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NaNoWriMo: What is it?

Put the ice queens, princesses, witches, monsters, pirates, Doctors, and whatever other costume the kids wore away.  Halloween is almost ove...

Sunday, December 18, 2016

NaNoWriMo 2016: 4/4

This was supposed to be up the first Sunday of December, but apparently, I just couldn't make myself sit down and type it up.  There are numerous reasons for the two week hiatus, but there's no reason for me to get into those.  This is meant to let you know how my NaNoWriMo 2016 experience ended.

Sadly, I did not "win" at the overall goal.  I fell severely short of the 50K.  Part of it may have been a misjudging of how much I actually wrote by hand and a lack of every word I typed during the month of November.  I only managed 9300 words.

Still, that's 9300 more words than I'd had before the month, and most of that was on one of two stories - my Librarians Leverage crossover and a Harry Potter Katekyo Hitman Reborn! crossover.  My Librarians Leverage crossover is causing me a headache since I somehow lost the complete first chapter that I'd typed up last year.  I still have chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3, but considering each chapter is based on each episode of The Librarians, it'll be very time-consuming working on that chapter again.

Anyway, while I didn't complete the 50K word goal, I'm certain others did, and I wish to congratulate those who managed that lofty goal that I have yet to meet.  Maybe next year?

Sunday, November 27, 2016

NaNoWriMo 2016: 3/4

Only one more week (well, three days) of NaNoWriMo 2016, then it'll be revise or continue writing if the story isn't done until, well, until I feel a need to stop.  The problem?  I've only recently hit the 5k marker.  So, NaNoWriMo is almost done and I've only managed about 1/10 of the necessary words to complete my task.

Don't worry, though.  Even if I don't hit that 50k word count goal, I managed to work on my story, and I think I even came up with a title for this particular fanfic: The Librarian's Hitter.  It may still change, but currently, it's a work in progress and sometimes I like what I'm working on.  Then I'll hit a rough patch and try to work on some other section only to realize that rough patch is almost integral to how this next section is going to play out.

This is particularly true because the fanfiction I'm working on will eventually deviate from the actual canon.  Currently, it's very similar.  The biggest differences are some background information and some of the events that occur "off screen", like when they're researching in the third episode or the trip from Oklahoma in the pilot.  I've taken liberties that mean some of the information about the on-screen events will be changed.  By the end of the first season, there's going to hopefully be a lot more maneuverability for me, though, having seen season two, finally, it does mean a huge number of changes to a few of those episodes.  The one I'm going to have the most fun with will be the episode involving Holknolote (did I get that right?)

Anyway, keep writing out there and don't be worried about that deadline.  Even if you fail on the grand finale, you managed something which better than not even trying.  Besides, maybe you learned something new or made some new friends?

Sunday, November 20, 2016

NaNoWriMo 2016: 2/4

So, here's a quick update, what with Thanksgiving coming up and a busy week baking and possibly doing some other cooking, I'm going to seriously try to catch up to where I need to be...marathoning write-ins will be occurring likely tomorrow.  Thank goodness I took some much needed time off for this week!  I have yet to reach 5k.

Okay, truthfully, I may have hit the 5k, but between working on other projects that catch my attention, school work, two jobs, housework, and making certain that we have actual food at least once a week, not everything has been accurately counted.  I think the official current word count is still below 4k, but above 3k.  This is likely to change after this post, but I'm just trying to focus and am having a hard time keeping to one thing at a time.  If you have any suggestions, I'll gladly read them, but be warned, I don't take well to time management tips.  Very few work out and, yes, I'm a severe procrastinator, as evidenced by inability to keep to my own schedule in check when it comes simply to a blog.

I am trying, though, so I'll let myself have a piece of strawberry cake with s'mores icing, maybe.  Those watermelon pop tarts sound even more intriguing than cake does, though.  I wonder if Ezekiel would try to eat them?  Maybe I'll have that as a little excerpt for my crossover....

