Year: 2015

Writing while young. (And any other time as well.)

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I have recently begun encouraging young people to write. They should write about their now in order to later be able to write about what it was like then.

“Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times.”

We try to recapture the feelings we had when we were a certain age or in a certain place, but we so often rarely achieve that goal. Staring at the sentences we don’t feel them. They describe everything but relay nothing of what they speak of. I believe this is the one thing that keeps writers from submitting their work and becoming published authors.

Great masterpieces have been set aside in spiral bound notebooks to collect yellowed pages and dust. All for the simple fact the writer did not feel what they wrote.

Oddly, they may have conveyed more than they realized. Even if not capturing the moment for themselves fully, to others the paint on the canvas is three dimensional with smells of the ocean and heat on their skin from the setting sun.

The problem is they have no confidence in what they have done.

“Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice whether it’s through writing, drama or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth.”

Starting early in a person’s creative life helps build a creative confidence. And I believe there is no such thing as failure in creativity. You have created something, even if not what you set out to create. How many times has what any of us begun ended up exactly as we had planned?

“It is really important that focusing on things such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting doesn’t inhibit the creative flow. When I was at school there was a huge focus on copying and testing and it put me off words and stories for years.”

Today’s education doesn’t encourage so much creativity as much as it does scores to be nations. “Our nation beat your nation.” It doesn’t matter what it is, each nation is in competition. Even our children have been drawn into it, and not for the better.

But I believe we should rid our children of a great deal of the restraints early on and give them the freedom to create. Show them how to trust who they are and what they are. Give them free rein to explore and express.

“Write because you love it and not because it is something that you think you should do. Always write about something or somebody you know about – something that you feel deeply and passionately about. Never try and force it.”

Michael Morpurgo quote image

Today’s quotes are from Michael Morpurgo, English author, poet, playwright, and librettist.

This has been part of Colleen’s, of SilverThreading, Writers’ Quote Wednesday blog share. Click the link to visit her quote for today, and join in.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

 

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

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@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

 

Roll With It.

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For those that need it today. Steve Winwood and Roll With It.

Steve Winwood Roll With It image

Submissions to Rivet Journal. Experimental is a good thing. @RedBridgePress

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Rivet Journal Submissions

Article from RivetJournal.com  

Rivet: The Journal of Writing That Risks publishes new literary work that breaks from the confines of mainstream realism to surprise, delight, and challenge readers.

We seek writing that crosses boundaries of form, content, and style — either subtly or radically. Send us works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that are too fabulist, surrealist, or experimental for traditional publishers. We are glad to consider work that uses genre elements in interesting ways (e.g. an urban noir fairy tale), but we are not looking for work that is primarily aimed at a genre audience (e.g. high fantasy or hard science fiction). To get a feel for the range of writing that interests us, check out the anthology Writing That Risks: New Work from Beyond the Mainstream.

General Guidelines:

  • All submissions must be previously unpublished in print or electronically. Author must be the sole rights holder of the submission.

For the rest of the Guidelines, what they are looking for and the remainder of the article, click here.

 

Come taste the New Wine

Ronovan Writing

Our friend Faith Unlocked joins in first today with with Come Taste the New Wine.

Faith Unlocked's avatarFaith Unlocked

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Written following this week’s Haiku Challenge on RonovanWrites Haiku Challenge #61 – “Tears and Wine” :

The tears of a King
Flowed to wash us and refresh –
Come taste the New Wine

View original post

RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #61Tears&Wine

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How to Write Haiku Poetry Focus For The Week: I think we will keep working on the two sentence structure, but if you are already there regarding that, work on the opposite meanings of the two sentences. If your first sentence were about life then the second would be about death. Something like that. Remember, both focuses are just suggestions.

Proper Haiku structure is forming two complete sentences from your three lines. The middle line of the Haiku is the common line for each sentence. For sentence one, it’s the end of the sentence. For sentence two, it’s the beginning. Check my example below to see what I mean.

Challenge #61

The rules are simple.

  • Take the two words and write a Haiku. I use Haiku in English as my style, which is 5 syllables for the first line, 7 for the second, and 5 for the third, but you can use what you like. For syllable help visit HowManySyllables.com.
  • The two words can be used as you like. Words have different definitions and you can use the definitions you like. You can even use a synonym word as long as it does not change the meaning. Go to Thesaurus.com for Synonym help.
  • Copy the link of your finished haiku URL  in a comment so we can all go and visit your site to see what you have done. I will comment on your site. You can do a ping back. What’s a ping back? Put a link back to this prompt page, if you like within your post, as long as it does not take away from your haiku. This is simply a prompt and challenge to encourage people to try Haiku and give some a prompt and a place to share in comments so we can find each other. A link in your post does give others a chance to find us and join in. Use one of the two below if you like.
  • Ping back Link https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-61-tears-wine/
  • Non Ping back Link https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/
  • You may copy one of the badges/images appearing in this post below or above and place it on your site if you wish, most normally use it within their post. I am not saying you need to, but if you would like to do so then go ahead. It is simply my way of saying thank you for participating. I sometimes make custom images for the week, if time and health permits.

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The Challenge Words!

Tears & Wine

Opening Haiku

Turning tears into

Laughter is a miracle,

like water to wine.

The two sentences should read as;

Turning tears into laughter is a miracle.

Laughter is a miracle, like water to wine.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry #Prompt #Challenge #Review 60.

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Hello Everyone,

This week the suggested focus was to make two complete sentences out of the three lines of Haiku with the second line being the end of the first sentence and the beginning of the second sentence. It wasn’t a must, just a suggestion for those interested in moving toward or testing their ability at the traditional form of Haiku.

