While a junior in high school (11th grade), My English class was told to write a book report about a book we had recently read. I did well in English (I know, no surprise there) but I had been doing a lot of drawing and other activities (President of the Latin club – hey don’t laugh, I was a geek before it was popular to be one). Anyway I had not read any books recently at all so, I made the book up. A great story too, I might add! Perhaps a little too good as it turned out.
I got an A+ on my book report and the teacher went to the Library to check out the book by the author (which of course neither existed). So I was called upon to explain this discrepancy. And I told the truth. My A+ stayed, I was asked not to do that again and she said she was disappointed because she was looking forward to reading the book.
So today I’d like you to have some fun with me! I’ve created a book cover (below) and I’d like you to write a book report (from just looking at the illustration) or a book review or what the intro (you know the flap inside the cover of the book, might say about the author and the book). Post (publish) on your blog and then link to this post. No deadlines. I’ll place your link below for others to read.
Please be as creative as you’d like. Talk about the fictional author and his or her background, what the story is about, what the reviewers are saying about the book. Anything that might appear in a book report or book review. I want this to be fun! No contest, no prizes, just having fun with imagination and creative writing.
I do hope you decide to join in the fun, If you don’t want to post your creative writing on your main post, create a page for your “book report” and link to it from there!
There are some words that when understood and utilized actually activate your life’s energy flow. A proven fact. They can fortify your immune system (so you’re healthier), strengthen your resolve of things and assist you in overcoming doubt and other obstacles in your life.
Love – Unconditional acceptance and understanding empathy for the human condition.
Faith or Belief – The pure feeling and revelation of our relationship to creation and the infinite.
Trust – Confidence, believing in and relying on the qualities of integrity and goodness.
Gratitude – A feeling, a humble emotion of sincere and heartfelt thankfulness.
Courage – Bravery, the quality of the mind enabling one to prepare for danger even through fear.
Sounds good doesn’t it! Well if you’re in a store that stocks those items to purchase, you can say I’ll take one of each, just put it on my bill!
If they came in the form of a pill, we’d pop the pills into our mouth in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. There’s a little more effort on your part required. The good news is that all are readily accessible, you just need to change your mind on how you view yourself and your capabilities.
So how can you accomplish this?
The “you” who is convinced of what you can’t do, and your head full of all the reasons why.
You believe you can!
You change your ATTITUDE!
You wake up tomorrow and say “I CAN DO THIS” !
You go through each day regardless of what happens believing you can do it!
AND YOU WILL!
The only one stopping you is … you,
your fears, your anger and your guilt.
So there you go.
The antidote you need, yours for the doing!
MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Have a great week,
~ Penny
Have you entered this weeksLīgo Haībun Challenge,
its for all writers and poets, Click on link to enter.
When you think, are your thoughts busily reviewing the list of “to do’s” that aren’t done yet? Are you dwelling on things that have already happened or are happening around you now? Are you thinking “awake” or thinking “asleep”?
Our thoughts, become words, (whether stated or written) becoming actions. And more and and more of us today are thinking asleep with our actions. We go through life’s daily chores in an almost robotic type of modality where even our emotions are repetitious in nature.
We are thinking asleep. We are mostly in a response mode. We are stuck in a groove. Yes, most especially the “I have too many things to do, so I’m not sure what to do next” groove. The other popular groove that many are caught up in today is the “poor me, I have too many problems to deal with and other people don’t care” or “I’m in a strictly reactionary mode as it refers to me personally, everything else I relate to is at a distance, from a position of security.” Voicing concerns but staying uninvolved at a personal level, because that’s what’s Safe.
Well guess what? Wake up! Life is happening all around you.
When you think awake, you think a thing and then YOU ACT ON IT! Put it into affect. You stop spending time on what’s wrong with yourself and focus on what’s right. The world’s problems begin with you!
No more thinking on what your missing in life (with a myriad of excuses you give to yourself and others each day) because (here’s the biggy)
… YOU DETERMINE WHAT DIRECTION YOU’RE GOING TO HEAD IN. HOW YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL ABOUT THE DAY AND WHAT YOU CAN MAKE OF YOURSELF IN THE PROCESS. THAT’S YOU. IT IS PERSONAL BECAUSE YOU’RE THE ONE STANDING GUARD OVER YOUR LIFE, AND IF YOU AREN’T, WHY NOT?
You belong to you before anything else. You came into the world and breathed in life as a single entity and you’ll depart the same way. This is a simple truth. No one’s going to crawl in the coffin with you, but I guarantee you there are many out there more than happy to help you dig your own grave, but only if … YOU LET THEM.
