Flower Arranging Fail

This is kind of a "fat guy in a little coat" joke of a bouquet.






(See the clip from Tommy Boy, if you don't know what I mean.)

But I love how daffodils look in this blue vase. How was I to know the blooms at the new house would be way too short for my favorite daffy vase? I suppose I could have predicted it, since the length of the flower stem from a bulb plant is directly proportional to the amount of time it's been frozen. Thus in Laramie we had "leggy" tulips; in Santa Fe, the daffys are short.

These are, however, the first daffodils of the season and thus to be celebrated.

And, yes, I'll go dig out another vase for them. The color contrast won't be as good, but they won't look quite so swallowed up. One has to trade off, now and again, to get the best possible result.

Writers often debate balancing dialogue with narrative, the advantages and disadvantages of first person vs. third. Everyone wants to find the magic formula. Over time, one discovers that there's no such thing. There are no rules, only general guidelines. And even those guidelines can lead you astray.

Unpublished writers tend to be much harsher critics as contest judges than published ones are. They're much more likely to cite a raft of "thou shalt nots" and rank a manuscript low if commit the sin of transgression. Published writers more often focus on the story itself, and whether it works. They're more likely to understand that you're really going for the yellow and blue contrast. They might point out the vase is too large, but if the whole thing is pretty, who cares?

Sometimes, it makes the joke.