Writers Inspiration

Writing Challenge Day 2

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Yay, I accomplished 49 minutes and a poem not counting this blog entry.  🙂 I’m joining Teresa Barker and Ronel Janse van Vuuren on the productive writing challenge. Now, you’re probably thinking what’s so difficult about writing, you just do it. Easier said than done. There are so many other things that need to be done every day in a house with a messy Marvin husband and three moving hairballs. ( aka Purryl, Yeats, and Macavity, our four-legged family) The distractions are endless and I feel guilty letting everything sit while I stare at the page.  At least, I do.

A good friend said, “People go to work daily and when they come home they tackle the stuff that’s essential and get to the other stuff whenever. The problem with you is you’re not thinking of your writing as your job.  Or maybe writing isn’t to you? ”

Dang it, he’s right. 😦  I put my writing second to everything. That will be changing. 🙂

So this morning with every attention of writing for 90 minutes,  I sat for the allotted time and found myself getting lost in my thoughts before a poem came together for me. I briefly did get distracted by my surroundings and that stinker Macavity, who is mighty insistent but I did persevere.

My Life in Moments by Lyn Crain

Droplets of water on glossy leaves
and fragrant petals glisten brightly.
My plants joyful for their reprieves
from  Mother’s Natures antics 
savor these moist moments.

Birds singing sweet melodies
and squirrels chattering away.
Each sure, they have the remedies
for the making of a perfect day
create new musical moments.

Coffee cup sitting to my right
while my pencil scribbles on paper.
My thoughts wander as I write
and soon my images blur I’m
clearly lost in the moments.

My youngest kitten nudges my hand.
 He startles me out of my daydream.
 I happily agree to his insistent demand. 
His playful antics are a show stopper
highlighting our magical moments.

I discover something new to embrace
in life’s evolving door of mystery.
At my age, I cherish each place
that gives me the opportunity to
celebrate my life in the moments.

 

“When you are here and now, sitting totally not jumping ahead, the miracle has happened. To be in the moment is the miracle.”~Osho

“Forever is composed of nows.” ― Emily Dickinson

“Be present in all things and thankful for all things.” ― Maya Angelou

If you have the opportunity check out these dear ladies blogs and see how their productive writing is going.  Have a great day. 🙂

I’m off to the treadmill the other promise I made to myself to get back on track.

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/56405964/posts/6137

Interview with the Authors of the #HeroLost Anthology #MysteriesOfDeathAndLife

 

Mandela Madness Part 8 and life

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Round 56 I became so frustrated with the long double crochets that I tossed the mandala in a basket and left it for a few days. I finished the round with a few more curse words and went on to Round 57 which tidied up Round 56. It is now 45 inches around.

Beware, Tami, if you’re stitches are tight it will curl some. Helen Shrimpton did note that it will be wavy.  Mine is on one side but not so much on the other once I got my groove. And the good news is there are no special stitches in Round 9. Just lots of front or back post stitches.
And our work will be wobbly again in this section…
She said, “don’t worry, it’s all part of the grand design 🙂”

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I introduced lavender, purple and baby blue this round. Although in the camera lighting the purple looks like black. I was ready for new colors. My lilacs are blooming so I decided to give them a place in this journey, the sky was a lovely shade of blue without a cloud in it on the day I began that round. The deep purple represents the lovely flags on the irises. I love the spring time blooms.

I’ve been working on my short story Death and I. My short story is fascinating thus far because I have it from the woman’s point of view and from Thanatos point of view. The story has evolved into two stories, not one. I worked on it for 15 minutes today, Theresa. This writing to be more productive challenge will be an eye opener for me, it’s been quite a while sine I’ve sat 90 minutes straight without interruption. I know I need too. There are too many things distractions and my writing is suffering dearly. I don’t think I managed to get 5 hours out of the whole week. 😦   But, excuses are like assholes, we all have them.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”
—Philip Roth

So, this morning I finished the baby hat I needed to get done for a friend of mine to go with the baby afghan I did back in March. I totally spaced the hat out. I saw her on Friday at the Cancer Recognition Luncheon and she asked if it was done. The afghan yes, the hat…oops. Needless to say, I whipped that hat up. I had put the blanket in the closet on the shelf because we had company in April visiting and out of sight out of mind.

