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 |   This stuffed Beanie Baby dog came tagged "tracker" which fits my search for knowledge. |
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Here are words I like to write All day long 'til it is night. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Best Reviewer & Best Biographical Stories Portfolio |
| Tuesday October 1, 2024 2:25 pm This month is not for the faint of heart. Prep month and ongoing activities will keep me busier than usual. When I have been involved in a number of activities, I let my review count to dwindle. Not good. To rectify that, I plan to review just about everything I have time to on most pieces I retrieve. There needs to be more reviewing of blogs. So many people write with little to no support. Yet, their blogs are fascinating. The Blogging Bliss Newsletter just came out. There is a list of new bloggers. I will follow a few of those I find of interest and give them feedback. Often I review someone who has been with the community since the early 2000s. It is usually a very long time since they have written so the work I review is years old. Without fail, I hear back from the writer appreciating the review. It reminds me that there's a huge number of people who cruise around without leaving a "paper" trail. At another site, I discussed that and one person gave me feedback that they read every single entry I write. They can't think of anything special they would like to leave in a note. So, I am supposed to be happy with the fact they read. Which I am. Grateful to be getting my words to the eyes of others. I write mostly for myself, but love to hear comments from others. My goal is 300 reviews for the month. I took off running with four reviews this morning. I expect a lot out of myself in writing reviews. I plan to keep that up with perhaps fewer but more specific words expressing how I felt about the work and any improvement areas needed. tracker ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Thursday September 26, 2024 10:30 am Today is the 10th anniversary since my ex-husband died of a heart attack. We were no longer married, but still good friends. I have so many things to do today, I will give it thought throughout the day. We had a throwback to summer last couple of days. Over 100 but now a balmy 81 in early morning. The SPR Raid yesterday went smoothly. I had 12 hours on duty to credit reviews. I will watch for a notification of how it went. The quality of reviews in the group is terrific. I read one and had to go to the poem reviewed and it was terrific. I had a phone call with a friend already this morning. If you know me, I am a night person, so a call at 7 am is unusual. I was glad I was here to listen to her and give her compassionate support. I have a couple of review requests. I will do those first thing this morning. The plan is to do as much as I can, do it well, then start again tomorrow with anything that had to wait to work on. tracker |
| Wednesday September 25, 2024 4:30 pm I am swamped. WdC, graduate school, real life, other stuff at other places on the 'net. One thing at a time, tracker, one thing at a time. There, that feels better. Off I go! |
| Tuesday September 17, 2024 4:45 am After retiring 10 years ago, I developed insomnia. I have always been a night person. For years I stayed up to watch the late news, followed by the late tv talk shows which put me in bed before midnight. I would wake up in time to get ready for and drive to work. Staying up a little later was not a stretch until bedtime extended to 3 am or later. I was concerned that I was getting, at the most, 4 hours sleep. I consulted my doctor who educated me on sleep hygiene. That is, preparing for bed with guidelines: 1. Turn off all electronics an hour before you lie down. 2. Keep the room dark, no lights 3. Turn the television off 4. Taking a warm shower may relax you although for some people the result of a shower is being more awake 5. Keep temperature steady. Cooler is more effective than warm for deep sleep 6. Wear loose fitting night clothes 7. Have good body supportive mattress There probably more suggestions. The bottom line is give yourself optimum conditions for falling and staying asleep. It is a little after 1 am here. TV, lights, and electronics are on. I took a shower, did some personal hygiene, brushed my teeth, and settled my dog Jack in his spot at the foot of the bed. I grabbed a midnight snack (a no-no) and a bottle of water. I just shut off the tv, turned out all the lights, and have one device on, a no-no I worked back into my nightly ritual. I have a couple of clients I serve as Life Coach. They have permission to contact me up to midnight my time. I have one of my favorite pajamas on. The material is soft and loose. The dog is snoring, the room will be pitch black when I turn of my device. I should fall asleep within 30 minutes. Nightly-night. |