The closing Haiku.

The man’s bridges fell

Out of his dark lusting maw

Ron’s tongue wagged, the dog.

To be read as:
The man’s bridges fell out of his dark lusting maw.
Out of his dark lusting maw, Ron’s tongue wagged, the dog.

Now on to the Poets all of you need to begin to Follow, appearing below in the order they submitted their links. Well except the New Members appear first. I know I haven’t done that for a few weeks because of the laptop being dead and time but here I am back to it again.

NEW! Cathy Lynn Brooks (Author): Cathy is working on a work of love, a book about…well click here to find out what it’s about. As for the Haiku… A Move to Understanding | Cathy Lynn Brooks. The page about her book and the Haiku explain its meaning.

NEW! Gerard Young also known as dun dun dun SilverBulletHead!!!: A student in Ireland, gamer and writer. The Haiku will tell you that first part, sort of. Ah, the hopes of the higher educated (you get that from his About page, yes I read those.). I remember those days. Oh wait…no I don’t. I have amnesia. (No seriously, I do…I think.) Bored Genius | This Is CruserBladezz. I am wondering with a handle such as Silver Bullet Head if he would be great to have along in case of werewolves? Totally ignore everything I say from this point on. I took double medications and am really far out there at the moment. No werewolves were harmed in the making of this Haiku Review.

NEW! Steven O. Young Jr.: River Rouge | Rambings of a Drabbling Mind 100 Words at a time. Hoping this guy stays around. Some experimental poetry here and I like it. As for the Haiku, wow, another one of a them you will find running through the Review here. Man, this one is insane. And if you are into basketball, check out his other blog Above the Cylinder by clicking here.

NEW! Ruby Manchanda.: Bridges unite | Whispering Thoughts. We have an artistic one joining us with a good message. Definitely go and visit as this was our last entry of the week and thus not many have seen it yet. So go, like, share, praise. You know, do the be you thing y’all do so well.

NEW! Kat Myrman: Love Gots To Do It | like mercury colliding. Well if love has to do it then you know what it has to do, right?  About Kat: This place is an indulgence.  A place to ruminate and simmer thoughts, reflections and perceptions while also sharing an occasional fabulous recipe to die for, peppered with a bit of photo art…my new found artistic passion.

First in this week:

Juliette: A Year in Haiku | Battered Wife seeking Better Life. One year doing our Haiku Challenge, and the only person to do every single one of them, as far as I can tell. Dedication or OCD, I’m not certain but I say thank you for that continued participation. Here the woman I finally settled on calling Juliette explains how she came to be involved in the challenge. She gives not only this weeks Haiku offering but each weeks as well, with a total of 64 Haiku. If you want to see how someone has grown or regressed in their life over a time span, Haiku can be a great way to do that. Juliette has gone from being the mystery woman of the group to a mainstay veteran who I can always count on being involved. And more often than not when I see a like in the comments next to someone’s link on the Challenge post, she’s the one who has liked it. A true full on participate. @BWseekingBL

Annette Rochelle Aben (Author & Radio Host): The Mackinac | Annette Rochelle Aben. Annette chose to stay with her Michigan theme and give us a bit more history of her home state. The picture below is the subject of her Haiku. That doesn’t mean I am giving away what she says though. Remember to check her out on Amazon for her best selling offerings by clicking Author above. @YouAreTheExpert Click the picture below for the wikipedia site for the Mackinac Bridge.

"Mackinac Bridge Sunset" by Dehk - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mackinac_Bridge_Sunset.jpg#/media/File:Mackinac_Bridge_Sunset.jpg

Judy/Edwina: Working for it | Edwina’s Episodes. First of all, call her Judy or Edwina, both are her names, but Judy seems to be the one commonly used in her comment section by those who chat with her, although she notes that she kind of has become fond of being called Edwina. That image she used sets off everything nicely. You may need to click the image to get a good read of the Haiku. For me that makes it even better though. 

Sue Vincent (Author): Bridge | Daily Echo. Very nature oriented Haiku. Like it. Love the contrasting colors in the photo used. Sue is one of our authors with several books available. Visit the Author link above to go to her Amazon Author Page.

TJ Paris: Star Crossed Lovers | La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin. A Western Australia with a French Fetish. Very nicely done with the two sentences and opposing meanings. A touch of romance. But with a blog focused on France, especially Paris, how could he not?

Mira: overwrought | They, You And Me. Feeling anguish here, longing. Two sentence structure as was suggested to focus on. I always get that sense of wanting to give Mira a big hug when I read her Haiku. fears | To Wear A Rainbow. I would swear she can read minds at times.

Melissa Barker-Simpson (Author): Brothers in Arms | M Barker-Simpson. Call her Mel. At least that’s what she signs everything as. Not only does she have a blog but an author site as well. She’s everywhere. Now to the Haiku. I had named this one The Journey until I noticed the name in the link. I liked her explaining how she arrives at her Haiku and it makes you begin to anticipate what she’s working on. Sneaky, right? A lot of feeling here. I like it. No Twitter as far as I have found. Shame as I would like to share there. Click the Author link above to visit her on Amazon.

