Category: Blogging Challenge

Blog challenge

#Writing Challenge – Tell us a Story About Your TBR Pile at Myths of the Mirror

Published on by dgkaye64 Comments

Author, Diana Peach has a fun writing challenge going on – Write a story about your TBR pile. Great topic as so many of us writers and readers make jokes about how fat our Kindles are. I’ve written a poem about my BFK – My big fat Kindle.

If you’d like to play, here’s how it works:

  • Deadline is January 23rd
  • Post the story or poem on your blog
  • Link back to this post or leave your link in the comments below
  • Keep it family friendly
  • I will reblog as many of the entries as I can through the end of the January
  • Please reply to comments when I reblog your story or poem
  • I’ll post a summary with links in early February
  • You may use the (attribution free) pixabay image above if you want to
  • And most of all, Have Fun!

MY BFK (My Big Fat Kindle)

Stories and more stories
We cannot get enough.
Amazing how many books, 
Makes choosing one to read real tough.

No more books we chant
While adding just one more.
Adding different genres,
Excuse to add some more.
 
Promotional or free,
An author friend's new release,
My enthusiasm heightens,
A brand new read for me.

That's how fast it happens,
Before realizing the count.
What's one more book,
As the rising number mounts?

We are fooled by our Kindles,
At the lack of hefty weight.
Do we even know how many,
No matter because books are great.

So my Kindle and bookshelves,
Spill over with stories and words.
Yet another book is added,
My no more books plan is for the birds.

Though I know my Kindle
Is bursting at the seams,
I'll continue to hit the buy button,
To read more, fulfilling author's dreams.

©DGKaye2022

If you’d like to hop on this challenge, please visit Diana’s page below:

Original Source: Writing Challenge – The TBR Pile | Myths of the Mirror

Bloganuary

#Bloganuary – Living Boldly

Published on by dgkaye49 Comments

WordPress has started #bloganuary, prompting writers with a different question daily, and reminds to tag the post Bloganuary in your tag section so it shows up in the reader with other Bloganuary posts. Also, don’t forget to share these posts on social media using the hashtag #Bloganuary.

Today’s a great day to blog, and the Bloganuary prompt is:

What does it mean to live boldly?

The rules:

Remember these two things:

  1. Add the bloganuary tag to your post.
  2. Promote your blog post on social media, using the hashtag #bloganuary.

What Does It Mean to Live Boldly?

I hopped on to this prompt because it felt appropriate as I’ve been struggling with my decision about going on my long awaited winter escape to Mexico. I’ve eagerly been awaiting this much needed escape, despite my being a Covid hermit for much of the last two years. I avidly follow news reports, Covid reports, country alerts etc. and even though my airline has canceled my flight a few times and my managing to book new flights, the apprehension looms with my anxiety of braving the elements while also hoping my new flight will remain.

I’ve spent a lot of time battling my two minds, or my mind and my heart, and after all I’m seeing and hearing with Covid reports, it appears as of now, Mexico is doing better than my own country! So I’ve decided, Covid here, Covid there, minus 20 here with grey skies and seclusion, sunshine and 88 degrees and several of my friends have already arrived there, what am I fussing about?

With all my weighing out, and despite my biggest fear of passing my Covid test to get back to Canada when the trip is done, I can mask up there as well as I mask up here. So yes, I’ve decided that I’m going to live boldly and go ahead with my travel plans. If I spent the rest of my life worrying about what could happen, I’d never do anything. This virus is heading into its third year. Nothing is going to change for a very long time as long as the world doesn’t reach herd immunity. It’s every man for himself to stay protected no matter where we go. If we wait to get back to living, when will that actually be? Years more, no doubt and more spikes and mutations to be had. Another day of living life is no guarantee. Every day is a gift. If we keep pushing off plans for living, who knows if we’ll be capable of traveling next year or the next year. Tomorrows are never guaranteed.

So yes, I’m going to live boldly instead of cowering behind my fears. I’m going to head for sun and sea with best efforts and begin to loosen the load of worry and act like the excited going away person that I should be savoring at this time instead of dreading. Ole!