| Prompt 7 Making the world a better place Since my childhood days, when nearly every night at my family dinner table, I was reminded that children were starving in Africa. For that reason I must eat everything on my plate. The newspapers and television carried pictures of these kids and others from multiple countries with flies buzzing around their eyes and extended bellies. I collected money in UNICEF small milk cartons you get with a school lunch. I thought of the world view. Supporting causes and charity was and still is important to me. Helping out with collecting dimes for the March of Dimes was another way I contributed in my youth. I continued to give as an adult. My city had a March of Dimes walk. My oldest granddaughter was still a toddler in a stroller. I pushed the stroller as I walked. People sponsored me and when it was over they paid their pledge. I had a wonderful day with my granddaughter. I walked for the benefit of cancer and another couple of years for AIDS awareness. UNICEF provided little cartons to collect for them right before Halloween for a number of years. I was proud to fill it to capacity most of the time. Other ways I contribute is to conserve water, electricity, and natural gas. I watched the amount of gas I consepumed in my vehicle. Long before it was fashionable to do so, I would do as many errands as I could in one trip. Most of all I am kind and treat people with dignity and respect. |
| Prompt 6. Day 6. Can you share a secret? small or big, tell us. No? Tell us why not. 369 words The New Merit Badge I will tell my secret. My commissioned badge for my group
 right now. The StoryMistress  took my design and adapted it. There are secrets you tell and secrets you don’t. Once you tell a secret, it is no longer known to you alone, it may morph into a confidance. Both the Storymaster and Storymistress know about the badge, and they aren’t telling.  I am not sure it is semantics, but a secret is different from a confidence. In my mind, a confidence can be shared by one or more trusted confidants. I find some confidences are shared to try on situations for size. For example, someone might tell me they don’t think they are a proficient writer. I will ask them why they feel that way. The reply may be attributes they may think or know they possess. Their goal in sharing is to get affirmation. It probably is not done purposefully, but ultimately that has happened in my experience. I can speak to girls and secrets. We look for opportunities to share things like secrets. It proves we trust that person above all others. The mutual pinky swear not to tell has the outcome of a closer relationship. I think it is important to reserve some feelings and opinions to ourselves. Another example is secrets within a marriage. I felt by telling so many secrets to my spouse it left me more vulnerable, which made me uncomfortable. It rarely happened but during a discussion about a similar topic, the remarks I made in confidence may work their way into a new conversation. It could be regarded as an “I told you so” dressing down. Secrets on a higher level like secrets for National security are necessary. The ones I keep are often a surprise birthday party or someone getting promoted before the announcement is made. I was asked to keep a confidence, which apparently is now common knowledge. I share with you I am expecting a great-grandchild in March. I have two from my daughter-in-law’s first marriage. I am fondly looking forward to welcoming the little one to our beautiful family. Don't tell anyone I told you. They are keeping it a secret for now. tracker |
| Prompt 5 WdC Birthday Blog Bastion: Tell us more about the writer in you. 313 words I started writing stories when I was 8. My fifth grade teacher was an avid reader and gave us a healthy reading list. Her mantra was, “Results, Not Excuses!” Very early that school year Miss McCune gave a writing assignment. There were no rules like word count and the topic was your choice. We not only were required to write the story, but we would read it standing up at the front of the class. I wrote my story, “The Little Pin”and read it to the class. They laughed at the right time and clapped when I finished. That sold me. I aspired to be a writer for years. What blocked that aspiration was boys, basketball, and bowling. In addition to my affinity for words, I was a better than average athlete. My dad worked in the sports biz and I grew up watching and playing. There was so much to do, there weren’t enough hours in the day. My writing was in diaries and personal letter writing. I would resume writing in college. I took a speech communication class and began writing and giving them. I joined Toastmasters, soaring through their program. Fast forward to the late 1990s. The internet with chat rooms and soon after on line journals. I wrote entries every day starting in 1999. My method of writing is to think about the topic or idea for days. When I sit down to write, the words flow. I write, edit, and publish at the same sitting. If words don’t flow, I don’t sit down to write. I will jot some notes and set it aside and move on to other projects. Having a presence at more than three writing sites is time consuming. I keep up as best as I can. I felt a time came to choose. I came back to WdC and felt a renewed interest in writing. I have surprised myself authoring a smattering of poems. I will write until the end. |
| Photo Prompt 4 Art Painting 401 words The Missing Artist Olivia stared intently at her cousin’s painting hanging in the dining room of her palatial home. Her cousin James painted the gripping countenance of his great-grandparents’ hands. They are kin to his mother’s side of their family. Olivia understood why their index fingers were outstretched pointing toward each other. James, her cousin, took a great interest in family history. He painted numerous portraits, his specialty. She was not surprised when Prince Harry commissioned him to paint portraits of his children. Olivia received a puzzling text from James. It seems the Prince missed their appointment. While leaving the place alone, he was accosted by a gypsy name Sherry and taken to an unknown location. James’ text pleaded for her help. She was at a loss how to proceed. She had no information