Anyway, for those who are actually attempting NaNoWriMo, keep writing, and have fun.  For those who are about to have a fun-filled week getting ready for Thanksgiving and then the winter holiday fun immediately after  -  good luck, we're all going to need it this year.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

NaNoWriMo 2016: 1/4

So, here's my NaNo information.  It's the first post in my journey and instead of linking you to previous posts or the NaNo website, I'll just direct you to read any previous NaNo related post for the link.  I'll likely add the links in next Sunday's post.

This time I'll be working on continuing the Librarians/Leverage crossover I started in a previous NaNo event.  Have I stuck with just my LLXer?  NO.  I have worked on a Reading the books story regarding Harry Potter and Supernatural and a Harry Potter and Katekyo Hitman! Reborn Crossover where Harry and Skull are the same person.  I've also a few other things floating around to work on which promises to keep me very occupied whenever I sit to write.  In a way I'm dreading all the revision I'll start on next month, but that's alright.  My Eerie Estates series will sometimes call to me as well.  However, I have not abandoned anything, just severely neglected it all.  Perhaps this will return me to days of churning out numerous pages of seemingly random slices of life in seemingly random worlds?

Anyway, I've only 786 words as I type this on my official word count, though I know it's more.  I'll be getting a proper word count update after I post this.  Type you all next week.  If you're participating, good luck.  If not, it's not too late to join or even start planning for next year!  Anyway, have fun folks and be safe!

Catch Up and NaNoWriMo

Okay, so I know it's been several months since I've typed a post, but I swear I was thinking about and I didn't stop writing.  No, I last wrote in June, after skipping the week immediately after Memorial Day weekend.  This was not done on purpose.  As a matter of fact, my husband and I both got Pokemon Go on our phones.

I had tried to plan out a few posts, but between Pokemon Go, a dog, two jobs, school, and a husband, I barely remember anything that occurred for the rest of June.  Then the first weekend of July we managed to get my computer back online.  I also had learned by this time that Disney Channel had 100 Original Movies (DCOMs).  I'll try to type up more about my plans regarding these, including a list of DCOMs according to Disney Channel at the time they were promoting their 100th DCOM - Adventures in Babysitting in a future post.

Anyway, after getting my computer back up and running, It took most of the week to get all of the necessary updates, including drivers, while avoiding anything to do with Windows 10.  I refuse to get it on this particular computer.  As it is, I've somehow lost several works that I had on the old hard drive.  Yes, the fix for the revolving blue screen cycle was to get a new hard drive and reinstall Windows 8.  This meant that it was necessary to reinstall numerous updates as previously mentioned.

By the time my computer was back to working condition, I was barely keeping up with numerous other projects and my husband was asking to do something every single weekend.  Time for me to do almost anything?  I didn't know what it was.  I wasn't even able to watch and comment on the season premieres of The Voice, Dancing With The Stars, Once Upon A Time, or Hell's Kitchen.  In fact, there are numerous things that I've been trying to catch up on and just haven't been able to because of house cleaning as well.  Don't even ask about cooking, although I've got a recipe for Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies that I had to refind for the holiday season.  It truly is liked and I had to promise to make one of my coworkers an entire batch just for him.  My husband sat with the cookies while I was at work before our employee party regarding one of my jobs and let's just say he told me he had to forget they even existed in order to not eat all of them.  So that was yesterday morning and evening...

Anyway, I started to think I could start working on blogs again about two weeks ago, but I just couldn't seem to sit at my desk - cluttered beyond belief - to type a blog.  I even contemplated typing something regarding the election seeing as I'm an American.  I realized rather quickly that to be completely honest I had no idea where any of the candidates stood regarding anything I felt was important.  Everything we were presented with was biased or seemed incomplete.  I didn't post on the eve of Halloween because of things that I had to finish that day for school (I spent two hours on one project for the least amount of time and I think it was five for the longest) and a party that evening.

On a final note, am I doing NaNoWriMo again this year?  Yes.  I'll post my first update of four, since I missed the first Sunday of this month as well, shortly.

