Story Sunday: The Ocean

“The oceans” was the prompt for this week’s #StorySaturday (Twitter).  I wrote this micro-story kind of as a memoir of my personal experiences with water, and how it impacted me.

The Ocean

 

Photo Credit: Stephanie Vincent Lawrence

I grew up around water

in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks

the river ran wild

its’ roars beat within me like a hammer

 

Then came the ocean of the Outer Banks

its rolling waves on the sandy shore

calm the racing of that heart

and created a sense of peace

I’ve never experienced

 

Now I live in the open expanse of the plains

where the ocean is only a memory

but a memory that I can revisit

for as long as this heart beats

 

“Water is the driving force of all nature.”  – Leonardo da Vinci

 

 

Advertisements

The Genre of Zombies (Poll)

What do you think?  Have the zombies been overplayed?  Not just in books but also in the movies and television?

 

I’ve seen many variation of the zombie genre that played into science fiction, thriller, western, historical, and fantasy.  Are there any sub-genre that zombies haven’t been over-used?

 

Hopeless

 

Anger and pain

the norm in a young lifetime

Dreams and hopes

unattainable

due to unyielding sabotages

True love

fleeting

as there is no

happily ever after

So what’s the point

of fighting, persevering

when the darkness

is all that awaits?

 

“There is darkness inside all of us, though mine is more dangerous than most. Still, we all have it—that part of our soul that is irreparably damaged by the very trials and tribulations of life. We are what we are because of it, or perhaps in spite of it.” -Jenna Maclaine, Bound By Sin

#ThursdayThoughts: What IS Success?

 

Many writers feel that touching even one life is success.  Not by how many books one published, or by how many awards one garnered; although these are VERY nice to have.

For some writers, writing goes much deeper than any physical items or accolades.   It’s about using their gifts as storytellers,  healers, change-makers for the sake of others.

Success is based on the number of lives impacted.

What about you?  How do you view success as a writer?

Writing: Is The Novel Becoming Obsolete? (Poll)

Never Forget: September 11th

 

Starting on September 11th, 2001, life would never be the same again.

Story Saturday: Teddy Bear (Horror Poem)

 

I wrote this short poem for #StorySaturday (Twitter).  Today’s Teddy Bear Day and being me, I couldn’t write a nice and sweet poem-it had to be twisted and scary.

 

The girl hides under

the folds of the quilted cover

with her teddy bear

waiting

Murky shadows move

with an un-natural purpose

to claim and possess

wholly

When she opens her

eyes only to see the rising

sun, her bear on the

floor, frayed

She reaches for it and

embraces the toy to her wet face

and receives the scent

of death

You Tube Tuesday: Writing and You Tube

 

(*YouTube Tuesday idea originally came from the Martians Attack blog)

 

Not too long ago, I used Pandora (Film Scores station) while I wrote.  Now, it’s You Tube.  It’s full of choices including Epic Music World, The Guild of Ambience, The Prime Cronus, The Soundtrack Beast, and on and on.   Some of my favorites though are Fesliyan Studios, Vadim Kiselev,  Taylor Davis, and Audiomachine.

 

What about you?  What/who do you listen to as you write?

 

If you’d like to participate in YouTube Tuesday, post something from YouTube that you enjoyed and tell us a bit about it.  Don’t forget to include the link to this post in yours so I can check it out.  Also, if you’re on Twitter, tweet about it using the hashtag #YouTubeTuesday.

 

Story Sunday: Untitled Poem (Can you give this a title?)

 

Can you help me with giving this poem a title?  Place your suggestions in the comment section below.  😉

Writing Challenge: How Sad Can You Be?

Photo Credit: Lisa Sell-Writer

 

Here’s something fun for today  🙂  Give it a whirl!

Story Saturday: Moon (Poem)

 

This poem was prompted by a “moon” theme over at @storysaturday on Twitter.