about where the meeting was to be held. How could she find him? Who could give her information? Aunt Annie would know. Her father long described his sister Annie as peculiar in a psychic kind of way. She could use her powers to locate James. She phoned only to find out her aunt was gone on holiday to the Gold Coast, Australia. Hoping she would return her call, Olivia moved on searching the internet. She scheduled an appointment with a psychic for later in the evening. Madame Victoria was feeling poorly. One more appointment and she would take to her bed for the night. Olivia arrived at the appointed hour. “Did you bring his handkerchief? “ “Yes, ma’am, here it is.” Olivia watched and waited. The psychic fingered the white cotton handkerchief, turned, and said, “Look behind the painting of the hands. You will find your answer there.” “Cut!!!!That’s a wrap, people. Nice work. Check your call sheets for tomorrow. Call times start at dawn.” |
| September 1, 2024 Sunday 10:45 hpm Day 1, Prompt 1 Blog Birthday activity Talk about what you love about writing.com, what makes it wonderful, and why you are (still) here. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WDC!! I am an eight year member of WdC. I stopped in from time to time but did not participate. I was engaged and invested in a different writing site. The person on that site who told me about our community also told me WdC was for real writers. Serious writers most of whom were published authors. She said I would not fit in, in her opinion. Very early last year I came and Schnujo's Giving Away GPs found me by responding to a question I asked. She sent me a 125 word email answer and I was hooked. I stuttered and stumbled along the way. She did not give up on me. I was pretty vocal. She took it in stride and focused on encouragement. I would later learn I was not alone being mentored by her. If it were not for her patience, knowledge, and eagerness to help, I would not be writing this today. I brought five people with me who became members. They did not follow my directions to be able to show credit, but I am proud to share WdC with anyone I run across. Many have said they came; how many stayed I don’t know. I was dizzy when browsing around. There is so much to do, so many words to write, and so many fine people to do it with. I need to give a shout out to Jeff. I did not know there was a difference between colored boxes but when I had a question and I knew Jody would be sleeping at that hour, I think Jeff was first in the instant message list. “What do I need to gain favorites,” I asked him. He replied briefly and followed up emailing me with more information encouraging me to use Writing.Com 101. The StoryMaster and The StoryMistress are paramount in providing a safe environment for each member to perform to his or her maximum potential and beyond. The state of the art technology and technical support process make it number one in my eyes. That is the primary reason I stay. Secondly, the awesome friends I have made are priceless. Today I received an email from a friend attaching his book about to be published. I had given him some encouragement during the writing phase last November as a sponsor. A totally fabulous activity Jeff facilitated. He is the only one of the five I sponsored to reach 50K words. I felt rushed for time as the birthday activities are buzzing. I got as far as reading his book’s dedication. I about dropped my iPad seeing my name in there. I have no words to describe how good that feels. That is what I love about WdC. We are each other’s cheerleader, mentor, and reviewer. I know I have become a more accomplished writer. Moreover, I am a person who has grown in a couple of ways. I am more open with personal matters and don’t feel I need to censor myself. Secondly, I have gained a lot more patience. I no longer compare writers to other writers. I don’t gauge others by my standards. We draw on our strengths and bring up those who strive for more strength. We taunt muses until they are prolific. We praise success and comfort those who need some tender loving care. Where else do you get your own email address, blogs, and recognition when you do a good job. I collect every trinket I can find. The merit badges are unique and an honor to give and receive. It took me a bit of time to look up c-Notes and how to give them and I use them frequently. Last, my mission is to do as many quality reviews as time permits. I feel the responsibility of reading and reviewing words someone has carefully put together. You have a big impact in giving feedback to others. Writing is not a team sport. You go in alone and your name alone goes on the work. There is help with, for example, NaNoWriMo prep activities. You can ask anyone anything and get help. There is no place like home at WdC. No place on Earth. tracker ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** 439 Words |
| August 30, 2024 Friday 12:20 am ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Getting ready for NaNoWriMo Activity:
This exercise will begin on Sunday 9/1/24. The plan: Follow the exercises in the activity. Write at least 15 minutes a day My story ideas. Sci-Fi. I have written a total of one story in that genre and it felt comfortable. I may expand that story Biographical story. With a zillion to select from, I may work with the essay I wrote about Autism. Love/romance. Young love, not things with graphic stuff. Nothing beyond a kiss. A character who could be a role model for young adults I may just put my ideas in a hat and draw one. |
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