Rewards from... to...

Ann Parker here, every other Thursday at the LadyKillers, struggling with REWARDS. Busy day, mind blank, so I turn to the dictionary. Of course, the definition is for the singular: REWARD.

Close enough.

Merriam-Webster says: something offered or given in return for a service performed.

Synonyms: bounty, price.

Related words: bonus, lagniappe, premium, bonanza, jackpot, treasure trove, award, decoration, distinction, honor, plume, prize, trophy, gratuity, tip, desert(s), wages.

Besides becoming intrigued by the word lagniappe (ended up bouncing around Wikipedia, and discovered it's a word of Quechua origin... who'd've guessed? not me!), I also noticed that, at its most basic, a "reward" is something granted from the outside. In other words, I do something, and someone gives me a "reward." Which means that there are bound to be times when I do something, expect a reward as a response, and... hey!... What's this??... No reward!?!

So, I believe I'll line up with the other LadyKillers and provide my own rewards (that way I won't be disappointed!). So, let's see. Some chocolate for finishing this post? Oh yes!

Perhaps a nice walk tomorrow (before it gets too warm) for completing a last copyedit/review of an article that's moving through the pipeline? Finish it off with an iced coffee and a few minutes with a "guilty pleasure" book? I'm motivated!

Then, there are the other kinds of rewards that pop to mind. Rewards that involve my area of fictional interest. Namely:

Rewards to the captor, but definitely a downer for the captive.

A little further exploration on the internet yields some interesting quotes about rewards... Hmmm. Useful stuff here for contemplation while writing about fictional murder and mayhem:

• Any time you take a chance you better be sure the rewards are worth the risk because they can put you away just as fast for a ten dollar heist as they can for a million dollar job. ~Stanley Kubrick
• Crimes, like virtues, are their own rewards. ~George Farquhar
• Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards. ~Diogenes
• I don't think anyone wants a reader to be completely lost - certainly not to the point of giving up - but there's something to be said for a book that isn't instantly disposable, that rewards a second reading. ~John M. Ford
• The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it. ~John Ruskin
• In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences. ~Robert Green Ingersoll
• The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

And, that's it. I'm done with my exploratory/wandering post on the subject, with half an hour to spare before midnight strikes. I'll now indulge in my chocolatey reward for reaching the end. Dear reader: I encourage you to do the same!

Comments

[Camille Minichino]

Chocolate at midnight -- good for you!

Fiction writers are lucky -- if we don't get the reward we think we deserve, there's always a murder or a sneaky curse at our fingertips!

[Ann]

You betcha! I love being in charge of my own fictional "universe." I can dispense/withhold rewards as I wish and as suits my needs... hee hee! ;-)

[Susan Shea]

Ann, Inquiring minds want to know what titles wind up in your "guilty pleasure" reading list? ;-)

[Ann]

Hi Susan!
Actually, my "guilty pleasure" books reside on my eReader. :-} I think of them as guilty pleasures because they are usually free, and classics or offered through the Poisoned Pen Press "Discovery Mystery" club (you can read about it here: http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/discover-mystery/). Right now, I'm working on 39 Steps, which I've not read before...

[Priscilla]

Lagniappe was a word I first heard in New Orleans. Love it! As for rewards, I'd go for the Peets mocha with whipped. Health food with all that calcium.... Love the 39 steps BTW, movie and book. Check out the free Loveday Brooke with original illustrations from the magazines.

[Ann]

Hi Priscilla! I have to use lagniappe in the next book. :-) I'm enjoying The 39 Steps. The writing is very different (written nearly 100 years ago, so no wonder), and the lovely descriptions of scenery in Scotland/England. Work first, guilty pleasures later.
Re: Peets mocha.. YUM!

[Michael A. Black]

Thirty-nine steps. I counted them. Good book. I once knew a girl from Guyana and she said they used The 39 Steps as a text book in high school English class. I thought Hitchcock did a poor job translating it to film.

[Ann]

Hi Mike!
I haven't seen the film. Just finished the book... it was great fun! Didn't have all the twisty layered plots that modern mysteries have, but that's okay. I loved the descriptions of landscape and the times. :-) It's hard to imagine Hitchcock doing a poor job on a film. Does the film stand "as is," without reference to the book?

[Priscilla]

The Criterion Edition of the Hitchcock film is fun if you don't want a close adherence to story. Funny in parts, some good dialogue, and wonderful actors. Robert Donat and Peggy Ashcroft. I saw it before I read book and enjoyed.