Monday, September 27, 2010

Writing War: Are you game? (Riddle me this...)

All right, it's been longer than I intended. "What has been longer, Gemma?" Everything! I didn't mean it to take this long to post another blog, and I didn't mean for it to take this long to finish my homework, to feed the cats, to finish my book, to turn on the computer... There simply aren't enough hours in the day! :(

But, to the point, my subject today is: Riddles! :D (Yay for cryptic rhyming!) And you may ask, "Well, what in heaven's name made you so suddenly decide that?" Answer: Everything has been so stressful lately, that I haven't had any time for writing :'( BAD GEMMA!!!!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!!!! And I know. But, these riddles I find keep my brain functioning, keep my mind working. So, I decided, alright, why not have a competition? :D

So, congratulations to all of you who are reading this because YOU ARE THE FIRST PARTICIPANTS IN "GEMMA'S FIRST WRITING WAR!" So, here is how this is going to work: I am going to post various different riddles (that I have merely heard of and take no credit for) and you are going to answer them....IF YOU CAN >:) "Alright, well what's in it for me????" You may ask. Answer: The fact that you are so smart, you can figure out the riddle without any help. The prize is "satisfaction".

Note: 1. The Answers Will Be Presented in the Next Post
           2. This is a kind of preview to other things I will be doing on my blog. Once it's been up and running for a bit longer, I will start getting all of you readers involved in my writing. (Aka, I will post options for various aspects of my writing and you will get to choose through a vote :D)

So are you game? Lets get started!!!

Level: Easy

1. Riddle me this: A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven’t eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him? (Hint: Read over at least twice and think about it in pieces.)

2. Riddle me this: There was a murder in the park, in broad daylight, with people passing by, and yet no dead body was found and no one called the police. How can this be? (Hint: This is not a normal kind of "murder".)

3. Riddle me this: What word can be written forward, backward, and upside down, and can still be read from left to right? (Hint: There are a few different answers.)

Level: Medium

1. Riddle me this: I am, in truth, a yellow fork, from tables in the sky, by inadvertent fingers dropped the awful cutlery. Of mansions never quite disclosed, and never quite concealed, the apparatus of the dark, to ignorance revealed.

2. Riddle me this: I'm sometimes white, and always wrong. I can break a heart and hurt the strong. I can build love and tear it down. I can make a smile, but more of a frown. What am I?

3. Riddle me this: In marble walls as white as milk, lined with skin as soft as silk, within a fountain crystal clear, a golden apple does appear. No doors are there to this stronghold-yet thieves break in and steal the gold. What is it?

Level: Hard (Note, these are very challenging, so hints are given to start you off!)

1. Riddle me this: I heard of an invading, vanquishing army sweeping across the land, liquid-quick; conquering everything, quelling resistance. With it came darkness, dimming the light. Humans hid in their houses, while outside spears pierced, shattering stone walls. Uncountable soldiers smashed into the ground, but each elicited life as he died; when the army had vanished, advancing northward, the land was green and growing, refreshed. (Hint: The army?)

2. Riddle me this: If you like pretty gems that sparkle and shine, I invite you to dig in my virtual mine. My first is purple, fit for a king. My second is green where Dorothy did her thing. My third is red, July's birthstone as well. My fourth is seen in strings and is found inside a shell. My fifth is hard, pure Carbon and expensive to buy. My sixth is Crocodolite, striped like the big cat's eye. Seventh is two words, a man-made fake of April's stone. Eighth is very dark and found at Lightning Ridge alone. Now take from each gem, one letter in its turn, And you will find the stuff for which even the god's yearn. (Hint: Brush up on your knowledge of gem-stones, and a dictionary could be helpful.)

3. Riddle me this: You come to a fork in the road where there stands a knight and a knave. Knights always tell the truth and Knaves always lie. These two are so alike you can not tell which one is knight and which one is knave. You need to choose a road at the fork but one of the roads leads to certain death. You are allowed to ask only one question to only one person standing at the fork. What question can you ask to find the right road, not mattering whether the person is a knight or a knave? (Hint: Remember, only ONE question to help you on your way.)

