Writing Contests

Greets and well meets again, friends! Here I am on a nearly sunny, almost warm Sunday afternoon to bring you a little information I've dug up recently on the wonderfully wacky world of writing.

Before I do that, however, I'm going to fill a few of you in on how my last little blog episode went - Me learning to cook!

Shopping for the ingredients for my garlic butter and herb roast chicken was a bit challenging to begin with. Fennel seeds are NOT your every day cooking item. And in a small town where fennel seeds are almost never an item (more like never) served on the dinner table, they proved to be impossible to find. So I ~cringe~ made the executive decision to ditch the seeds and make the dish without them. I thought maybe the dish had enough other spices - rosemary, thyme, and sage, for instance - that the fennel seeds would go unnoticed as missing. By the end of the dish, I was right.

I am pleased to announce that my roast chicken went off smashingly well! I received six thumbs up out of seven. The six thumbs were three teenagers (one of them remarkably picky about what they do and don't eat), my sisters (who made sure I stayed on track while cooking the recipe), and myself (who was surprisingly shocked to see the dish turned out so well). The seventh thumb neither gave me a thumbs up or a thumbs down; a very particular eight year old who liked the chicken but didn't like the potatoes I decided to make with chicken as a side dish.

All in all, I was very happy with the dish. There were some ~ahem~ interesting moments, however, with the creation of my first ever real attempt at cooking from scratch. The biggest one being the garlic moment. :)

Having gone to the store and collected my ingredients for my dish, I collected 14 cloves of garlic like it called for... ~laugh~ However, at no point in my life have I ever been told or shown what a "clove" of garlic is. So, like most cooking-ignorant individuals, I purchased exactly 14 of the little balls of garlic you find in the vegetable section of the grocery store! Thank goodness for big sisters paying attention to little sisters learning something new. (Thanks Beck!) I now have learned the very valuable difference between a "head of garlic" and a "clove of garlic". ~sheepish look~

So, that is the update on my teaching myself how to cook. Recipe 1 went off without too much fuss or trouble, having learned my valuable lesson about garlic, so I'm on to Recipe 2 - Caribbean Roast Pork. Think I'll try to get around to that sometime this week and see how it goes...Now onto the reason I'm blogging today.

I've been doing a little research on publishers and agents but ran across a couple of writing contests I thought to share with everyone.

Please note: Only a small amount of research has been done into these contests to verify their validity. If you choose to enter one of these contests, please do your own research PRIOR to entering! I am not responsible for the legitimacy of any of these contests.

The first contest I ran across was: Annual Women Who Write Poetry and Short Prose Contest

DEADLINE: May 30, 2010


Entry Guidelines


* Open to women writers 18 or older.
* Women Who Write will retain one-time publication rights, after which, all rights revert back to author.
* Entry must be previously unpublished.
* Prose limit 3,000 words.
* Each poem or story must include a cover page with title of work, author name, address, home phone number, and valid e-mail address (if applicable).

* To identify each page of your work, use the title set in the header along with the page number. For example: This is my Title - 1
* Other formatting:
o Prose and Poetry
+ Microsoft Word .doc format
+ Times New Roman font, size 14
+ Double-spaced
o Prose Only
+ text justified
+ indent paragraphs one tab
+ double-spaced
+ no extra space between paragraphs
+ only one space after period at end of sentence
+ default on all other MS Word settings
* $10 entry fee for initial poem or story submitted; additional entries in the same category are $5 each.
* Postmark deadline: May 30, 2010
* Winners will be notified by mail or e-mail in August.
* Members of Women Who Write are ineligible.
* Submissions will not be returned.