Thank goodness, I’m not using baby pink in my Mandala, I am so over that color. I’ve done 3 baby blankets for new Mommas and of course, they were all girls. I’m not a fan of pink but that is the color they wanted. Need to keep the customers happy. 🙂

Friday, was a fun day I attended a luncheon with 38 other Cancer survivors, we were being honored by the local Teacher’s Union. Mastori’s, a local restaurant, catered the lunch and the food was excellent.

It was awesome to connect with other cancer survivors and to hear their stories. We’re beating the cancer odds more and more each year. Early detection is crucial, don’t ever neglect your self-exams.  You know your body better than anyone, talk to your doctor if anything feels wrong to you. It can be the difference between life and death.

I wore a dress, totally out of character for me. The funny part of the dress thing was I rubbed my leg and realized oh shit, totally forgot to shave my legs. Thank goodness, it had only been a few days since I had. 😦

I’m a jeans girl and shaving my legs isn’t a priority. to me.

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No worries, my health is fine. I’m a three-time cancer survivor and it’s been 10 years since my last round of cancer. 🙂

I’m simply sporting my summer do, I don’t like sticky hair when I’m working outside so I cut it right off.  I discovered after chemo how easy it is to shower and go and it’s become a summer routine. Though this year, I did decide to go really short. What can I say, hair today, hair tomorrow… it grows back very quickly so by July I’ll be back to needing gel and a straightener because of the unwanted curls.

Quote

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“In books I have traveled, not only to other worlds, but into my own. I learned who I was and who I wanted to be, what I might aspire to, and what I might dare to dream about my world and myself.”
~Anna Quindlen

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Let’s have coffee together

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Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening… I think I have everyone covered.

I’m on Round 7 of the Mandala Madness. Phew. Round 6 had some interesting quirks that hopefully, I won’t be repeating the same errors. No worries, it’s not with the pattern at all. It was totally my yarn choices. I chose my light turquoise yarn to do the shells in Round 39 which was a huge mistake because in Round 41 you are using the back loop of Round 39.  You’re probably thinking so… well the turquoise wasn’t a Caron or a Redheart yarn which hold up very well with more complicated stitches. The turquoise was a Bernina product and it was very disappointing in this case. It kept splitting apart and stretching which means I had to work slower and pick up a lower stitch behind it to help reinforce the back stitch.  😦

I decided after this frustrating round I would read ahead instead of simply following the video. Esther is great but I need to plan so I am not stressed with my work. It defeats the whole meditation process if you’re frustrated.

http://www.crystalsandcrochet.com

The designer’s website provided me with all the tools I needed to plan ahead. Wow, it’s not a lap size blanket as I originally thought to glance at the videos. It’s 7 feet, okay I’m working on a queen size bed project. I can do this.  It’s 111 rounds. I can do that too.

Then I got thinking how to best maximize my color usage. I decided on 18 colors that would give me the vibrancy I am looking for in the finished product. These colors are very prominent in nature and in my home. That’s even better. Eighteen colors means I will be repeating the colors 6 times if I want to have a color balance throughout the project. I can do this.

Since we last discussed colors introduced I added white to my mandala because I wanted innocence to be among my meditative journey. As I completed the white round and was moving on to the next round I remembered how quickly as a child I lost that innocence in my life. I was only nine when my father decided to steal my childhood from me.

 I saw her nine-year-old trusting eyes

trying to cope with her father’s lies.

Her cheeks streaked with silent tears

whenever he tossed back a few beers.

She felt the guilt inside her swell

her young body revolted with the smell.

Needless to say, my color change became abrupt in the next round from white to black. Just like in my life, innocence shattered so did the colors in my mandala.  Unfortunately, so did my peaceful crocheting experience.

I wrote in my journal and wrote 2 poems discussing the abuse I faced as a child. Overall, it became a productive writing day and helped me get back on track for my next color choice which is gold.

I chose gold because I know how important it is to strive every day to be your best. It’s often said that change is the only constant in life. Yet humans are evolutionarily predisposed to resist change because of the risk associated with it. I feel change is essential to our existence, granted there will be the moment of relapse as I had yesterday but it’s important to recognize that you can’t linger in the painful memory you must move on.

When you’re finished changing, you’re finished. -Benjamin Franklin

I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. -Georg C. Lichtenberg

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. -Maya Angelou

Be the change that you wish to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you for joining me on this journey.  Crochet on… Write on

 

The Rising Need for Poetry

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As a poet I cannot go gently, I must write.  We are living in a new literary era which I feel is now the poetry of social connections. There has always been a long tradition of political activism in poetry. But with the internet, it has become the new Avante Garde.

