Write Anyway

Yes, I do rather have a liking for the catchy day meme-type names. I can’t help myself. I imagine it’s a little annoying. I apologize.

Tuesday, Tuesday. There’s not much to say about Tuesday, is there? I guess I’d better get straight to the prompt

Today I was doing a little blog surfing and found a blog called A New Decade, written by Manuela. Her most recent post inspired today’s prompt.

Manuela talked about going on a run and stopping at a swingset. She thought about how long it had been since she had sat on a swing and that brought along other thoughts of childhood.

The swings were my favourite part of recess when I was in school and even before that I loved sitting on the swings behind my family home. When I got too old for recess, I still liked to swing on the wooden garden swing and enjoy the warm sunsets of summer - writing, talking on the phone, thinking, etc.

Today for your prompt, I would like you to think of a fond childhood memory like swinging, picnics, or whatever else made you feel happy, safe, and at peace when you were a child. Take time to step back and remember the moments and things that made your best childhood moments the best.

Remember, to help clear your mind before you start writing, take a few deep breaths. Focus on the sound of the air entering and leaving your lungs. Let the noises and worries of the day fade for a few moments while you focus only on breathing.

After you are calm, think about your childhood and start writing.

Wishing you much creativity.

Intuition can be a strange thing. Where does it come from? Is it learned or inherent? How does it work?

Intuition has had to deal with having a bad name (in terms of the psychic/sensitive side of things). Intuition is defined as “direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension.” Because of that, people like to go with ‘instinct’, which has a more solid meaning and concept.

But there will always be intuition no matter what kind of label you give it..

How do you know that your mother is calling before you pick up the phone? How can you tell from words on a screen how someone is really feeling (email or otherwise)? How do you answer questions before the questions are asked, knowing that they will be asked?

Hello intuition.

Today I would like you to think about intuition. What you think it is and where you think it comes from. Write about your experiences with intuition.

Have you ever had someone say to you, “It’s like you can read my mind”? Or had someone ask you, “How did you know what I was going to say”? Or, “How did you know what I was feeling”?

When you sit down to write, remember how to help yourself to focus. Take some deep breaths – close your eyes if you need to – and try to clear your mind. Focus on the sound of your breath coming into your lungs and then leaving them. Focus on the world intuition and what it means to you.

What is beauty?

Like love, many people over the centuries and all over the world have contemplated the true nature of beauty. What is beauty? Who decides what is beautiful? What makes something beautiful to one person and ugly to another? Is the true opposite of beauty ugliness?

Depending how deep in thought and philosophy you want to go, the answers to these questions can be somewhat easy or endlessly complicated. Questions can lead to more questions, and answers always lead to more opinions.

My opinion is that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. I consider things beautiful or not based on my experiences. I might not think dogs are beautiful if I got attacked by one in the past. On the other hand, I might think roses are more beautiful than other flowers because I received them in my first bouquet from my husband.

By ‘eye’, though, I do not mean literal ‘eye’. Were I a blind person, I might find the smooth feel of porcelain beautiful while I found the rough texture of bricks ugly.

In the end, beauty is a bit subjective. Even so, I’d like you to write about it this week. What is beautiful to you? Nature? People? What makes you classify something as beautiful?

Before you start writing, remember to take a few deep breaths and let your mind clear. You could even, if you have the time and the inclination, try meditating for five or so minutes using the word ‘night’ as a mantra to help get you to focus. Try to shut up all the voices that will interrupt your writing process with to-do lists and doubts about your writing abilities.

Daughters.

An online acquaintance of mine recently had her second child and first daughter, Geneva. They are calling her Evie. It is already so easy to see how much the mom loves her new daughter just in the words she posts up on her blog. It is a truly beautiful thing to read about.

The love between mothers and daughters is a very special bond. The same goes for fathers and their little girls. The love there is abundant and meaningful. When that relationship doesn’t turn out the way it should, the bond is greatly missed – especially in the life of the daughter.

Today I would like you to write about the parent-daughter bond (or lack thereof) in the form of a poem, short story, or telling of stories in your life. Anything goes for today.

