A look at of some of the greatest writers we have known, as well as short stories and musings from this blogger.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Falling a Little Short with "On Winning The Blogging Pulitzer"

In a year when the Bloggers Association has announced their intention to submit blogs for Pulitzer prize consideration, Carolynne Bites submits "On Winning the Blogging Pulitzer."

In Mrs. Bytes latest blog entry, our protagonist (Mrs. Bytes) finds herself having difficulty studying Using her brain and the silence as the antagonists, Mrs. Bytes follows the story paradigm at the beginning of her blog and then appears to lose her focus "in this silence."

Mrs. Bytes chooses to succumb to these obstacles and goes on to talk about her recent trip to Niagra Falls with her husband. Using the writing instruction, "show, don't tell," Mrs. Bytes posts pictures of her trip within the blog. Since photography is Mrs. Bytes favorite hobby, we forgive her for this approach and continue to read on where another picture pops up of her and her husband sitting in front of what Mrs. Bytes describes as the equivalent of a fake background that we now know is the beauty of Niagra Falls.

Mrs. Bytes is an excellent blogger. She has shown this to us many times in the past. With her quick wit and undeniable charm, as well as her ability to always choose the right word, we have come accustomed to her great blogs. However, with only five blog entries in over two months, we can see that Mrs. Bytes is still searching for that great blog that will win the Pulitzer (something she jokes about in the title of her blog entry).

She shows some of that greatness here, with her comic question of whether or not one of the photos she posts should be put on a cheesy Niagra Falls key chain or mug. She also makes us laugh with the comment about not having a heart-shaped bed during their belated Valentine's day celebration. She also shows her genius by wrapping up the blog in a way that most story tellers have too, and that is to answer the main question, does our protagonist succeed in her quest to study despite the obstacles that lie in front of her.

I will not give away the ending, but she nicely wraps things up so the reader is not left hanging.

However, what we have come to expect from Mrs. Bytes, seems to missing a bit in her latest blog. Perhaps, what's most disconcerting is her almost threatening advice, "Do not try to get inside this head, baby," when she writes about her thoughts throughout the entire piece (even putting certain thoughts in parenthesis).

In conclusion, "On Winning the Blogging Pulitzer," is a piece worth reading. If not only for the wit that shines through at times, but also for the answer to where Mrs. Bytes is attempting to go from here. There appears to be something distracting her here. It may be another blogger, or maybe her new found bitter attitude, but I am sure we will see her shine in the blogs ahead. For now, we have no problems with the nibbling she provides here on our ears, but we look forward to the bite that Mrs. Bytes usually provides us with. I am sure she will continue to live up to her promise.

Jeff Otis
- Ain't it not so cool news