The Sleeper must awaken! (always wanted to use that line)
Start by thinking awake. Look directly at what you’ve decided you haven’t been doing AND START DOING IT!
No, life isn’t safe, it’s filled with risks (going after most worthy things have risk involved.) No, life won’t suddenly become wonderful, but it will begin to head in the direction you want it to.
Life happens whether you involve yourself in it or not. You decide how much control events will have over you. YOU DO!
When you start thinking awake a whole new world of possibilities awaken. You become energized with renewed feelings of hope and anticipation.
And you’ll be living your life to it’s fullest, not regretting in bitterness or sorrow what you didn’t do, when you could have, because you were thinking asleep !
Each is well worth a visit to read. Thank you for all those who entered.
For the specifics on how to write your own haībun, and enter the challenge, click here.
I know there are so many more great writers out there, I can’t encourage you enough to give this challenge a try. Go on, your muse is waiting for you!
This week, the prompts to choose from are either:
“The Sun” or “Childhood memory of summer camps“
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The prompt I choose this week for my haibun offering is
THE SUN
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We observers, arch our necks to look up at the bright sun passing over head each day. Earth rotates around the sun. As viewed from the surface of our planet, the sun appears to revolve around us. At varying times we follow the sun’s path from the morning side of our vision to the evening side of our vision. In orbital fashion the sun informs and reminds us that we exist … just because … while nourishing, with sunshine, along the way of circular travels.
When we speak of the circle of life, we think of ecology and the delicate balance of nature (all life) on our planet. And yet in truth, when we look up to gaze on ‘our sun’ each day; life as we know it and it’s continued existence, is completely dependent upon this shining star in the sky. The circle of life is the sun, and we merely spectators waiting upon the event horizon.
shining sun above
viewing eyes of creation
the circle of life
~
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Next week is a Ligo Haibun Special, celebrating the Ligo festival! Prizes will be given for Honourable Mentions! Now is definitely the time to become a part of this international group of writers, just click on the Ligo Circle of Appreciation!
I do look forward to Fridays, well actually Wednesdays, unless your in Australia and then it’s Thursday, anyway it’s Friday Fictioneerstime! Where a wonderful group of international and talented writers take part in a writing challenge. A “flash fiction” (100 words or less) piece, based on a photo prompt. If you enjoy writing I encourage you to give this one a try. Just click on the link and the hostess, the talented Rochelle will provide all the information needed.
This weeks photo prompt is:
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photo by John Nixon, copyright 2013
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My Offering:
“Do the socks match?”
“Excuse me?”
“I asked if the socks matched!”
“No, I heard you. I don’t get your point of reference.”
I’m a photojournalist. After the police remove his body from your piano … player? She nods and he nods back and continues. “I’ll be doing a piece about the utterly incredible, and totally unbelievable, set of circumstances leading up to his end … in the piano … in that position!
“And the socks?” She asks, confounded.
With great wisdom, he sighs and then replies, “In life, it’s all about the little things. So do the socks match?”
*
(100 words) so I guess we’ll never know what the utterly incredible, totally unbelievable set of circumstances were, but we do know – the socks matched! No wait! She didn’t answer, so we can’t be sure. I guess we’ll have to use our powers of observation to deduce this. Go ahead I dare you to try not to look at the socks one more time right now!
Hope you enjoyed, thanks for stopping by, be sure and check out the other excellent flash fiction entries for this week.
Before there were websites, before there where buildings where people sold “goods” there were open air Markets. There still are too. An open air market is a place where people come to buy needed or desired items. “Vendors” (Those with a product or service to sell.) would set up their area, (booth, specific location) arrange their products, and wait for customers to arrive.
That’s the hard part. In the marketplace, potential customers (foot traffic) will show up. Online (your website) you have to go get them, convince them to show up, encourage them to buy your product or service and then, make it happen (the Sale, of course)!
As people walk by an open market, Many vendors “hawk their wares” that is to say, they yell out or do something to attract the attention of the people walking by. Their purpose is to draw individuals over to them, so they can do their best to sell their products.
The word “hawking” can be used metaphorically today to describe people or businesses who aggressively promote anything for sale. Notice the words “aggressively promote”. For many (writers, artists, etc) being aggressive takes you out of your comfort area. But unless you are very aggressive with the presentation of your product/service to creative an awareness (branding) and then remember to ask for the sale, it isn’t going to happen! So before you try to sell anything, it is a very good thing to understand the nature of the “art of selling”.
