. Someone on Steemit politely suggested I should consider editing my writing to a reading level of around eight grade because many on Steemit do not have English as a primary language and it reflects average reading levels here in the US.
What can I say? It's like telling a chef he can only use 1/4 of the spices in his cabinet. As a result, I think it may limit the size of my following who actually reads my blog posts as time goes on. I'd rather write about what interests me in the most authentic way possible. Those who enjoy it will follow, and those who don't will upvote it for curation rewards and not read a single word. I have to write for me first.