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A new blog to contain answers to prompts |
Since my old blog "Everyday Canvas "  became overfilled, here's a new one. This new blog item will continue answering prompts, the same as the old one. Cool water cascading to low ground
To spread good will and hope all around.  |
| Prompt: Your Imagination "My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it." Ursula K. Le Guin What are your thoughts on this quote and to what extend does your imagination play a role in your writing? ========= I think I used to be more imaginative when I was younger. Now in my old age, I might tend to be a lot more realistic. As to what extend my imagination plays a role in my writing, I think what I write follows the realism of my looking at the world with old eyes.  Imagination, however, is a unique gift, and I sometimes wonder if other living beings have it. Through imagination, we can see in our minds' eyes many possibilities in this world and beyond its immediate reality. Through imagination, we dream, empathize, and create. In fact, it is imagination that changes and reshapes the world around us. On the other hand, imagination can also alienate those of us from the world and our loved ones to a great extent. This may be because we people are vulnerable to false hopes, illusions, and pain, since we become tormented when we can't get what we can imagine. As a result, we may become depressed and unsatisfied. In a nutshell, this quote refers to imagination as being both a strength and a weakness. It makes us both human and foolish. Yet, imagination is a complex mechanism. If we can use it with one foot in reality, we can use it wisely and enjoy its power and beauty. Remember Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, J.K. Rowling, Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl? Also, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Faulkner, Kafka and Hemingway? Even when writing a realistic story, imagination makes it much more delectable. This may be why I like reading much more than watching a movie because reading allows a lot more space to my imagination. So yes, the best writers are the most imaginative ones. And so are the writers in Writing.com.   |
| Prompt: Night Dreams "I dream of painting and then I paint my dream." Vincent Van Gogh Have you ever written anything based on a night dream, and do you ever wonder what your dreams are trying to tell you? ----------- I don't think I have ever written anything based on a night dream, but then who can be sure for the mind works in mysterious ways, sometimes. Often, when I see a baseless dream I can't decipher, I just say, "It's just a dream," but is it really? I haven't yet answered that question. The reason is, I have dreamt some very special dreams that gave me the news of something happening to other loved ones in different places on earth with whom I had lost contact and didn't know what was happening to them. Then, when I could get in touch with those people or have gotten the news of them, I have found that my so-called dream had been the news of a real life or death occurrence. This has happened several times over and I don't really know what to make of this. As to dreams inspiring or causing literary work, here are three of them: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" by H.P. Lovecraft Also, I suspect that Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" could be based on dreams in some way, because it includes dream-like sections and surreal elements. Then, "The Interpretation of Dreams" by Sigmund Freud points to the connection of dreams to the subconscious or the unconscious mind. Today's psychotherapists, as least some of them, use Freud's ideas in their treatments of their patients. After Freud, Carl Jung suggested dreams to be bridges between the conscious and unconscious mind, guiding us for self-understanding and personal growth. His shadow work I have used and I'm still using in a personal journal. The bottom line is, whether or not dreams convey messages depends on how we interpret them and the framework we use to analyze them. From spiritual and cultural perspectives, some see dreams as messages from a higher power, a person who has passed on, or the universe itself. Today's interpretations gives importance to personal symbolism. There is also that fact of brain activity, which isn't totally discovered, yet. |
| Prompt: I realize that my life might not have been exactly the life I thought it was. But isn’t that the way for all of us? How much do we share ― even with our closest loved ones ― and how much did I keep hidden? How much was left unsaid across almost half a century? What about you, have you ever had these thoughts or similar ones? Will someone wonder what you've left unsaid? ----------- I really think our lives are our own business. I personally don't hide anything, but I don't volunteer information, either. Even the number one closest loved one need not know everything. I guess I could tell anyone anything, but first, I'll need to consider the burden or amazement or what not that I am loading unto them. Actually, in hindsight, I am sorrier that I shared or accused or let some people know what was on my mind, in the past. Surely, it made me feel much better for that moment, but mostly, it had consequences. A few of those consequences made me feel rather upset, also, because some people came up with useless advice, others followed up on the subject years later even when I