Me: I don’t normally put myself in here but seeing as I actually did one outside of the example this week, and I linked to the challenge, here I am. No Bridge Too Far | Ronovan Writes. You might think I would have been the first entry, but I thought that a bit unfair of an advantage. The Haiku can mean positive and negative things but moving toward the same end. I chose the positive with this offering. You can also find me at LitWorldInterviews a site I founded where I do author interviews, book reviews, and feature articles. It’s a team effort now with authors, lawyers, professors and your lover of literature giving their time to help authors. The link will take you to my specific offerings. @RonovanWrites

Al: Key to Moving | Al The Author’s Blog. Two offerings from Al this week. Got the structure in both. That first one I really like for a peaceful moment. The second? Well…That’s Al for you. @AlistairLane

Ritu: Oh those gaps. | But I Smile Anyway. Obviously a nice message. The image used is interesting and something I would like to try. Takes a lot of skill and patience.

Becky: Nature’s Bridge | Becky G? Oh, That’s Me! Can you guess what the Haiku is about from the title? When I chose it I thought it easy, but then I kept coming up with different things it could mean. I think I think Haiku to much. 🙂

Clarence: Lovers Schemes | Prairie Chat. Uh oh. Clarence is keeping with the romance here. Tapping into the Romeo side…and the people are liking it. You go Man!

R. Todd: The Bridge | A Flash of Fiction. Ah, nice one. Had not thought of this idea yet. Cool. 

Pat B.: Arches over Oregon | A season and a time. Seems a couple of people had similar ideas this week. And I must say I do love the subjects, they are fascinating pieces of art to me when done properly. This can read as one sentence or as two.

Maylian: Sensory | Personal Self Perfection. Maylian returns for a second week!!! YAY!!! Two Haiku this week from Maylian. Very much nature with some humanness thrown in. (Is it just me or does humanness “funny? Okay, and no wisecracks about how funny humans look.) Definitely go visit the blog. I love the look of it; the layout and color scheme. Very nice.

Sandra or “Daffy” as one reader called her. Whichever, the WILD ONE IS BACK! Peace | Wild Daffodil the joy of creativity. This is a MUST SEE post. So  much included in this one and for very good reasons. Definitely stop by and like it.

JK: Move Silently | The Secret Keeper. Whoa. Seriously serious thoughts there. And an appropriate image for said or suggested serious thought.  

Olga: Wait | Stuff and what if… Like the message and the image is kind of spooky in a way but also leaves a mystery to it. Nice.

Janice: Bridge | Ontheland. Two meanings for the Haiku, as Janice explains in her post. And it is a post of encouragement and inspiration. Well here we are again, well so I am anyway. This is actually much later in the order of entries and the second for Janice. Bridge of Change. This just goes to show how the Haiku challenge sticks with you no matter what you try to do. 🙂  

Denis: Survivor | Haiku Hound. Carrying on a theme, yes, I know the Haiku has a prompt and thus a theme or sorts…but hang with me here for a moment. Denis gives us a lesson about a little place just outside of Hobart Tasmania Australia. Like I’ve said before, love these types of pieces. The Haiku says a lot about the subject.

The Elusive One: Bolero | Elusive Trope. Yes, the Elusive one’s name is in the blog, but I’ll stick with Elusive for now. All I can say is I believe there was some freaking out at the prompt words, and I swear I had no idea.

Elizabeth: Madness | Tea&Paper. Ah yes, this one actually struck a chord with me when I read it earlier in the week. I’ve had to think about this often.

Meredith & Martha: Four From the Angels | Meredith’s Musings. No, that’s not really a title, but they do two apiece each week. The Bridge & Beloved Pet by Martha, and then Family Feud & Progress from Meredith. Great images. I really love them AND Beach Babes with Nick!!! Also, these ladies are facebook friends of mine and I will tell you Meredith is looking great. Visit her twitter and see either a very strange looking Beach Babe baked potato or seaweed loved coconut, I’m not sure which. @MeredithLBL

vronlacroix: Fragile | Simply Snapshots. She’s back for a second week in a row! Love it when new people come back for more AND when I see the comments on their Haiku. Awesome! Fragile is a deep one. I mean philosophically deep. Some said powerful.

Stu06Bloc9: Paired | Pitter Patter Poetry. Whoa. So there are two Haiku. Take your time and read them through. I’m still rereading as…well not AS I type this, but you know what I mean.

Marjorie Mallon (Why did I put the whole name this week? Cause it just sounds cool saying! Well…at least how I say it.): A Sweet Bridge Too Far & We’re Finished Lover |Kyrosmagica. She’s back in her groove people! I tell you this was an entertaining read from beginning to end. And if you are into Scotland and all, go check out her Edinburgh posts while she visited the Book Festival. AMAZING photos!!!  

Prakash: Move on Big River | Its PH. Yes, that’s my name for the Haiku, and if you have been reading all of this review this is just after I did the NEW! entry of Gerard, so you know I am a bit insane at the moment. But this one is both deep and funny at the same time depending on how you take it. I’m of two minds about it. Muahahahaha. Stop that Ron! What? Huh? (I just had a conversation with myself. O,o)  

Jane Dougherty (Author): Three from Lady Jane | Jane Dougherty Writes. I couldn’t really come up with one suitable name that encompassed the three, but then it struck me what better name than the name above? You all know that Jane writes beautiful poetry, and won’t enter until it’s just right. She took her time this week, for certain, and I love the painting. Always a class act. A great part of our Haiku family. And I’m not saying that because I reviewed one of her books, or because I interviewed her on my book review/interview site. Click the Author link for numerous books by her on Amazon.

Alka: Games of Chance | Magnanimous Words. She just blew my mind!!! I was not expecting this at all. The idea of using the prompts this way absolutely did not come to mind. Now that I have hyped it up so much, please go and peruse for your own enjoyment and laugh at my excitement.  

