While you’re waiting for me to finish reading the entries and decide on the finalists, I thought you might enjoy this word cloud of all the entries. I pasted all 2,651 comments/entries (which translated to about 247,000 words) into the word cloud generator on wordle.net.
Here’s the result:
The prominence of “like” is a reflection of how many similes there were in the first paragraphs.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the finalists!
Anonymous says
wow..thats cool….
LynnRush says
Oh wow….
Orange Slushie says
that would look nice on a wall
Elizabeth says
That is awesome. I love wordle.
Anonymous says
Like, cool!
Cara Powers says
If I ever enter one of your contests, I'll be sure not to have a simile in the first paragraph. Ikes!
Chumplet - Sandra Cormier says
It's kinda pretty.
Sara ♥ says
oooooh. that wordle.net site is kind of cool 🙂 I just pasted my MS into it… Interesting feedback, ha
Danyelle says
Awesome! 🙂
jscolley says
Were they all 'just like one' another? 😉 Hope not.
loriG says
So, like that means like we must like that word! Sorry, couldn't resist. That's amazing, and very cool.
Livia says
OMG GBTW!
🙂
Laurel Amberdine says
Immensely neat!
Though, I can't decide if that means these are good or bad words to use in an opening paragraph…
Merc says
Huh. That's really interesting… I thought I had noticed a lot of similes, lol!
Wendy Sparrow says
That is AWESOME! I'm going to need to play with that.
Hey, Nathan, once you're done separating the wheat from the chaff (the paragraphs from the comments,) can you post the final count of paragraphs? We have a bet going.
(I went with 2350, so I'm hoping there were a ton of comments.)
Melony says
Wow…you're awesome Mr. Bransford! I love the word cloud..even if all the words in my paragraph are in it *snicker snicker* Ok..not all…
Nathan Bransford says
wendy-
Oh, I'm not doing that — too much time. I'd imagine it's somewhere around 2400-2500 though.
Joanne Sher says
SOOOO neat. (and can I ask – expecting an answer – of how MANY will be chosen? Just curious.)
Ink says
Hey, that is my paragraph! I'm totally suing wordle.
Donna Hole says
Like it.
Nathan Bransford says
joanne-
I'm not sure yet.
Amanda says
Um, so I think that's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Fo' sho'.
T.C Graham says
Proud to say I used none of those words.
jjdebenedictis says
Three novels' worth of first paragraphs.
I've nothing else to say; I'm just quietly boggling at that.
Liam says
I love wordle!
Kate says
Average paragraph length was 93 words? Woof.
Julia says
Wow! Looking at this wordle, I think I might win a prize for the most cliched first paragraph (and that's out of 2500?)
I am infinitely proud of myself. 🙂
Sarah Laurenson says
If we put all those first paragraphs together in the right order, will we have a trilogy? Can you imagine a book with 2K+ authors? Talk about a royalty nightmare. 😉
Mike says
More metaphors please.
Mike says
I like that idea of creating a book from this pool. We put it up for bid and the first paragraph is from the person willing to pay the most. They descend in order of bid value thereafter.
Amanda says
Haha! Coolbeans!
Amanda says
Oh, and I'm proud to say, my entry did not include one 'like' (I checked). Go me!
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist! says
too friendly and not vicious enough…
Q says
I think every writer should use wordles to see what words they use the most. I have, and am attempting to rein in my use of "just" and "clearly."
T. Anne says
Aren't we purdy? 😉
ChristaCarol says
Haha, very entertaining. And interesting. And I'm guilty, I have a like in mine.
But I am convinced, Nathan must have a clone. Or maybe he has a special power he's keeping from us. Or, he could just be completely insane to do all that he does.
Nathan, do you ever forget things with all that you do? 😛 My brain would be complete mush at the end of the day.
Kristan says
Completely useless and yet fascinating!
Dara says
Very cool!
Really looking forward to reading the finalists tomorrow 🙂
Polenth says
The odd thing with the simile idea… lots of like similes, but not many as similes. People are hating on poor as.
Susan Quinn says
Am I the only one tempted to do Wacky Word Scrabble with this?
When I first looked in his eyes years ago, even then I thought, "Two people, but just one mind." My body knew, my head never could go back. Now, like a long forgotten door, I know I have found a way around time, to him.
Ok, off to procrastinate doing something else . . .
Sage says
Okay, so I have five of those words, but none of the really bigs one
Stephanie L. McGee says
Susan, that was awesome.
Best of luck, Nathan, with deciding on your finalists!
Kristen says
Interesting way to look at the paragraphs. And I agree that it is rather pretty.
Bobbie says
That's hilarious. And it made me go back to my first chapter to delete "like"… the simile is now a metaphor. Better? 🙂
Richard Mabry says
Like, I just checked my entry, man, and, like, that word wasn't, like, in there. Whew.
annerallen says
I heart Susan Quinn. Brilliant.
Amber Hamilton says
If everyone wrote one paragraph of a continuous story, your next list of blog comments could be a bestseller! LOL
E.D. Lindquist says
Like? Uh-oh, I'm guilty!
wendy says
Not only are you wading through the hundreds of thousands of words, but you've found time to do an extra (ingenious) posting as well. This blog is seriously addictive.
This could be my egocentricity speaking, but I always get the feeling whenever I come to this blog that somebody cares, not only about me as a writer and a person but about everyone here. In a blogverse where snarky and narky often rule, this is a little piece of heaven.
Ash. Elizabeth says
i've never seen anything like that before. . .(geek alert) sadly, that made my day because it's so darn cool. computers are geniuses.