Prompted

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have joined a writing group. The way it works is every week a prompt goes up, we submit a response to that prompt, and then we comment on each other’s responses. Each member takes a turn coming up with a prompt. We are six weeks, and six prompts, into this endeavor.

In responding to the prompts and in reading and commenting on other responses, I have learned the following:

1. My writing sucks. Now keep in mind that people – countless people actually – including family, friends, and co-workers have told me, in no uncertain terms and repeatedly, I do not take criticism well. Personally, I don’t think those people are right. However, I have to admit “my writing sucks” is a bit of an exaggeration on my part here. It’s more my style of story telling (in a fictional piece) needs some work. The comments I have received so far have been both complimentary of my writing and extremely helpful in pointing out how I can improve it.
2. I should not attribute something I don’t understand to a culture I am not familiar with. “Well, maybe that’s just the way they do things,” is not a good way to think.
3. My first reaction to the prompts has been “ugh”, but then I end up getting into them. (Except for the one I suggested.) The prompt this week is relativity. Ugh. I stared at that word for a while, and then, in desperate need of some help, I started googling about the Theory of Relativity which I had a very poor understanding of since I have never, ever taken Physics – something I highly regret. This is what I learned:
   • Maximum speed is finite.
   • Light bends around massive objects and serves as lens to see things behind those massive objects.
   • In a space-time continuum, things are measured by length, width, height, and duration.
   • The space-time continuum around a large object is warped and twisted by that object and it’s rotation.
   • That distortion in the space-time continuum is felt as gravity.
   • The rate at which two massive objects orbiting each other will move towards each other can be predicted.
   • Two events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another observer.
   • A fast moving observer notices time passing more slowly than a relatively stationary observer.
   • GPS was brought to you in part by the Theory of Relativity.
4. Thank goodness for distractions. While writing my latest response, I noticed that an update to the theme I use for this blog was available, and I spent hours learning about the new features and making some tweaks to the blog. What fun.

By the way, my response to the relativity prompt? A love story.