Colleen: A Hushed Moment | Silver Threading. You know, I’ve seen her blog so many times and I know the meaning but with her being part of my team on LWI, it occurred to me it could mean Silverth Reading. 🙂 Now the Haiku was amazing. Romance! @SilverThreading

Vashti Quiroz-Vega (Author): Star Trek | The Writer Next Door. Okay, another one that took me by surprise, but I have no idea why considering it’s from Vashti. Nothing should surprise me from her. Check out Vashti on Amazon at the Author link above and you can see her interview by clicking here. @VashtiQV

Florence: My Lullaby | Meanings and Musings. Peaceful, serene, and just right. I may not have any idea what it means, but it works for me. 🙂 As well as being a blogger, college professor, lawyer, and therapist she is also part of the LWI team. By the way, LWI stands for LitWorldInterviews, the book and author site I founded and take credit for the work of others. @FTThum

Steven S. Walsky (Author): Life is a Road | Simplicity Lane. A Tanka, meaning three normal lines of Haiku plus two additional lines of 7 syllables each using the third line as the link. A very thoughtful Tanka. I always expect humor when I vent Steven and have ended up with thought provoking of late. Click the Author link above to go to Steven’s blog where you will find all the available places for each book. He’s varied. 🙂

Swatiu: To Great a Distance | imgrowing. Romantic, and sad at the same time. Nice. (You ever wonder why a guy that deals with depression all the time holds a poetry challenge every week? Glutton perhaps?)

Shailzaa: Comfort Zone | Fewunsaidwords. Okay, first of all, I just realized what the blog name says. o,O I plead the concussion excuse. Wow. I am so red. Wait, I always red, well pink actually. I may have actually understood it bfore but don’t remember. 🙂 Gotta use my out when I can. Anyway. I named the Haiku Comfort Zone from my take on the meaning of the message written. A very thinky piece, as I like to call them. It makes you sit and ponder a few moments or dozen before the pain begins between the eyes at how you can’t write like that yourself. O,o

Khor Hui Min: Utopia | Project Prose. A very topical message pulled from today’s headlines all over the world. @MinKhor

Greg: The Bridge | Potholes in the Road of Life. Got the message, both of them. The first was the Greg must have goofed his link back to the Challenge I missed it, and the second is the message of the Haiku. But then I goofed by not catching a mainstay of the Challenge not being present.

If you aren’t appearing here and did participate, please let me know. I went hunting for a few usual suspects but didn’t see a Haiku on those sites.

Also, if you have a Twitter handle that does not appear above, let me know.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

Easy Connecting and Disconnecting: The Problems.

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They come and go, sometimes without our even knowing it. The social connections, the tangible next door friend and the stranger a world away who friend in a click and are gone in another. Do people disconnect on a whim or is it for a real reason? What has the ease of Online Social Interaction and Easy Connecting and Disconnecting: The Problems.Disconnection done to us socially as a society and perhaps even morally?

Thinking about things like this puts a knot in my stomach I can’t get rid of until I sort it out through words. Admittedly when I have someone disappear from my social network of “friends” I don’t always ask why. I know the coming and going is a part of the world and of this modern way of forming connections. But sometimes I do wonder.

On Facebook you must deal with people you’ve allowed into your circle of reality. When those people decide to drop you, then you wonder what happened. There is no explanation and thus the knot in the stomach begins. And dropping is the feeling that one may feel.

“What did I do?”

That’s the question that comes to mind first. For me my online social connections are my lifeline. When I lose one it rattles me somewhat and I dwell a little bit.

For someone like me, when someone, especially a female, decides to no longer be a friend you then wonder that very question above. Then you wonder what has been said. I’m a pretty appropriate guy when it comes to online social communications. Maybe in the past I’ve had moments. You would have to ask that old me. Like the one from a few days ago. That’s about how far some of my memories go.

Those social contacts keep the memory lines open. A lot of people don’t realize it but for some of us we may visit various social platform profiles in a rotation to keep people familiar to us. For a memory problem sufferer it can be important. A disconnect can throw things haywire in a major way, especially for someone who is sensitive and has actual feelings.

What has easy detachment brought about in society?

For one there is a lack of working through a problem. A person now unfollows a person and the argument or discord is over. Or it is as far as the un-follower is concerned.

In the celebrity circles it’s an easy way to get publicity and start a celebrity feud to drive up public interest in yourself. Pick the popular flavor and attack them and people will then take notice of you if you have begun to slip in notoriety. VMA awards anybody?

But for the rest of us it is more than a platform. We may have thousands of “Friends” or “Followers” but we have a lot in the offline world, the online world may at times be like a phonebook of all our old and new friends. Facebook is like that for me.

With the not needing to finish a conversation, or work out a situation, society is slowly becoming less and less able to resolve conflicts to the needed end. They still float around and build up into a frenzy. You can look at society and see how things spread like wildfire but no one ever took the time in the very beginning to try to stop it from happening—they went straight into the fire.

When once we had the chance to think overnight and arrive at some common sense we now have people go off onto Twitter or Facebook and speak emotionally.

I mentioned morality.

The ease of online sharing of EVERYTHING with ANYBODY has brought about many problems, even its own show—Catfish. If you have one person you share something with because of distance, I get that. Some relationships are separated by miles because of many reasons. And I do believe there are cases where online capabilities has made for some relationships to stay close and survive instead of drift apart during times apart.

But online has given some this sense of power and invulnerability that one can say and do anything without repercussions. They carry that over into offline life and you can see in society how some things spread and get out of hand. When certain agencies need social media experts just to do their jobs properly I think we have a problem.

