The site has all the questions from Write from Karen's Monday Morning Meme. I'm reposting those I think are most interesting, for me at least.

• Are you an urban dweller, a suburbanite, or a country person? Are you happy where you live? Without giving too many details, tell us about the place where you live. What makes it different than other places? What do you like the most? The least?
• Would you rather be overdressed or underdressed for a party? Why? Tell us about the last time you were overdressed and/or underdressed; what happened? Did anyone notice you were over/under dressed?
• What five things would you put in a time capsule?
• If you could give a single piece of advice to the film industry in Hollywood, what would you say? If you were a powerful film producer, what sorts of films would you produce? Why?
• If you could be guaranteed an honest answer to three questions, what questions would you ask, and who would you ask them of?
• Have you ever worn your slippers, or pajamas, in public? If so, when and why? If not, would you ever consider leaving your house looking less than your best? What do you think of people who do so? (Be honest, we all judge on some level).
• What three sounds do you love? Okay, now tell us WHY you love these sounds.
• Which are scarier to you: ghosts or aliens? Why? Do you believe in either/both? Why or why not?
• What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have any funny/odd memories of the library?
• If you could interview anyone, who would you interview, and what would the first question be?
• What is the oddest thing you ever bought for yourself?
• What modern day convenience would you be willing to give up forever? Why would you give up that particular convenience and how would you give it up?
• When you are having a bad day, what do you do as a little ‘pick me up’?
• How far do you live from the place where you grew up as a kid? Tell us about the place you grew up – would you choose to go back there and raise your own family (if you have one)? Why or why not?
• If you had to name a smell that always makes you nostalgic, what would it be? What sorts of memories does the smell evoke?
• If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience, would you do so? If not, why not?
• Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Explain, please. Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted? Have you ever seen, or thought you’ve seen, a ghost or evil spirit? If so, what did you do? If not, how do you think you’d react?
• Do you think that the world will be a better or a worse place 100 years from now? Explain your answer, please.
• Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again? Explain, please. Is money or love more important to you? How much money would it take for you to step away from your current life?
• You are given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word “goodbye.” People would die a natural death and no one would suspect you. Are there any situations in which you would use this power?
• What is your opinion on the death penalty? Let’s say the person is a serial killer and has admitted his/her guilt, and it is your job to sentence that person. Could you give that person the death penalty? Why or why not?
• Would you be willing to become extremely ugly physically if it meant you would live for 1,000 years at any physical age you chose? Explain your answer.
• What do you have to have with you when you travel? Why?
• The getaway car is waiting outside – where is it taking you?
• What do you think is the sexiest profession for a guy?
• What’s more important, where you live or what you do for a living? Why?

I haven't heard the term commonplace book until today. It sounds like an art journal, a diary which includes drawings, maybe a scrapbook which includes things cut and pasted in from magazines and other sources. It is a curated collection of thoughts, ideas, and interests. The idea isn't so new but the phrase is new to me.

This description comes from a site which hosted commonplace journals. Its gone now.

A commonplace book is a collection of remarkable quotations, reflections, and oddities gathered from one's reading, thoughts, or experience--in short, a reading and writing journal.

A private commonplace book is also a great way to organize your research by author, source, and subject, and gives you the ability to display and search your notes by each category and by keyword.

This is all quoted/ saved from Eric S. Raymond's Home Page. The site fails to load but then if you leave it, does load on the second try. I've linked to the web page the riddle poems are on at the bottom of this post. The entire post has much more information, ideas, even challenges and history.

We know of many cultures that have riddle-poem traditions. The best-documented, and the one we'll be taking our model from, is the riddle-poem tradition of the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, and the Teutons. These peoples of the Dark Ages played the riddle-game around their hearth-fires for more than five hundred years. Some of their riddles have come down to us.

Basic Riddle-Poem Construction

Here's an example of a riddle-poem in modern English in very traditional style and subject:

Riddle: A hoard of rings am I, but no fit gift for a bride; I await a sword's kiss.

Answer: A suit of chain-mail.

Note that it doesn't rhyme. Rhyme is nice in a riddle-poem, but strong rhythm (what poets call good scansion) is better. Actually, traditional riddle-poems hardly employed rhyme for structure at all; they used an elaborate set of stress rules and a technique called alliteration which we'll describe later on.

Rhythm _{speech rhythm} is all-important. In composing riddle-poems that sound good, a bit of role-playing helps. When you're working on one, try to imagine yourself chanting it to a hall-full of drunken Vikings. Do they pound the tables and roar? Do they laugh? Or do they just plain not get it?

How to Make a Riddle-Poem

Work backwards. First, pick your answer. Then, imagine it speaking to you; describing itself, telling you what it does. Then make that into a little poem.

As I was thinking about the last paragraph, my eyes lit on the telephone beside my keyboard. I decided to make a riddle-poem for which telephone is the answer.

So I imagine the phone speaking to me. It says I carry the voices of people over many miles. That's a good start, but it's not specific enough; it could apply to a radio as well.

What distinguishes a phone from a radio? Wires. But if I mention wires directly, the riddle will be too obvious. So I think instead about what a phone looks like, analogizing it to a body. And I have it:

Riddle: One ear, one mouth, no legs, But I will carry your voice a thousand miles.

This is pretty nice. But the scansion in the second line is not quite right.

_  /  _    /  _   _    /   _   /  _    /

But I will carry your voice a thousand miles.

This is close to iambic pentameter. It could be improved by a one-syllable verb replacement for carry. There are lots of possibilities; take, waft, send, bear. I like bear for its archaic sound. And so we have it:

/   /       /    /        /   /

One ear, || one mouth, || no legs, _ / _ / _ / _ / _ / But I || will bear || your voice || a thou- || sand miles.

This is an easy riddle, but the construction worked well. In general, these are the steps you'll usually go through:

1. Pick a subject.
2. Imagine the subject speaking to you.
3. If that doesn't work, analogize the subject to a body or creature.
4. Adjust the description to the level of difficulty you want.
5. For best poetic effect, fix the scansion in the result.

Source: Riddle-Poems, and How to Make Them

I've written some flash fiction, usually under 1000 words (or less). It's fun. Finding sites posting about writing flash non-fiction was interesting. I think we have all written flash fiction at some time. A note, a few thoughts about this or that. Is flash fiction really more than a short personal journal entry? Maybe, if you're thinking about writing it for others to read. That would make a difference.

From When you Write - Flash Non-Fiction

Key Takeaways

• Flash Nonfiction requires concise and engaging writing that balances storytelling and factual accuracy.
• Choosing a topic that writers are passionate about and researching sources is important in creating successful flash nonfiction.
• Cutting unnecessary details, using specific language, and avoiding repetition are key components of tightening prose in flash nonfiction.
• Sharing work with others and receiving constructive criticism is essential in developing skills and improving as a writer in flash nonfiction.