Any questions about the hectic last few months or ideas for future posts?  Questions in regards to anything posted here?  Just leave a comment!  Also, if you want to know what I voted or if I voted, no, I did not.  I felt underinformed.  Otherwise, I think I'll wrap this up for now.  Look forward to the next post and type you later!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Memorial Getaway

After a number of paragraphs explaining why I had missed posts in Memorial Day, I spoke about a Memorial Day getaway with my husband.  We stayed within approximately an hour's drive, but it was still a wonderful weekend.

For most, the weekend likely began Friday evening.  My husband's began on Thursday night since he managed to get Friday off.  Mine, however, did not begin until late Friday night.  So while my lucky bastard of a husband (though, really, I do love the guy!) had the day off, he decided to get the car mostly ready for our trip.  We woke up and left later than we wished, but it was still kind of early for a trip up the Mississippi River.

 So, after loading the car with a freshly packed cooler and some fruit for the trip, we pulled up Google Maps on my phone and headed off for Grafton, IL.  On the way we stopped at an Edwardsville located Starbucks.  While my husband ordered their S'mores Frappuccino® Blended Coffee and Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich, I had a Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers™ Beverage and a Cheese Danish.  Thankfully, they are known for their beverages and not their food because the food was, for us at least, just above average to average.  Typically I can't stand items with coffee in them.  Coffee flavored candy? Give it away.  Tiramisu? Spit it out the first time I tried it, could have killed my husband the second - when he tricked me into it.  So while I'm willing to try them, usually the bitter aftertaste of coffee is so bad I just can't bring myself to do more.  My husband was lucky I can restrain myself so well around coffees...I could have drank his.  The refresher was half gone when he finally got to try it as well.  So after enjoying a quick bite to eat we continued on to Grafton.

On the way, we followed the river and happened to see a statue on the other side.  Using Google Maps, we managed to determine that it was in Portage des Sioux, a small town rich with history.  Deciding that if we had time we would go to see it, we continued the north drive to reach Grafton and it's flea market.  Once parked, we walked to the building that housed the vendors.  Once we started looking, we enjoyed walking through the crowded building finding Christmas gifts and personal likes (he found a great deal on a fishing pole!)  After making our second trip to the car, we decided to have a small picnic, though the heat meant we ate in the car instead of in chairs beside it.  Well, more the intense sun than the heat.  I felt it was more of a gorgeous day, but he has always preferred a cooler clime than I.

After enjoying a couple of sandwiches, we decided to try to find our way to Portage des Sioux.  We managed to and the way to the statue was very pleasant.  Once there, we learned various tidbits of history regarding the statue which was Our Lady of the Rivers.  While there, I managed to take a few pictures of the statue.
















So, it may have been more than a few, but there are a few great pictures of it.  As we walked up we noticed the information on the posts.  Little tidbits of history, such as that the location had once been the first port of white settlers in the west and that it had been the site of the signing of a Native American treaty.  Within those tidbits included was that of a church.









We were lucky enough to be allowed inside to see the beauty within the church.  While inside we learned more about the church as well.









Besides the gorgeous stained glass windows, murals resided in the front of the church, as pictured above.  Below are some statues that were painted and hard to believe were wooden.





One of the things we learned was in regards to the church's history.  There were these plaques that had been painted over with white paint.  In the flooding of the Mississippi that occurred in 1993, some of the color bled through, revealing the German heritage of the town even in the church.

Even more amazing is the church's organ.  Built in 1905,it is most likely an imported organ.  It is a gorgeous instrument no matter the origin.

Disappointingly, we could not stay long since we had a cruise we wished to make.  In fact on the cruise, we managed to see several marvels, including more pictures of Our Lady of the Rivers.  I won't put more of them up here, but it was magical, no matter how trite that may seem.