I am thankful for online social connection. But I do have problems at times with the Disconnectors. But I suppose we all do it at some point. It’s easier than facing someone and telling them whatever the problem is. If you ever get disconnected by me, put it down to a memory thing. I pretty much stay connected to everyone. Well, unless you are like an uber-jerk. You know who you are. Muahahahahaha.

(Um, that last part was a joke people. So stop thinking it was you I was talking about. Paranoid much?)

There of course is the idea of Ease of Social Connectivity leading to Societal Disconnect. That’s another topic my thoughts are circling around and I may discuss another time.

What do we do?

Keeping a protective barrier is one idea. By barrier I mean have emotional security checks in place people need to pass through before entering that real Easy Connecting and Disconnecting: The Problems.“Friend” circle. Not everyone will hang around but using our mind and not heart will protect that heart. Yes, I know…sometimes that heart is going to take over. And sometimes it will be correct. But with the majority, treat your heart and self like you would treat a child in your care and who you would allow them to be with. In other words, Guard Yourself by taking your time in who you let into your private circle of true friends and remember that social network is like social anything, it’s just an every now and then thing. Just like social drinking though, it can get you in trouble.

Oh, and write a lot about a lot of things. That always helps. I mean who can socialize when they write all…the…time. I’m looking at you, and you know who you are.

Much Respect

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

#BeReal – TJ LUBRANO @TJLubrano

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I met this young lady a while back and for you Haiku Challenge members she is the reason you get a few extra views at times. She puts some of your Haiku links in her The Lubrano Daily that goes out on Twitter.One day last week, our Challenge appeared with 5 links in the form of the challenge and 4 Haiku. Visit to find out more and then onward to her own site. It’s worth it. Follower her on Twitter as well. @TJLubrano

hastywords's avatarHASTYWORDS

My #BeReal guest today is TJ Lubrano.

Besides being super talented (and Oh My Gosh is she talented) she has the ability to make the sun shine at midnight.

If I had to pick one person to be a role model for my daughter it would be TJ. I often think if she had an inspirational television series aimed at teenagers the world would instantly improve.  This girl has the ability to make huge changes in this world just with her attitude alone.

See for yourself.

I love you TJ.

Artist TJ Lubrano

Greetings lovely readers!

You know, this could be one of the most honest pieces I’ve written about myself. I got tagged by my wonderful Sparkle aka Lizzi on Facebook. Usually when she tags me it’s about an interesting project or movement (#1000speak anyone?). I’m so happy that she did though as I’ve been living under a rock lately. Not…

View original post 1,425 more words

To be yourself…

Ronovan #BeWoW, Inspiration & Motivation , , , , , , , ,

Today I had planned to have a couple of posts. Then life happened, but I still felt this sense of responsibility to have them done. I was falling into a trap that I recently talked about in another article. The traps for me are a bit different because this is my world, my place of friendship and connection.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am not a huge stress-out person. I am pretty “chill” about things. But I live in an environment of stress and stress-magnifiers. I seriously wonder if those lives would be happy if there wasn’t some type of drama existing.

Sometimes that spills over and the riptide grabs me by the ankle and pulls me, while I bob along like a beach ball on the waves, and throws me on the shores of stress beach. I’m only a visitor and I always remember to step back and think of where and why I am in this stress situation. I know it’s not me. Not my problem, and I then decide how to calm it down. That’s me. I am the calmer-downer in Stressville. I am not exaggerating.

With the SMs, meaning stress-magnifiers so some of you need to get your minds out of 50 Shades of Grey at some point, doing their thing I got concerned I would not be able to have anything for today. I mean I had decided to reduce my blogging schedule to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and then they happen. The reduced schedule is to work on my Romance novel.

To me, not communicating through my writing is more a let down to myself than to others. I almost let the SMs suck me into their world and change my mental outlook on life and how I handle things. But stressing would have made my reality moments worse and I realized trying to do too much or trying to create something entertaining or even thoughtful/inspiring wasn’t necessary. I just needed to write. Nothing fancy. Not really for anyone to read, but for me to talk, to let things out. And so I did. And here we are at the end.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.“
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson quote image

A #BeWoW and Writer’s Quote Wednesday post.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

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@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

Ladies & Gentlemen, Meet…Florence Thum @FTThum

Ronovan Bloggers, Interviews , , , , , , , ,

Time for you all to meet Florence T over on Hugh’s blog. She’s his Blog Recommendation of the Month. He has a great introduction and she gives you a great account of what she does. A bit modest but good enough. Please go and read and click like on the article. She deserves it for putting together the fund raising for my new laptop.
Much Respect
Ronovan

No Bridge Too Far.

Ronovan Haiku , , , , , , , , ,

Thinking of the prompt words for my Haiku Challenge this week, I encourage you to join with the great group of poets/bloggers, my evil mind came up with this week I kept thinking of how the word bridge united two worlds. Those worlds could be any two life systems this planet possesses.

I’m staying positive in these thoughts. I’m considering the world of love today. How often have you seen that true love in your life only to say it is impossible or too much trouble to achieve happiness? How often do you say it just wasn’t meant to be, or maybe you don’t deserve it?

For some it could actually be a physical distance. Maybe even other obstacles combined with that distance. Is ultimate love and happiness worth  a going the extra miles, giving the extra effort, or perhaps even going through that miles and miles of pain knowing love is waiting at the end?

Is there a bridge too far for you?

A bridge too far is

A path you’ve never taken,

Could change your future.

