To be part of the game

Today’s prompts at

Gamble
Omitted
Temporary

Over at Write On Wednesday the question today is this:

“How about you? How do you cultivate creativity in your life? Have you found the things that make you come alive? Are you doing them? Shouldn’t you be?”

“Good morning everyone, this is Dewy Knickers for HBNN – Hysterical Bloggers News Network – and our motto remains, ‘No Problem Too Small To Hype’. Today I am preparing my world famous rounded assets for the long flight to Beijing, China and the Summer Olympic Games opening on August 8th, 2008. I very nearly couldn’t go because my visa was delayed however when it was pointed out to the Chinese that an Olympics without Dewy Knickers reporting would be stir fried noodles without MSG, the visa arrived promptly. The question on all journalists minds is whether China will respect the IOC Charter and the promises made when winning the right to host the Games. Early arrivals have not omitted from reporting that internet access in the International Broadcasting Center is being blocked to certain websites and keywords. In addition, the agreement to allow foreign reporters free access to civilians and everyday life around the host venues is apparently going to be a moot point. Many clubs, restaurants and other independent businesses in Beijing are being ordered to close down, most for obscure permit and license violations. The locals hope these restrictions are only temporary as will be the heavy security presence. In the best of times most foreigners are observed if not escorted everywhere they travel in China, it is a certainty that all journalists will be followed and residents closely watched and monitored. China’s government is trying to keep the focus on the Games and nothing else. It is a huge gamble for a country that has enormous challenges ahead in terms of economic growth, population, corruption, pollution and the divide between rich and poor. In many ways China today resembles the unfettered Industrial Revolution when workers rights and the environment gave way to profits. The shuttering of many factories upwind of Beijing along with strict vehicular traffic controls have made an impact on the heavy cover of pollutants that normally coat Beijing, but it appears that the weather will play the major role in keeping the skies clean. Without rain and a steady wind the smog will not be completely gone by the Opening Ceremonies. It is important for the world to view China not as they wish to be seen, but as a country with vast potential to create positive change. The issues facing China are very similar to those in other leading countries and the globalization of finance and trade are teaching the West a harsh lesson in economics. If we accept the Summer Olympic Games in the spirit of friendly competition, then perhaps other vital problems facing the world will receive the attention needed. This has been Dewy Knickers, ‘The Voice of Reason’ reporting for HBNN.”

Dewy Knickers is part of me, Rose, and the part that is most ‘alive’. She sees the world as unlimited and exciting. Her persona is challenging, questioning and forthright. It is always a creative opportunity to write as Dewy because she loves facts and figures. She also loves the entire concept of being someplace else, someplace real and pretending to walk the streets and breathe the air. There are after all no restrictions on imagination.

For myself, life is an interesting concept. Seeing and experiencing the world through other eyes and emotions has made me realize that being alive is not what most people have thought. To be creative is in the mind, in the personality and my creativity is firmly focused on writing. I would like to expand my interests though into visual arts, like pottery or sculpture. Time as always is the final factor in our lives.

Rose

xo

Beyond the obvious

companion by Rick Mobbs a weekly image prompt

The second prompt today is from Sunday Scribblings and it is ‘Solace’.

“Waiting for the sound”

it was why Solace went out on cold winter days, when frost snapped off the brittle dead blades and ice frilled the hard mud shore

before the light stirred the steam of cattails drooping, when open water filled with rafts of dabblers and hand carved decoys bobbing

it was why Solace sat motionless with muzzle pointed, when the smell of cordite lingered and powerful strokes seized in gentle jaws

Relaxing is an art form

For the Rockin’ Chair Writers prompt this week, prompt B asks: “When you seek out entertainment to relax what gives you the most pleasure?”

For me it has to be going to a movie. I usually pick the movie we wind up seeing and we have two theaters locally that show different movies in each location; thus having between 14-16 choices. We don’t go that often, about once a month and I try to pick something that most of us will enjoy. Recent movies include “Enchanted”, “Cloverfield”, “Ironman”, “King Fu Panda” and “Prince Caspian”. (All but the last I enjoyed very much.)