Hopefully, I'll manage to type up a Father's Day post, but if not, for all the father's who may read this, I hope you have a Happy Father's Day...now to get my husband something...this is gonna be hard!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Memorial Day

So I know I haven't posted anything in a couple of weeks and that's because of RL events.  Between Mother's Day, housing inspections (required in the apartments I reside in), work, and school, I've almost run myself ragged.  So, first, a very late Happy Mother's Day to my mother readers, whether they are biological, lawfully adopted, claimed, feathered, two-legged or more, mothers have helped shape the very creatures they've raised.  My husband got me a yellow iris to celebrate it seeing as we have our almost six year old dog.  Such a good girl, usually.

So, this past week were season finales of both The Voice and DWTS (Dancing with the Stars).  I meant to put up reviews and my personal views seeing as there were numerous members in the cast that I had hoped would make it through very far (only one did), but it was fun to watch.  On The Voice I wasn't drawn to any voices like in some of the past seasons since Gwen Stefani was first on in Season 7.  As I mentioned there were a few notables since then in my opinion.  Taylor John Williams, Mia Z, and YouTuber Kota Wade are only a few.  Season 10, however, was a let down.  At least, originally, it was.  But as I listened to the episodes, two became stand-outs in my mind.  I thought they chose the perfect coaches to drag the potential out of them.  Laith Al-Saadi and Hannah Huston have admirable voices, once they let them shine.  Neither one won.  Instead, finally a female coach had one of her team members.  Congratulations, Christina, on having an admirably chosen contestant.

DWTS Season 22, on the other hand, hosted Kim Fields, who I loved in Facts of Life, but my favorite wasn't Tootie (I could never decide between Blair and Jo); Jodie Sweetin, who played Stephanie Tanner in Full House (DJ was on a previous season, so now I'm wondering when Kim Gibbler is going to join the DWTS contestant family...makes an interesting parallel, doesn't it?); and Nyle DiMarco, who won Season 22 of America's Next Top Model (and he's deaf, if you hadn't learned). I was rooting for all three of these contestants, only Nyle made it to the finale.  To be completely honest, I thought it would be awesome and a bit ironic, though I may not be using that word appropriately, if he won another season 22 reality show.  Nyle did win. It let's me have a wonderful weekend coming up,

Speaking of the weekend, this weekend is extended in the United States to include Monday.  The reason?  It's Memorial Day Weekend.  Even though my husband and I will be taking a short, well-deserved vacation this weekend, he is a veteran (disabled before ever seeing beyond BCT) and every generation in my family tree that I've managed to trace including myself (though I had an other than honorable discharge...really don't wish to go into that.  It should be a general discharge now) has had military personnel somewhere.  I've managed to trace one line back to the Revolutionary War, which they managed to move inland, (over the mountains) before the war officially started by a few years, I think....I'm not looking at the information currently, so I could be wrong about the dates.  We'll take the time to honor those who fought for what they believed in or joined up to avoid war but managed to change themselves around, or really any military personnel who died in battle.  Some were mothers or fathers, brothers or sisters, but every single soldier, sailor, marine or airman was someone's child.  Some lives were cut short.  Others survived so damaged they couldn't reintegrate (One of my great-uncles died in the hospital believing he was still at war.).  No matter what they were or how they died specifically, Memorial Day is a day to honor and remember their sacrifices.  We take a few moments to honor them before truly honoring them by living life as I know they wanted future generations to do.

These people gave their lives so we could all live.  They didn't want their deaths seen as something bad.  The original soldiers remembered on this particular holiday were Union Soldiers, who died for what they believed in: a life of freedom for men no matter the color of their skin.  Obviously, and very much thankfully, humanity has changed to a more equal footing for all people, but not without a lot of hardship and lost lives.  It is sad.  I will not allow myself to disregard their sacrifices.  I will honor them in every way I know and for those who think that the parties and family get-togethers are not celebrating the fallen military personnel appropriately, I can only ask: How do you honor those who gave their lives so you could live free to make your own choices?

Sunday, May 1, 2016

April 2016 Poetry A Day: Week 5/5

It's the final week of the Poetry A Day Challenge!  My thoughts on the challenge will be given after this weeks prompts.  Speaking of prompts, 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 25 prompted for us to write a poem about exercise.  My first thought was the emphasis on health and exercising for that, but there are so many types of exercise, that suddenly I was trying to figure out which type I wanted to write about.