©DGKaye2022

*Don’t forget to sign up for the daily prompt if you feel like jumping into one for the month of January. If you missed or deleted the signup invite post from WordPress, you can sign up from the original post page.

Rodeo Poetry Contest

CarrotRanch RODEO #2: DOUBLE ENNEAD SYLLABIC POETRY – Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry

Published on by 22 Comments

 

Colleen Chesebro ran a Double Ennead TUFF Poetry Challenge for Charli Mills’ annual Rodeo for the CarrotRanch writing contests. This was a difficult poetry challenge with lots of criteria involved. I hopped on this one.

 

 

Welcome to the Carrot Ranch Rodeo! This challenge is sponsored by the Carrot Ranch Literary Community at carrotranch.com and run by lead Buckaroo, Charli Mills.

Almost everyone knows my love for syllabic poetry; especially haiku, tanka, cinquain, and more. Woo HOO! I’ve got something special wrangled up for this challenge!

For this year’s rodeo, I’ve created a special form called the Double Ennead. The word Ennead means nine, and a double nine is ninety-nine! Carrot Ranch is famous for 99-word flash fiction. Now, the ranch has its own syllabic poetry form written in 99 syllables!

The Double Ennead comprises five lines with a syllable count of 6/5/11/6/5, (33 SYLLABLES per stanza) 3 STANZAS EACH = 99 SYLLABLES, NO MORE, NO LESS!

 

CRITERIA:

 

* The Double Ennead features three stanzas of five lines, each with a syllable count of 6/5/11/6/5, totaling 99 syllables, no more—no less. Count your syllables. Read the instructions carefully.

* For syllable and line count use: writerlywords.com. Your poem does not have to have a western theme. It can be in any genre, and can include any tone or mood. However, it must have a title. Punctuation and rhyming are optional and up to the poet.

* For this challenge, your poem must include five words taken from the found-poem by Cowboy Poet, Charles Badger Clark, called “The Springtime Plains.” You must use the fives words you choose in the order you found them in one of the three stanzas.

The word placement also depends on the line. Pay attention to the placement of these words in your poem.

  1. Line 1 starts with word 1
  2. Line 2 ends with word 2
  3. Line 3 starts with word 3
  4. Line 4 ends with word 4
  5. Line 5 starts with word 5

* Submit your five consecutive words from the poem “The Springtime Plains” so the judges can determine the placement of your words. Specify which stanza contains the five words.

* Make the judges remember your syllabic poem long after reading it.

 

“The Springtime Plains,”

by Charles Badger Clark

 

Heart of me, are you hearing

The drum of hoofs in the rains?

Over the Springtime plains I ride

Knee to knee with Spring

And glad as the summering sun that comes

Galloping north through the zodiac!

Heart of me, let’s forget

The plains death white and still,

When lonely love through the stillness called

Like a smothered stream that sings of Summer

Under the snow on a Winter night.

Now the frost is blown from the sky

And the plains are living again.

Lark lovers sing on the sunrise trail,

Wild horses call to me out of the noon,

Watching me pass with impish eyes,

Gray coyotes laugh in the quiet dusk

And the plains are glad all day with me.

Heart of me, all the way

My heart and the hoofs keep time,

And the wide, sweet winds from the greening world

Shout in my ears a glory song,

For nearer, nearer, mile and mile,

Over the quivering rim of the plains,

Is the valley that Spring and I love best

 Poemhunter.com

EXAMPLE of how to write the Double Ennead:

Line 1 starts with word 1 = wild

Line 2 ends with word 2 = horses

Line 3 starts with word 3 = call

Line 4 ends with word 4 = to

Line 5 starts with word 5 = me

Double Ennead: Five lines, with a syllable count of 6/5/11/6/5, 33 syllables per stanza, 3 stanzas each = 99 syllables.

 

~ ~ ~

 

The five consecutive words I selected: “Shout in my ears a” used in the first stanza.