Bonus: What belongs to you, and yet others use it more than you do?

And so the competition begins! Leave your comments and check in soon to see the answers!
Good Luck! :D




14 comments:

Ms. K and her Students said...

Wow! These are REALLY difficult! I can guess at two of them, but I have to admit that it is probably only because somehow, somewhere, I have heard them before...Anyway, here I go!
#1 - (Easy) ...about the murderer...I think the room with the lions would be the safest, since they would surely be dead after 3 years without food!!

#3 - (Easy) ...how about "otto" or "toot"? Do they count as "words"?

Level "Medium" #1 - Is it lightning?

#3 - Is it an egg? I think this works...?

The hard ones are REALLY HARD! No idea...but I'll keep thinking about them until the answers are posted! Great job, inferencing is important in good writing, for sure! :) (Love the title of this post, btw...!)

Anonymous said...

OKAY SO.
Your blog is pretty awesome :)
so here goes...
1. The lions...3 years with no food...they'd be dead :)
2.HAHAH you told me this.. murder=flock of crows.
3.uhmm... "I"? "A"?
then i I ddn't really understand anyother ones...except for the last one, and the answer would be ...
Which way would the other man tell me to go? :D :D

Anonymous said...

wow Gemma theses riddles are soooo ahrd but soooo good!! i love them sooo much!!! ican't even think of them i'm soo stupid and your soo clever!!!

- Bilkis

Ms. K and her Students said...

Tank you
for your
meassag
how kind
of you.

ashley said...

Easy: 1:The room with the lions because they would be dead. 2:He's a butcher. 3:NOON Medium: 1:Star.
2:DUNNO. 3:Water in a fountain. Hard: 1:Dunno. 2: Amethyst, emerald, ruby, pearl, diamond, tigereye, stnthetic diamond, onyx, DURNO! BOOOONUUUUUUUUS!!!! YOUR NAME :33

octavia,keaon said...

1. he goes into the gun room.

Riley said...

the 2nd question answer is poison

Zyrus and Ashvin said...

I am in Ms.Kutertans class and heres a riddle for you what kind of gems have lots of colour and everyone has one.



Answer:Birthstones

Erfan said...

the riddles were alittle hard but still easy abit

Nedim said...

The first riddle is easy the safest room i think is the room with loaded guns.

Tony said...

Hi its Tony im guessing it's question B I think its safer.

Gemma said...

Wow, a shout out to all of you who took the time to comment! Ms. K, congrats! You got them right!!! Bilkis, these riddles are simply really, really, REALLY, hard! It's not that I'm some kind of person with a huge brain :P Ashley, great job giving each riddle a try! Octavia, Keaon, and Nedim: I thought it was the “gun-room” too! (I despise trick questions :S) Riley: what an awesome inference, poison would have been my guess too:) Zyrus and Ahsvin: I LOVE this riddle! Such an awesome answer, thanks so much for sharing it with me and other blogers :D Erfan: I agree, these were really tricky, even though some of them seemed to make sense :) And last (but certainly not least): TONY!!!! Thank you so much for giving the riddles a go. Thanks to everyone! Enjoy the answers and the WEEKEND :D Check in soon, and have a good one! ;]

Bellabear said...

Hey jam the riddles are great it's bell by the way I'm makeing my way through ur every blog and there awsome posim lol cats ur awsome and I got the easy riddles the they got hard ad started to hurt my brain so I stoped ;) lol ur books will be very successful I just know it and keep up the good work

Bellabear said...

Hey hey jam it bell ur blog is awesome posim and the riddles are great also I got through the easy one the the others made my brain Hurt OUCH! !! ;p lol I'm going through ur every blog I can sleep lol there's to muc to catch up on !!!!!!! :)