Category: Writing


Inktober 2021


My friend was telling me how much fun she was having with Inktober. She is not only inking illustrations but also inking a journal or story to go with the picture prompt. That sounded like fun so I’m joining seven days late.

Here’s my days 1-7 #Inktober2021 submission and then the story that goes with it. Since I wrote the story long handed I felt it too personal to take a picture of my handwriting.

Arriving proudly at the ball, Crystal, dressed in a formfitting suit, grabbed the mic. “I refuse to be a vessel for another man!” She loosened the knot at her neck, as she continued, “No wonder guys are so cross! Ties are the worst thing since high heels!” At which point she kicked those glass slippers off the stage.

The belt was next, then Crystal squirmed out of the skin-tight pants. Her jacket was long enough to cover the goods or the raven-black panties covering said goods.

The crowd was cheering her on. This wasn’t on the itinerary but none would object. Still, the spirit wasn’t in her to continue. She bowed to wild applause and then descended into the audience.

“Excuse me, Crystal,” a voice whispered behind her, “I’m you’re biggest fan.”

~~~~

In my #Inktober sketch above I made a close of Crystal’s eye a sneak peak, I think, is that she was born with a crystal in her eye and since then has developed several each gives her powers. The list of prompts is on the Inktober 2021 website. I’m hoping the writing part will spark something for NaNoWriMo some people call October Preptober. That last link was a Google search and there are so many there to help a person get ready I think I’ll keep it open and wade through them all later.

How many want to join me in either Inktober or NaNoPrep?


Per Linda:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is โ€œpin.โ€ Use it as a noun, use it as a verb, use it any way youโ€™d like. Have fun!

Pinterest is a history lesson of my passion over the last few years. Ah, but then so is this blog.

Writing starts and continues as the place I put a lot of energy. But I used to sew. I found the race of pulling the pins before the needle hit them too stressful. Not to mention the ripping what I sewed. Ugh! And sitting in the position of leaning over the machine hurt my back. Sewing fell as a passion.

Crochet became my next passion. I could make hats for charities and spend time creating. But my hands didn’t like the constant positioning.

Then I learned to loom knit. Even ripping, frogging, or tinking projects was fun. More yarn, more chances to improve.

I tried to dry felt but found the constant hand movement hurt so another craft bit the dust.

Now I’m having fun playing my recorders. It hurts my hands sometimes but it seems, if I’m inconsistent (skipping a day here and there) that my hands get more proficient and hurt less. It doesn’t carry with it the fulfillment the loom knitting does. I’m not helping anyone else. But maybe that’ll be something to come?

Drawing has the same feeling. I can get lost, as lost as when writing, in a project. True, I don’t feel the giving feeling there like I do with the knitting but I don’t feel wasteful of my time and energy. I wonder what that is? Should I see how I can expand somehow into something more charitable?

Music is coming alive in me again. What can I do with it? Is it okay to just enjoy the journey? Does it, too need me to pin it to the social magazine (how I think of Pinterest)? I really want to pinpoint my passions to understand how best to approach the ‘work’s of the fun.

And now with health improving, I wonder where that will lead. Hiking, camping? Let’s just put a pin in that.

Zoom and YouTube Day


Do any of you have a Wattpad account? I have had my first book, Haven, up for critique there. It can also be found here on this site. That is only the first four chapters. The whole novel is on Wattpad. I would love to get constructive feedback.

Anyway, the reason for this post isn’t to plug said novel but to tell about my day. You see, Wattpad and NaNoWriMo had an editing tutorial. It was called Edit Smart, Not Perfect: How to Polish Your Best Work Yet. I don’t know if this link will work, but I got to watch the Zoom here.

It was quite informative, and I hope they will put it on YouTube, so it is more accessible for all. If any of you find it at another site, let me know, and I’ll fix what I put here.

Anyway, that is how I started my morning. About the time that was over, I got to Zoom with my friends for our usual Friday meeting.

After a fun long chat, I decided to go watch the DuoCon. If you have Duolingo, you might be interested in watching this:

So I am even more motivated to edit my novels and keep going on my multiple languages. I have so many things I am into right now that I am trying to figure how to fit everything in a day or week. Life is exciting and quite the adventure!

Bitmoji Image

Weekend Writing Prompt #221 โ€“ Thwart

Posted on August 7, 2021 by sammicoxwriter

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend.  How you use the prompt is up to you.  Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novelโ€ฆanything you like.  Or take the challenge below โ€“ there are no prizes โ€“ itโ€™s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise.  If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Word Prompt