To see the image at its best, click it.

haiku poem image

 

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

A Year in Haiku by @bwseekingbl

Ronovan Haiku , , , , ,

The only person that I know of to do every single Haiku Challenge. And she’s the first one in this week. Juliette, my name for Battered Wife Seeking Better Life blog owner.

Here you will see every single one of her Haiku for all 60 challenges.

Why Juliette?

It seems to fit in a way. I’ve read a year of poetry from this woman and seen a change in her. One of promise.

BWSBL's avatarBattered Wife Seeking Better Life

You know that old adage, time flies when you’re having fun? Looks like there is definitely some truth to that statement.  Well, times flies by anyway so why not do something you enjoy.  At least you’ll have something to look forward to on a daily (or weekly) basis. I can hardly believe a year has passed since I stumbled upon RonovanWrites and his Weekly Haiku Prompt Challenge.

While on Twitter, I started noticing all these little poems people were posting.  They were so wordy and full of meaning in only 140 characters.  Each had a different hashtag but as days went on I’d notice the same hashtags pop up on different poems.  I thought maybe it was a certain theme or topic but I just couldn’t figure out the link.  Finally, I asked one of the women I met through my blog who I noticed was a participant in these poetry.  She explained about…

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RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #60 Bridge&Move

Ronovan Haiku Prompt Challenge , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Write Haiku Poetry Focus For The Week: If you aren’t already, and you don’t have to if you don’t want to, work on proper Haiku structure in forming two complete sentences from your three lines. The middle line of the Haiku is the common line for each sentence. For sentence one, it’s the end of the sentence. For sentence two, it’s the beginning. Check my example below to see what I mean.

haiku image for challenge

Challenge #60

The rules are simple.

  • Take the two words and write a Haiku. I use Haiku in English as my style, which is 5 syllables for the first line, 7 for the second, and three for the third, but you can use what you like. For syllable help visit HowManySyllables.com.
  • The two words can be used as you like. Words have different definitions and you can use the definitions you like. You can even use a synonym word as long as it does not change the meaning. Go to Thesaurus.com for Synonym help.
  • Copy the link of your finished haiku URL  in a comment so we can all go and visit your site to see what you have done. I will comment on your site. You can do a ping back. What’s a ping back? Put a link back to this prompt page, if you like within your post, as long as it does not take away from your haiku. This is simply a prompt and challenge to encourage people to try Haiku and give some a prompt and a place to share in comments so we can find each other. A link in your post does give others a chance to find us and join in. Use one of the two below if you like.
  • Ping back Link https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-60-bridge-move/
  • Non Ping back Link https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/
  • You may copy the badge/image appearing in this post and place it on your site if you wish, most normally use it within their post. I am not saying you need to, but if you would like to do so then go ahead. It is simply my way of saying thank you for participating. I sometimes make custom images for the week, if time and health permits.

 ronovan-writes-haiku-challenge-shadow

The Challenge Words!

Bridge & Move

Opening Haiku

Seasons are to bridge

Life from beginning to end,

Will change your future.

The two sentences should read as;

Seasons are to bridge life from beginning to end.

Life from beginning to end, always moves forward.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

Making a Commitment to a Nutrition Lifestyle.

Ronovan Health , , , , , , , , , , ,

Time for a bit of motivating on this Monday. More for myself than anyone else. I have decided to try out the diet known as the Paleo Diet for my Fibromyalgia.  I’ll give more information about Paleo in another article. Now, at this time I want to stress a point. I am not, repeat not, going on a diet. Yes, I need to lose weight, but my goal in life is to be healthy on the inside. I have my reasons. Some obvious and some I like to keep to myself.

(oooo doesn’t that get you to wondering? No, I am not going to be an MMA fighter just so I can get up close and personal to Ronda Rousey. But then again. Hmmm. You might be able to twist my arm. Hahahahahaha. MMA jokes kill me. Well they actually could.)

Wow that was a total off the subject ramble. But it’s my blog and I’ll ramble if I want to. Taking a deep breath before I go off on song lyrics now.

image of healthy foods

I’m not dieting. What I am going to refer to this moving forward and I’ll be possibly doing something future with my journey in a book form if things go well is something I call a Nutrition Lifestyle. Diet is word that was never meant to represent a losing weight regimen.

Your diet is what you eat.

I believe it’s time we took that back.

I also think it’s time we took back our foods. Processed foods are killing us. With Paleo, I’m changing the title of that to Clean Food Nutrition, this means as natural food as possible, not being Nazi about it, but doing the best I can with the finances I have.

Have you ever looked at ground beef in the stores? For those outside of the USA ground beef is the kind of meat you would make a hamburger from or meatballs. Due to allergies in my home labels are studied thoroughly. You will find on some ground beef packaging that beef flavoring has been added.

The first time I read this I had no clue. After it was shown to the butcher he was shocked as well. After all, unless you are buying a roast and then having the butcher grind it up for you, which you can do, the ground beef comes to the stores prepackaged.

Many chickens and the various parts in the butcher area show having broth added.

Before Vegetarians and Vegans say just don’t eat meat, you then venture into the vegetable areas in the produce and you will unfortunately discover some produce are treated with a preservative in the fields without the store even knowing it. This happens with nuts as well. The bad part? The preservative is a natural product so it can be called all natural or organic.

Soy is organic. Soy is a huge problem these days as people are now developing allergies to it being in just about every food we eat.

For me, it’s not so bad. I can eat just about anything, technically, but I won’t. So we’ll see what happens, and I’ll keep everyone updated.

