(Photo explained later in the post)
5 Thoughts
My writing desk has been a mess lately. Stacks of books, papers, notebooks, gift cards dug out of one of the drawers, pens, pencils, old journals, my microphone for podcasts, and my mug of tea. I’m going to have to clean it. Maybe today. There are two ways I manage to enthuse myself about cleaning: auditory distraction in the form of music, audible books, podcasts, or a conversation with a friend OR attempting to see it as a treasure hunt. I did find those gift cards. Maybe there’s something more hidden under the papers. Turns out I’m not the only one who has to motivate my cleaning powers (definitely not one of my superpowers), as shown in this article: 15 Ideas to Motivate Yourself to Clean.
I’m pretty sure that taking the time to search for that article could have been used to put some books away, but it was helpful, right?
I have been “digging” poetry for a while now, but in 2022, I challenged myself to read 25 books of poetry for the year. I read 15 books of poetry. This year, I’m on my way to completing a 15-book poetry challenge. Why? Because poetry is fun, challenging, and makes my brain work in a different way from prose writing. It helps clarify my language (that might not be obvious here) and forces me to consider rhythmic beats in my words. If you don’t write poetry, I recommend trying it for a month or so, just a little at a time. If you don’t want to write it, try reading it.
“Read poetry every day of your life. Poetry is good because it flexes muscles you don’t use often enough. Poetry expands the senses and keeps them in prime condition. It keeps you aware of your nose, your eye, your ear, your tongue, your hand.” - Ray Bradbury
I know Kickstarter is popular, but I actually gave money to a Kickstarter campaign for the very first time and received a lovely book that I haven’t started reading yet (the library pile is huge right now). I took part because I wanted the book, I wanted to support the author, and I wanted to see what Kickstarter felt like from the "supporter” side of things. I’m not sure if Kickstarter will be something I do anytime soon, but it’s lurking in the background of my brain. The campaign I supported was for J.F. Penn’s Pilgrimage book.
It’s March. Blustery (here), rainy, sometimes gray and sometimes sunny, and sometimes both in quick succession. I love where I live, but as I write this it feels a bit too gray and damp. One thing I enjoy about being connected to people from around the world is seeing pictures from where they live in different seasons. There’s a writer I know in Canada who still has several feet of snow on the ground by her house. Several feet! That kind of amazes me.
To give you an idea of what it feels a bit like here, this is a photo I took a few years ago on a rainy day with a reminder I added later.
Photo taken in downtown Gig Harbor.
I’ve been podcasting a bit these days by reading stories. If you’re interested, just skim through my archive to find the first few. I’m going to try to post three a week, but that will be determined by time and energy levels.
5 Writing Prompts
These are all pretty short this week. Hopefully they stir some inspiration and imagination.
In the old house, when the heating system came on…
The old tire-swing hung empty, waiting for…
On the windowsill…
It was a less-than-restful day at…
“becoming a photograph” (George Swede haiku excerpt)
5 + 5 Friday
There's still snow where I live, too.