2018 A - Z Challenge - Reflection - Say Cheese!

Let’s be honest, after publishing your final A – Z Challenge post on the morning of April 30, 2018, who didn’t breathe a sigh of relief, dance a little jig, or flash an irresistible grin at your reflection in a mirror? I can’t think of a more enjoyable and satisfying way to sharpen your writing skills than through social engagement, can you?  And who, besides me, is already thinking about next year’s challenge?  Congratulations, Survivors!

Congratulations, as well, to everyone who attempted the challenge but for some reason didn’t finish. The challenge of writing every day can seem formidable; given life’s propensity for interference at times, but all it takes is a toe in the water to decide you want to get your feet wet. Next thing you know, you’ll be swimming!

My theme this year was Things We Appreciate, but in reflection, I’m compelled to mention the people behind the concept:  Arlee Bird (founder and blogger extraordinaire), as well as congenial and gifted assistants such as John Holton and J Lenni Dorner who do so much to make this annual event such a success!  

For anyone who may be harshly judging themselves by the number of visitors and/or comments they receive, I offer this (loosely) coined phrase by Ben Jonson (playwright and poet) “Happiness consists not in the multitude of friends but in a few well chosen.”  And while the Challenge has ended, the blogs (and bloggers!) remain – go visiting!

Personally, I find the timing of the A to Z Challenge to be an added bonus as nature provides an incentive in springtime inspiration to keep on blogging, keep on writing, don’t you? Were your fingers restless when it was over? Good! We’ll be seeing you around, then ;-)

In closing, I’ll share a fun fact I learned while camping with kids one year - Wintergreen Lifesavers visibly spark in the dark…but so does any hard (sugar) candy when crunched ;-)

Happy Trails this summer!

IWSG - Be Your Own Hero

Welcome Writers! And a Happy Creative Beginnings Month to everyone! 

There is so much to celebrate this month, and not the least of which is today, and here’s why:   Take a look around our awesome group by clicking the links below and check out the extensive list of writing tips and resources offered by the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by Alex Cavanaugh, right here and right now on this first Wednesday of the month, when IWSG members convene through blogging, Facebook, and Twitter to talk about whatever is on our writing minds and agendas. See what we’re all talking about here. 

As for me:

I successfully completed my third April A – Z Challenge! In addition, I wrote four chapters for a memoir project, and two newsletters. Through it all I asked myself only once if perhaps I’d overestimated my own capabilities, and who’s going to care if I do or if I don’t? That’s when my inner-voice whispered, “Be your own hero; it’s worth it.” So I did, and it was. ;-) It’s been an exhilarating month! 

On behalf of the young companions I’ve had since school has been interrupted, tomorrow is Two Different Colored Shoes Day, and we hope you’ll all be inspired! I think I’ll just Get Caught Reading a Mystery ;-)

Happy Springtime Writing!

The Lasting Spirit(s) of Theatre

On the last day of an often vexing year, we decided to end it on a high note by all piling into one car (not so bad on a cold and rainy day) and taking in a late afternoon show at The Gaslight Theatre. The musical comedy was loosely based on a Christmas favorite and fittingly titled “Elf’d.” I think we all laughed more than we had all year and won’t soon forget all the pizza, popcorn and Rootbeer floats!

It’s impossible to overstate the rustic ambiance of the wooden walls, floors, and stage.  Lining the knotty walls are images in black and white and glossy color of past and present Gaslight stars that lend a sense of graciousness surpassed only by the warm handshake you receive from each actor on your way out the door. 

Naturally (or not), on the ride home I thought about all the shows; the actors, and the patrons who keep the live stage theater alive and kickin’. And of course, I thought about those who’ve passed on.

Thinking about theater ghosts took me way out of my desert digs to a place on the south coast of the Isle of Wight; in the English Channel, where more than a few ghosts tenaciously linger at the Ventnor Operating Theatre. 

“The prettiest place I ever saw in my life” ~ Charles Dickens

The Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest at Ventnor saw upwards of 100,000 patients in under a century. Most suffered from consumption – or Tuberculosis; a disease for which a cure had not yet been found, leading to much speculation and an alarming amount of experimental surgeries being performed in the Ventnor Operating Theatre. 

By the time the last patient left in the summer of ’64, plans were already forming for repurposing the grounds in anticipation of brighter days, without the pall of death and sickness.

 

The first phase went as planned and the Ventnor Botanic Gardens soon flourished across the half-mile stretch of land where terminal patients were once housed.  Problems began with the demolition of the hospital itself.  To all who witnessed, it seemed the hospital was not willing to go.

There were equipment malfunctions, and utter failures - tractors, excavators, and a Ball Crane were all wrecked in the process - unexplained accidents, and grizzly sightings of moaning ghostly figures that led even the toughest worker to flee from an honest day’s pay. 

"Ventnor is a sun-box - north winds would have to confess that they have not even a visiting acquaintance with her." - Ward Lock Guide (1931)

When at last only the Operating Theatre remained, and all other efforts had been vehemently resisted, it was decided that the remaining demolition would be done by hand, there were few takers. Those who dared attempt to complete the work, left with their sledgehammers long before dark each day, having endured being scrutinized by disapproving spirits since sunrise. At least a couple of the workmen who saw the demolition to the end recall the strong smell of ether as they stood in the icy rubble of a stoic Theatre on a balmy summer day.

Once it was clear that not so much as a weed would grow where the hospital once stood, it was paved for a parking lot; a place where lights often flicker at night and dogs won’t approach by day. 

Have you been to the Isle of Wight? Would you visit Ventnor Botanic Gardens?

One Day That Is Ours

It’s November (already!) and what a great month to be a writer! Any NaNoWriMo participants on board today? If so, I applaud you! It’s also National Memoir Writing Month and Picture Book Month. Yesterday was National Author’s Day, and today is the first Wednesday of the month when IWSG members convene through blogging, Facebook and Twitter to talk about whatever is on our writing minds and agendas. See what we’re all talking about here.

It’s also National Book Awards Month and Paul Beatty just last week became the very first American author to ever win the Man Booker Prize for his satirical novel The Sellout. Woot!  Another first award to an American was the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded to singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. After a two week silence he has at last accepted the award, saying the honor had left him speechless. And Stephen King has (of course) won another Edgar award this year for his short story called (spoiler alert) Obits. 

In honor of Plan your Epitaph Day, I go only as far as searching for funny ones. Here are a few I found:

There’s one more celebrated day this month that I’d be willing to starve all year for. But first, can you imagine flying across the nation with high expectations of Thanksgiving dinner swirling in your mind as the anticipation of homemade pumpkin pie has you anxiously checking the time till your plane lands – only to find yourself a passenger on the only unsolved skyjacking in American history!  Nicknamed ‘D.B. Cooper’ (for lack of any other information) for whatever reason chose Thanksgiving eve 1971 to successfully carry out the skyjacking and was never seen again. He does, however, share a nod (albeit somewhat dubious) every year on November 24^th.

The IWSG Question of the Month is “What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?”  

My take: I think the only thing better than getting lost in a good book is finding yourself while writing one.

Beaver Moon

The Lunar Society, which included Erasmus Darwin, James Watt and Josiah Wedgewood, took its name from the practice of holding monthly meetings on the Monday nearest to the full moon. Members referred to themselves as the Lunatics.  spiritedenterprise.com

Have any experiences in your life ever made their way into one your stories? Could you write your own epitaph? What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? How would you describe a marshmallow to someone who’s never heard of such a thing?

“There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American” ~ Ayn Rand