Send entries and entry fee to:


Women Who Write
P.O. Box 6167
Louisville, KY 40206



Awards and Recognition:


Short prose and poetry winners receive:


First Place..........$150 and five copies of the current anthology
Second Place.......100 and five copies of the current anthology
Third Place...........75 and five copies of the current anthology

Winners' work is published in Calliope, Women Who Write's annual anthology.
Winners read their poetry and selections from their stories at the awards program.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

general rules


1. Participants must be above 18 years of age, or sponsored by such a person.

2. Any style accepted – rhyme, no rhyme, nature, family, erotica, personal, society, humor, etc.

3. We apply no censorship, however it is fair to tell you up front that poems encouraging hate, violence, pornography, derogation of others, drug abuse, and similar – have no chance of winning. Of course, if such aspects are relevant and necessary as part of the “story” – then there is no problem in using them.

4. The specific conditions of each individual contest must be adhered to.

5. Proven plagiarism will result in indefinite banning from the site.

6. Poems must be between 10 and 50 lines long, empty lines included. This limitation might change occasionally, if specified in the individual contest. Submissions should be in .doc format.




participation and prizes


1. Any number of entries per contestant, grouped in groups of 5 poems with each group priced independently (see pricing lower down).

2. Participation is charged at:


- first entry


$5

- second entry


$4

- third and fourth entry


$3 each

- fifth entry


free

To be paid uniquely by Paypal.

Please select the number of poems you wish to submit, and the relevant submission fee.

3. Prizes:


- 1st prize


$300

- 2nd prize


$150

- 3rd prize


$50

Paid out uniquely by Paypal.

The first 3 prizes will be posted indefinitely on our site, against the relevant contest.

The following 77 entries short-listed for a specific contest, will be posted on our site against the relevant contest, until the following contest is concluded.

The three winners and the 77 short-listed will be published with Lulu or Amazon. The three winners will receive the book free of charge. The 77 short-listed will be able to purchase it on the Lulu/Amazon site, and the commission paid to Aquillrelle by Lulu/Amazon on these books (one copy) will be passed on to them, via Paypal (against proof of purchase). Anyone else will be able to purchase it on the Lulu/Amazon site.



This is the contest I have on my list that has the soonest deadline date, so I am putting it out here first. I have a few more on my list that have deadlines coming up, but they are a little way off so I'll post those later. For now, though, I wanted to share at least one today.

In the same thread as usual...If you have any contests (or good recipes lol) you want to share, feel free to post them direct to here, or email me at bbwalter@bbwalter.com and I'll share your contest on my next blog.



B

Personal Oversight...

Afternoon to all! It's been a few weeks since I last blogged. Recently, I've heard
(and said) something more than once that I feel I need to address on a personal level. AS many of you know, I pride myself on my...um, idiosyncracies, my quirks and oddities, so to speak. But I've always lamented one of my quirks.

~audible gasps~

B.B. laments? one of her quirks?

I know, I know. It's so hard to believe; I am so near perfect that it's laughable, right? ~LOL~ And, quite rightly, I'd agree with you entirely. However, there is one small tidbit about myself that I've always wished for but never achieved.

riveted attention spans

I.Can't.Cook. There; I've said it. ~winces~

I know many of you are thinking, Is that all? Well, yes, it is. You see, I love food - all kinds of food. But I haven't the foggiest notion on how to prepare it. Or at least, haven't the foggiest on how to prepare something that is edible. Just ask anyone who knows me. ~embarrassed sob~ And, coming from a family of cooks and culinary experimentors, this is quite embarrassing. So, recently, I've decided that I need to learn how to cook.

My poor family. You just know they are going to be my unsuspecting victims during my trial and error attempts at learning how to cook. Of course, I'm going to have to master some of the basics that I never bothered learning all the way but, fortunately, I do have family to ask. And, since they already know I can't cook (yeah, because apparently Hamburger Helper is not cooking...And I thought I was doing so well all these years!), me asking questions won't be either embarrassing or a sign of ignorance.