If you aren’t a daughter and/or don’t have a daughter, try writing a letter to your imaginary daughter. Talk about all the things you would want in a relationship with your daughter and would want for her future.

Before you start writing, remember to take a few deep breaths and let your mind clear. You could even, if you have the time and the inclination, try meditating for five or so minutes using the word ‘daughters’ as a mantra to help get you to focus. Try to shut up all the voices that will interrupt your writing process with to-do lists and doubts about your writing abilities. Your time now is just to let the writing flow…

Do You Only Wanna Dance?
Dancing on the Ceiling
Save the Last Dance for Me
Dancing in the Moonlight

There are so many songs about dancing and so many songs that are fun to dance to. (Okay, so the last one is about something else if you really listen to it, but…) Whether you’re someone who likes the slow rock of a slow dance, beauty of a waltz, or just like to break it loose whenever the mood hits, dancing can be for anyone.

Anyone who says “I can’t dance” is lying. They simply thing they can’t dance like they are ’supposed’ to.

But dancing isn’t always about learning steps and keeping time! Dancing is about expression and freedom. There’s nothing like the feeling of exhilaration you get when you dance with all your heart.

Dance like no one is watching.

Isn’t that how the saying goes? There’s a reason for that. Dancing like no one is watching is on the same level as pure pleasure. Pure expression. It’s no wonder that dancing is considered to be an art form. We even have reality television based around dancing – So You Think You Can Dance. (Does anyone else like that show?)

Can you tell how much I love dancing?

Today I want you to write – or even draw if you want to – about dancing. Anything to do with dancing as long as you somehow incorporate dancing. You can even write something like I’ve written here and tell the world what dancing means to you.

Let loose and go for it. Feel the freedom and pleasure.

Rain, rain, go away.
Come again another day.
Little Lottie wants to play.

Did you sing that as a child as you stared out the window? Stuck inside as a child because it was raining outside.

Or perhaps you would recognize this:

Another day has almost come and gone
Can’t imagine what else could wrong
Sometimes I’d like to hide away somewhere and lock the door
A single battle lost but not the war (‘cause)

Tomorrow’s another day
And I’m thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain

That’s from the song Bring on the Rain by Jo Dee Messina.

So what does rain mean to you? Does it bring feelings of misery or do you feel restored and renewed by it? Are you someone who likes to go out and play in the rain or would you rather remain curled up inside where it’s warm, reading a book while the storms rage outside?

Today I would like you to take some time to think about all the memories you have that are associated with rain. After you have a few in mind, either pick one memory and focus on it for your writing or combine all the memories and create a fictional scene.

Try to focus on your senses. Did your pajamas feel extra warm in comfortable when you heard the thunder rumble outside? Or were you outside, smelling the ‘wet’ scent on everything while feeling the rain run down your face and shoulders?

Tap into all of those things and write a scene or short story.

Saying goodbye can be a choice or a necessity. A want or a need. Easy or hard.

More often than not, saying goodbye is hard, even if it’s a want rather than a need.

Many goodbyes happen as part of the natural cycle of life. You say goodbye for the first time when you go off to school. It’s a bit of a scary adventure, but it is only the beginning of a long journey.

You say goodbye if/when you go off to college/university. There is also the first apartment, the wedding… There are also the hard goodbyes that we had no choice but to say when the death of a loved one occurs.

And there is always the goodbye(s) you never got the chance to say…

Goodbyes are all around us and happen dozens of times through our lives.

Today I would like you to think of one of the times you have said goodbye. Try thinking about the hardest goodbye you have ever had to make. Think of how old you were, where you were, who you were with, and who/what you had to say goodbye to.

What made the goodbye hard to say/do? Why were you saying goodbye? Were you leaving physically? Emotionally? Was someone else leaving? Was saying goodbye your choice or something that was forced? Did you regret saying goodbye?

Tap into all the senses surrounding the event and recreate the scene in a way that someone else could read it and feel what you felt.

Happy Tuesday!