I’m also throwing some Yoga into the mix. I’ve tried some recently but it completely flared my Fibromyalgia so out of control that I’ve been, truthfully, scared to try it again. But what’s it gonna do, make me hurt more than a flare?

One last reason I have to do this is because medications I am on cause weight gain. I worked very hard to lose a lot of weight and then was put on the meds. Not all the weight is back, thank goodness, but I also can’t be put on Blood Pressure medicine because basically it drops my pressure too low and I have a chance of fainting and hitting my head, and having another concussion, that isn’t acceptable. I’ve fallen several times since that day two years ago and lost memory progress I had gained. No more concussions for me.

So for me, it’s life or death. And I mean that in many ways.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry #Prompt #Challenge #Review 59

Ronovan Haiku Prompt Challenge , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We have a few authors who are members of our Haikumily here. Click the RED Author link next to their names to go to their Amazon Author pages.

red bird image with quote

Closing Haiku This Week.

Red feathers on grass,

Sign of passing life to life,

Mother bird and young.

First in is This Week:
Annette Rochelle Aben (Author & Radio Host): Robin Red Breast or Fowl Minded State | AnnetteRochelleAben.WordPress.com Interesting fact shared. Click the Author link for Amazon best selling Author Annette’s author page and the Radio Host link for just ONE of her shows she hosts. @YouAreTheExpert

Judy: Seeing Red? ANGRY! | Edwina’s Episodes I have to say, this one should have come to mind but I so totally missed the idea. But of course Judy would do this.  

TJ Paris Sparrow-Beaked Jug | amaviedecoeurentier.wordpress.com Should I say nice photo and haiku or is that a bit redundant at this point? I mean I could just copy and paste my response for TJ each week. Although the quickness of thought in finding his objects to go with the Haiku prompts is amazing. Either that or he just has a LOT of stuff! 

Ritu: Sesame Street Silliness or My Title for it “That’s Just Wrong!” | But I Smile Anyway… Well my title for it should make you go check this one out. Where Ritu’s mind goes I just…well we know where it goes but how does it get there is the question. 

Elizabeth: Red and Black in Summer come back. | tea & paper  Amazing photo. Simple but something I haven’t seen and I learned. I love that. 

Sue Vincent (Author): Red | Daily Echo A great Haiku that turned into “What do you see in the image?” fest. What do you see in the water? Sue is of course an author, that many of you probably know with a LOT to offer. Check out the link for her Amazon page.

Rajani: Rumination | thotpurge.wordpress.com I get like this after too many tacos. It’s like a stupor or something. I don’t drink so it’s tacos for me. 🙂  
RTodd: Red is the Color… | A Flash of Fiction… I think he and I have somethiing in common. Just can’t quite put my finger on it. Hmmm.  

Janice: Poem #1 Red Cross | Ontheland & Poems #2-4 Upset Idiom, Canine Ambush and Childhood Memory | Ontheland Just a few from our friend Janice. 🙂    

NEW! vronlacroix Phoenix |rimons33.wordpress.com Not the use of the word red in Phoenix you might think. Cool.

JK: Circling & Revolving | the secret keeper  Nature and very poetic. Very nice images to go along with it. Read the comments when you visit.  

Mira: the-burning-heart | They, You and Me & the robyn | They, You and Me & sunset… | To Wear A Rainbow Um, I had to take a few moments after that first one. 

stu0sbloc9: Sunset | Pitter Patter Poetry A great deal of imagery in this one and symbolism as well.

Denis1950: Spring is Here | haikuhound.wordpress.com Holy wow are there some awesome photos on this one. The colors. AWESOME! I think I said that already but oh well. 🙂

Jane Dougherty (Author): Birds of Seasons | janedougherty.wordpress.com  Three poems this week from Jane. Three birds, three seasons. Three outcomes. Click the Author link above to go to Jane’s Amazon author page. Several offerings there. @MJDougherty33

Olga: Phoenix | odaciuk.wordpress.com Ah, but not the phoenix you’re expecting. Muahahahaha. Evil laugh, evil laugh.

Alka: KleptomaniaAborted|https://alkagirdhar.wordpress.com  Informative and humorous as well, and serious. Kind of covers it all doesn’t she? 🙂 @girally

Pat B.: Beautiful Tom Turkey Struts His Stuff | aseasonandatime.blogspot.com  You may not realize how gorgeous a turkey can be, and I don’t mean on the table at Thanksgiving. Go check this out.

Vashti Quiroz-Vega (Author): Writer’s Block| The Writer Next Door  I think she’s in denial. But whatever else she is she Vashti is one of our resident authors. Click the  Author link above to visit her Amazon page.

Clarence: Casting Call| PrairieChat & Flashy Fins| PrairieChat  Looks like Clarence went back  in time for both of his entries this week.

Claudette: A Clear Blue Day | ceenoa.com  My son’s prompt words seems to have come in handy for some with their images this week.

Serins: Dreaming High | Serins Sphere  Five lines of flying and dreaming.  @SerinsSphere

MUST READ Colleen: Kathy’s Cardinal | Silver Threading Go read for a personal look. @ColleenChesebro

Elusive Trope: Summer Tanager | elusivetrope.com  Interesting use of the word red. I like those unexpected ones. 🙂

Melissa Barker-Simpson (Author): Wings of love | Melissa Barker-Simpson  Inspired to write by Colleen’s offering this week. Click the author like for Melissa’s Amazon Author page.