Know who is most likely to be interested in buying what you have to sell. (your potential customers) and focus (target market) on them.
You don’t need to know fancy or special terminology to understand marketing. Follow the wisdom of the successful “Vendors” in the outdoor markets.
Have a specific area where people can come to view that which you’re offering for sale.
If you don’t have a naturally ability to be “out there” (promote) so people notice you and your products/services, hire someone else to do that, and or have a hook (an original angle that attracts people to your location). Multi-media leads the way for getting the word out in the online world. And there are numerous online locations to “hawk your wares”, so take you time in deciding what combination of these communication connections will be of greatest value to you.
Create an online identity with yourself and/or your product (branding) that people will come to recognize. It isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Stay tuned for my next marketing post!
Have a “hook”. A clever angle that draws the customer to you. (yes I know I already said this, but it bears repeating to you artistic types).
Understand and know you need great passion believing in yourself and your product (every day). This passion will give you the much needed ‘will power’ to be aggressive (not an “in your face” aggression – but a persistence of purpose or attitude to sell). There are many unsuccessful people with great talent. The two greatest assets for selling your product or service is persistence and determination.
In my next Marketing Basics post I’ll discuss the Art of Promotion (yourself and your product) - getting the word out there!
Perhaps I did not display my feelings strongly enough
for the arousal
your touch never failed to achieve.
Perhaps my kisses returning yours
weren’t fulsome enough in their moist firmness,
as I lost myself in the passion of the moment.
Perhaps I never let you know what I thought
… that I would die with pleasure
as with erotic playfulness you would
bring me to a blissfully sensual release.
Perhaps, as I lay in the warmth
of your embrace
in the glow of aftermath.
I didn’t whisper loud enough
“I love you”.
So perhaps you never knew
the depth of feeling
I had for you,
Perhaps
?
Oops there goes the ol’ creative muse sneaking out again,
hope you enjoyed. Passion is a good thing, it is a sadness
that too frequently things that were so perfect in the night
cannot resolve the problems of the day!
So true today, for many couples!
In Greek Mythology Aphrodite was asked to provide the name for this loveliest of all flowers. She gave the name of rose in honor of her son Eros, the Greek god of Love. By taking the first letter “e” and having it come after the “s” in his name you get – rose. An excellent tale, but for whatever the reason, the rose is considered the flower of love.
Roses are many millions of years old. They are beautiful flowers and come in many colors, shades and hues. There are thousands of varieties. But a rose … is a rose … is a rose and the eternal symbol of love!
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“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.” unknown
“If you stand in front of a mirror with 11 roses, you’ll see 12 of the most beautiful things in the world.” unknown
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare
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And for all women around the world,
a final photograph of the perfect roses …
We are human beings, carrying so many things inside ourselves as we travel along the various pathways of our lives. Each of us is a vessel. Filled with all manner of thoughts, wishes, hopes, dreams, experiences, memories. The essence that will shape us and those around us during our travels.
Each vessel has a unique shape. Yet, it is only an outer shape formed to hold the contents within. And while the outer shape of this, our human vessel, may change with the years, it is the contents of the vessel that are of importance.
Experience teaches us many things. What we decide as a result of our personal experiences will determine the nature of the contents inside – what we ultimately decide to fill our own vessels with: Courage, Empathy, Good Will, Love, Joy, Hope or Duplicity, Disappointment, Resignation, Hate, Fear, Despair, hopelessness.
While we are on this planet and alive, our vessels become a reflection of our vessel’s contents.
Most of us begin our live’s with Joy and Love. Not all, but most. I’ve found it interesting however that those who face adversity squarely in the face and emerge triumphant, bone weary often, but still a survivor, do tend to fill up their human vessel with so much love and courage that they spend much of the rest of their lives sharing these contents with others.
And I’ve found it to be inversely true. Those who have suffered disappointments but chose not to rise above their individual misfortunes, tend to go through life with their vessels harboring ill will, blame, and discontent for their own perceived shortcomings. They feel the need to bring people down to a hurtful level as indeed they themselves are feeling from the contents they’ve chosen to fill their vessels with. The appearance of their vessel may appear lovely but the contents are not.
The contents of our human vessels are so very precious. They decide our level of happiness, the joy we are capable of receiving and giving in any given day.
Be very careful how you fill your own vessel.
It’s contents are the most important thing in your life. And to the lives of those you love and who love you.
Not the appearance of the vessel that matters but what’s inside!