had forgotten about it, and still others either felt sorry for me and/or might have thought, "Well, she didn't handle this right. She might have deserved it!" Yet, it isn't only their reactions and my being uncomfortable with those, but the long-term effects on the people and on me for having burdened them. I think, if what is shared is on the heavy side, it hurts the person privy to that knowledge. This is why for the psychotherapists suicide is the highest in comparison to the other medical doctors. They carry the highest emotional load, and only recently, new ways of dealing with others' problems and emotions are being taught to them. The bottom line in my thinking is, why make others so uncomfortable! Even my sons become uncomfortable when I have to tell them what to do with stuff after my demise. But this, I have to do. It is unavoidable, so I try to fill them in small doses. True, I have a will and some written instructions and I showed them where those documents are. But these are physical things and can be destroyed by a fire or a hurricane. So at least, the very basics, my sons have to know about and hear them directly from me. So, I guess, we have to tell people what could be important to them eventually, but as far as I am concerned, my own personal life, feelings, and thoughts are my own business, as I said in the beginning. |
| Blog City: "Dear December, Please take your weather back. This is not what I ordered for the new year." Let this quote inspire your entry today. ------ I guess what this quote is saying so playfully is in the minds of most of us, however not so playfully. After all, who likes to shiver? Then, while we expect a fresh, hopeful start to a new year, we are met with the cold and dreary remnants of past December. In my case, the new year started with a few mishaps already, aside from the weather, as I mentioned a few but not all, in an earlier entry. Then, why we seek a symbolic renewal with the start of a new year passes me by. Unless, we have tried and fixed our old selves. Now that would be something, wouldn't it! I have no bones to pick with an optimistic spirit. though. For this optimistic spirit feels it has been betrayed by the cold and ice and gray skies. Where I live, luckily, we still have bright skies and, once in a strange while, we face really cold weather, and this year has started with a cold bang and a boom that I'm not used to. Regardless of me feeling this cold spell, I do appreciate the humor in the quote. Just maybe, this quote is inviting us to laugh off disappointments and embrace the unpredictability in anything. Now that's the attitude I really like and hope I can live with. ---------- And an addition: For those of us who like to enter competitions outside the WdC, somebody sent me this. Although I don't deal with such contests and competitions anymore, I'm posting it here, in case our WdC writers may use it: The Launch Pad Prose Competition https://tblaunchpad.com/competitions/prose/? Check out the site for all the rules. In a nutshell: "Manuscript not completed, no problem. As long as you have sample pages accompanied by a thorough synopsis, you are welcome to enter! Our readers and judges will review up to 50 pages of every submission, as well as a synopsis for book submissions". Accepting short stories as well as full manuscripts—one winner per category. All entries must be electronically submitted by midnight on their respective deadlines, as PDF Documents. Enter Now: Deadlines Jan 20, 2025 Early Feb 20, 2025 Regular Mar 20, 2025 Late Apr 20, 2025 Final Announcements |
| Prompt: What is the most interesting thing you saw today? Write about this in your Blog entry today. ------ I don't know if it's interesting, but we are having a cold spell, here in South FL, and last night baby salamanders took refuge in between the screens and the glass parts of the windows, plus inside the porch under the tables and chairs. It was fun to see tiny salamander shapes stuck to the glass as if some artsy thing. And they were very cute. When the sun rose up, they all left to frolic about near the bushes and on the lawn, to enjoy the sun. Luckily, no bird flocks are in sight...yet. Another interesting thing is finding out how my sons are changed, but how they are still the same after they've made it to being over 45. I won't go into details here, but I love the changes in them as much as I loved their child selves. I only hope they like the changes in me, which--especially after they left our home--commenced from correcting their ways to accepting almost anything about them, now. One thing though: "Mom, you never forget anything! How come you say you forgot this and that, now?" This is what my older son said last night. So I reminded him of my age. On the other hand, so far, although I wrote several checks and things, I haven't dated anything as 2024 here in 2025. Now, that is something, but the year is still young, and we'll see! Then, I always find Florida so interesting, too, especially weatherwise. You see from the inside that very bright sunshine spreading all over, but when you go out, you shiver; however, only when the temps dip down. Then, sometimes, it looks cloudy and foggy, but if the temp is high, you end up perspiring. I won't even go into the hurricanes and storms and what not, just in case my thoughts become magnets.  Better leave the well enough alone, until July 15 when the hurricane season really starts. |
