February 19th 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Greetings Earthlings! I’m so foggy today, I feel like I’m from outer space. The whole 3:38 obsession has started again. My very own personal witching hour. Oh joy.

So, how did y’all do on the photo challenge yesterday? Pretty cool picture, wasn’t it? Did you look at it closely… I mean really closely? Did you see someone watching you from the door? I would love to hear what you came up with. Please don’t be shy, I PROMISE, no one will judge you – and if anyone dare try, they and their comment will be off the site so quickly, their pen will spin.

I don’t think I’ve done this before, but I’m actually going to give you another photo challenge today. Then tomorrow, if you’re good and leave a comment or two, I’ll tell you the story behind the picture. For the few of you who already know, shhh. I will tell you one thing, this photo is hanging on the wall in my family room.

Form the favorites and retweets, I know you writers out there are reading the challenges, but you haven’t been brave enough to post yet. Two things – one, it’s supposed to be a #morningworkout to jump start your creativity, it’s supposed to be hopelessly flawed, with bad grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes, and booboos in general; and two, if you are worried about your work being out there, the time stamp on your comment ensures you are the owner of it with the sole rights to it. It’s like it’s automatically copyrighted – at least that is my understanding of the law, but I’m fairly certain, I am correct. US attorneys, feel free to jump in and clarify.

Here’s an excerpt – for lack of a better title – of Copyright 101:

“Many people assume that everything posted on the Internet is public domain, probably because our law used to protect published works only if they displayed the proper copyright notice upon publication. The law, however, has changed: neither publication nor a notice of any kind is required to protect works today. Simply putting the pen to the paper or in the electronic medium, putting the fingers to the save key creates a copyrighted work. Once expression is committed to a tangible medium (and computer media is considered tangible), copyright protection is automatic. So, postings of all kinds are protected the same as published printed works.” From http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/useofweb.html

I could use that only because I gave you the source. Think back to when you did book reports in school. With a citation/footnote you were allowed to use what someone else wrote. It now works the same on the internet. If you write something, someone else can use it, but they have to give you credit or it’s liable. The laws are evolving as the internet is evolving, and I would wager they will become much more in depth than they are now, but even now, your creative responses to the writing challenges are protected.

Okay, I want to get a few things done around here before I have to leave. I hope you have an amazing day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.