Once I get those questions out of the way, I think I know what recipe I'm going to try first. It's not too out there, but it is ambition...Especially for me. Here is the recipe for Roast Chicken with Herb Butter, Onions and Garlic:

Ingredients:

* 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley plus 3 large sprigs

* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme plus 3 large sprigs

* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary plus 3 small sprigs

* 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

* 1 7- to 71/4-pound roasting chicken, rinsed, patted dry

* 3 medium onions, peeled, quartered lengthwise (do not remove root end)

* 14 garlic cloves, peeled

* 1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

* 1/2 cup dry white wine

* 1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour



Preparation:

Mix butter, chopped herbs, fennel seeds and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in bowl; blend well. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Sprinkle main cavity of chicken with salt and pepper; fill with herb sprigs. Starting at neck end, slide fingers under skin of breast and upper part of legs, loosening skin. Spread 3 tablespoons herb butter under skin on breast and upper leg meat. Place chicken on rack in large roasting pan; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Scatter onions around chicken. Brush chicken and onions with 2 tablespoons herb butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast chicken 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Scatter garlic cloves around chicken. Brush chicken, onions and garlic with 1 tablespoon herb butter. Roast chicken and vegetables 30 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon herb butter for sauce; brush remainder on chicken and vegetables. Continue to roast until chicken is golden and thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180°F, about 30 minutes longer. Insert wooden spoon into main cavity; tilt chicken so that juices drain into pan. Transfer chicken to platter; surround with onions and garlic. Tent with foil.

Set roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add broth and wine; bring to simmer, scraping up browned bits. Pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup. Spoon off fat; discard fat. Pour juices into medium saucepan. Stir reserved 1 tablespoon herb butter and flour in small bowl to smooth paste. Bring pan juices to simmer; whisk in paste. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened, whisking occasionally, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with sauce.

Of course, this is VERY ambition for me. I mean, I've HEARD for fennel seeds, but I've never seen one...much less cooked with one. And the whole "sliding fingers under the skin of the chicken to spread a thin layer of herb butter"...Well, that part of the recipe frightens me, frankly. But I'm going to do it; I'm going to learn this eventually.

At least, I'm going to do it one mangled dish at a time, I avow. ~LOL~ Feel sorry for my test subjects...err, I mean, my family.

And now, since I like interactive blog articles whenever possible, tell me a little about your experiences learning how to cook, or about that one experimental dish that just didn't go quite right.



bb

March 2010 Publisher Spotlight - Samhain Publishing

Good afternoon, messires and maddams! (Ok, so I didn't take French as a foreign language.) Today, I am spotlighting a publisher I've recently ran across and gathered information on.

Samhain Publishing

Samhain—the Celtic New Year—signifies a new beginning, a rebirth.

Pronounced sah-vin by the Scots, sow-in (sow like cow) by the Irish and sam-hine in English, Samhain is the Irish word for November. And November 2005 saw the launch of Samhain Publishing, Ltd., founded with a goal of bringing to compulsive readers books that allow them to discover new worlds and be taken on adventures through the creative minds of today’s brightest authors.

Primarily an ebook publisher, Samhain has also segued into print books (anything over 60,000 automatically becomes a print and ebook). So, concerning cornering a large market, Samhain caters to both e-reader and traditional reader alike.

Now, from a writer's POV, Samhain offers many great guidelines as a publisher.

Firstly, is how highly recommended Samhain is by several well-known and established writer resource sites. Two of these sites include Preditorsandeditors.com and absolutewriterwatercooler.com.

Is Samhain right for me, however?

This is the largest question looming over writers' heads when they consider submitting for publication. And, then there's the lengthy process of trying to gather enough information to make certain this publisher is one you like...and one whom will like you. Here, I've complied a list of several items Samhain Publishing offers that, I think, will entice most wirters.

1) Payment - How does Samhain Publishing pay their authors?

From all the research I've done, it appears that Samhain pays their authors in both royalties and with 10 author's copies of their novel/la.

2) Submissions - How long do I have to wait to hear from Samhain? And, can I submit to other publishers at the same time to increase my odds?