| Prompt: Do you feel 2025 is off to a good start? Why or why not? Write about this in your Blog entry today. ------ I don't think this world is off to a good start, but being the optimist me, I'm hoping things will get better. First, none of the old problems as to wars and fights between nations have subsided, and worse yet, everyday a new one pops up, such the terrorism attacks in our own country. One of those attacks I read in the Hindustan Times first and I thought theirs was a fake news. Two days later, our news people reported the same thing. I don't know if powers-that-be are holding our news people back or our news people are too lazy to deliver the news on time. Your guess is as good as mine. By the way, that's why I read the news from the many different world sources because I can't trust our own news people. Even the evening news in all the TV channels is more ads than news. Go figure or should I say, go live with it! Then, on the personal front, I'm having such difficulty with the companies not training their workers properly with the recent Ai changes. This goes for all companies. And it isn't the fault of the advances in the technology. If they want to change their mode of operations, shouldn't they really learn the technology first? Also, in my own house, one of the toilets flooded during the last week and I had to clean and change the whole thing. Luckily, I have a reliable plumber, and he could come the next day. Then, my internet provider Comcast is giving me such a trouble, especially with the email. Five years ago, I went to their local store with my husband's death certificate and changed the whole thing into my name. Now, they keep dumping me from my email and asking me to re-enter with the Xfinity ID that was my late husband's. I don't even know what that is. Then, my local bank closed its branch near me, just when I needed to get into my box in their vault. Luckily, their closure was temporary and they opened up, again, after a week. On the plus side, health-wise, I seem to be doing acceptably. Thank God for that! I wish God would help with all the companies I have to deal with nowadays. Only because I am always on the alert, wondering which company will do what because they don't know how to handle technology. Then, one can get a heart attack or lose the mind due to dealing with the long waits on the phone to be suddenly dumped. or worse, to get some agent who has no inkling of what's going on. Still, I have my sons and my health and Writing.com. Thank you God, for these big favors! Now, Dear God, if You would just....fix all the other stuff in 2025? Pretty please? |
| Prompt: "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." George Orwell Is it easy to tell people something, about anything, that they do not want to hear? And which kinds of things do you think people wouldn't want to hear even if what is said may be the truth or to their benefit? ============= No, it isn't easy telling people negative stuff. Try telling such a thing to your own children, especially when they are teens or young adults. You can't. During those ages, people know everything. Yet, it gets better after they grow up a bit, say when they are in their fifties. Even with friends, believe me it is like walking on thin ice. This is because, mostly, people don't want to hear negative comments about themselves, their appearance, their loved ones, or things they care about. They also don't care much for any advice they didn't ask for. Possibly, that something people don't want to hear could well be the truth. This is understandable, and there are good reasons for this type of a resistance. The first one could point to that ego thing. The ego is a barrier and a defense mechanism. This is because anything that challenges self-perception, beliefs, or decisions is usually taboo. The results of pushing that ego barrier can lead to denial, rationalization, or insults. That's why I'd rather not touch anything that could scrape anyone's ego. Also, when people don't want to hear anything they don't agree with, they may not interpret any feedback or truth as it's intended...even if they trust my best intensions. They may simply misunderstand my words or tone of voice or my speech. Still speaking for myself, I have an inbuilt aversion to confrontation, and I don't like much to be rejected or misunderstood, and neither do I like to turn my good relationships into stinky ones. I also don't like to say something that would trigger defensiveness, anger, or hurt feelings in other people. Plus, I don't trust my own delivery at all, unless I think and plan on it ahead of time. Yet, sometimes, even if years later, the other persons may understand and appreciate anyone's effort to make things better for them. So, I guess, timing and the right words, words and ways that do not blame, as well as attitudes that show empathy and compassion do matter. In short telling anyone what they are not ready to hear is an act of courage and care. For that, sensitivity and skill is immensely needed. As to George Orwell's exact quote, I'd rather not exercise that kind of a personal liberty, unless the others' actions can lead to huge tragedies. After all, most people have very good minds to figure things out for themselves. |
