As an instructor and writer I understand the vital role context plays in absorbing thoughts, ideas, information. Like a cracked coffee cup, no matter how rich and delicious the coffee inside, a leak causes the content to be diluted, lost, wasted. Make no mistake! The content must be good, but if the context is faulty then much is lost.

The same is true for the written word. To tell a story with out context looses something. The details of time, place, atmosphere, the physical details of character action, the nonchalant expressions and gestures tell the story more richly than words. With out them the tale loses verisimilitude, depth, passion.

A good friend of mine recently reminded me of this in his own Blog writings. Mark Bridge, author of the Treemagineers Blog.  In a recent post Why the Treemagineers Blog? Mark mused on the value or conversely the non-value of on line contributions.

His conclusions outlined for me in clear, concise ways how I see my own writings in all aspects from social media to novels.  I used to believe that writing success is defined by selling books/writings.  I now know I could never be that type of writer.  For me the context of my work is so much more important than the content.  The world the story exists in, the way characters conduct their lives, the dreams they concoct, the failures and successes experienced become analogous to us, the reader.

Of course I want many many people to read my work to share it to think on it.  But only because it adds value to their lives, to mine.

So why T-Rex?  He reminds us that the content is only as funny as the context.  That even simple things can add value and depth.

For me?  T-Rex reminds me to look beyond the obvious, to enjoy the small details of life and mostly to laugh, at the world we live in, at myself.

 Tony