Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

Well, life got in the way and I missed yesterday's writing completely. I'll put it aside for the end of the program. I struggled with today until I read something someone posted about why they don't write historical fiction.

Day 11

Dig deeper: What is one leap into the dark, one commitment with the unknown-however small-you feel you need to take in order to grow wings? Not sure I know the answer to this. Took a huge leap into the little known in April and moved from my home state to a new state to begin a new chapter of my life. So, not looking for any leaps right now, just trying to settle in.

Writing Prompt: Today, try a new genre, style of writing or topic that you’re uncomfortable with. Anything goes (as far as style or subject)-as long as it stretches your comfort zone. Feel the growth pain. You don’t have to stay there long, but at least give the uncomfortable unknown a try.

This is difficult, I’ve written, poetry, self-help, mystery, thriller, romance, flash fiction, children’s, short story, novella, novel, fairy tales, not sure what’s left. I don’t write Science fiction, I don’t understand the genre. I’m not other world in that aliens and zombies don’t appeal to me. Going to have to think about this and get back to you.

Reading something by someone else gave me an idea on how to start.

Walking through the drafty castle, Elspeth held her candle high. Her bare feet made no sound on the cold floors. She had to get away. It was necessary to warn her father’s returning army of the ambush which awaited them.

She had tucked her hair up under a dark hat borrowed from a page and dressed as a page to the king. Her father, King John Drummond had set out to fight a clan to the south. A messenger had arrived this morning with word the King and his army would return victorious on the morrow.

While her father had been gone, his step-brother, Maxwell, had come out from behind his books to take over the castle. It seems, Maxwell had been waiting for the right time to assert himself. With his rag-tag friends they had faced little opposition and the men of the King’s guard had been imprisoned in the dungeon.

Elspeth was on her way to the dungeon to slip out the underground passage she’d found. Once outside she’s take a hidden boat and cross the moat. From there she hoped the villagers would help her to find the King. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was the best she had.

There were voices ahead…

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

August 9, 2015

Day 9

Dig Deeper: What is one issue you are passionate about and would like to help others with? How has this same issue impacted your own life? I want to see people reach their full potential. To get the help they need to be productive and move out of poverty. It impacts my life because I have known what it’s like to live pay check to pay check. I had a supportive family who was able and did help me. Not everyone has a support system. In return I work with a program which gives people a hand up.

Writing prompt: Write short blurbs or brief plot synopsis of three novels, non-fiction, or poetry books you have not written.

The Gypsy is a novel of a young gypsy girl Juliette Rush who is able to read the thoughts of others as well as predict things to come. She knows she must guard her secret, yet is disappointed in not being able to predict her own future.

Small Town Shock with be the fifth book in the Macy McVannel series. Macy and Tom find themselves confronted with an incident at the high school which will divide the town. Will they be able to do their jobs and keep the town from open confrontation?

Adventures with Twitter will be a collection of tales involving a young fairy named Twitter, Twit for short. It will delve into the mystical life of fairies.

Yes, those are ideas for real books I fully intend to write. 

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

Day 8

Dig Deeper: What treasures have you lost in the fires of life? What would you like to recover? How far are you willing to go? In the fires of life I’ve lost a couple dolls I wish I still had. Seems silly, but not at the time. One thing I’d like to recover which was lost in a flood was an autograph book I had in elementary school. Some wise words were written in there by people I admired. As far as recovering the items, I don’t at this point in my life care to try and do any recovery. I think my memories and the emotion of those times are enough.

Writing prompt: Write a poetic love list of at least 21 details about your human experience that make you fall in love with life and savor it. Try to write at least one sentence for each one and show why you love them vs just listing the items.

1.   The intense eyes as they are focused on a video game, the shyness which overtakes him in a crowd and the funny sense of humor which is my grandson, Jason.

2.   The sparkling blue eyes and energy in motion which make up my enchanting granddaughter, Megan.

3.   The witty sarcasm which underlies her insecurities and makes her the life of any gathering is my daughter, Jamie.

4.   The constant in my life who keeps me balanced and puts up with my idiosyncrasies as well as my mercurial mood swings. The one person who holds my heart, Mike.