“I see protest poetry as a genuine means of encouraging someone to feel the inconsistencies, the horror of the lives we are living. Social protest is saying that we do not have to live this way. If we feel deeply, and we encourage ourselves and others to feel deeply, we will find the germ of our answers to bring about change. Because once we recognize what it is, we are feeling, once we recognize we can feel deeply, love deeply, can feel joy, then we will demand that all parts of our lives produce that kind of joy. And when they do not, we will ask, ‘Why don’t they?’ And it is the asking that will lead us inevitably toward change.” —Audre Lorde

Shelley, Longfellow, Whitman, Eliot,  Plath, Sexton, Lennon, Thomas, Angelou, Nelson, Davis, Lorde, just to name a few poets who chose poetry as a means to give social injustices a voice. Much of what these writers vocalized in their poems gave a voice to people of similar experiences. However, their words are also a charge to me, to us all…. to not continue feeling comfortable with the privileges enjoyed because they often came at a cost to others.

Jane Hirshfield said in a recent NY Times article that poems are more visible right now because of the difficult times we are facing. It is ironic for a poet because when there is not abundant poetry it means times are okay, and their craft is overlooked. When times are dire poetry becomes prominent because it provides comfort in difficult times to the masses. As poets, we must learn to ride the waves.

The recent resurgence of protest poems reflect the strains of our communities and our very existence. The New York Times says the flood of protest poems recently stands apart from earlier eras in both quantity and intensity. I wonder if it is because the poems that appear today in social media speak with urgency and social responsibility in a time that it is so desperately needed.

History has shown people turn to poetry in times of crisis, and unfortunately, we are definitely facing dark times on this planet we all call home. Every day, around the world change, is happening and those changes are not promising.

Imperfectly Perfect By Lyn Crain
People Saw It at The Time 
Mismatched Yet Perfectly Paired
Idealism 
And
Horrific Brutality 
Up-close and Unsettled 
Inspired by What Lies Beneath 
Purposely 
Seduced and Betrayed 
We See
Belief is Potent
Every Angle
Mismatched Yet Perfectly Paired
We Understand 
The World
Doesn’t 
Change 
For Better 
Or Worse 

Live

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Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night~ Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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American Dream by Lyn Crain

To understand
The world
Fight For
Injustice…

Fight
Old Boy Mentality
And
Small Talk

See it from
Every angle
Where
Rage
Intersects
Our own
Chaos and Bliss…

 

Mandala Madness Day 9

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In both eastern and western cultures, the mandala has come to symbolize harmony, unity, wholeness, and healing. When I consider the mandala’s ancient roots and its use in indigenous practices around the globe, I understand why it’s such a part of our planetary culture.

In part 5 of this project, I introduced blue which promotes peace and emotional health. I was inspired by my lovely blue hyacinths. I added green because of the new green leaves on the maple tree. Green promotes love and respect for nature.  I introduced pink a milder influence of energy than its counterpart red. I returned to orange and it’s creativity and red for its high energy.

It’s raining here in New Jersey again, so I curled up in my recliner with the mandala across my lap and played some Willie Nelson and Ronnie Dunn on the stereo. Before I knew it part 5 was completed. It was a lovely peaceful afternoon for me crocheting.

I am very pleased with how the red and orange worked together in the half moons.

There was only one minor glitch this time and it was with the shells in row 40, I had the first two repeats completed when a message box appeared on the video. The instructor had asked us to do double crochets when in fact she meant for us to do treble crochets. Phew, good thing I hadn’t gone any further than that.

Macavity as soon as I laid it on the table immediately tested the comfort level out. I am happy to say it has his paw approval. 🙂

Tomorrow, I must focus on getting several of my poems ready for the contest deadline so I am going to have to let my mandala rest. 😦

Mandala Journey

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I’m on day 8 of this Mandala spiritual awareness journey. I have just completed Round 34. Phew, those popcorns were frustrating. I had to take this apart 3 times to get it to work. At the beginning of my third attempt, I paused the video and counted the popcorns in the picture. That is where I discovered the popcorns were in clusters of 13 not 12, then 2 half double crochets, 5 single crochets on each side. Once I did it that way everything came together. Thank goodness for the picture. 🙂

Since we last discussed colors I’ve added black, pink, bright spring green and royal blue.  I chose black to invite mystery into my spiritual arena because things in my world were feeling very mundane.  I was looking at my pink hyacinths in the front flower bed and the new green leaves on the trees so I added those to my Mandala. I noticed how dark my buds were on my other hyacinths so I decided to add royal blue.  I decided to measure my progress at this point and on Round 34 it is 36 inches.