Yes, I’m excited that it’s Tuesday because if it’s Tuesday, then tomorrow is Wednesday the 16th which also happens to be my husband’s birthday.

I love getting my husband presents.

As you know, this week’s theme is laughter. I know, it may seem like a bit of an odd theme, but I assure you it’s not.

Today I would like you to write about laughter (obviously). No idea what to write? Ask yourself a few of these questions to get you started:

What makes you laugh? Do you laugh easily? When is the last time you had a good, full belly laugh? Do you like the sound of your laugh? Are you good at making people laugh?

If you’re still unsure, read my response to the prompt…

(more…)

This week we’re talking about a few things – mostly changes for the better. New Year is certainly the most appropriate time to be talking about making changes for the better in our lives.

Let’s ignore the fact that the majority of resolutions people make are broken, shall we?

A lot of us complain about the state of our lives. We’re poor or have a house that’s too small or there are too many bills.

I was reading a blog written by a woman who is trying to pay off the bills, save money, and get her financial life sorted out. I really liked the blog and followed it because I’d like to get my bills paid off faster, too.

However, she mentioned in one post how she was mad that her television had broken, but it was okay because they went out and bought a brand new $2000 television.

I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not making this up. I couldn’t read the blog after that. I couldn’t take her seriously.

So my question is this – are you really doing all you can do to improve the situations you complain about? Write want you need/want to get yourself out of the situations bringing you down and write about what life will be like once you’ve sorted those things out.

Take the exercise seriously because it could be just the kick in the pants you need to start planning out your future.

Hello once again on this lovely day after Christmas!

I have another prompt for you…

Earlier I asked you to write about your experiences from this Christmas, good or bad as they may be.

Now I would like you – after you have written about this Christmas so the memories don’t get changed – to write about your Christmases (or other holiday experiences if you don’t celebrate Christmas) of the past.

What were your Christmas experiences like as a child? Did you ever have any Christmases where ‘Santa couldn’t come to our house’ because money was tight? Was money fine but your parents were…not very creative and gave you school clothes every year? What were your favourite holiday traditions?

Whether they are good or bad, take a moment to delve into your past and remember your Christmases.

I loved Christmas when I was a child. My parents would take each of us kids our one at a time so we could buy presents for each other, which we got to open on Christmas eve. Then there was decorating the Christmas tree, which my mother and I usually did together.

My absolute favourite memory would have to be cookie night. One night in late November/early December, me, my mother, my aunt, and sometimes my grandmother and other aunt would get together and bake like crazy. One year it was just me and my mother, so my dad jumped in and helped too.

Anyway, we would bake and create dozens of different kinds of cookies for cookie boxes that would go to everyone we knew.

Good times.

How about yours?

Today I’ve decided not to do the random word bank. If you are truly eager for a random word bank, you can always talk to random people and ask them to give you words for your list.

You might make some new friends!

Given we are talking about love this week and there are so many things you can talk about when it comes to love, I decided to put up another “move me” prompt.

Yesterday I asked you to write about the ‘rosy glow’, first love type of love. That kind of love is wonderful and deserves its own place, but today I would like you to talk about a different kind of love.

This might not be possible to write about for some of the younger readers here, but if you don’t have direct experience you can interview people you know about theirs.

Today I would like you to talk about the long relationship kind of love. There comes a time in relationships when the rosy glow fades away and you see and feel a deeper kind of love. You may not be dreading every moment you spend apart anymore, but that’s because you’re secure in the knowledge that you love and are in love.

This deeper kind of love may take weeks, months, or even years, but time doesn’t matter. Deep love is something wonderful and should be cherished. It comes with security, understanding, and a lot more.

Write about this kind of deep love or interview people about their long relationships.

Love, love, love.

This week I am talking about the love that makes you feel funny and stumble over your words. The first attraction that makes you think of nothing other than what a wonderful person the object of your affections is even if he or she is, in reality, a completely annoying piece of humanity.

Aww.

I don’t mean to gross you out with the rose-tinted glasses type love commentary, but it’s a lovely feeling when you’re experiencing it. There is nothing quite akin to the feeling of feeling of having your worldly happiness depend so entirely on another human being.

