Cattitude and Gratitude

Here is Kobie, the Laptop Cat.  He likes to inspire me with my writing  though he does make it hard to type sometimes! For Wednesday's Write Tribe prompt, I have written a poem chock full of advice for novice writers. Then again, what do I know? Only Kobie knows and he's not telling! http://writetribe.com/tips-for-writers/ Are you a planner or a pantser like me? Do you know ahead of time or do you wait and see? I like to wing it and see where it goes I just love it when the writing flows, Neither way is right or wrong Like singing off key to your favourite song, What matters is you enjoy what you do You must always stay true to you, Have you got writing books galore? (I sure do!) You sure don’t need to buy any more, All you need to do is write From early morning til late at night, Practice, practice is the key You must let those words go free, Dig deep and connect with your inner self Put those books back on the shelf, ...

I find Maya Angelou's quotes so inspiring that I had to make another poster featuring her wisdom. Facing each day with passion, compassion, humour and style is definitely the way to go. It sure beats the heck out of viewing life as an endurance test.

In remembrance of Maya Angelou, I had to create this inspirational poster with one of her wonderful quotes.  I love this definition of success.  How many of us have fallen into the trap of thinking success equals making lots of money, having a high powered career and having lots of fancy possessions? I know I have and have often felt inadequate at times because of it.  Maya Angelou's quote reminds me that my success is defined by me and no one else. If I like myself, what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, that's enough.  Who else do I need to please anyhow? People pleasing is overrated and discouraging, often devastating. We can never measure up in some peoples' eyes and why do we want to anyhow? 

This 100 word story is written in response to the picture prompt below for Write Tribe's 100 words on a Saturday. http://writetribe.com/in-on-at/ Emily wrapped the flowered comforter around her like cocoon.  She sank against the pillows, closed her eyes and sighed. The straw parasol shielded her from the blinding sunlight and she breathed in the heavy fragrance of the plumeria flowers. Waves lapped on the shore and the sea breeze gently tousled her hair.  Any minute now Akoni would arrive to apply sunscreen to her back. He wasn’t that swift and could barely speak English, but with a bod like that, who cared? “Madam! You have to stop doing this!” Emily opened her eyes to see the Ikea manager glaring at her.

We all have special gifts to share with the world if we are adventurous enough to discover them!

I know people view dandelions as annoying weeds, but I like them. I especially like the defiance of this dandelion how it is growing right up through the patch of these blue flowers. It's not afraid to stand out in the crowd. Please come like my Facebook page Positive Thoughts and Gratitude where I share inspirational posters of my photos combined with favourite quotes. Hope you enjoy them! Positive Thoughts and Gratitude

I love these 100 words on a Saturday challenges over at Write Tribe. It's always fun to write one and to read what other writers come up with. They are such a great exercise in making every single word count. I'm certainly much more aware of using filler words after Corinne Rodrigue's great article accompanying last Saturday's prompt about filler words to avoid. I never realized how much I overuse all those words so now when I use one, I quickly delete it.  The prompt this week is: She wished she knew then what she knew now. Jenna adjusted the itchy blonde wig over her brown hair and put on oversized sunglasses. Luckily the heavy makeup covered most of the bruises. Carrying her battered suitcase, she limped towards the bus queue, clutching her ticket in her trembling hand. She wasn’t sure where this bus was headed but she didn’t care.  As long as it was far away from Max, that was good enough. He would never find her. She would change her name and ...

The trilliums are so beautiful this time of year that I can't resist taking loads of photos of them. They are so perfect for inspirational posters that I had to make one. I love this wonderful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. Have a great week, everyone!

For this little poem I was inspired by the latest Write Tribe prompt  and couldn't resist writing a spoof on the article that Corinne posted about avoiding the filler words: perhaps, stuff, very, quite, literally, just, actually, in order, really and rather. Sorry, Corinne! I'm a brat, I know! All in good fun! Perhaps it’s time for another rhyme Some stuff that’s very silly and light, Time for a ditty so sublime Something quite fun and bright, Don’t take it literally , I mean no harm I’m just a kid deep down, Don’t ship me off to the funny farm I’m actually quite the clown, In order for you to enjoy this rhyme You need to be silly like me, I’ve really gone and done it this time Is there somewhere you’d rather be ?

Here is my take on the prompt "She realized that she could no longer hide the truth" for the 100 words on a Saturday challenge.  “I’m Brianna, your daughter.” Noreen stared at the young woman standing in the doorway, her cornflower blue eyes and curly brown hair almost identical to her own. For twenty years she had longed to know about the baby she had been forced to give up for adoption when she got pregnant at sixteen. How heartbroken she had been at having to make the decision. If only things had been different. Her husband Luke appeared beside her, a questioning look on his face. Noreen swallowed and cleared her throat several times. She realized that she could no longer hide the truth.

http://storyaday.org/setting-the-scene/#more-6073 I didn't get a story done yesterday so I was determined to get one done today. Today's story a day is to write a story with a hospital setting showing some tension. 831 words  “So have you chosen a name yet, Laurie?” my mother-in-law, Maxine said as she arranged all the congratulatory flowers and cards on the dresser next to my hospital bed. “Not yet. We thought we’d wait and see what his personality suggested first,” I caressed my son’s soft downy head as he suckled against my breast.  He swallowed and let out a big smack of contentment. “Don’t leave it too long. The lad needs a name,” Maxine said, her lips pinched together in that way she always did when she was restraining herself from saying too much. It didn’t help. The door opened and the hallway echoed with the sounds of talking and loud footsteps, punctuated by the occasional page for a doctor to come right away. The smell of strong disinfectant ...