 

Wordless Friday (Reading is Magical)

Photo Credit: teachingliteracy.tumblr.com

What If My Writing Isn’t Good Enough?

Click on the image to access this group’s official page

 

This month’s question:  What if my writing isn’t good enough?

 

This group (also endearingly known as IWSG) is all about insecurities; and gosh, I have a boat-load of them!

 

Where even to begin?

 

I’ve battled with insecurities all my life, and they’ve filtered over in to my writing life.

 

You’ll never be good enough. 

You’re worthless.

Don’t bother even trying.

 

There are so many ideas running through my head.  And I have written many of them…but, they usually die (or get placed in the trash).

I have published several items (all short ones) so that is something, I suppose.

 

But…

 

I keep feeling like I’m missing something.

Or, there is a story somewhere within that needs to be written and then released to the world.

 

But…

 

In the past, in my previous work life, I had this nasty habit of self-sabotaging myself.

Not allowing myself to experience success of any kind.

And this is quite prevalent in my life as it is in my writing life.

It’s like I feel like I don’t deserve it.

 

You’ll never be good enough.

You’re worthless.

Don’t bother even trying.

 

 

A lot of this stem from childhood abuse.  Others from a progressive disability.

Excuses, I suppose.

But they’re the Goliath in my life, and I’m the puny boy with no sling-shot or weapon of any kind.

Just a pen.

 

 

I’ve heard that a pen holds power.  I just don’t have any faith in the holder of this particular pen.

 

Am I good enough?

Will I ever be?

Do I even bother trying?

One-Liner Story Saturday: Ghosts of Bear River

Bear River, Idaho

 

As she walks across the meadow she could almost hear the voices of past lives echoing through the sparsely forested terrain; with the breeze caressing her body,  their faint howling cries icing her to the core with haunting images of despair and betrayal.

 

*Inspired by article, Site of Deadliest Native American Massacre Identified in Idaho

 

Story Sunday: Shark! (Poem)

Photo Credit: Perth Now

 

The ocean water

oh so blue and clear…but

when she peers down into

the salty sea

the last thing she’d see

are those black, doll eyes

Your Life in Six Words Contest Winner

 

Over a month ago, I ran a contest at WritersCafe.org called, Your Life In Six Words.  Here is the winning item by Akshatha Kamath:

 

A real satire,
but humorously serious!

 

What about you?  If you could describe your life in six words, what would they be?

One-Liner Story Sunday: Shadowy Mountains

Photo Credit: Compass Points Media

 

It isn’t the mountains that need to be feared; but the shadows that accompany the daunting peaks as they tend to claim all who enter within.

 

 

*Inspired in part by article, Does Vermont Have Its Own Version of the Bermuda Triangle?

Wordless Friday (Reading will take you on journeys so always be ready)

Click on image for its’ original source (Pinterest)

Writing: The Power Behind Words

Click on the image to access this group’s official page

This month’s question: What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned since you started writing?

 

This was a difficult question.  I couldn’t think of any one thing specifically but just the knowing that writing in of itself has been incredibly valuable for me.  Without it, I don’t think I’d be as “put-together” emotionally and mentally as I am.

Even though I’ve been writing for a number of years now, and have several of my short works published,  I’m not famous or rich.

In fact, most people have no clue who I am.

I suppose that’s okay.

What matters to me is that the words I write impact people in some way.

So, yeah, I write for myself first but I also write to give voice (or try to) to those who cannot speak.

For me, writing is therapeutic.

Which means words matter.

And I want it to matter to the reader as well.

In the end, I can think of a particular lesson that writing has taught me.

Compassion for others.

And empathy.

Writing offers a way to let others know that they are not alone in feeling the way they’re feeling.

And for that one reader, the writer’s words can make all the difference in the world.

One-Liner Story Saturday: BBQ

 

The patties sizzled in the flames as the crowd eagerly waits; he wonders if they’ll notice his missing wife.