Tag: writing prompts

Arts, inspiration, New Ideas, starting a business, therapeutic writing, writing opportunities

Moving Forward, Slow & Sure!

carolyncordon

I know what I want to do, and I know many of the people who can help me as I go. Having goals is one thing, but with action, a goal is just a decoration, amounting to not a lot that is very useful in terms of ‘doing business’.

The goals I’ve set for this year though, ones developed after reading a recent Journaling topic given by Nan Berrett on the Facebook page ‘Your Journaling Journey’ will be guide posts to assist me as I go through the necessary steps to make my business the best it can be!

The ten ideas I came up with in response to this prompt topic cover a variety of things, some of them concerning my business others more personal things, but it all blends into creative things for 2025!

This Journaling Journey has brought up many interesting thoughts and ideas, and I definitely want to continue with journaling once this 30 day program is all over.

This is part of our gate, which forms a part of the Redbanks RUST & FOUND Art Installation, which is going to be one part of the business I am going to start up early this year, if all goes as I want it to! I’m excited about this new direction I’ll be going, it feels like I’m finally doing what what my life has been leading me to!

So slow and steady wins the race, and I have my eye on the prize, which is to have a respected business doing a variety of creativity-connected activities that will bring in a reasonable profit for me (eventually).

This year is for setting it all up, next year though, let that be the year it takes off in good ways!

I’ve made some money from my writing over the years, but now, with many more things to do, I ‘m expecting more! An I nervous about starting a new business at my age? No! I’m almost 62 and that is the perfect age to do this!

So I’ m not nervous, I’m excited. Bring it on, I’m ready to make it all happen! Many thanks to the people who’ve been helping to get to this position, especially my Support Worker, Tereza, and my husband Graham! You are both great, and have helped me to be great too, or more than that, I am Awesome!

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Writing Related News For Today

carolyncordon

My biggest writing related news for today is that I checked whether the copies of the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle had been printed yet. They were, and so after my visit to see my mother today, I headed south, picked up the copies and then headed north to deliver most of them and then go home.

I’ll be delivering a few more lots of the newsletter later on, and as appropriate, but the big deliveries are done, hooray! This newsletter has been going since 2004/05, coming out every single month, and it is getting bigger and better every year, I think! I am very proud of this newsletter, and the community loves what I do. Or some people do anyway, I know because they tell me so!

Other news for today – this is actually related to that newsletter, to some extent, I will explain. One of the things that I’ve been putting in each issue of the Crossroad Chronicle, is a little piece from a made up character, Buster the Dog. Buster is in three of my published books, that were illustrated by Allyson Hean. I imagine what Buster may be wanting to say to the people reading this newsletter, about all manner of things, current events, the weather, and random other things.

My idea was that if there are enough of these things already written, perhaps I could publish them all in a little chapbook, with the text on one side of the page opening, and an illustration connecting with the test on the other side … The unit cost of such a book would be about $3.50, or less, I would think, and I would sell the little books for $5 or $6 each, making a little bit of money, and sharing a little bit of fun, as will as spreading my name as a writer. Good idea or not? What do you think? The world needs a little more fun, and more words from a smart dog, surely?!

The dog on the cover of the book on the left, that is Buster the Dog.

I haven’t asked Allyson yet if she is interested in being involved in this project, but I will do so soon, and if she says yes, I will be sooo thrilled! uh oh, I just did a little checking, and there aren’t as many Buster the Dog pieces in back issue copies of the Chronicle as I’d thought … This means what? I’d have to write some random things to go in such a book, I suppose.

It’s OK, settle down, Carolyn – I re-checked the number, and I think there will be enough, actually. Numbers and I aren’t the best of friends, but I think I’m right with this one. And hey, if there aren’t enough already, this project will take a while to accomplish, and I write a new one every month these days, and I’m thinking up to 20 of them will be a good number.

And to finish off, my most exciting news is that I am the presenter of a writing workshop and am the guest poet for the March Gawler Poets at the Pub event, happening next Sunday (28 March 2021). I have the workshop worked out, with the relevant hand out printed, as well as having copies of the entry form and guidelines for the poetry competition Adelaide Plains Poets have happening now, and until 2 July 2021, when entries for the competition will close.

The theme for this competition is “Recovery”, and the entry form, and guidelines, are on this blog, look around, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find. And if it is, leave me a message, and I can send a copy to you!

So, a big word related day, with many more to come!

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Still Waiting on ‘One Day’ …

carolyncordon

One day, I will be well known for the quality of my written words. One day one of those well known books I will have written will be about the wisdom that has come to me through my thinking and writing of those thoughts.

One fine day, I will also be known as the writer of a fun and entertaining series of Cosy Murder Mysteries. And also as a poet who writes the kind of poetry everyone can read and enjoy, not just University educated literati types – pompous poets …

One day my blogs will have thousands of followers, with hundreds of readers every day. One day, oh one fine day. I’m not there yet though. It’s a work in progress, but some of the different items have very slow, turtle-like progress, or even slower. But writing happens pretty well every day.

How fast does the Eucalyptus tree grow? As fast as Nature intends it to grow …

Yes, one day, tiny seeds fall from tree, and with rain and sunshine can grow into a tall tree, to produce flowers, then seeds, then drop those seeds, and so on and so on … Every word is a seed that may one day become a tall tree of a book, with leaves and flowers and seeds of worth.

Time and prompts, with coffee and food, happy times, sad times, times when my brain says, yes! I have to write that right now! And even times when my brain says, too dumb, can’t think, and I write anyway. So in this way I can make this day or the next, that One Day. I will write more, to produce the books I wanted to write ‘One Day’ back in the time that was before, and is still now.

