It’s All Just Corny Doggerel, This Writing Stuff!
I thought I’d put a sample of some of my writing up here. Although this story is complete (sans any real editing, mind you) it’s been put aside for a while – though i’ve been thinking of it lately, hence the post. I’ve also been collecting together various images and ideas and doing a few preliminary sketches – though I have to add that I’ve got one or projects on the go before I get fully stuck into this one. I find that it’s good for me to have a few projects going at once though – all at various stages of development.
This story is inspired by a review of Woodlore which described some of the rhyming couplets as little more than “corny doggerel”. I thought it was a great name for a character in a book and vowed that if the book ever got published I would invite the reviewer to the launch of it and possibly even feel compelled to give him a commission for the idea.! In my mind it’s better not to be too precious about what reviewers might say about your work. Life’s too short to get caught up in that!
“THE TALE OF CORN E. DOGGEREL” – SAMPLE TEXT
High up in the mountains, through the forest think with trees
Beyond the ancient mill, whose blades rock gently in the breeze
And further still, the stream with waters crystal to the stare
There lived a horrid creature, whose screams would fill the air.
No one had ever seen it, though the tales of it were rife
There were always those, who knew of some, who’d got themselves in strife
To nearby towns and villages, the stories quickly spread
For the beast upon the mountainside, filled common folk with dread.
Some thought the monster had three heads, that swung and lashed about
Others said the beast could breathe out fire through it’s snout
And then there were believers who would swear that it could fly
(But since no-one had seen it, this was hard to quantify).
Not everyone was frightened of the legends and the lore
There was, in fact, one character who found it all a bore
A dashing young inventor, and a poet laureate
His name was Corn E. Doggerel, the local village vet.
Most folks called him Corn Dog, (which is obvious, of course)
And he was well regarded as a valuable resource
He helped the sick and injured, for a very modest fee
And often would not charge at all, which was an irony.
Now Corn Dog was a cheerful soul, who knew a thing or two
But he was always waxing lyrical, as poets often do
He’d sometimes talk in riddles which nobody understood
And simply didn’t act the way a normal person should.
Often he’d collect the things that other folk threw out
Like cogs and wheels and bits of steel – all useful stuff, no doubt
He’d take it all back to his home, and no-one ever knew
Just what became of all the junk that Corn Dog would accrue.
Corn Dog was, by all accounts, a popular young chap
Who dressed in brightly coloured clothes, and wore a funny cap
He got on well with everyone, and he was well revered
But there was just one thing that people thought was really weird.
You see it was a well known fact to everyone in town
That Corn Dog lived up in the hills, upon the very crown
And many folks had wondered why, to say the very least
In all that time upon the hill, he’d never seen the beast!
Copyright © 1995
Cameron Miller