5.   Strange as this may seem, the days and weeks I spent at my parents’ cottage in Vanderbilt, Michigan surrounded by wildlife, wind, and trees were some of the most peaceful times in my life. No cell phone, no internet, and not much TV. Just me and the sound of my fingers tapping the keyboard as I worked my way through a novel.

6.   Walking through the woods with no destination in mind. Listening to the sounds of nature and letting them fill my soul. Re-energizing my brain and body.

7.   Driving in rural South Carolina where the live oak trees canopy the roads and the Spanish moss hangs down. The enveloping peace which belongs only there.

8.   Pouring myself into the pages of a good book. Shutting out the world around me to live in the world of the book. Becoming the shadow character or identifying with the main character and living it all.

9.   Long walks on a sandy beach, holding hands, and listening to the waves as they crash upon the shores. Feeling how insignificant I really am in the big scheme of things. Yet, being a part of a magical world.

10.          Looking into the woods beyond my apartment and envisioning the elves, fairies, and gnomes at play. Watching the chameleons run across the railing changing colors and basking in the sun. Reveling in the wonders just outside my door.

Today I’m stopping with ten. I can come up with more, but ten seems more reasonable. 

Write Yourself Alive (not likely) 30 Days of Writing

August 7, 2015

Day 7

Dig Deeper: What is something you want or catch yourself dreaming about but deem “impossible”? Allow yourself to desire it with your whole heart for at least a few minutes. Repeat exercise daily.

Funny there is nothing I want I can’t buy or do. While yes, I dream. I know it’s a matter of finding the finances to fund the dream and I can do it.

Writing Prompt: Write two poems. (Here we go again) One using all soft sounds (???? Might want to explain this) and gentle tones that you can hear. (Really???) The other using hard sound and dissonance to portray the opposite. Note which one makes you feel more intensely and why.

Skipping today. I don’t write poetry on demand and this I can’t even relate to.

This is beyond frustrating.

No clue who is dreaming this up, but really?  

Write Yourself Alive (or not) 30 Days of Writing

Day 6- This should have been posted yesterday, however real life got in the way

Dig Deeper: Dissect change. What scares you or makes you uncomfortable about it? What helps you deal with it?  I am not afraid of change. In fact, I generally embrace it. I do get frustrated when the change makes no sense but is required. Something which happens often in the field of education. I have learned to bend like the trees in the wind and go with the flow of the river.

Writing Prompt: Write a short autobiographical story (1^st or 3^rd person) in which you reflect change. There must be an obvious before and after in the character/s.

This is the Way I Remember It

It was a warm and sunny August morning, the smell of bacon and eggs mingled with the smell of campfires. Kids in the campground used bread wrappers to wax the slide in the playground. My Aunt Rosie showed up with my younger brother, Dean, who wanted to go down the slide. I followed him up the ten foot slide. When he got to the top, he looked down and was frightened. Rosie told me to give him a push and she’d catch him at the bottom.

            So, I gave him a big shove. Dean stiffened as he flew down the slippery slide. Rosie could not get to the bottom fast enough. Dean screamed on impact. My mom heard him at our campsite, grabbed my baby sister and came running. Dad finished shutting everything up and followed with the car.

            We loaded into the car. Dean was lying across my parents lap. His head was on Mom and his legs were on Dad.  I was frightened. I wasn’t sure what had happened only my brother had been hurt. At the hospital they splinted my brother’s legs together. We had the choice to take him to Traverse City or Hurley Hospital in Flint. We lived in Flint so it was decided to go home. We had rented the campsite for two weeks. My dad stopped in at the ranger’s station to tell them what had happened and he’d be back on the week-end to get everything.

            It was the longest ride home ever. Dean cried every time the car hit a bump. Once Dad got Dean into the emergency room, he took the rest of us home. Rosie took the blame for everything, but I knew it was all my fault Dean’s leg was broken.