EXERCISE

enveloping so much
from drills to runs to writing
each has its own type

The military uses exercise
to help get the recruits in shape
Known as drills or just trying to be killed

There are writing exercises
like following prompts
or mapping out a story

Exercising rights
is another concept
that has come under fire

Of course, Tuesday is double-prompt day.  This time we received the prompt to write a love or anti-love poem.  I had to double check, and yes, it's 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 26.  If you remember in my Future of April 2016 post, we did a similar one as a warm-up for the PAD challenge.

Against most anything
Not caring for emotion
Telling themselves it's not real
Intelligence is more than heart

Loyalty reigns supreme
Ongoing even when their being a bastard
Veering thanks to their heart
Ever willing for some emotion.

I know it's a bit of a strange acrostic poem, but it works for me.  I'm just not sure on how to title it.

So the 27th was Administrative Assistant Day.  I think this was a more PC (politically correct) term for National Secretary's Day, but I'm just as likely wrong.  So for all the administrative assistants out there, thank you for the jobs that you do.  The prompt for the day was not exactly based around it being Administrative Assistants Day.  No, the prompt for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 27 was to write a take off poem.

TAKE OFF

I wished to live off grid
to be as independent as I could
Life just wasn't willing
and Fate agreed with her

I tried to distance myself
to cut off ties of old
but Life just wasn't willing
and Fate agreed with her

So I let them carry me
with Destiny's aid
to where they wished me to be
and not where I truly yearned

For I wished to take off
disappear in the distance
Fate and Life and Destiny
they had different plans

They chose to inundate me
with friends and family
who could freely leave
while I stayed stationary

I think he really likes those poems where there's a blank for a person to finish the title because the prompt for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 28 was "Important ___________".  So here's my attempt at it.

IMPORTANT DECISIONS

there comes a time
in every life
when a decision
must be made

it may be big
it may be small
but to be made
must be done.

They are important
no matter the size
decisions to be made
in every life

Two more days, two more poems.  I don't know why, but it's a bit bittersweet.  Will I keep writing poems after this?  Sure, but only as the muse strikes me.  I'm very much a spontaneous writer.  I tend to be a pantser in NaNoWriMo events.  That's why the prompt for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 29 made me smile.  The prompt was to write a haphazard poem.

HAPHAZARD WRITING

For most
planning takes precedence
For me however
it's just too much

Too take things away
and when i wish
this is my plan
for every event

i write as i wish
i play, eat or work
it's makes no difference
it just seems right

so take your outlines
calendars and lists
and burn them in bonfire
of failed plot bunnies and trysts

i'll write as i see fit and
enjoy the results
if someone else likes them, great
if not that's not why i write anyway

This brought us to the final day of the PAD challenge.  It's nice to know that even if I didn't write each one on the day they were posted, I've written thirty different poems in a month.  2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 30 gave us our final prompt.  As is fitting for the end of a poeming event,  the day's prompt was to write a dead end poem.

DEAD END POEM

they said it was easy.
they claimed it would flow
if you just sit  down and write
the words would make themselves known

it didn't work the way they said
it refused to flow as they claimed
i tried to sit down and write
the words refused to reveal themselves

Then suddenly it changed
the words, they came
the poem flowed
even if it wasn't in a poetic form

the words stopped as suddenly as they came
the poem isn't never ending
whether it's good or bad
it hit its own dead end

So there's the last of my PAD poems.  Hope you enjoyed at least one or two out of the thirty I managed to write out.  Was it easy?  I personally don't think any kind of writing is easy, but it was fun.  I wasn't sure I could do the poems daily, but I tried.  I didn't write a poem a day, but I did write thirty poems which would have been a poem a day.  I enjoyed writing them even if they didn't always flow.