While this publisher does ask for a 12-16 week response time to inqueries, they are open to simultaneous submissions (meaning - you are free to send to multiple publishers/agents while also sending to Samhain). The only item they request is that you notify the editors your manuscript is being considered as a simultaneous submission.

3) Recognition - Is Samhain Publishing recognized by any national literary organizations?

Yes, indeedy. Samhain Publishing is an RWA (Romance Writers of America) recognized publisher. Not sure if this is a big deal or not? RWA guidelines only recognize non-subsidy, non-vanity publishers; the publisher must release books via a national distribution campaign; and, the publisher must have sold (in one year) more than 1500 hardback/paperback copies or 5000 copies of any other format.

4) Genres - What genres/categories does Samhain accept?

This publisher, while primarily a romance/erotica publisher, has began to diverge into a large scale of titles, including science fiction and fantasy, romance and erotica, horror, paranormal fantasy, historicals, urban fantasy, mysteries and thrilles, and a ton of more genres. (Please, check publisher's submission page to see what titles they are currently accepting, if any.)

All of this builds up to a pretty reliable, large-small to medium sized publisher. But what was most important to me (as a writer and the one bringing this information to my friends and readers) was how genuinely happy Samhain's authors are with the press. Authors have made comments on many blogs regarding the helpfulness of their rejection letters, the artistry of the cover art, and the helpfulness of the staff and editors at Samhain.

To me, as a writer, this all stacks up to be a decent publisher. However, I understand that my research is not imperfect and my opinion not absolute (unless you're my husband reading this and then my opinion is absolute! LOL). If you have anything to add regarding this publisher, or you plain need any other information I may have collected during my research then, by all means, leave me a comment or drop me an email at bbwalter@bbwalter.com .

I'd also love to hear any feedback concerning other publishing houses you've found to be interesting (either good or bad). The more information we can put out there for writers to find, the better! Thanks, and I'll chat atcha soon.

BB Walter

Guilt and Debrox Drops

Hello again all. Today, I have a life experience to share with you all. It envolves Debrox ear drops.



My nephew had some serious ear wax built up when we took him in to see his pediatrician the other day. He recommended we take the child to see an Ear Nose and Throat specialist but, in the mean time, to flush his ears using the Debrox drops. My sister asked after the hole in his ear, and the doctor (based on his thirty-some odd- years experience with the product) said that he should be fine.



WRONG! Less than thirty seconds after administering the drops, my nephew was shrieking in pain. He hurt enough for his face to turn beat red and he collapsed on my sister's lap. Poor little guy! We all felt so bad (my sister, myself, and my niece). But I had tried the drops (had to show a worried little guy that they didn't hurt you, you know) and had no problems - actually, they worked great for me.



He screamed for over an hour while the drops drained out (along with the wax, btw - so it did work) and even had some pinkish discharge, quite possibly blood, along with it. However, after speaking with the doctor (who was confounded since he'd never had any problems with any patients using these drops over the years) said to keep a close eye on him. If his condition worsened or did not lessen within an hour, we should take him to the E.R. immediately. Fortunately, he seems to have calmed but is still complaining of pain and is in and out of sleep.



So, while these drops did work (my ears are clean, and the one ear we used them on for him is also clean now, despite his pain), I'm just posting on here for my friends (and blog followers, if any) that if you have ANY inner ear deformities or abnormalities/anomalies - DO NOT USE Debrox drops for ear wax issues. Now, if you don't have these problems, use away :)



[CR: The Realtor Murders by David A. Kaufelt; Cell by Stephen King; City of Bones by Cassandra Clare; and Contemporary Fiction - 50 Short Stories Since 1970 by assorted authors. TBRN: Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff and The Burning Land by Victoria Strauss]

To Freelance or Not to Freelance?

A portfolio of more than 300 short stories, 19 novels (complete and incomplete), and more poetry than one can count; a background strong in English with a focus for details; and a passion to make the written word better - to pick up the individual letters in a composition, polish them till they gleam, and put them back again...