Thwart

Challenge

wk 221 thwart

The challenge is simple: each week you will be given an exact number of words you can use to write a poem or piece of prose.  You can use any format or style you like; go wherever your inspiration takes you.  The only rules are these:

  • your poem / prose must contain this weekโ€™s word (see note below).  The word does not have to count towards the exact word count total โ€“ it can be in the title, or the first letters of the lines of a poem can spell it out โ€“ you can be as creative as you want as long as itโ€™s there somewhere.
  • the length of your poem / prose must match the number of words stated in this weekโ€™s challenge.  No more.  No less.
  • A note on the word: you can use any variation of the word (for example: call, calls, calling, called etc).  If you find you are struggling to use this weekโ€™s word you may substitute it for a synonym โ€“ just include a note to explain the swap.  Remember, this is supposed to be fun! 

Canโ€™t wait to read what you have come up with!


* Whispers and Echoes โ€“ is an online journal of short writing โ€“ read it here *

Check out the journalโ€™s full submission guidelines here

*** My Thwarted Thoughts ***

Thwart is a strange word, isnโ€™t it? I doubt I have ever used it in my writing or about my writing. It always sounds like a wicked bad guy is hurting the good guy. I picture a sword and shield coming out as folks are finally reaching their happy place.

And yet,  in board games, that word is tossed like thereโ€™s no tomorrow!

Pixabay.com

(I hope I did that right. It seemed like a fun prompt to try. I learned about it on SammiScribbles


Adding the cuffs.

So today was a busy one.

I got up way later that I hoped. Still it wasn’t too hot so Kali and I walked our mile. She was so slow. I don’t know what was up. She usually loves her walks. So it was way slower than usual. My app didn’t record it. I listened to a podcast that my daughter introduced me to. It kept my mind busy so the walk was painless.

My friends and I have challenged each other to watch all of Marvel Universe in timeline order. My husband has joined. We are now on Ironman 3. I think this is my favorite of the Ironmen. By the way, you can find this order on Disney +.

I seem more tired since getting back. I had to take a nap. I usually do well on a 20 minuter. But I went far over. I was 1/2 hour late for my recorder class.

Luckily,  I have a few lessons on my own before finding the class so it was review. I’m sure my advance will fade in the next two lessons. It was fun to be in a class with second graders to folks my age. I think that is the best kind of class. Be on the level of learning not peer groups.

Within a 1/2 hour of the end of recorder class was my writers group. I love the people in that group. Such a creative bunch. There are published authors to challenge all of us.

Now back to Ironman.

Tasks Tuesday


Remember the goal of CampNaNo writing and editing? I haven’t forgotten. I just couldn’t deal with the laptop or heat from laptop. Since I’ve been writing the blogs on the cell lately, I decided to see how I could write on my smaller gadgets.

Well, I do use a system using my Fire to do what I can’t do on the phone.

I don’t know how others do it but to postย  a YouTube, picture and all, I need to copy and paste URLs. If I try from the phone I end up with just the URL no picture. On my Fire, on the internet, I do the same thing and get a picture.

Weird!

Anyway, as I get ready to take my little trip, I knew I would want to write and edit for CampNaNo. I spent today organizing Word for my cell. I made sure I could access my writer project through a couple ways. And I learned the mobile version of Word will read to me. For my poor eyes that is a blessing!

So, there’s a task done and so, no matter what, I can blog or write! Yay!

My company comes tomorrow!!! Many tasks set for the morning! So grateful that the next two days are to be cooler. It was supposed to be 98 today but I don’t think we hit 95. Tomorrow and Thursday predicted temperatures 95. Let’s hope it never gets out of the 80s!

Time for music playing then on to bed.


I escaped coloring and left June undone.

Center Fold
Unfinished

My addition to the Escapist Coloring Club will span two months.

Since it started getting either busy and/or hot my Camp Nano has seen no progress. I’ll continue in July.

This then was my One-liner Wednesday, etc. post.

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com

Yep, I’m at it again! JuNoWriMo. I didn’t finish, or even do much with last months editing. So I am combining the editing and rewriting that needs to happen to finish Pandamapocalypse. But a new book was calling to me so I have started on Marina’s Mission. So my count for Panda is 510 words added as the story still hasn’t finished. Yet MM is the second part of Panda. So this is going to get complicated. Even so I managed 1870 words. Yeah! 

I have complained that we get no spring or fall here. But this year the weather has been more of a springy feeling. I love my mesquite bushes just outside. They blossomed up and became nearly yellow with all the flowers. I finally got out to take a couple pictures.