How about you?  Did you enjoy one of my poems?  Did you have suggestions for untitled poems?  How about going through the links to read other poets works?  Did you do so, and if so did you find one you liked?  Did you participate?  If so, did you enjoy writing them?  Leave your answers in the comments.

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 5/5

April's Camp NaNoWriMo is over.  As I'm typing this I've only just over 7K words towards my goal, which is disappointing, but with college an early morning job and other real life distractions, I'm not all that surprised.  There is supposed to be another camp in July.  I'll have the same goal and probably work on the same story.  There's so much I can do that won't really contribute to word count that I'll take the time to figure them out.  Things like drawing a map and figuring out a title.  Getting pictures of various buildings and the characters that would exist would be great as well.

If you didn't meet your goal, son't give up.  Any word count is better than not even trying.  If you did meet that goal, congratulations!  And for all you major overachievers who wrote double or more what your word count goal was, be extremely proud of yourselves!  All of those word counts are great towards the works your working on.  Just don't forget that now is the time to revise, unless that is what your Camp project was!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

April 2016 Poetry A Day: Week 4/5

So, Monday was another return to the office which gave us the prompt for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 18: write an office poem.  Pretty self-explanatory, right?  Wrong, because it could be anything in the office, about any kind of office, or even the creation of an unique office.  It leaves it open to multiple things.  So since I recently started a job in an office setting, though it couldn't really be considered an office job, I thought I'd try to give a poem about offices from a perspective that is neither visitor nor office worker.

BEHIND THE SCENES

They get there early
receive little to no appreciation
these bastions of the office
Constantly present

They mop and vacuum
water the plants
stock supplies and even
clean the toilets

They dust and polish
every room
They have an office
and closets are numerous

They don't get recognition
though they keep those offices going
For how could the workers get by
without coffee, tea, or seeing the sky

So if you work in an office
Remember the ones
that work behind the scenes
your maintenance staff

On Tuesday, once again, we received a two-for prompt.  The first 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 19 prompt was to write a "cool" poem, while the second was it's opposite: an "uncool" poem.  We weren't given any qualifiers or expansions on these, so temperature versus fads versus whatever you think would be cool or uncool.  It leaves for a lot of interpretation.


NERDS AND GEEKS

They claimed we would never be cool
Games would never be in
That knowledge while power
would remain epically uncool

They never saw Gates nor did they
realize their claims would set in motion
a revolution that was fought
Though not in typical fashion

We flooded our own conventions
We refused to hide our pride
We proved that it didn't matter
Nerds and Geeks may have once been uncool

Then they rose to the forefront
Became stars in every realm
Actress mathematicians and gamer action stars
Nerds and Geeks are now an expected cool

I know, but I couldn't keep from doing another poem dealing with "nerd culture."  I keep hoping to find one that is actually prompted...I think it would be a unique set of poems.  There are so many that would either be completely against things within said culture, or that would be the culture's steadfast guardians, that I truly think it would be a phenomenal group of poems!

2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 20 we were prompted to write a poem about things unsaid.  Such a huge expanse again to choose from!

THE UNSAID

There are words never spoken
lest it's too late
for any true meaning
to be derived

There are events never mentioned
hidden in the annals of history
be it for our safety or to keep
us from destroying everything else

There are names never given
for the lives too short
nor are there books writ
for the journeys to bored

No matter where one goes
there is hidden messages
in the silence surrounding
The Unsaid


Apparently, Wednesday was another holiday day.  Poem in your Pocket Day gave us the idea for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 21 prompt which was to write a response poem.  Brewer even gave us a few poems that we could respond to if we were having problems working on it.  I decided to make mine in response to one of my earlier poems.  This particular poem can be found in my post April 2016 Poetry A Day: Week 2/5.   Why don't you guess which one?

Time has passed 
some have left
it's not so hard to know
whose new and whose old

The bumblers and stumblers 
have either left or entertained
having fun the whole way
learning as they go

Experience helped but
didn't really matter
for their enthusiasm made
it hard to see them go


It took quite some time to figure this poem out which is why this post is going to be late being published.  Sorry, but apparently my muse refuses to be rushed!

