There's No Race Like Gnome

Good morning, that wonderful place.

We're here, we're there, we're everywhere.
So, onto the next order of business.

Blog, blog, blog who's got the slog? In the bog?
Words that play so early in the day?
Is there any other way?

We ought to have fun with it. Language, I mean. We ought to play more with words, together.

Puns, and wit, are a sign of intelligence. The best kind of intelligence. The only intelligence that's intelligent.

An I.Q. test is only as smart as the people who made the test.

Onto the next.

Been a couple of months at the Poetai, I wonder how it effects the writing. I make the pictures second. Fiction lends itself to creating them first. Brainstorming, plotting, business. A.I. as a focus group.

Writing prompts to get your imagination going in a new direction.

It doesn't write the story for you, only provides some ideas.

"Oh, Ms. Copilot, I see you've gathered The Gnome in a circle, I only had two in the scene. I wonder why so many gathered at the event I'm writing. That raises some good questions."

By the way, gnome are like moose. Even when there's more than one our language says there's only one. There is no such thing as 'mooses' only moose. And there's no such thing as 'gnomes,' only gnome.

It's a point of reference for the near future.

Like faeries hate being called 'fairies', gnome despise being called 'gnomes.'

In fact, I was sure to keep the keys quiet while I typed that 's' in case one was listening.

Cranky, crabby things, at times The Gnome are.

And, not without good reason.

What's the history of The Gnome?

How come you don't know?

There's epics of the Fae. You know so much about dragons and dwarves.

An elf might as well be your neighbor, you know so much about them.

What about The Gnome?

Writer's cowardice is why you know so very little about The Gnome. The history of their people is one of tragedy and horror.

Writers stay away from it. Chaucer, and Milton, and T.H. White, and Spenser, for instance.

Tolkien created a whole new race, The Hobbits, just so he wouldn't have to talk about The Gnome.

It's a teaser, I suppose. Perhaps I, too, have cold feet about telling you.

I'll get to it, though. Some winter's day, when The Gnome are all tucked away in their trees for the snowy months.

They're worse than spellcheck at lighting up the screen as you type. Exact and precise, but kind with just a touch more magic than a faerie.

Didn't know that, huh? The Gnome are second only to dragons in their ability to use magic.

I'd speak about why they wear their cone hats, but I'll save making you cry for another day.

They're survivors. They'll inspire you, but we must put these things into context. Dramatic tension and all.

That said, time for me to go back to the dragons. They're available to speak about anytime, any season of the year.