 

 

A Pitiful Plague

 

Shout loud at what it is.

Words and actions in

My head ring clear of the assault on mankind.

Open your eyes and ears.

A call for kindness.

Stifling in ignorance,

Poison fills the mind.

This hate virus infects and sheds viral ash.

Soil, rinse, spin, and again,

The story repeats.

The cure for this madness,

Some will fail to learn,

Only love and kind words can conquer this plague.

For a fresh breath of life –

Love thy fellow man.

©DGKaye2020

 

Source: Carrot RODEO #2: DOUBLE ENNEAD SYLLABIC POETRY – Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry

 

bitmo live laugh love

 

 

 

blog hop challenge

Twelve Questions #Blogshare From Stevie Turner – Join in the Fun!

Published on by 21 Comments

I came across this fun post from Stevie Turner’s blog where she came across this quiz on a bloghop inviting writers to answer 12 interesting questions. Below are the questions and my answers:

 

How spontaneous are you?

Hmm, I’d like to say I’ve been spontaneous most of my life, but I’d also say by the time I turned 50 I learned how to put the brakes on and have become a lot more investigative and skeptical before diving into anything. Anything.

 

How flirtatious would you say you are? If that is not the word you would use, then try the alternatives of ‘teasing’ or ‘playful’.  How much are you of this?

Another toughie. I think the word ‘flirtatious’ is loaded. I’m a passionate person and you will find when speaking with me in person that I can be very animated when I speak. My outgoing personality has often been misconstrued for flirting.

 

How serious are you as a person?

When I’m serious, I’m serious. ‘Nuff said.

 

Do you think the older we become, then certain emotions are easier to handle, say as an example ‘grief’?

No. I should think grief is painful at any age, it’s just a matter of how we deal with it. Perhaps maturity helps with the way we display our grief, but that in no way changes the way we feel when we are grieving.

 

What is the most adventurous thing you have done to date?

I think I did a lot of courageous things when I was younger. Taking a sabbatical from life and a 3 month leave of absence from work to travel to Greece for 3 months – alone in my early 20s- turned out to be a very brave move – something I wouldn’t have the courage to do now.

 

What’s the craziest or riskiest thing you have ever done and simply got away with it or got caught doing it?

Lol, I can’t think of anything at the moment. Let’s just leave it at – I’ve done and gotten away. I’ll add, nothing criminal. 🙂

 

What do you think the future is of dating, and other ‘other’ now that social distancing has become part of your life? Will your life ‘up close and personal’ with people now be different?

Fortunately, I’m not on the dating availability list because the world has certainly changed since my simple dating days of meeting someone, going on a date and seeing where it goes from there. In this new world online dating has taken over for much of the world. This form of getting to know someone requires diligence and experience to learn first about true identities, and should require a meet up after realizing your heartstrings have been tugged at. I can tell you stories about people who thought they were in real relationships online for months on end, even years, they finally meet and one or the other has been fibbing, or once in physical presence, one or the other is not ‘feeling the love’ they thought they were. I don’t feel the virus has any bearing on this. This is human relationships.

 

How different do you really think you are to the next person? Are you prim and proper, strait-laced and serious, wild and abandoned, or rebellious and controversial?

I’ve always wanted to meet my doppelganger. I don’t think there is anyone like me, lol. I’ll go with rebellious and controversial and sometimes wild with abandonment, far from prim and proper, but courteous and outgoing.

 

During this time of global concern, how has your thinking changed with regards the planet, conservation and climate issues … or has it not changed one little bit?

My ideals about striving to make the environment better haven’t changed, the planet still needs our help. But I was heartened to see during the lock-down period, air and water qualities were better than they’d been for decades, while humans took a pause. I should hope people will remember this and each of us on the planet learns from this and works harder to change and repair.

 

What ‘topical’ issues considered taboo by society are you deeply passionate with and about to the point of doing something about it?

Talking forthright about politics.

 

What’s more important, and/or is there a difference between friendship and companionship, and if so, what is that difference?