The prompt for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 22 was to write a "Star _______" poem.  He gave some examples but all I could think of was:

STARTING ANEW

they said I wasn't going anywhere
they claimed I should give up
I chose not to listen
And now I've a mess to clean up

It doesn't worry me any
It makes me strive even more
I keep wondering why
they think I need something else

I'm always starting something new
Something that catches my eye
It never gets finished
I hit a snag every time

I lose a random chapter
or find it doesn't flow
My muse has gone missing
and with it my willpower

But now I'm going back
To those unfinished projects
I'll restart them this time
Keeping the old as reference

I'll start each project anew
I'll study what went wrong
I'll stick it to my naysayers
And I'll finish them this time

The poem kind of stole my fingers and hijacked me while I typed it, but that's why I'm here.  So the stories and words that need expressing will hopefully be expressed.  Thank goodness there's a title!

2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 23 prompted us to write about footwear.  If not making it the star, at least mention footwear somewhere in the poem.


BAREFOOT PREFERANCE

Just when I thought things couldn't be better
They got terribly worse
I had no sweet boots or 
striking sandals

There lay no comfy sneakers
or worn-in flip-flops
Just a pair of too small pumps 
or work boots needing lacing

Why can't we roam barefoot
feel grass beneath our feet
enjoy a sudden dip in a puddle
Let our feet breathe

But no, when we go out
they need protection
from the bees and the gravel
from the heated sun or frozen snow

The title wasn't really that surprising to me, to be utterly honest.  The take the poem took did since I wanted to highlight on being barefoot instead of wearing shoes or really any kind of footwear, not even socks!  The poem however decided on a different flow.  Hope you enjoyed it!  I must admit though, I almost tried to make it a Doctor Who tribute.  Figuring out all the pieces of footwear just the Doctors wear would tire me out though!  Although, I guess I could have thrown the term Sand Shoes in and most fans would have gotten it.

2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 24 is the last Sunday for the poem a day challenge.  I'm hoping you've been enjoying mine and following the links to enjoy some others and perhaps even try your own hand.  The prompt for this particular Sunday was to write a lost and regained poem.  It's tempting to include the saying of letting what you love and if it's truly love or if it love's you it'll return but it just didn't feel right for this particular piece.

The time is past 
when it was seen as 
cute or adorable

Now we get to pass that on
to the youth who happen
to be one half us

It's short and has no title, but it works, at least for me.  Just a reminder, for those who like me find title-less works annoying, if you have a title suggestion, leave a comment about it.

Next week is the last week.  The last of the poems and a quick overview of personal feelings during this particular journey.

Camp NaNoWrimo April 2016: 4/5

Once again, I've not really taken the time to write.  I know, I need to just sit down and write, but I keep finding things that I need to do that are of higher priority, like work of all kinds!  There's housework, homework, and money-work.  I barely have time to keep up with DWTS and The Voice.  I'm not giving up though!  I know I can get to 20K words, I just have to focus.  And stop getting distracted!

In case you weren't aware yet, winning validation became available this past week on Wednesday.  For those who had met or surpassed their goals, this was fantastic news!  For those of us who haven't been able to really work on our projects, this might make us a little more anxious than typical.  I got the e-mail and told myself "This weekend, no matter what you may wish to do, you're sitting down and working on your project, Ency."  Then sat down and wrote for about five minutes while making dinner.  Got about a hundred more words to add to my total, but still puts me nowhere near where I need to be.

Hopefully I can happily post next week that I met that 20K word goal.  I set it lower than I knew I could do because of all the real world obligations.  RL is annoying, but necessary.  This is not a good thing for writers who want to disappear into their other worlds and while away their time there.  Especially if they aren't making writing their living.  Well, good luck to my fellow campers.

I must apologize for this being late.  I mistakenly believed I had it properly scheduled to post on Sunday morning, but apparently it remained as a draft instead of a scheduled post.  So, I'm terribly sorry for that!