Can you see the pods? Those are what makes the mesquite the most fun. In the summer when the pods turn brown they start popping open. If you are lucky, as you stand an look at these huge bushes, the sound of popping corn happens. It is so much fun to stand and hear a bush make noise!

It wasn’t really quiet as I took the pictures. There were so many bees that the buzz made me very nervous. I got away as soon as I could.

My newest socks are coming along.

The practice on the recorder was slight but I did manage to finger out Mary Had A Little Lamb, and Twinkle Twinkle. But I would love a book to read the music as I go. Tomorrow I promised myself to play one song on the piano just to reconnect.

For those that are curious as to how the Intermittent Fasting/Keto are doing. I’m managing OMAD (One Meal A Day) and that is a very healthy meal. I am rarely hungry later and if so water or tea will do the trick. My pants are getting loose enough to pull down without unsnapping or unzipping. I don’t weigh myself but at the end of the month I have a doctor’s appointment where I know they will weigh me. I think I will be happy with the result.

Today has been the warmest day all year. I think we hit 92. It is suppose to cool off the rest of the week. I think this was to help us get used to what is coming. Fans were running in every room all day.

Midnight is creeping up so I best get this published and head off to bed.

sleep well

Last time I saw this picture was in July last year. Oops! I haven’t colored in a long time! But today I finished using pens and crayons. I didn’t like the story they presented. I have a Marina in my latest Haven book so I rewrote the bottom. Which is nudging me to make the next story about Marina. I really like her and I think she has a lot to offer. My Marina has short blonde hair but I suppose she enjoys wigs or can grow it out now that she has been gene-popped with the other Havenites.

So now I have the beginnings of an outline for JuNoWriMo! Thank you Linda, for tickling the muses and getting me back to enjoying the escaping!

Here’s the next pic in that book. I hope I can hit this before mid-month for a change! It really helps to play with the crayons and colors!

I don’t like the idea of swords or knights or other things attacking my dragons, but this may well happen in the next book! Woe be to those who attempt to kill my Haven dragons!

Thank you, Linda G. Hill, for this fun prompt. I am always happy when I join in the fun of the Escapist Coloring Club

A to Z Challenge, Z!


Zero! Same as ‘The End!’ That is what I reached in my editing last night. The End. What that meant is that on November 30, just before midnight, I claimed the word count. Looking at that count, I have 78,390 in the story. I think that is quite respectable. And ALL of it is story and not journals of me complaining of having another case of writer’s block or other such excuses when zip and zilch play in my head. That usually happens mid-month. I see the end of the tale and know I have a lot to plot out yet. But I just finished a month editing the whole book and still love it. I just have much more to do to wrap up all the ends. So more writing and editing this next month.

One of the cool things in this book is three different zoos! Who expects that in an adult fantasy/sci-fi? Two are on Earth. One of those many will know. L. A. Zoo. But on a different timeline. One on Haven. And one hidden that most people don’t know about. Sh!

My favorite character is finding herself in a Twilight Zone of sorts. I’m still trying to find her way out for her. Maybe I can bring back Zihna or Zella from previous books. Or just Lizzy or Azz from the current book will find the answer. Actually, that would be good! Lizzy is the main character of this book, and Azzy is her mother. Hmmm.

Is anyone playing with the Anchor program? I am liking the idea of making my website easier for folks like me or worse off than me. Most websites are hard to read. My eyes burn. I love my friends that I’ve made here on WordPress, but I can only surf my friend-blogs for a few minutes a day. Maybe if I could rest my eyes and listen to the site, I could catch more of them? Anyway, my idea is to take book one and start reading it aloud. It sounds scary. But I think if I pretended to read to my kids (in their 40s and wouldn’t put up with it now) or my pets (who don’t seem to care one way or another, just make sure to stroke the fur with the grain!) I’m going to start tomorrow night after midnight. Let’s hope I can keep my brain from going fuzzy.

Zombies are coming up on almost everyone’s blogs today. So I guess I need to address The Walking Dead. I have to admit that I love the original show. I like some of the characters on Fear of the Walking Dead. Yet World Beyond is so dull to me! My favorite show is The Talking Dead. I love the memorial they present for all lost in the previous episode.

Chat it up, Dar! You know you are only putting off writing your book! Zapping me with a zany zapper won’t get the job done. And, no, you already had fun on Zoom today. And there are hours until the zzzz.

https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742

This has been a fun romp through the a to z challenge! Thank you for the prompts!

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