I think companionship holds different meaning than only friendship. Companionship to me sounds like, either someone to hang around with just for company, or perhaps a paid help to care for someone as well as a ‘companion’ to keep them company. Companionship sounds a lot more generic to me than friendship.

 

What is your passion as regards writing genres? A) what is your chosen genre, and B) what is the genre you might like to write about but lack confidence to start?

I am a nonfiction writer, and oddly enough, I enjoy writing nonfiction. As a truth-teller I feel passionate about writing what I know through my own truth. I know it may be easier to write my stories and incorporate events into fictional stories, but for me, I feel like that would be disguising my stories’ truth.

 

Source: Twelve Questions From A Guy Called Bloke… | Stevie Turner

 

Question and Answer time

 

If you’d like to hop on this challenge, you can visit the original host’s post here:

Original source: https://aguycalledbloke.blog/2020/06/03/12-bloggerz-june-2020/

 

©DGKaye2020

 

Blog challenge

“#Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” – NonFiction #Photoprompt with Suzanne Burke

Published on by 42 Comments

Suzanne (Soooz) Burke is running a fun weekly writing challenge at her blog. This week it’s a PhotoPrompt #FictionInAFlash. We’re invited to write in any genre, 750 word count max. When I came across Soooz’s challenge in my blog roamings, once I saw the prompt, hundreds of memories flashed by me. So 750 word cap is going to be a challenge!

 

flash fiction

 

Hello everyone and welcome to week #4 of my  “Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” Each week I’ll be featuring an image and inviting you to write a Flash Fiction piece inspired by that image in any form and genre of your choosing.  Maximum word count: 750 words.

 

“Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” Week #4. Image Prompt: Join in, have fun, and let loose your creative muse.#FictionInAFlash @pursoot @IARTG #ASMSG #WritingCommunity.

 

Route 66

 

From the first time I ever visited Las Vegas, I felt an inexplicable energy through me, an unfamiliar state of feeling that I should be living on the west coast. This feeling had nothing to do with the fact that Vegas is like a Disneyland Mecca playground for adults but more about the atmosphere – desert, climate and just being in the southwest.

It must have been my colorful childhood education from some of the shady characters I’d met in my mother’s circles that began my fascination of mobster stories. After my first Vegas experiences there were plenty more visits there, sometimes 2 and 3 times per year. After so many years of going to Vegas, and one helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, I had an instant feeling that I needed to relocate our vacations to Arizona, more evidence to myself that it was the southwest calling me, more than the casino attractions in Las Vegas.

The first time I landed in Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, I remember strolling the carry-on through the airport with hub, on our way to grab a taxi, when I stopped myself in my tracks and took a pause when this incredible feeling of something inexplicable came over me and told me this was where I needed to be. A familiarity ran through me as though I were home, like I was familiar with a place I’d never before been other than in a helicopter landing in a canyon.

My long fascination with everything southwest, from the climate to the beauty to the rich history of the various Native tribes and cultures, felt familiar and I’d always had this longing to drive Route 66, pretty much inspired by Thelma and Louise. I’d flown over the spot where the movie ends and their car goes off the cliff, while in the helicopter, the tour guide made it a point to announce.

Our first trip to Phoenix was fantabulous. My husband loved all the cowboy stores, venues and paraphernalia, and me, well, I couldn’t get enough of the views, and of course, shopping anything southwest. Don’t even get me started on beautiful Sedona, but those are other stories for another time. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t going home without something ‘Route 66’ and it seemed only fitting when I spotted a set of luggage on discount while I was in the market for a new bag to return home with since what I’d come with was already overflowing. The luggage was colorful with Route 66 plastered all over. And along with some other goodies I found at a flea market when our new friends had taken us to in Mesa, I picked up this sign.

 

route 66

 

Here I am living living in the east living still in the dream of being a southwest coast girl someday. Who knows what will come when the new world opens up. Never stop dreaming!

 

©DGKaye2020

 

If you’d like to hop on Soooz’s challenge, click on the link below.