The why is more interesting. Bernard, – for those of you following at home – was in charge of our body from roughly 11 to 22 years of age. Of course he went by Brian, but Brian today is not the Brian of then. *shakes head* That’s why we don’t spend too much time dwelling on the past, it just gets you mixed up inside. In any event, Bernard was a connoisseur and studied the craft of film making by watching the lighting, the continuity and the acting among other things. Being a loner however and unable to make friends he also latched onto the hero worship of entertainment. “Star Wars” in 1977 he watched at least 17 times in the theater and was able to identify all the myths and legends used because of the thousands of books he’d already read by the age of 14.

What I like is a good story with pace and drama. The acting is not as important to me, because a bad movie can still be beautiful, can still tell a story in a relaxing tone. Of the five movies listed above the one that gave me the most pleasure would be “Enchanted”, not only because of acting and the singing but because of the story. The story is age old as I wrote in this review but I watched it again on our computer DVD player recently and felt just as relaxed as the first time. The story is deep but light as well and it rarely strays from telling it in a fun and pleasurable way.

So there you have my take on entertainment. Give me a good story in a movie and I’m all yours.

Rose

xo

Writing as a vocation

A site called Write On Wednesday asks the following question this week.

So, how about you?  What do the three P’s of writing…practice, pleasure, profit…mean in your writing life?

At 3WW this is the weekly prompt.

Avoid
Class
Sticky

I’ve always written for pleasure with my blog, no matter the content. For me writing of course is the sole means of communication and one that gives me great pleasure. There is no topic or word I avoid, I prefer life in the raw although I realize there are many taboos in all cultures. Yet the words still endure, the phrases and cliches that represent something beyond letters. With diligent practice writing becomes something more, something tangible that communicates emotions and experiences of others. With fiction there is less urgency, less sense of being in class and following strict rules. Any subject matter can be brought to life in fiction and the characters and plots that endure are the ones with reality as the focus. No matter the actual setting, a great fiction book will draw the reader in and place them as an observer.

Non-fiction can be sticky; the slightest error and the entire tome is invalidated. To write an engaging story that combines a textbook with a journal and succeeds in making real people and places read like fiction; that is the goal of every non-fiction writer. Having completed a manuscript about myself I’m trying to find a literary agent and sell my words for profit. But to be completely honest, that is not the reason I write. I took a break for the last few months and Monday I returned to my novel and finished chapter 15. There are major differences between the two works. For my novel, the place is still vague and it’s the characters who shine the brightest. For my narrative memoir, it’s our words and in the travel portion, the places that stand out, while I take the role of narrator and guide. That I believe is the true role of a writer; to be a guide. To take the reader’s hand and help them into your story.

“The strange guide”

Welcome, good morning and please, step right through the door. My name is Rose Dewy Knickers, but you can call me Rose. It’s a great pleasure to have you all here today and I do hope you enjoy the tour. I must warn you though, be careful and avoid making presumptions, the story will not unfold the way you believe; there is always… a twist. I see some of you nodding your heads, you have seen this twist before. It takes practice to write a proper twist, the kind that loops simultaneously backwards and forwards in the plot. You are puzzled? Don’t be; think of it this way. When you remember something, is it in a file? On a sticky note? Or is it just… there? There is no time stamp on a memory, no rigid format. Memories are fluid and a great story will profit from this function called remembrance. When you write, create words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters that invoke the reader’s memories without resorting to obvious ploys. Be subtle, be cautious yet be bold. Do not write to a class structure, but instead seek to melt the boundaries between the neuron gaps. Pardon? Oh, no that’s not potpourri, that’s breakfast; cinnamon toast, coffee and hot chocolate: fresh strawberries and cantaloupe with slices of camembert and Havarti. Please, help yourselves, the table is set; the flowers were cut this morning, I have a garden out back. Yes, that’s lavender and basil you smell; rosemary too, it’s quite pleasant in my cottage at dawn, the sun rising, the dew reflecting the new day. Very peaceful and conducive to writing. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.

Fading into shadows

Read Write Poem is having an ekphrastic extravaganza this week, thanks to the talents and generosity of poet and artist Rick Mobbs. Over at Sunday Scribblings the weekly prompt is ‘Ghosts’.

Portrait of Nanda, by Rick Mobbs

“Do you know who I am?”

seeing him

across the street

I fix my gaze elsewhere

inclined to leave

but this is my chair

my spot in the damp air of

morning

the quiet before the children

run off to school

and the mothers

are left behind

to morph into

domestiques

preparing for siesta

and fertilization

a role I too played

long ago

before I faded

into shadows and

became a ghost

to my kin

By Rose Dewy Knickers, July 21st, 2008