Coffee, creativity …

One day can become this day, and even though fame is a shaky prospect, I will have tried my hardest, done my best, and will have books to show that my One Day, was a fine day.

Cozy Mystery, Public Speaker, writing prompts

A Day Late, But Here’s the Writing Prompt

carolyncordon

Yesterday was ‘one of those days’ and I didn’t get around to doing much at all regarding my blogging life … I did get some more of my current work in progress though, so I’m happy with that. I’m hoping I may be able to find a way to sneak this writing prompt I’m going to put up here, into my Cosy Murder Mystery, “Winds of Death at Talloola”, which is that current work in progress.

So here is the prompt, do with it what you will! What on earth was that?

So, I’m sure there’s a lot I could do with that writing prompt, given my current work in progress is a Cosy Murder Mystery … Things that go Bang! in the night anyone? My main character (Meredith) is at the moment beginning to wonder about the large number of deaths in her new little town, that she is beginning to call home, and falling in love with. But the local copper doesn’t like her, and doesn’t like her friend, Gert …

But Meredith is also friends with Mister, the dog who lives next door, and she’s going to use him as a warning system, in part, because she and Mister (and other dogs too, it seems), have some kind of an understanding … If Mister doesn’t like someone, Meredith will know to watch out for them too. And Mister is going to show Meredith that her initial distrust of this police officer was wisdom indeed …

This is Mister, a red kelpie something cross, former sheepdog, now, lounger around on the grass, and a fine judge of character in people, helping Meredith to stay safe …

Mister may look a little grizzled (or quite so, actually), but he, like Gert, still has all of his marbles, even though some around town may doubt that. If Mister doesn’t like you, you’re probably not a nice person, not at all.

So in my novel, perhaps Mister is going to help Meredith when there’s a big Bang in the night, and she goes out of her front door to see what caused the sound … I haven’t written any of that yet, but the prompt was there, and it seems like it will fit in well, for my story …

That is the thing about writing prompts, the best ones will have a connection with what is already in your head, or written down, and will, ideally, prompt lots of other useful ideas too. I sure hope this is going to help me to get lots more words written down. Writing a Cosy Murder Mystery series, as I am, seems like a grand idea, and with luck, bit by bit, I will eventually get to ‘The End’, and ‘Winds of Death’, book one in my “At Tallola” Cosy Murder Mystery series will be done. And then book two will be my obsession, as well as getting book one published, of course …

writing prompts

Second Weekly Writing Prompt for March

carolyncordon

So after my Fabulous February month, of a brand new writing prompt every single day, things have calmed down a bit, and I can rest some more. Unfortunately though, as I am resting, other people are resting too, and the numbers of visitors to this blog have also calmed down and not in a wanted way.

I want lots of people to come along to my writer site, to show off what I’ve done, and what I can and will do! So if you come here, take a look around, check out what I’ve written before, maybe take on some of the writing prompts from the previous month, after all, there were 29 of them there for the taking!

And if you like what you see here, or think something else might be interesting, tell me! I will respond to whatever you might write, in an intelligent and friendly way. Unless I think what you’ve written is spam in which case I will delete it. I’m not friendly to mindless spam.

So, March … there is a new writing prompt today, and that prompt is this –

Unfamiliar places

So write about places that are unfamiliar to you, that you may like to explore perhaps, or write about places very familiar to you, but unknown to many others. Write about weird and wonderful places from yesteryear, from science fiction – books, TV, film, just write!

What unfamiliar place has this fellow been to?
Photo by Lenin Estrada on Pexel
I’ve certainly never been there, nor would I want to be, I don’t think!
Photo by Suliman Sallehi on Pexels.com

So there are two ideas about unfamiliar places, but others might be homes that you would never live in – up in a tree, or down in an ant’s nest …

Oh, up a tree, how cool would that be? Unfamiliar to me in my adult years, but I’ve been up a few trees as a kid, for sure!
Photo by Jozef Fehu00e9r on Pexels.com
You can’t actually see them in this photo, but there are ants there. The round holes are entries to the ant nest.
my photo

So there are a few ideas, and here are some more ways to consider the writing prompt. I’ve never been to Darwin, but my husband has been, and he’s never been to Alice Springs, but I have been. I’ve never been to a sauna, or to a church during a normal service, only for weddings or funerals. I’ve been to Beijing and walked on the Great Wall of China, as well as walking around Tiananmen Square, that felt like very unfamiliar territory to us Westerners, for sure.

Writing prompts are only prompt ideas and thoughts, you don’t have to slavishly follow what the prompts are, the brain likes to wander off along quite different paths at times, and that is fine. It’s all a part of the creative process, to consider as many different options as you have time for. If creative writing isn’t like that, if it is constrained by many rules and boundaries, then it stops being creative, doesn’t it?

Now that’s possibly a thought for another blog post! I’ve been looking at and writing about creative writing earlier today, and was enjoying the process very much. Thinking about writing creatively. Is it a worthwhile thing, or is it yet another way to procrastinate instead of write, I wonder … I suppose it depends on whether or not the thinking actually leads to words being written, and put ‘out there’, which surely is the main role of a writer, in whatever kind of writing they do.

Writing kept only in a notebook, and never shared in any way, or leading to things that can be shared, hmm, that’s not very useful. No-one ever sold a scribble in a notebook, unless they have lots and lots of actual books written and sold!

So the prompt for this week is Unfamiliar Places, and there will be another writing prompt next week, out on the Monday, and my plan is to go on with that for the rest of the year, a new prompt every Monday morning. Unless, of course, something happens to stop it happening …


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