Haha. It is a nice feeling, but I’m so glad I’m past it.

Today I would like you to write about what life is/was like when you had your first love. Maybe it happened in school or maybe at your first job. Perhaps your parents had friends with children your age, and one happened to catch your eye…

As long ago as it may have happened and no matter how it ended (if it has ended), I’m pretty sure you can remember the feelings you had back then. There are the mortifying moments when you said or did something very silly in front of the one you love(d). There are the daydreams and fantasies about what life would be like when you were finally with him/her.

Tap into those memories and get them down on paper. Not only are they part of what made you the person you are, they are excellent memories to draw on in your writer.

The world has a funny way of doing things sometimes.

For this week’s theme, I decided to go with loss and remembrance due to a friend of mine having a miscarriage. That was yesterday. Today I received a letter containing the news that my nephew has to have surgery (he’s about a year old) due to complications from being a premature baby and my mother has an inoperable brain tumour.

Granted this news doesn’t fit in with ‘loss and remembrance’, but if I thought I was feeling crappy yesterday I was only getting a taste of it.

To be honest, I didn’t want to post here or on any of my other blogs, but life must go on and there is nothing I can do about the other situations. I can’t even afford to fly to the States.

So life goes. The world keeps spinning and I must continue on with work.

Today I would like you to choose to do one of a few options. Or more than one should the mood strike.

Write your tale of remembrance. What or who did you lose? What do you remember about that person/thing and how do you remember it/him/her?

Write about your time of loss. Who or what did you lose? What did you do to cope? Do you still do things today to cope?

Combine the two and write about your full experience – the losing, the loss, and the remembrance.

We’ve all been through tough times and losses. Tap into that and write your heart out.

Welcome to a move me Tuesday here on Write Anyway. This week we’re discussing getting back to normal life after a big event happens. The topic is a rather broad one, and it happens to everyone, so I’m sure you can think of something to write about.

Take a few moments in front of your computer or notebook and take some deep breaths. This should clear your mind a bit so you can focus.

Think of a big (or small) event in your life that took you away from ‘normal’ life for any period of time. Perhaps you had a baby. Have you gone on vacation? Perhaps you got the chance to go to another country for a while and then came back. Or maybe you have gone through the unfortunate loss of a loved one.

Pick one event.

Not all of these events means going back to life exactly the way it was. The loss of a loved one could mean life was never quite the same afterward. Surgery could mean something changed physically and/or mentally. Even so, you had to at least attempt to find some normalcy or routine.

Write to me about that quest. What was it like for you when you settled back in? Did it take a long time for the ‘dust to settle’? How did life change from before the event to after the event? Would you want to go back to before the event?

Take some time and truly sort out the feelings surrounding the event and the things that changed because of it.

Happy Halloween everyone! While Australians don’t much get into Halloween, that doesn’t mean I have forgotten about it by any means. In my childhood I had my share of dressing up, parties, candy, scary music, and scary people handing out candy.

Today, instead of just having my usual random word bank, I am going to have the word bank for those of you who don’t/haven’t celebrated Halloween along with a challenge for those who have!

Let’s get started!

For those of you who don’t have any Halloween memories, feel free to use this random word bank like you do other Wednesdays. You can also use this as an opportunity to dust off your research skills and find out the roots of the holiday.

Moon
Wind
Mystery
Clear
Pebbles
Wide
Black
Stick
Hide
Night

Have fun!

For those of you who have Halloween memories to share, why not put them in your biography? Good, bad, whatever; no matter how bland you might think the memories are, they could be interesting to someone else. What was your favourite candy? Your favourite costume? Did your family have any Halloween traditions you loved? Hated?

If you are writing your biography in a journal, you could do it scrapbook style and include a few pictures if you have any. Don’t forget the Halloween traditions and fun you have now! Do you go out with friends? Do you take your kids out? Do you hand make their costumes? All are memories you might want to share with someone sometime.

Enjoy! Explore your memories.