This is when I introduced the black, it really added a pop to the sunbursts.

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Round 34

This is where I added the pink, spring green and blue.DSC_0025

I’m looking forward to Part 5 with the interesting half moons and shell shapes. I’m thinking I am going to do the red again though I am not a huge fan of red just to keep the colors balanced in my Mandala.

Thank you for following me. I was so excited to see I’ve reached 101 followers.  Godspeed!

It’s All in a Nutshell Crochet Mandala Madness

 

 

Successful Brand Creating

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In writing, the primary requirement of an opening is that the first few lines plunge the reader into the story instantly. The reader is hooked with the writing. But is it enough to keep them coming back again and again as you build your brand, your writing career?

I found myself contemplating how I am going to market myself as an author again after my encounter with this young woman.  She swears it is more than selling a book. It is about selling ourselves to the reader. I tried to decide in my head how to approach the first few minutes with a stranger.

What should matter most in the first initial conversation I have with the new individual? Is it the few first lines spoke or the way I  present myself before speaking.  I’ve been told a strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for a successful introductory encounter.

What about once I get into the conversation?  How important are the first words uttered?  Should I focus on hooking them like I do in my writing with the first few lines? Like having a practiced opening dialogue in the back of my head or should I simply fly from the seat of my pants.

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”– Albert Einstein  Great advice Mr. Einstein but how do I know the rules of the game when I’ve never marketed myself.

I’m very visual. I’m guilty of noticing the individual’s appearance like for instance is the person relaxed or tense. Did they make eye contact when approaching? Did the person extend his hand for a handshake? What kind of grip? Did it linger or not?

So I try very hard to match the social cues so we remain on equal footing. I always note something the person is wearing and specifically comment about it. I’m not really comfortable with small talks like the weather or the day itself so I tend to focus on the purpose of our meeting whether it be networking or social connections and go directly to the purpose of our getting together. “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. – Zig Ziglar   Thus far in life that has worked very well.

“For success, attitude is equally as important as ability.” – Harry F. Banks

But then my never ending mind went back and forth on… is the real hook in the introduction and the presentation or the conversation that follows. For me,  both are important but I can never decide what has more value in the long run. I feel it is important to make the encounter memorable and connectable for the future with the minimalist of effort and time. Time is priceless to me and I would rather spend my time in pursuit of my passions than being a social butterfly but I do need my book to sell.  I agree with Picasso that “Action is the foundational key to all success.”– Pablo Picasso

So as I was crocheting Round 33 and 34 on my Mandala I was trying to decide again how do I market myself better. I would love to hear your thoughts and how you approach marketing yourself.

 

http://www.lyncrainpoet.com

 

 

 

 

Interests Beyond Writing

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If you have time to breathe you have time to meditate. You breathe when you walk. You breathe when you stand. You breathe when you lie down. – Ajahn Amaro

Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment. – Alan Watts

Life is a mystery – mystery of beauty, bliss and divinity. Meditation is the art of unfolding that mystery. – Amit Ray

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I’m on round 30 working on my Mandala. It now covers most of my lap and I am only on Mandala Madness Part 4 and the series goes to 10. The directions are easy to follow along though I will admit the sun bursts were not easy for me. I had to work the yarn around to have mine look like sunbursts. What about you Tami, did you have to keep adjusting yours?

The sun has been shining in New Jersey, we’ve had the heat off and the windows open enjoying the birds harmonizing in our neighborhood. I love listening to the birds singing in the morning.  Unfortunately, the bad part of having the windows open is hearing your neighbor’s yapping dog. GRRRR…

Friday, my grandson Chris and I cleaned the lower yard. I enjoy spending time with Chris immensely. He is 8 years old and loves motorcycles, card tricks,  and soccer. He enjoyed showing me a card trick learned. I introduced him to the game of Cribbage. He was getting the hang of the game by the time the afternoon ended. “A grandson is a gift from above. One to cherish, one to love.”

Hope you’re enjoying a peace filled day!