Writers Wednesday

Okay, third times a charm. I've tried writing this post twice and my laptop keeps freaking out on me...so here we go!

We had an awesome turn out last week! I'm so proud to share the posts we received -

Enchanted by Chessney Smith

At the Top of the Stairs by Syndey Aaliyah

Alicia's Soul by Chasing Revery

Dogwood Days by Jade (this is from a prompt a few weeks ago)

By the way, if you ever see a writing prompt from previous weeks ago that you would like to respond to, go ahead! I will still promote it with next week's post!

Here are the rules:

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.

2) There is also a 500 word maximum.

3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.

4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!

5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

Here's the photo (taken from this link)

Here are the five words (taken from this link)

Stars

Envelope

Wave

Nail

Desert

Once you have your story ready, post it below! 

My First Blog Award!

This is the second best Award I have received lately and the Best Award (and first haha) I have received for my blog.  The first was the “Hardest  Worker” award along with a shared  “Best Attendance” award  from the lovely derby girls on my team!

Nicole Pyles over at The World of My Imagination presented this award to me.   I promptly printed a copy onto photo paper and hung it above my desk! Thank you Nicole, I am honored.

Now, I must tell ten things about myself before I pass it along.

And then I must give the award to five other bloggers!

(By the way, at the end, if you are one of the recipients, just right click and save the image to your desktop if you want to use it on your own blog acceptance speech!)

It was so hard to chose 5 bloggers to award this to, but here they are:

Sally K. Witt , Chessny Silth, The Writing Nut, Donna Yates, My Random Mind and the bonus blog is by a friend and fellow derby girl Teralyn Pilgrim at A Writer's Journey. Teralyn's blog is amusing and insightful.

Alright, ten things...here we go:

1.       I am in my late 40’s and still try to play roller derby. It has taken me a year longer than most because I could NOT skate on quad skates AT ALL.

2.       I collect Houses and items from A Christmas Story movie. I actually visited the house in Cleveland and ever get there GO! My favorite Christmas Movie!

3.       I loved dried beef from a jar with laughing cow cheese and can a make a meal out that.

4.       I have a serious Coke Zero addiction.

5.       I do not play facebook or role playing games, although the Game of Thrones intrigues me.  My favorite tv show.

6.       I would love to learn to play the violin.  I have one now I have to find a teacher.

7.       I don’t listen to the radio.  I have a rhapsody subscription and listen to what the mood strikes me.

8.       I have a playlist about Civil War songs I listen to when working on the Civil War book in progress.  

9.       I am studying the Buddhist philosophy.

10.   I would love to work in a holistic environment and assist people with the issues they may have.

Cuckoo Birds, Depression and Writing Prompts

My Cuckoo bird vs the real one 

 

My blog has suffered here as the gloominess of depression has settled upon my person like a damp melodramatic fog.  I am writing some about it over at View from a Cuckoo’s Nest. I also took artistic license with the cuckoo bird itself. As you can see, mine is much cuter and I found a mascot at a dollar type of store so that settled it for me.  Now my bird needs a name, any suggestions? I suppose I should have used a Phoenix as one rising from the ashes of depression, but frankly I have always been a little cuckoo and I believe it fits me better. Besides have you looked for Phoenix bird stuff lately?   J

So, as I try to regain control of the darkeness, I thought I would post some awesome writing prompts. I use these are part of my therapy, but I think they will be beneficial to everyone. 

"Think about a time you thought, It's not fair. Write to tell the reader about something that happened to you that was not fair." This came from the great site : Prompt Genorator at http://jc-schools.net/write/create.htm.  This prompt could cultivate many stories from Chick Lit to YA or even a thriller.

Some other great sites are:

Creative Therapy – These appear to 2010 and prior but there are some really good prompts to be found there.

Self-Help-Healing-Arts-Journal  - offers prompts, affirmations, art projects and much more

The Writing Reader has an excellent article on How Depression Feels here.

Write to Done has an article on 31 Ways to to find inspiration for your writing.

I believe Utter Randomonium has the definite collection of writing prompts sites. 

Also be sure to check out this marvelous site: BloomingHumans where they will be discussing appreciating the  past and dreamseeding the future. 

Please feel free to post any depression, writer's block or just uplifting stories!

Random acts of Kindness Project and Surprises

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 
Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.
So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

Kindness ROCKS!
To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!
I have chosen to Blitz a RAOK on the following Writers/Bloggers:


Pat Bean of Pat Bean's Blog.  This amazing lady and her canine companion travel all over the US and allows us to live vicariously though the awesome photos she takes. She has literally cheered an entire day for my by allowing me to pretend for a moment that I am in these places alongside her, but not in a stalkerish kind of way :)  I have decided someday to live in an RV as well!