So published author, literary tutor, and education major (and these are my Night Jobs)...Why am I seriously considering an addition of freelance editing/proofreading to my portfolio? Some might say that I've gone off the deep end. And maybe I have. But, after reading some of the papers that were recently turned into my friend's writing class (she's a professor at a nearby community college) and reviewing several manuscripts getting ready to go to publication, I've decided that the literary world needs me to be a little crazy. In fact, it needs me to swim clear out into the deep in and tread - for an eternity. LOL

Actually, a little more seriously, I feel my services could be used by friend and fellow writers who need a little help catching the things they might have missed. And as for the college students...? Um, they need all the help they can get. LOL

So in addition to everything else I do ('cause aren't I magnificent? lol), I've decided to add proofreading/editing services to my portfolio of greatness. Just my little part to beautify the world one letter at a time. Now all I must do is get the word out, build up a client base, and figure out what to charge...Easy-piezy, right? lol

Return of the Living Dead

Hello, all! B.B. Walter has returned from the land of the dead. I wanted to leave a brief message to everyone letting them know that I am all right. A few of you know the reason for my absentism for the last several months, and I appreciate the outpouring of emotional support I've received from each one of you! For those of you who are unaware of what transpired; my cousin (she and I were closer to sisters than cousins) slipped into a coma in July from a rare disease - Pompe's Disease. After several weeks of struggle, Amber Nicole (Burgess)(Bennett) Cowan passed away in the middle of August. Since then I have been hiding from/wallowing in my grief from her passing.

Having come out of the darkness (although still have moments of utter blackness) I have decided that the best service I can do my cousin's memory is to live. I am also planning a series of articles about my cousin Am and her disease, Pompe's.

This disease effects only 1 in 40,000 people. Briefly, the human body produces lactic acid during movement (that is the bodily fluid that makes your muscles feel weak/fatigued/stiff after exercise) and, separately, another enzyme to break down the lactic acid. Pompe's disease is the non-production or minimal production of this second enzyme called (I believe) glucosamine (I will be double-checking all of this information prior to my articles). Essentially, the lack of this enzyme causes the stiffing of muscles. Since the heart, lungs, and brain are the hardest working (and constantly working) muscles in the human body, these three organs are amongst the first attacked and affected (although a patient may feel pain/fatigue in other seemingly less-deadly muscles as premature symptoms of the disease).

My cousin Amber's disease first manifested as common fatigue; it progressed to pain in her hip and left leg causing difficulty with mobility; and, finally, attacked her lungs, causing her to slip in and out of consciousness, before affecting her brain causing debilitating seizures.

Writing about all of this is going to be both cathartic and devastating for me, I know, as well as for my family. But, true to writer form, unless I'm tweaking an emotional response, I'm not interested in writing something. Also, after seeing the network of people whose lives are affected by this virtually unknown disease, I feel it is important to enlighten those I know (even if they are few) about the illness and its devastation. So look for a series of articles from me on my blog here and also on AllVoices (an online news community written by the everyday people who witness the most extraordinary things).

This is my first step out of the darkness Amber's death has left behind. I miss the light she radiated, and I am determined to find my way back to it again.

Until my next blog article, I hope all my friends, fans, and occassional readers are well and happy. And I look forward to writing at you again soon!

B.B. Walter

Write With Me, Learn With Me Vol. 2

All right, kiddies; I'm back with another exciting installment of "Write with me, Learn with me". What is this strange thing you ask? (Well, you ask if you are new to my blog.) The truth is, I'm always trying to learn more about my trade - writing - and how to improve myself. So what I am doing is posting my assignments here on my blog for constructive criticism/thoughts as to how I can improve.

Today, the assignment I'm posting is my Argumentative Paper for my Comp. class (taken here at my local college). The assignment was "If all books were made illegal, what one book would you choose to memorize and tell to future generations?" This assignment came because we were reading Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury in class. I chose Flowers for Algernon to write my paper on and argue why this book should be kept above all others.