Sunday, April 17, 2016

April 2016 Poetry A Day: Week 3/5

On Monday, a very wet Monday, though with it being spring I really should not be surprised, we entered the second trimester of this poem a day challenge.  Thankfully it was another prompt that leads to a large array of choices.  2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 11 gave us the prompt for a defensive poem.  It took me a lot of thought to put this one together.


Wanting to do more
Expecting to do more
Strategies in place
To hinder every step forward

Things change 
people move around
Accusations are made
Offense is the best Defense

With an old episode of Biggest Loser playing in the background, I finally managed to put some semblance of a poem together.

Once again Tuesday was a double prompt day.  2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 12 gave us the choice of either writing a serious poem or silly poem.  Of course a person can always choose to write two poems, one for each prompt.  This could be a bit of extra work or they could be combined like I did last week into one poem.  Here's my attempt for this particular challenge.

SERIOUS VS. SILLY

Sullen
Enamored with silence
Remaining unhumored
Intrigued to solve the mysteries
Only to be disappointed 
Until deciding to become
Something other than serious

Standing in circles
Intriguing moments of
Laughter and
Love
Yearning for continuous joy

Surprisingly, I knew the title before I even thought of what type of poem or how it would be worded.

Wednesday we were given another _______ poem.  This time it was "Last _________" for 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 13.  After recently hearing Shinedown's Second Chance, the only thing I could think of was "Last Chance"  which then made me think of a line from a different song, "this is the last night that you'll feel like this".  I can't remember the title or artist though...

LAST ATTEMPT

There comes a time
In every life
Where the liver decides
It's time to end

It could be their life
But more often than not 
it's just some thing
they've been trying for a while

they've approached it in various ways
Head-on, backwards, sideways
They've gotten tired of trying 
They've decided on their last attempt

They'll start something new
After this attempt
For now they feel
They're beating on a dead horse



Thursday was 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 14.  We were challenged to write a "time-out" poem and I had to take a "time-out" from poeming thanks to real life(RL) obligations.  So, now as I'm going back to finish out the week's poems, I find it slightly ironic.  But anyway, here goes:

TIME-OUT

I need a break
from deadlines and try-outs
from work and even fun

Yes, I need a time-out
before the stress buries me
and I somehow destroy my own world


Friday marked the halfway point in this challenge and with real life having forced a break, I wasn't sure what to expect.  So, when I looked over 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 15, I was pleasantly surprised.  We were given a list of eight words and challenged to use at least four.  Can you locate mine?

THE TARRASQUE TOOTH TRACKED

Challenged on a quest
I daren't blacklist
the king who made
such a lavish request

He dared us five to journey
in a vessel of rare design 
to lands unknown in search
for not some gaudy ring

Nor was it plans 
upon paper of poor design
It took us across many lands
both hilly and flat

No, this particular quest
took us to the den
of the very rare tarrasque
in search of a single solitary tooth!

Well, it's pretty simple to spot them, I think.

Yesterday's prompt was great for foodie poets.  2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 16 basically told us to go out and eat.  We were tempted to, that's for certain!  It was to write a poem either about or in a food establishment, though I think the main point is to write one about a food establishment.

Journeying out
for late night munchies
Nothing too it
or so we thought

It turned from a quick trip
to a complete sojourn
as we quickly realized
we were late to our favorite haunts

So we googled and gps-ed
our way to a late night meal
finally settling
at a nearby Jack-In-The-Box

I thought I did fairly well.  Don't have a title, though.  Any ideas?

Apparently today is National Haiku Day(I really need to start up a blog about the daily holidays...Or someone should, anyway!)  In honor of it, 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 17 challenges us to write a haiku.  We can also choose to right a poem about haiku's, but I do enjoy writing in this particular format.   I know I wrote one in Future of April 2016, but I don't like repeating efforts if I can avoid it, so here's my latest haiku.


HAIKU

take a five word start
seven syllable center
and five sound ending

Turns out, I decided a haiku about haikus was in order!  Hope you enjoyed this week's attempts.  As always, make title suggestions in the comments!