Source: “Fiction in A Flash Challenge!” Week #4. Image Prompt: Join in, have fun, and let loose your creative muse.#FictionInAFlash @pursoot @IARTG #ASMSG #WritingCommunity. – Welcome to the World of Suzanne Burke.

 

 

Carrot Ranch finalist

Saddle Up Saloon; Blog Blusterin’ « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Published on by 24 Comments

 

Charli Mills has an interesting invitation to join in her TUFF FlashFiction Challenge at the CarrotRanch. D. Avery has challenged us to introduce ourselves and our blogs, the catch – Write it in 99 words exactly – pare it down to 59 words – then pare it down to 9 words only. Good exercise for blurb writing!

 

Saddle Up Saloon

 

“Yep. Folks, try defining yer blog’s purpose in 99 words; focus that statement even more in 59 words; then hook us with 9 words. Ya might even post these versions at yer own site. Tell us who ya are or what yer about here in the comments, 9 words, no more no less.”

 

99 words

Empathetic fashionista and shopper extraordinaire who loves to laugh. My passions are: obsessed with shoes, colorful sunsets, sandy beaches and margaritas on the rocks (in no particular order). My blog, is an eclectic mix of randomness, where you’ll find anything from writing tips to tales from the past, an occasional rant about injustice, relationship talk, travel tips, book reviews, author interviews, and sometimes dabbles in political poetry. It’s almost impossible for me to dwindle it down to just one niche, because it never is. I’m an eclectic memoirist and conversationalist who writes to empower by sharing slices of life.

 

59 Words

An empathetic fashionista obsessed with shopping, shoes, sandy beaches, margaritas and always ready for a new travel adventure. My blog is an eclectic mix of randomness where you’ll find anything from writing and blogging tips, memoirs slices of life, injustice rants, book reviews, interviews, travel tips, relationship talk and occasional poetry. Impossible to drill it down to one niche.

 

9 Words

Eclectic memoirist who loves shopping, the beach and books.

 

Visit the CarrotRanch to view some fun entries and perhaps join in too!

Source: Saddle Up Saloon; Blog Blusterin’ « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

©DGKaye2020

 

Colleen's Weekly Poetry Challenge

Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge – #Themeprompt – The Day After

Published on by 26 Comments

I jumped into Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge with a Reversed Mirror Double Etheree. This week’s challenge is a #Themeprompt – The Day After.

 

money and mask

 

 

The Day After

 

The beginning of the new world order.

Breathe in the glorious gift of life.

We remain distanced, gloved and masked.

Behold, our new world awaits.

Taking in the outdoors,

People emerging,

Unshackled gates.

Aftermath.

The day

Came.

 

The

New gifts

Presented.

Our creator

 Replenished the world.

Rivers and streams run clear,

Black sooty air has vanished.

Take a glimpse and taste of the world.

Savor it and drink it in, listen.

Take heed, yesterday is gone – welcome home.

.

©DGKaye2020

 

Want to try out some poetry? Check out Colleen’s weekly challenge.

Visit Colleen’s Original Post.

 

 

 

 

blog challenge

#FlashFiction Challenge from CarrotRanch #Photoprompt

Published on by 26 Comments

For this week’s Flash Fiction challenge at Charli Mills’ CarrotRanch – In 99 words write a story about this image:

 

 

 

 

January 23, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a park bench. Use this gif to choose a timeframe and write the story behind that particular scene. Use the time as your title. Go where the prompt leads!

 

 

Secrets and Moments

If I could tell you I would. It’s my job here to offer a place to rest your weary selves. All knowing, listening and watching as countless people land here to share a moment.

Broken hearts rested here in refuge with their grief, new beginnings created as some knelt on bended knee declaring their love and proposing to another who has rested upon me.

Shady characters too have used my inconspicuous location for an incognito drop-off. While others come just to relax and take in a beautiful day.

These secrets traded between visitors remain ingrained within my wooden confessional.

 

Visit the ranch to read other entries.

©DGKaye