**I do want to warn the reader that, with the professor's permission, I took some creative license with this paper in the way of grammer and punctuation. If you have read Flowers for Algernon then you will understand; if you have not, here is a brief synopsis.

The story is told by Charlie Gordon, a mentally handicapped man, who wants nothing more than to be smart. Charlie undergoes experimental brain surgery to increase his intelligence but finds that its effects are not lasting. The entire story is told in the first-person and is written in the form of personalized Progress Reports by Charlie himself. In the beginning, Charlie's grammer, spelling, and punctuation are on level with his I.Q. of 68. As his intelligence increases, due to the surgery, he learns and evolves. Unfortunately, we also witness Charlie's loss of intelligence but that he gained so much more wisdom in the end with his same progress reports.

My warning is that my argumentative paper was written exactly how the book is written by the author, Daniel Keyes, as a person evolves and deevolves intellectually. So, here is my paper. All input is appreciated!

Most Smart Pirson In The Wurld

There is a sayin told win we ar litel Do to other peepl what you wunt thim to do to you It’s a good sayin and peepl don’t go by it oftin Cept for some vary few peepl You see it all the tym on the street and on the telivishun We are told two that peepl are gud and peepl are kind And you see this all the tym with peepl at chirch or the nice boys who help peepl at the groshry stor And in storees riters rite two like a book calld Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes This riter rote a gud book about a man who wants to be smart like other peepl he knos and like a vary speshul mous named Algernon who can run mazus Charlie Gordon is a gud man who is gud to other peepl just like the sayin we ar all told as litel kids But ol Charlie cant think so gud Charlie just wunts to be smart like the peepl he knos and he even gos to a collug to learn speshul At this collug Charlie is picked by speshul docters for a sergery to make him smart Charlie thinks he will wayk up aftir the sergery smarter and he dus Aftir the sergery Charlie gets smart lik other peepl lik the mous Algernon and ol Charlie starts to see peepl arnt so nice and gud aftirall The sham is that peepl ar like that all over In Flowers for Algernon peepl who reed it and Charlie finds peepl ar mean to him when he used to think they wer his frinds that the docters who gav him the speshul sergery arnt vary smart at all evin tho they messd with his jeans that he dosnt no how to talk to gurls that he wus startin to remimber stuf that hurt about how peepl treatd him from win he wus litel and that bein smartr thin everyone els dosnt make him happyer
One of the first things Charlie notises in Flowers for Algernon is that peepl ar bein mean to him win he ust to think they wer his frinds. Charlie has two gud frinds at work, Joe Karp and Gimpy. Joe and Gimpy ust to tayk Charlie out aftir work and ust to joke around with Charlie all the tym. Aftir Charlies speshul sergery, Joe and Gimpy still treet Charlie the same, but Charlie starts to notis that Joe and Gimpy arnt bein funny win they say things like “Don’t be a Charlie Gordon” (-)like he ust to think. Charlie rites in his Progris Riports about how Joe and Gimpy ar reely bein mean to him and, you kno, peepl are mean. You can see it on the street at the peepl who pass up the person walkin in the rain or cold, and also in the mean things peepl say win other peepl fall down or say sumthin wrong. Course not all peepl are mean. Charlie knos that becus his teacher at the collug is kind to him. But one person being nice while the whol wurld isn’t doesn’t make thos that aren’t ok.
Of course Charlies doctors are also nice to him. Even if it is for their own reesons. See Charlies doctors are trying a new type of sergery surgery – a speshul surgery – to trick Charlies old dum brain into being smarter. Lots of doctors have tried doing the same thing threw the years. Acordin to Alex Boese, riter of Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments, in 1927 Dr. Il’ya Ivanor, wirld-renownd xpert on veterinary reproducktiv biolog, tried to inseminate girl chimps with human spirm! That didnt work to good, and peepl were reel mad about the hole idea and he spint som tym in a prisen camp. But Charlies doctors think their surgery works pretty good because of the mouse named Algernon, the speshul mouse who got