THERE ONCE WAS A WRITER FROM DEVON...
National Limerick Day
There once was a writer from Devon
Whose plots were a mystery heaven
With a smart Belgian Sleuth
On the lookout for proof
Of a murder in flat number seven
What better way to celebrate National Limerick Day than by creating my very own offering about a certain well known crime writer? (Three guesses who I’m talking about…). Yes, it’s silly, but it’s also rather pleasing (because of it’s rhythm and cadence, officially described as an anapestic trimeter). Edward Lear, English artist, illustrator, author, and poet was born on May 12th 1812, hence choosing this date to celebrate these peculiar poems. He was best known for his ‘literary nonsense in poetry, prose, and limericks’ and although he didn’t invent the limerick he certainly put them on the map.
Smart and Silly
Although limericks can be absurd and ridiculous the point of them is that they can’t be totally nonsense. Even though the subject matter can be ludicrous, they do still need to tell a story, no matter how surreal, rather than just string a jumble of words together which just happen to scan in the right rhythm.
Our mystery plots work along the same lines – while they are never nonsensical they are tongue in cheek and, shall we say, don’t always represent real life! But they do still need to make sense – we can’t just throw a few characters and motives together and hope for the best. They’re always intricately plotted because firstly, our clients are far too clever to be fooled by a half thought out shoddily put together storyline and most importantly, we want them to concentrate on working together to solve the crime using all of their critical skills without being sidetracked by mistakes and plot holes big enough to drive a bus through.
We like being silly, but we are also smart enough to avoid being totally ludicrous! Do get in touch to find out how we can help with your next team building event and throw in just a little bit of nonsense.