Friday, January 14, 2022

Friday Writings #9: Telling Secrets

 Secrets. We all have them. 

I just learned on Q.I., the English comedy quizz show, that according to psychological studies EVERYONE has five things they've never told another living soul! How fascinating is that? (I wonder how true it is.)

What are yours, dear wordsmiths? Go on, tell! It's your prompt for today – for those who desire a prompt.

I'm not asking you for deep dark things which would be distressing to relive, or which might even get you into trouble. (Of course you never inhaled!) And I don't ask you to break any sacred promises about keeping other people's secrets. 

Little secrets are the kind I'm thinking of ... personal yet silly stuff ... harmless but a mite embarrassing ... or just sorta odd ... or maybe even sweet.

Like, what is your secret nickname for your cat? (Bubbaloo. I have no idea why!) Or, who did you have a huge, secret crush on in your teens? (Not so secret in my case. And not mine alone. Elvis, always Elvis. Well, also there was this boy at school....) Who do you have a secret crush on now? (Ooh, that's getting a bit nitty-gritty! Not telling.) What is your secret vice? (Several! Sweet-eating; reading Romance novels; buying ebooks....) Secret obsession? (Doctor Who. Writing poetry. Reading poetry. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hmmm, no, none of those obsessions is at all secret. I'd have to think about that. Maybe I don't have one.)

Secret revenge? Secret triumph? Secret disappointment? Secret dream? Secret wish? Secret fear? Secret plan? Secret mistake? Secret hiding place? Secret treasure? The secret way you make yourself brave? What you would secretly like to say to a particular person?

Maybe it's only secret in the sense that you haven't told anyone yet; not that you couldn't or wouldn't. Or perhaps you weren't planning to divulge it, but now you're tempted?

If you don't have a secret you care to share, feel free to make one up.  

But either way, tell us a secret! I dare you. Whether fiction or fact, in verse or prose.

Or you could write on the subject of secrets in general.

If this prompt doesn't appeal, we'd love you to share something else – anything at all, old or new.

If you're giving us prose, please keep it within 369 words, excluding title.

Post the link to your blog. Visit each other's posts. Leave a comment here too, if so moved.  (If you post early, maybe wander back later in the week to make sure you don't miss anything good.)

Next Friday, for those who would like a prompt, Magaly will invite us to create poetry or prose inspired by a conversation we’ve overheard.


Whispering photo from Unsplash, by Annie Spratt

13 comments:

  1. Good morning, all!! I loved it, Rosemary but I struggled in writing. It's what I wanted to say but I couldn't say it just right. I didn't divulge any secrets this morning, or did I? The Big Five list could have been really juicy? Or minor things?
    ..

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    1. Good morning to you, Jim! And how intriguing; I'll have to get over there quick and have a read.

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  2. Have a good weekend wordsmiths

    much love...

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  3. Geez, five? I can actually only think of two offhan, but I'm sure there are more of the more innocent variety. If anything I want to share comes to mind I will. Have a good weekend!

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    1. I do wonder how they arrived at that figure. It seems to me I don't have a lot of absolute secrets – but I haven't actually sat down and tried to do a count.

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  4. Hi Rosemary - I felt my first offering was not the punch I wanted to land. I feel my second better reflects my current soul.

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    1. Feel free to remove my first if you wish. Sorry my ftiend for being complicated.

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    2. That's OK. I only see one link, so I'm guessing either Magaly or Rommy must have taken you at your word.

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  5. Good day, Poets & Storytellers. Hope the year has been great so far.
    Secrets. have some, but not 5, maybe need a recount. :)
    My poem today is not about secrets, but hope you all will enjoy it the same.
    The Chinese New Year is about 2 weeks away and I really need to get up and do some stuff. So if I am not around here for some weeks, I should still be safe. 😁

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    1. Thanks for letting us know, dear friend. We look forward to some poems about it later!

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  6. Secrets are such dangerous things--to have them, to keep them, to share them (with the wrong person). I don't have any secrets (I care to share). All right, that's not true. After reading your entry, I realized that I do have a secret I don't mind sharing: I don't add every book I read to my Goodreads "read" list. Mostly, because there is always someone who says, "There is no way you X number of books in just one year." In the past, I used to say, "Well, some are audiobooks. And I can listen to audiobooks while I do nearly anything." Then they argue that audiobooks aren't real books... Bah! who needs that kind of nonsense? Best keep my not-so-secret secret.

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    1. Ha! I don't either – but that's because I'm lazy and forgetful, not as a deliberate policy.

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