super smart and stayed that way aftir his surgery for a long tym. Dr……….. told Charlie all about how smart Algernon stayed; he said “Charlie we werked on this for a long time but only on animals like Algernon. We are sure thers no fisical danger to you but there are other things we cant tell until we try it.” (8) And this is tru about stuf like xperiamintel surgery like, according to the United States Govirmint, Nazi doctirs deprived Jewish prisonirs of oxigin to find out how long their bodys would keep living aftir they stoped breathing becawse one Jewish man had lived longer than all the other Jews they had xperiaminted on (144-147). They thot that mayb this man or the other peepl were brokin somehow. But why do the scientists keep trying to fix all the peepl who are broken, like Charlie? It makes you wonder what xactly is broken in Charlie aftirall?
Although Charlie does find out that something about him is not so right after all. Charlie had never had a girlfriend before, but he starts to think about girls more. Espeshully Especially when he starts to notice “how beautiful Alice Kinnan is” (54). He is reely really drawn to her “pigeon-soft brown eyes and feathery brown hair” (54), so Charlie asks her out on a date. On their date, things began to change between Charlie and Alice. Their relationship became charged with a new kind of electricity, with an unknown sexuality. Despite Charlie’s development intellectually, on an emotional level he was “still just a boy” (65). Sexuality in humans has been a long debated topic among doctors and sycho psychologists. And it was a large debatable topic in Flowers for Algernon when the book was written in 1959. The somewhat explicit scene between Charlie and the woman on the park bench was a hot button debate. Many groups believed it demonstrated a loose morality and opened the door on sexuality outside of marriage, especially since the woman is married and pregnant with another man’s child while soliciting Charlie. However, the open exploration of Charlie’s sexuality is one of the most significant moments in the story on a developmental level. Until that moment, the reader views Charlie as a rather one-dimensional character, possessing an unheard of depth of knowledge with little to no social or sexual knowledge. There are numerous studies of sexuality bridging the gap between intelligence and social interaction. With clear correlation drawn between intelligence and sexuality, it is hard to imagine Flowers for Algernon without the topic.
However, Charlie’s sexual revelation comes at a steep price; he is forced to face uncomfortable insights into his own history. These insights, however, do explain Charlie’s sexual retardation as having stemmed from deep-rooted psychological scars inflicted upon him as a child by his family. On page 78 of the novel, the reader is given such an insight into Charlie’s past during a dream. Little Charlie has seen his sister climbing out of the bath naked, and he gains an erection from it. His father attempts to diffuse the situation, but his mother, Rose, is not to be swayed. Instead, she screams, “holding a leather belt in her hand” (78) and threatens young Charlie. Despite the vehemence of her warning “If you ever touch a girl, I’ll put you away in a cage, like an animal, for the rest of your life” (78), Charlie experiences a natural reaction to his deepening involvement with Alice that changes him from a static one-dimensional character into a more developed and interesting character. In a short span of time, Keyes deepens the reader’s involvement and connection to Charlie. Intelligence has been a long standing connection among today’s modern society, however, social and sexual communication and relation is a instinctual and well-documented reaction that stems back to prehistoric man. For instance, phermones still play a vital role in the inter- and intrapersonal relationships man forges on a daily basis. Nurmerous studies done at Oxford indicates an increased correlation between prehistoric phermones and modern day relationships. To exclude Charlie’s sexual development from Flowers for Algernon would be akin to excluding the entire surgical procedure that had adapted his infantile brain to the intellectually stimulated one, and without both forms of development Keyes would have found little to document.
