TM related...

[jayes_musings]

Can someone please explain what the difference is between this weeks prompt: Mommy/Mummy and the prompt of exactly a year ago, which Hsu answered thusly?: http://community.livejournal.com/theatrical_muse/7272219.html

Yes, I can see that there can be a difference, but really most only have one mother to write about. Another annoying case of been there/done that. Why do I bother waiting for the TM mods to come up with something original for a prompt?

Plus, can anyone ever see Hsu referring to Cassandra as Mummy? unless he decides to remove her organs and wrap her in bandages, of course. *g*

Comments

[diamond9697.livejournal.com]

I think it's the same premise as having something to do with mornings like...four times over the course of a year or so.

I HAVE to make Darius answer a prompt this week, and he's just scowling at me. *sigh*

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I can understand there being a finite pool of ideas, but there just seems to be a lack thought at what has gone before and fairly recently.

I'm getting the same reaction from Bilis *sigh* Hsu, however, is now considering my Egyptian mummy idea. *headdesk*

[diamond9697.livejournal.com]

*snerks* Wes's answer to the prompt was a rather subtle jab at the prompt, and another that has been used frequently. No one will notice, but it amused me. ;)

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check that out *grin*

[mod-n-minion.livejournal.com]

*falls over laughing hysterically*

Yes, indeed. Which is why I made sure that NONE of the RotM prompts this week were mom, mommy, mother, mum, uterus related.

But seriously? I do three prompts a week in one comm, one each in two comms, and it's damn hard to come up with fresh ideas that aren't repetitive. And TM has been around so long, I guess it's inevitable that some will repeat. *shrug*

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

I think you do a wonderful job with coming up with prompts and taking care that they are all different enough not to feel like they're being repetitive. To me it just feels like TM, especially, gets stuck in a rut. Perhaps there is a 'sell-by' date as far as comms go...or rather the freshness of such a comm for a particular pup?

That said, one thing I really do like with ROTM is the fact there are three prompts to choose from, and that they are sufficiently different. So that if one does happen to echo a past one, there are the others. *g*

[lorelei633.livejournal.com]

I thought it was pretty bad, myself. Fortunately, Anson has mother issues.

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

So does Hsu, but he has talked about them before and resolved a lot of them. And I can't do a few word answer again, which is all Hsu has to say about it anymore.

[lorelei633.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* I guess I'm lucky, being relatively new to TM, so it's my first time seeing some of these prompts come around. But still...Mommy? *sigh*

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Hsu's been around nearly three years now, so maybe it's time for him to move on, prompt comm wise. Really, Hsu has never called his mother 'mommy' that it just gets a wtf? look from him.

[lorelei633.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm kind of on the fence about TM. I've enjoyed being there, for the most part, but there's no real reason why Anson has to be there. He's about as obscure as it gets (a one-off appearance on a defunct television series from ten years ago that no one remembers) so the chances of anyone else wanting to pick him up are just about nil. Still, I seem to want to stay for some reason, sentimental I guess. I might do something with one of the other two recent prompts. Talking about his mother might be too hard for him, anyway.

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I've been getting more disatisfied with TM, and I've had pups in there since almost the beginning. Some of them were pretty obscure pups too *g* I do feel some affection (?) for it still as it is the granddaddy of all the prompt comms really, but it just fails to inspire me like it used to. Yet each week I hope that the next prompt will be a good one.

Okay, off to bed now as I'm falling asleep. *g*

[fannyfae]

I am glad I am not the only person that noticed. It really pisses not only me but my muse off to 1) be redundant and 2) be victim to what essentially was a "greeting card holiday" put together a century and a half ago. Fanny has already discussed not only her mother, but her foster mother and then herself as a mother and dealt with those issues. I fail to see why it is necessary to go over it AGAIN!

Fanny suggested we just cut and paste the answer to the prompt that she wrote last year since the mods of TM cannot seem to come up with anything new or even remotely interesting.

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

*nods* Not only a "hallmark" holiday, but one that is marked on a totally different day in Europe and other parts of the world.

And what's more the mods wouldn't even seem to notice that you had cut and paste, I'm sure. And I'm thinking more on doing something along the lines of mummification...just because. *g*

[fannyfae]

Now that does promise to be rather entertaining. ;)

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

It'll need some thought on how to work it, but he has an idea or two. :D

[fannyfae]

Im anxious to see that, then. :)

I have an advantage over Fanny. I have been immersed in Ancient Egyptian history for most of my life. I have even written several characters and in an interactive fiction community writing for Ancient Egyptian characters. Fanny, however, has no point of reference - she has read about it, and studied it, but really doesn't have any sort of knowledge along those lines. I am anxious to see what you and Hsu do with it and what Fanny's reaction will be. *grin*

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

Admittedly my knowledge of Ancient Egypt is not much more than Fanny's, probably less, and mostly predates Hsu, I believe. Of course, there are the Tarim Basin mummies from China, also...which may be an interesting angle, especially as they are Western Asian in appearance and could answer why Hsu has neither Chinese or Mongolian type features. *g* Hmmmm....

[ozcmom.livejournal.com]

*frowns*

No idea what happened, I posted to this ages ago! *pouts and kicks LJ*

Said something along the lines of 'Exactly the reason why Brendan, Lovelace, Cassandra and Co. just couldn't stick it out, no matter how much I tried to cajole them into replying.'

To me a writing prompt for a muse should be something that the muse responds to and quite frankly I became totally fed up with the 'emo/angst' crap that so many of the prompts turned into. It was worse than sitting on a shrink's couch! Not particularly inspiring or interesting.

Another one worth taking a look at, community wise, is muse_playground - I like them as they have 10 prompts per month, and no word limit etc - and you aren't booted out for not responding. It's only if someone else asks for a canon muse you haven't had respond for 12 weeks that they'll maybe nudge and ask if you're willing to let that one go to a new writer. That's so much more sensible to me, as I've seen too many of these comms with muses hanging around that haven't responded for months, who are theoretically supposed to be booted yet aren't. Including TM. Some mods there have muses that haven't posted in 6 months, yet other people have been booted when they didn't post in three weeks. Why have the rule if it's going to be bent this way and that?

[simplyjaye.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've looked into that comm, and it does look good, although I may have the same problem that I do/did with random_fic, in that if the prompts aren't actually posted each week/month/whatever to the comm, I don't think to do them. A case of out of sight, out of mind. But then, maybe when I get moved and settled again.

And I hear you on the inconsistencies with TM and the bending of th posting rules. Before I withdrew Erik, he'd been warned, and I had to point out that he had posted just a couple of weeks before.