Today's prompt was to take this ending line and use it as the last line of the story. I reworded it a little to fit my story better as I didn't understand the part, "I locked the safety." Artistic liberty and all that! http://storyaday.org/writing-prompt-becca-puglisi/#more-6292 Finally I locked the safety, swearing that if she showed her face here today, my room would be the last one she ever entered. 354 words My little sister Katie was so nosy about everything I did.  Since she and I shared a room, I had absolutely no privacy whatsoever. She even read my diary once and told Billy Marshall that I liked him. I wanted to kill her for that. Now that I’m thirteen, I begged Mom and Dad to let me have my own room in the basement den that Dad used to use for an office. They said okay and I quickly moved my stuff down there. “Why do you have to move out, Megan? Don’t you like sharing a room with me?” “No, I don’t, you twerp,” I growled at her as I...

Today's prompt from Story a Day:  http://storyaday.org/writing-prompt-elizabeth-s-craig/ Your protagonist opens the door and finds an unexpected guest–a friend from high school who hasn’t been heard from in many years. This friend has fallen on hard times and wants to stay with your protagonist a few days. As your protagonist and friend sit in the kitchen, the friend reminisces about the old days…and stirs up trouble by recalling some unhappy teen moments, too. How does your protagonist react and what are those good and bad times in the past?  New Beginnings 819 words A loud knocking roused Deidre from a great erotic dream. Darn! Usually she had one of one of those worrisome dreams where she arrived late somewhere in her pajamas.   She’d had a late night shift in her manager position at the restaurant and was sleeping in on this Saturday morning. What a night! Their head chef Henri had announced his resignation and had walked out on them without a b...

I must admit I was nervous at the start of the blogging challenge. How daunting to think up 26 posts starting with each letter of the alphabet. Still, I did it last year so thought I’d try it again. When running short on time, I would whip up a silly rhyme. Worked every time! Hey, that rhymes! I’m a poet and didn’t know it. GROAN! I’m not one of those types who plans ahead much so decided to just wing it and write my post on the day of each letter. Sometimes it was a scramble to get it done but I managed. I can see the advantage of writing the posts ahead of time but I doubt I’ll ever do that. It’s just not in my nature to plan ahead all that much. It drives people crazy around me but that’s how I operate. I need that pressure of a deadline to get it done. Over the month, I was treated to so many wonderful blogs to read daily. I learned about wonderful places to visit, great recipes to try, movies to watch.  I shed a tear, had a laugh or got a lump in my throat ove...

Today's Story a Day prompt is about a character having shame and then redeeming themselves. I managed to whip up a story on the fly. Fun to have these prompts to get the creative juices flowing. (Or maybe I'm just drooling thinking about dinner!) http://storyaday.org/guest-prompt-angela-ackerman/#more-6259 “Hey, you big Retard, this is our turf! Get lost!” I turned to see Shaun and a gang of boys yelling and pushing Quentin, my mentally challenged neighbour who was playing basketball in the schoolyard. Quentin’s normally cheerful face paled and he dropped his ball. He looked over at me as I was passing by, a hopeful look in his eyes that said “Help me.” I shrugged and looked away. Quentin turned and ran off, his gangly legs almost making him fall a few times. I could hear him sniffling and hoped he was okay. I wanted to go to help Quentin and hoped the gang wouldn’t notice me. I didn’t want to get drawn into anything. “Steve, want to join us for a game?” S...

I had trouble thinking of anything for Saturday's prompt from Story a Day.  http://storyaday.org/guest-prompt-mary-robinette-kowal/  but this morning the hubs shared a childhood memory about a muskie fish and I was able to write a short piece based on that. Thanks to the hubby for the inspiration. The challenge was to take the words vermilion and musky and combine them in a story. At first I was focused on musky as a scent but I like using muskie as a fish. More interesting. Thanks, Brian! Brian stared at the bulging vacant eyes of the severed muskie head hanging from the nail on the tree, its pointy teeth in a sinister grin. Its shiny spotted scales glowed silvery pink against the vermilion sunset. He’d never seen a fish so enormous. How had his dad even pulled such a huge fish from the water? The body had been as long as he was tall. They had devoured the fish fillets for dinner and there was still lots left. Brian looked at the muskie head again. It lo...

http://bit.ly/1jo4f2y Today's story a day prompt is based on a magnetic poetry kit. I remember my son's teacher gave him one of these years ago. They are definitely a fun challenge to make something out of the random words. Try the online version. It's fun! I decided to write a story based on my own experience of losing a baby tragically twenty-two years ago, due to forceps injuries from a difficult birth. She lived six days and then died in her sleep without any warning. Candace put the magnetic poetry pieces on the fridge. Her friend Marilyn had given her a magnetic poetry game to get her mind off the loss of the baby. “You’ll have another,” someone said. But she wanted that baby. It wasn't like you could replace one baby with another.  “It was meant to be,” another said. How could the death of a tiny baby so tragically and senselessly be meant to be?   She knew people were trying to be comforting but sometimes she wished they would just be quie...

This is the first day of the Story a Day challenge and here is the prompt from Neil Gaiman about trying to get home. http://storyaday.org/guest-prompt-from-neil-gaiman/ I stuck out my thumb and walked backwards along the early morning highway as the rain streamed down soaking me. Occasionally a car went by and splashed me but no one offered me a ride. My hair was wild like a scarecrow and I’d been wearing the same dirty jeans and jean jacket for over a week now.  I imagine I smelled pretty bad, too.  When my parents divorced, I didn't want to move and stayed in Vancouver with my dad while my mom moved to Ottawa. Big mistake. Why did Canada have to be so huge? I was only in Saskatchewan and I wanted to get to Ontario to my mom’s place. A pathetic meow took my mind off my own predicament for a moment. I looked down at an orange tabby cat rubbing against my leg. He looked in worse shape than me, all dirty with a ripped ear and he was limping. “Go away. You’ll...