One of my favorite apps in Facebook has also become one in which I get to poke fun at some of the angst involved in the writing journey: Bitstrips . For those not on Facebook, Bitstrips also has a Website . Bitstrips allows you to create an avatar of yourself and then place that avatar in comic strips, either alone or with friends. You can decide on the look of your avatar, from hair and smile to clothes and shoes, and you can select from a variety of situations to place your avatar. Here I am as an avatar. Initially, most of my strips were about life experiences and events, but then I began to poke fun at my journey as a writer, bringing along my friend and fellow writer, Makasha Dorsey . Most of the strips now focus on "accountability": Makasha checking on me and my writing (or lack thereof) and vice versa. The strips are meant for fun, and they often receive great comments and notice from fellow writers. For me, the strips keep me writing (in some form), allow m...

I always get an extra chuckle out of a comic strip that speaks to me as a writer. Some of the messages are a little hard to take, though. Consider this first one. From B.C . Wiley, sitting under a tree with Clumsy Clark, is opening a box and says, "A gift from my agent." He reads a note he finds in the box, "Some writers are appreciated even more when they have passed on from this earth." Clumsy says, "That's sweet. What's in the box?" Wiley opens it, "A Noose." Oops, maybe it's a good thing not to have an agent.   Now some wacky definitions from   Wiley's Dictionary.  Perfect pitch: Best-selling roofing tar Counterrevolution: The invention of Formica This one is from Peanuts : Charlie Brown has just finished writing a new story and is reading it to Snoopy. When he finishes, Snoopy shakes his hand. In the last panel Charlie Brown says,   "I guess he didn't like it. That was his 'g...

Mid-month seems like a good time to stop and have some fun here at The Blood-Red Pencil. First for today are some recent comic strips that made me laugh, or made me think, or both. From One Big Happy : Nick and Rose, Ruthie's grandparents, are sitting on the couch watching TV. Nick asks, "What channel is this?" "A & E, Arts and Entertainment." Nick adjusts his glasses as if he can't believe what he is seeing. "For the past hour we've been watching a deranged woman living in a cluttered, rat-infested house." Then he turns to Rose and asks, "So, is this art or entertainment?" Of course she has no answer. This one from Zits was cute: Jeremy is at school and at 10a.m. he has a history test. "Easy," he thinks. At 1p.m. he has a calculus quiz which he considers "No sweat." His 2:45 English test is a "Piece of cake." At 4p.m. he meets his girlfriend, Sara, who has a "How well do you ...

Here we are again at our first Wednesday of the month feature. Enjoy! From Pearls Before Swine : Rat says to goat, "I'm expanding pig's vocabulary. Today's word was 'defenestration' which means the act of throwing someone out a window." The next panel show a broken window. The third panel has rat saying, "Learning can be a painful process." From Pickles: Earl and his friend are playing checkers. Earl says, "It bugs me when people say "I could care less. What they really mean is  'I couldn't care less'. Meaning they have no interest in whatever it is. But if they say I could care less,' it means they have at least some interest in it. Pretty stupid, don't you think?" His friend responds, "I could possibly care less, but I doubt it." This next one from B . C. isn't about writing or books, but it's funny, and those of us who have tried to write around kids at home...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so we are taking time out for a little bit of fun. Enjoy! This first vocabulary lesson is from the strip Sherman's Lagoon : Sherman says to Filmore, "I hear there's a Lagoon creative writing contest." Filmore :  "Yesiree! A short story contest to boot. This is where I shine." Sherman : "Hey, Maybe I'll try my hand at writing one as well." Filmore :   "It will be futile." Sherman:   "Thanks, I hope yours is futile, too." Filmore :  "You know, a lot of writers start with a dictionary." Make sure you say what you mean, from the strip Pickles . Earl asks, "Opal, what's the matter." Opal : "Oh, nothing." So Earl walks away, "That's good." Opal gives him that look she is so good at, "You know very well that 'oh, nothing' does not mean "oh, nothing." This next one has nothing to d...