            I got physically sick with the guilt of hurting my brother. Mom and Dad were confused as I didn’t have a fever and seemed fine during the day, but would be up all night heaving my guts out. It took three days for them to finally get me to tell them it was all my fault Dean was hurt. I was the one who pushed him. Once I told them and we talked about how it really was no one’s fault it was an accident I started feeling better. It took some time for me to realize and come to terms with the fact things could have been done differently which would have prevented the accident to begin with, however while there was no lasting damage from the broken leg, it will always be something I remember.

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

I feel as though I have returned to my high school and undergraduate days of college. Meaningless prompts I am supposed to make into brilliance. I'm done trying to do things like that. I don't write on demand and I won't invent something I can't relate to just to satisfy some unknown you perceive.

Day 5

Dig Deeper: What do you do to fill up when you’re feeling empty? What type of soul-fillers do you use?

I’m not sure I know. I’m finding fullness in my faith. But for what exactly I use, I don’t know to put it into words.

Writing Prompt:  Write an entire poem without using any punctuation. Write it again properly punctuated. Compare the emotional impact of the two. Apply this as you decide how to use punctuation going forward.

Um….seeing blank paper. I have never written poetry without some kind of emotional attachment to it. To say write a poem leaves me hanging. I am a writer who does not write on demand and this is exactly the kind of prompt which turned me off in high school and college classes. There’s nothing. Pick something out of the air???? Can’t do it.

Passing on today…no time to wrack my brain to write senseless, meaningless words.

TTFN 

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

Day 4:

Dig Deeper: What activities unrelated to writing bring you back to the present and make you feel fully alive? What could you get lost in? List 5

1.   Walking on the beach.

2.   Walking in the woods.

3.   Holding hands

4.   A gentle rain

5.   I could get lost in his eyes.

Writing Prompt: Imagine the world is ending in 24 hours. Write the way it will end and how you would fill in the hours.

          While I don’t believe we will be given hours to prepare for the end of the world I might see it this way:   The news just broadcast an invasion of our borders. We’ve been expecting it for months. I have trouble getting through to my family on my cell phone as everyone is trying to make a call at this point. I know my family is hundreds of miles away and we have made arrangements to meet in a safe (or at least we believe it to be safe) place. I load the car with essentials; food, clothing, water, first aid supplies, my computer, flashlights, my camera and anything else I think to grab. I quickly load my car and take the storm evacuation route out of Charleston. My car had been gassed the night before in anticipation of what was to come.

          We had come across an abandoned log cabin in the mountains a few years back. As a family we decided to purchase it as a safe haven in case of war. Each year we went there and set about making it safe. An underground shelter had been on the property, probably a left over bomb shelter from the 1950s. We built bunk beds and placed other beds in it. We purchased a freezer and the guys went hunting to fill it with turkey and venison. A pantry was filled with canned goods. Flour, nuts, and spices were stored there as well. We’d equipped it with a generator and stockpiled enough gas to keep it going for a long time. We were ready, all we had to do was get there.

          Along the way I periodically tried to get through to my family on my cell phone. It kept going to voice mail or told me the circuits were busy. I was surprised about half way through the trip to get a text message telling me my children and grandchildren were about halfway. I remember breathing a sigh of relief.

          It surprised me to see cars and trucks heading toward the ocean. I suppose people thought they would be safer on the water. While I love the water, I did not see it as a safe place should the world come to an end. But, who knows, I’ve been wrong before.

          I arrived at the cabin to see in my rear view mirror my family caravan coming up the drive behind me. I held back tears of joy. We were safe, we were together. It was all that mattered now. Quickly we unloaded the vehicles. Everyone was assigned a task. Once they were emptied, the men set to work syphoning the gas from them. It would be needed if we had to stay underground for longer than anticipated. It could also be put back in the cars should we need to go anyplace.

          Dinner was a simple meal. Sandwiches, chips, and a beverage. The kids were scared and tired. I read some bedtime stories and we put them to bed. In the other section we were subdued wondering what would happen next. We went upstairs to see if anyone could get a cell signal. When we did we used one phone to find any news we could. The news was grim. The capital had fallen to our enemies. Our military was trying to defend major cities. Armed militias roamed the countryside. We bowed our head in prayer. After prayer we went to bed. 