| Prompt: “Your new start is only as far away as your fear has parked it.” Craig D. Lounsbrough What does this quote mean to you? And/or are you planning any new starts in the coming year? And which kinds of joys and fears come to your mind about the next twelve months? ------------- Isn't fear the cause of many ills, setbacks, and missed opportunities with anything new and with everything else! I believe this is because fear creates a distance between us and the workings of the world. Some of us are not only fearful of failure, but also rejection, the unknown, or even success. Any "new start" represents a goal, a chapter in life, a wish we'd love to pursue, and any new opportunity. When fear steps into our minds, then, it is time to look where we place this new start. Fear never eliminates opportunities, but the way I look at it, it freezes them into immobility. So to us, those opportunities seem out of reach. Just think of all the wonderful poets and writers who weren't known at all during their own lifetimes. Remember Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Kafka, Lovecraft, Marcel Proust, and Fredrich Nietzsche? I always wonder if some kind of a fear held them back. Of course, this also could be due to their indifference to fame and fortune, and I do understand that since like some of us, I cherish my privacy. These people, however, did not only held themselves back but also, they could have stopped the others from enjoying and benefiting from their talents. What if, by some chance, their works were lost to the world? Could we call their holding back "selfishness"? This makes me think of all the good works and culture our world is now missing through that kind of a selfishness and the fear of the unknown. There is an accountability, here, isn't there? My answer to the question in the quote is: I am not a fortune teller and I don't know anything about what the new year will bring where fears and joys could be concerned. And no, I'm not planning any new ventures in 2025, but this doesn't mean that I'll stop doing or planning anything new during the next twelve months. On this day and hour, if I could work on the old ones and make them better, I'd be quite satisfied. After all, the future is an open book. |
| Prompt: Why does January feel like a year- long Monday? ----------- Does it? I haven't noticed any dragging. It may feel like it's dragging since we have a long year ahead and we may be worried about the way the world is going to you-know-where-in-a-handbasket. Yet, to my knowledge, in only online and social sites January is christened as the longest month. Still, it lasts just 31 days, like several other months. It could also be what we might call this the holiday slump. Since December has the overload of all the fun, excitement, and action. January, afterwards all that, becomes a letdown. Also, with January, we get the worse weather in most places. Even here, in FL, I'm wearing a sweater today, although the sun is shining full force outside. Another thing is, people make resolutions for the new year that they cannot possibly keep. That's why I never make any new-year's resolutions, by the way. I have enough on my plate as it is, and I know my limits. Then, let's face it, this is a new year and it comes with new pressures, such as financial ones, the change of the president, and tax time looming on the horizon. Just thinking about all this makes me want to zoom to another space and time. Yet, no pain is eternal. We must keep that in mind. And let's not forget. January is only 31 days. It won't last forever. |
| Prompt: Use these words in your entry today: selflessness, heroic, determination, fierce, longshots, peanuts, and timeouts ------------- Defeat his *heroic *determination, immense selflessness* reigned, and he made sense my husband said, "Be brave, no one is here to stay" while I chased his *longshots, faraway and I was *fierce and bold, against all odds I challenged medicine with doctors its gods yet never got a break, tiny like *peanuts for *timeouts and doom reshaped my struts since, "brave" alone was never enough losing a loved one for the heart is rough. |
| Prompt: 2025. What are your plans and hopes for the new year? ----------- To answer your question, to live through it in one piece. At my age, this is the best I can do. In addition, I hope no more businesses will close due to financial problems or any other ones. And my bank stays put where it is. I'm worried they'll close the branch close to me and I'll have to travel to the next town. Then, I hope all wars will end, and at least while I am alive, no ruler or no country will start more wars and acts of terrorism. I also wish that my sons and everyone else's kids stay happy, healthy, and successful. On the other hand, there’s really not much difference between an old year and a new one. I don’t need a new year to make positive changes in my life, I can do that anytime. However, what better time than now? Now is an "always" word. Now means the moment or time I'm in and I'm always in the "now." And "now", if I want to see some real, positive change in my life, it’s going to take some hard thinking. "Change is always difficult, but it is so worth it," they say! Really? In old age, any change is almost impossible to handle because we don't have the same material and capability in our bodies and minds. My kids argue this point with me. They say, "But didn't you hear about the 97 year-old man who climbed such and such a mountain?" But, my dears, an exception doesn't make the rule. Luckily, I've been "so far so good." In other words, still manageable...somewhat! We'll see! |
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Thank you! So many things in the first week of the new year! I hope the rest of the year will go much more smoothly for all of us. 