Angie Bailey of Lariats and Lavender - This lady has a fabulous blog full of eclectic items. I loved "What I wore Wednesday.She stays on the pulse of today and makes is a blast. She is also an advocate for causes that make a difference. I admire her for speaking her mind!

Melinda McGuire's articles at Melinda McGuire Writes, She has a great sense of humor and provides awesome writing advice.  She also writes "with a Southern slant", which touches my down home about as southern as you can get soul!


Sally K Witt has a very entertaining and eclectic blog and is always entertaining. Her article on bathing suit shopping really touched home for me and it was hilarious to boot!

I also have a kindness gift basket for one of the lucky readers on this post. There are also a couple of smaller items in my bag of goodies here so, tell me the best random act of kindness you ever received!


Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)
Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.
Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments!

Wednesday Writing and Excuses Excuses

I feel I must explain the rather sporadic nature of my posts lately. I have recently been hospitalized and they frowned on any electronics there, not to mention my lovely caffeine. I did hand write several amusing blog post on random scraps of paper and I do hope to get those posts when time allows.

I will probably be back at the hospital tomorrow so once again, I will have to surrender my precious communication equipment but I am prepared with several notebooks. My illness shows few outward signs, and most people can be completely unaware that it plaques me. I rarely talk about it, but after the treatment I have been receiving, I decided to share the good and the bad with those going through it. That blog will be A View from a Cuckoo' Nest. 

I know this is late but here is the current week's Wednesday prompt:

Wow! There was an amazing turn out last week! I am so impressed by all the creativity out there! Last week's photo really got everyone going and I am proud to present last week's amazing submissions to our weekly writing prompt:

Cow Whisperers by Randy Lindsay

A Thousands Words by Chasing Revery

Horoscope by Chessney Silth

A Day in the Park by Anne

Conversations with an Ex by Me

I am so proud of this turn out! I hope more and more people join in!

So, here's the rules as usual just as a fresh reminder:

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.

2) There is also a 500 word maximum.

3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.

4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!

5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventalate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

Here is the photo (from this link)

And here are the five words (from this link)

Masking Tape

Chameleon

Hand

Computer

Lipstick

And when you have completed your story, post the link to it below!

Spread the word about the  hop and let us know what you come up with!

Wednesday Writing

Welcome back everyone! This has been an amazing week and there has been so much creativity that resulted from last week's prompt. You guys are awesome! So, make sure to check out last week's prompt and the great posts that resulted:



Beach of Peace  over at Lando-Loo, Where Are You?

Back to the Beach  over at The Why, The how, and the What If

Rough Tides, at Chasing Revery (my co-host!)

A New Beginning (done by me!)



And today we have another prompt ready to go for everyone! But first, a quick shout out to my awesome co-hosters - Chasing Revery and A Writer's Muses. Make sure you check out their blogs!



As usual, here are the rules:



1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.

2) There is also a 500 word maximum.

3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.

4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!

5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventalate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.



Also, we have a fancy schmancy new blog hop button for you to grab. So if you have been having fun with the blog hop, grab a button:










Click and copy this code 
 

<p align="center"><a href="http://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh540/sommerfugldesign/Worldofmyimagination/wednesdayhopbutton.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a>
 </p>

Here's this week's picture (taken from this link)






And here's this week's five words from this link:



decoy



sign



pin



pillow



dinosaur



Oh this should be fun, I just know it. So, when you have your story completed, post your link below:

A to Z Challenge the letter R= Respect and Responsibility

I have a few letters left in this challenge and though I will finish the last few letters for my own peace of mind and prepare better for next year.

Number three on the Dalai Lama’s “Instructions for Life” (which I am sure appear in other religions as well) are the three R’s:

Respect for self. Respect for others. Responsibility for your actions.

As part of my mindfulness practice, I am trying to stop and correct my thoughts when I think or say anything that is not respectful. Yes, I am a person who just blurts things out at times. I also have a habit of saying things that are negative about myself  that do not show respect.  Who needs enemies when we can damage ourselves with all of the negative self talk?

 The Dalai Lama has said that the only way to work out a problem is through dialogue. For dialogue to be successful however, we have to respect the other person’s point of view. We may not agree with it, but we should be respectful of their view as we would wish them to respect us. He also urges us to have a sense of compassion in resolving issues:

“There is no other alternative, only to talk, that’s the wisdom side, then respect others interest, genuine sense of concern – concern of others well-being that’s the basis." - Dalai Lama   Source: LYBIO.net