One of the key componints of Flowers for Algernon is Charlie’s emotional developemint. Despite his low intelliginc intelligence, Charlie felt welcome in the simpel life he had always led. And, although it is shown that many of the peepl Charlie interacted with on a daily basis are oftin cruel or unkind, “it was home” (72) to him, and it offered a plac of security and shelter. Once his intelliginc intelligenc skyrockets to the point of genieus, Charlie begins to feel lik an outsyder. He becomes emoshunaly distant from everyone he knos when he points out that “intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I knew and loved” (75). The isolashun leevs Charlie alone in a wurld he dosnt understand and cant conneckt to. Lots of studys show how peepl just lik Charlie who got reel smart reel fast cant talk to peepl around them. Thers peepl tho that dont agree with Flowers for Algernon tyin soshul stuf with intelliginc but thre medikel gernals did riports on soshul and intelliginc bein tyd togethir. And most docters git it rite most of the tym And probly if the mous Algernon culd talk hed have told peepl himself but mys cant talk only squeek Aftir Charlie lirns he is the most dum smart pirson in the wurld becuz he cant talk to peepl he feels reel bad and remimbers that lots of peepl likd him win he was a dum pirson becuz they laffed and wer his frinds lik Joe Carp and Gimpy And win he gits dum agin Carp and Gimpy stik up for him a new werker Meyer Klaus says “I hear you’re a very smart fella-a real whiz kid. Say something intelligent.” (214) Aftir that Gimpy tells Charlie they ar gona set peepl strait that bother Charlie agin And Charlie remimbers “It’s good to have frends” (215) So its easy to see that bein smart aint always the sam as bein likd just lik them doctrs sayd befor And evin Charlie knos at the end that he may not hav bin smart at the beginnin of the book but he was hapy cuz peepl likd him When he got his intelliginc he wasn’t hapy cuz he new peepl wer makin fun of him so by the end he lirns that evin tho he is dum agin peepl ar his frinds and mabee it is beter that he is dum and likd and not smart and mad fun of
In Flowers for Algernon peepl lirn that bein smart dosnt reely hav much to do with how hapy a pirson is no mater how they play with ther jeans or how many fance sergerees they hav or evin how they talk to gurls But they do lirn that Charlie is mad betr at the end becuz evin tho he isnt any smartr he can remimber the good things about bein him lik peepl likin you win they can laff with you and that gurls ar not so scare and can be gud frinds But the best thing Charlie lirns is that hes a gud pirson if hes dum or if hes smart It’s a gud lesin for Charlie to lirn or anybody to lirn becuz every pirson no mater how dum or smart shuld be treatd nice Peepl can lirn in Flowers for Algernon that the importint stuf about bein peepl is how we treet other peepl Like the old sayin we ar told as kids Do to other peepl whut you wunt thim to do to you Charlie wint threw lots of stuf that hurt lik an operashun and gitin fired from the bakery and hurtin Alice but he lirnd mor win he lirnd he was goin to be dum agin dering his xperimints with the mous Algernon then he did win he was smart He lirnd that evin tho Algernon wasnt smart anymor he was still a gud frind to Charlie and Charlie likd him Win Algernon died Charlie was sad cuz he lost such a gud frind but he was hapy becuz hed had the tym to be Algernons frind at the end and cuz the mous shoed him that bein dum didnt meen you didnt hav frinds witch was somthin he lirnd bein smart At the end he evin asks the doctirs in his last progris riport to “put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard” (216) And there aint any beter lesin to be lirnd if you ar smart or dum then the lesin that Flowers for Algernon teachs peepl U aint got to be smart or dum as long as you remimber the peepl and somtyms animuls that mak you hapy and that bein who you ar and not havin som fance operashun to chang your brain maks you smartr then the most smart pirson in the wurld

The End.

So, there it is; me laying my heart out for the world to see. Lemme know what you think - good or bad, I like to hear it all.

{Finished Reading: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon - Bloody fantastic book! It gives you a true peek into the mind of an individual with Autism and the world from their view. - CR: Familiar Texas by Caroline Burns (I'm a sucker for this woman's romance/intrigue stories.) and Secondhand Husband by Dallas Schultz and To Serve and Submit by (can't remember who). - TBRN: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyers}

Thanks so much!
B.B. Walter