Two Posts in One Day

I have decided I need a part-time job. I need one with flexible scheduling so I don't have to give up some of the things I'm doing.
Today, I became a  Boutique Partner with Style Dots. You can book a home party, an on-line party, or just order from my website. Browse the site and see how it works.

https://rebeckavigus.styledotshome.com/pws/rebeckavigus


Just the little extra I will need to make things work.

TTFN

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

Allowing myself the use of the keyboard on a regular basis.

Day  3:

Dig Deeper: What is one creative aspect about you, you feel others fail to notice or you’d like to make more visible?

It took some thinking on this one, however I dislike the question, “You’re a writer?” Like I have fallen off another planet and there is no use for me here. I want someone to acknowledge the fact, writing is not easy. It takes intelligence to write something and write it well. I’m tired of being the eccentric because I have chosen to write.

Enough said.

Writing Prompt: Write a short story about yourself if you were a psychic and able to read the thoughts of those around you. A brief character study of the inner workings of the people around you.

          Juliette Rush stood in the shower hoping the fog invading her head would clear. It was then she felt her ankles stiffen as if someone had placed shackles on them. She shivered under the warm water. Someone she knew was being shackled by something or someone. She needed to clear her head so she could concentrate. Someone was in trouble.

          All her life it had been like this. She was able to read the thoughts of others. Then as she grew older she had feelings or premonitions. Her parents laughed saying, “It must be our gypsy heritage.”

          Juliette knew in her heart it was more than just heritage. It was a gift of gigantic proportions and she needed to guard it and use it wisely…

I have not finished the story. It will be done another time. I needed to start somewhere and this was a good beginning. Probably because I was up all night and the voices in my head were having a verbal war, making no sense at all.

Write on Writing Warriors

TTFN

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

This writing program? should have come with an alert.


Day 2:
 All I can say is seriously? Over 500 people are doing this. How is anyone supposed to get contructive feeback? What about the people who give feedback and don't get any? This is really a bad idea. The person who thought of if has found a way to make money off people who want to write. What a scam.

My top three excuses for not writing

1.   Procrastination

2.   Motivation

3.   Procrastination

I can’t write a letter to the person I should have been. I don’t know who it is. I know who I am. I’m not unhappy with who I am or the road I’ve traveled.

Unfortunately the quote of the day does nothing for me.

Feeling very frustrated with this whole thing.

The procrastination is not so much being lazy as it is being overwhelmed. As always I have too much on my plate. Which is really nothing  new. Motivation is the lack of desire. 

I don't know who I was supposed to have been by this time in my life. I know who I am. I find it hard to write a letter so someone I don't know or have any idea who they might be, should be, could be. It's an exercise in futility. 

The daily quotes are in no way thougth provoking, inspirational, or controversial. I've done thoughts for the day with my students in middle school. They were meant to get the kids thinking, reacting, challenging, questioning. These don't do it. Which makes it hard to connect with them. 

I will continue on with this as I paid my $57. I am highly disappointed. It is NOT what it was advertised. More is the pity. It had the potential to be something good. Something which would generate ideas and make people sit up and take notice. Ugh, will work on my own program.

TTFN

Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

This is Day 1: I have thus far 1024 words written in forty minutes. However have gone on to post in my workshop and now will post a blog.

 I know you all know what the document in the photo is. I have written a Declaration of Independence from those inner things which keep me from writing regularly. Here goes:
   
                                 Declaration of Independence:
 To those things interfering with my ability to focus and get words written on the page, we are hereby at war. I will not allow you to invade my creative space. Those I cannot change I will face and those I can change I will. Time will be made daily to write. I am no longer a slave to the forces within me, which are holding me back. Look out World I’m coming!

This is a start for me. It will be edited and changed as I go through the next thirty days of writing. But I had to start somewhere. 

TTFN