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16 September 2016

Eek, I Pressed Very Scary Button!

I have lots of buttons, switches, levers and the like on my boat.

Some are pretty ordinary, like the one on the back of my alarm clock which you press to turn the annoying beeping off. I can't remember the last time I set an alarm. Ah, the blissful life of the intentionally unemployed.


Then there's the tiny on/off switch on the overhead light fixture. Yep, I know, it's definitely showing its age. I bet this looked really snazzy when our boat was built 29 years ago. You know what's been on my boat project list forever? Changing out the light bulbs to LED ones. One of these days.


This is one of my favorite buttons. You press "power" and it makes cool air magically flow through your boat. Absolutely essential if you're going to spend the summer in southern Florida.


This is a very important button. When the water tanks on my boat are running low, sometimes the fresh water pump keeps running, desperately trying to get every last drop out of the tanks. This is not a good thing. The last thing we want is for the motor to burn out and for me to have to add something else to my boat project list. The easy solution - turn off the water pump at the board.

 

But the buttons on your computer can be the scariest of them all. They're the ones you press when you want to submit something online. Usually, I'm okay with it, especially when I'm buying something fun on Amazon.

But the other day, I used my computer buttons for evil. Okay, maybe not evil. That's a bit dramatic. I used them for torture. That might be closer to the truth. Torturing myself, mind you.

I decided to submit a short story to the online Critique Circle. You willingly put yourself out there and ask people to critique your work. See, that's a form of torture. You wait and wait and wait, hoping someone will critique it. Torture. Then you panic when you realize someone has critiqued your story, but you're afraid to read what they said. More torture. Then you have to take what everybody said on board and make more revisions to your story. Extreme torture.

Stupid button.




What kind of buttons do you have in your house, boat, RV or where ever you call home? Have you ever asked anyone to critique a story or other creative endeavor? How'd it go?

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24 comments:

  1. Love the AC button! I'm very mixed on forums. We query our Owners group sometimes- last time we got 2 real answers and 16 off the wall ones. It's kind of fun if you're drinking wine at the time.
    You tell great stories on the blog and really involve the reader, and that's the most important thing about writing.

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    1. Boating forums can be such a hit or miss kind of thing. Thanks for your nice words :-)

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  2. Oh yes, the AC button!

    Good for you for hitting Submit! That was a huge step, and you should be proud of yourself. :)

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    1. It does feel like a huge step. It's the first "proper" story I've written since school and to ask for feedback was pretty daunting.

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  3. There's one button I never want to push and that's on the EPIRB. But if I were you, I'd share my writing with as much confidence as my ego could muster -- you're writing is entertaining, flows easily and really shows your voice. Good luck on the short story!

    Stephanie @ SV CAMBRIA

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    1. Oh, yes, I NEVER want to hit our EPIRB button! Thanks for the sweet words :-)

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  4. I have never had anyone edit anything I've written, besides Mike, and our styles are so different that sometimes his suggestions end up irritating me. Maybe 50% of the time I agree with him. I probably would do better with suggestions from people who don't know me since I could dismiss them if I didn't agree. Why is someone critiquing something like writing so hard to take? I mean, people can come and critique my garden, for instance, and I don't blink an eye. How is that a different kind of creative endeavor? Mysterious.

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    1. Scott is a wonderful editor/reviewer. I don't take everything he says on board, but I do take a lot of it. I wonder if it's harder to take critiques about one's writing because it's so much more personal. You're putting your innermost thoughts, emotions etc. out there for all to see. It's also probably a hangover from school where teachers gave you a grade on how well you wrote.

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  5. We have a 'Nuclear Meltdown' switch in our boat.....the previous owner must've had quite the sense of humor!!! 😂

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  6. I have a cocktail hour button on our boat. It's not set for any particular time, just whenever the mood strikes for a cold adult beverage.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  7. I am forever hitting wrong buttons on my computer--usually with unanticipated results. Yes, I have had friends critique my work. It has taught em a very important lesson--don't take things personally.

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    1. You definitely can't take it personally. So far the critiques I've received have been really constructive. Lots of things to fix with my story, but unless I had had an outside perspective, I probably wouldn't have seen the things they've seen.

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  8. I can hear my Mother's sing/song voice, Button, Button, who's got the Button. Holy cow, how old does that make me feel! It's a game for young children, in case you didn't know, and a burning desire to be informed.

    I enjoy your writing, and I wouldn't have the first idea about how to critique someone's work. I also know I am in no position to ask others to critique mine, I just write some stuff, have fun, and let it go.

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    1. I think I know the button game. Funny isn't it how things from when we were really young just stick with us.

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  9. Southern FL must be as hot as Egypt, only more humid. If I had a moveable home, you'd better believe I'd be moving it waaay north during the summer. Wishing you much luck with Critique Circle. Also consider writing.com and critters.org - they're good for critiques and Critters is free. :)

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    1. So far, the critiques I've received have been really useful. Lots of helpful feedback. Thanks for the critique site tips - I'll check them out.

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  10. You pressed the bravery button by sending your story off, Ellen. Well done! We had way more buttons on our boat than in our recent life. I loved the breaker panel and pressing all the buttons "off" when going to bed (except for the anchor light and the fridge ones) and "on" again in the morning. Click, click, click! My favorite button these days is the one in our car to start it (key can stay in the pocket) or press the door handle to lock it again. Prius cars are so cool! :-)

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    1. I'm always amazed that you can start a car these days by just pressing a button. Mines the old fashioned kind that required a key.

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  11. Where I live, we have breakers, and thankfully I worked supervising electricians for a property management firm six years ago, so I am somewhat familiar with them and how to tell which one is off. I think it is great that you sent your story in! :)

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    1. That's so helpful to know where the breakers are so that you can check and see if they're tripped - good on you!

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  12. I hate the way buttons hide from me. On this lamp the button is HERE, on that lamp the button is THERE. I spend my life fumbling!

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    1. Especially in the dark you can never find the button when you need it :-)

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