Cardboard Cutout Street – A Story for Writers ~ 2024
Hi everyone,
This not so dark satire ditty shot itself out. I hope it helps someone, somewhere, as I do so love to help…
Zakgirl (in my favorite posting color of light-sort-of-blue, of course!).
A Story for Writers by Zakgirl
Today is one of those dull grey stormy afternoons stuck inside this body.
There isn’t much else to do but sit, ponder and walk around aimlessly with Mr. Imagination tucked tight by my side. No-one notices; you would never guess it here on, Cardboard Cutout Street just past Fifth and Main.
Every day is the same; beautiful skies, bright pastel-colored houses, perfect tree-lined streets, a gentle breeze with not a crack in the footpath on which to break your mother’s back. All perfect here; square, centered, and boring.
Ever so boring!
Unless, of course, you count those pretty pink and blue cumulonimbus, they are pretty sweet.
But, you know sweet gets boring too, after a while.
You see the trouble is I’m a story in someone’s head being held back by their refusal to use Mr. Imagination. Today, I have got myself so stuck I cannot move any further forward. No matter how high I jump, how loud I scream, how much I show my intense emotion, my overflowing zest for life and my love he doesn’t hear a word I say.
Not one word.
Oh yeah, and it’s all fine for you guys, too.
“Yeah, you guys, reading this. Yeah, I’m speaking to you!”
You gather around, peer at me, poke me with a stick, stand back, laugh, and joke, and all the while I am becoming more hurt, withdrawn, and sullen.
Why are you judging me?
What have I done to deserve all this attention? Bad attention.
I only wanted to share with others and have them enjoy me but alas no-one understands where I am coming from and I sink deeper and deeper into the dark cold shell where I pamper my despair.
And all those Publishers ever say is,
“Anonymity has no effect on whether we will accept or reject your story!”
Like, who cares? What does that even mean?
The End.
Update: 13 Dec 2023… In case you care to know: I have recently reviewed this post, added in some AI pics, and asked Chat GPT what that, “Anonymity” message meant… I know, slow learner here but was interesting to me all the same.
Chat, said, and I quote: The phrase “Anonymity has no effect on whether we will accept or reject your story” means that the identity (or lack of identity) of the person submitting a story does not influence the decision to accept or reject it.
In other words, the story is judged based on its own merits, such as quality, relevance, and compliance with submission guidelines, rather than who wrote it. This approach ensures a fair and unbiased assessment of the work, focusing solely on the content rather than the author’s reputation or background.
Well, I’ll be… wonders will never cease.
Zak, continuing to live this ever confusing life 🙂
This article is copyrighted material. Reproduction of brief snippets of this article with a link to this site are permitted, but it may not be reproduced in full anywhere without the written permission of Leanne O'Connell at zakthewriter.com