Elke: Red bird | writingindevizes  Um, all I can say is you have to go see…I mean read to believe. Enjoy and be entertained. 🙂

NEW! Maylian Leo: Calling Passion & Natures Formation | personalselfperfection  I say Maylian Leo even though the link says anonymous because the copyright on the poetry has that name. Definitely kept with the nature aspect of Haiku. Very peaceful offerings. Enjoyed.

Florence: The End | MEANINGS AND MUSINGS   Considering the title I almost put this one at the end instead of the order it arrived. Wait until you read it and see who actually wrote it. Chills I tell you. Our poor future. @FTThum

Al the Author: Bird Flippin’ | Al The Author’s blog Only from  Al would we get this Haiku. @AlistairLane

BeckyG: Rather Red Than a Blackbird on Your Head: beckygblog.com  Very nice take on the prompts and loving that background photo on the blog.

Juliette: College Bound & Year Round Beauty| Battered Wife Seeking Better Life Loved the photo used here as well as the sentiments in the two Haiku. @bwseekingbl

Shailzaa: Red Bird Waiting?| fewunsaidwords.wordpress.com Very interesting and original take on the prompt words. Good structure and uses the nature aspect of Haiku.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

The Show Must Go On. A #Haiku Review update and some #Music.

Ronovan Videos/Music , , , , , ,

Wanted to give all you Haiku lovers a word about the review for this week. There will be one–a proper one. It may take me time but now that I have my laptop I am determined to get it done.

I won’t give the reason why it is taking so long, as I am sick of hearing that reason. I honestly get very tired of it. And as Freddie Mercury said, The Show Must Go Own. (The story of the song’s creation.)

Although not in the same category as Mercury’s life or health concerns, there is always that sense of when doing a challenge like the Haiku one must push onward to follow through with the commitment. It’s not what anyone has asked me or made me feel a need to do, it’s what I want to do.

The song singer of

Time drifts into the great calm,

Sounding forever.

 
https://youtu.be/t99KH0TR-J4

How Young People Can Be Our Examples.

Ronovan Thoughts , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday Thoughts has returned. My views on my Christianity and how I see it through reading the Bible and not listening to the dividing of interpretations.

Today let’s talk about how young people can be examples to us old folks, well maybe older folks.

There are so many problems in the world today that I don’t even bother speaking about them here any longer. They exists. We know they exists. I won’t give those movements, or murders for celebrity sake any further exposure by putting their names in my writing. That’s partly why some do what they do, they know they will go out in a blaze of glory and be on the news for several hours–at least–and then mumbled out for a few days following.

Instead of glorifying them, unexpectedly so, by naming them, people of all ages should help others not go that route.

How?

There is really only one way to do that and that is by being an example.

No matter your age, you are an example ALREADY. You may be an example for good or for bad. I don’t want to hear arguments that there is no such thing as something being good or bad and that it is simply something based on ones personal views. I am certain many people reading this could  come up with examples of what is bad. I don’t want to think about the examples that come to my mind. So let’s move on to being more productive.

I periodically am in touch with former students and some say how much they look up to me and appreciate me. The funny thing about that is I’m envious of them and what they have going on in their lives. Great college experiences are being entered into. Futures are waiting to be discovered and shaped. And I don’t shy away from expressing that to them, that appreciation of them.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”-1 Timothy 4:12

Here you see there is no age to being an example. We can learn from the young as much as the old. My son, who has learned from me a great deal of his, will say or do something and I learn from him. The young see things in a way that is less colored by years of experience and wounds.

Those wounds are caution signs for us, but they can also be false signs in some cases. There are exceptions to every situation–every rule. We can’t spend our lives living in fear of the exceptions and miss out on the exceptionals.

I’m not saying we should ignore our past experience in favor of youthful belief, but I am saying we can capture that belief in moving forward with caution instead of either not moving at all or moving backwards.

How does this all make to improve the world?

We continue to be open to the world, to communication, to experiences, to views. We refuse to let a bad experience dictate how we view similar situations. Yes, I mean we don’t allow past moments to let us not like people of a certain color–as one example. Think about it. If we did that we wouldn’t like any skin color at all.

And there we are. The problem. We really don’t trust very many people to the extent we need to. We don’t trust situations. Jadedism is one of the worst isms out there. We just don’t believe the good because we only witness the good being debunked in the news. The true good is rarely if ever reported with as much gusto and zeal as the bad.

Young people will listen to young people and follow young people a lot more freely than us old folk. Even us old folk that try to be a good example. Us old folk can be examples too, and perhaps help with the old folk problems as well as the young folk problems by not giving fuel to problems. We fuel things, as well as young people fueling things, more than we all realize. Young and old working together will make it work.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015

10 Tips to Make Blogging Enjoyable. Traps to Avoid.

Ronovan Blogging , , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes you start to blog, not having blog tips as warnings, you are all excited and you do things to your blog or that involves blogging that ultimately end up being traps that are like quicksand. They drag you down and deplete you of energy as you work to pull yourself out of what has happened.

What you do with your blog is ultimately up to you, because you want your blog to BE you. It represents part of you that you want to put out there.

Today I want to cover 10 things, traps if you will, that will cost you time, cause you weariness, and create misery. Knowing these things ahead of time might be able to save you. As a blogger now, you can maybe head these things off before they get out of hand. Or if you’re neck deep already, perhaps these 10 tips will give you a start on figuring out what has happened to you.10 blogging tips image#1 Sidebar Craziness or Widget Weary

Whichever you want to call it, those sidebars with all those widgets can have side effects you never thought of.

  1. So crowded no one can see what’s there.
  2. So many graphics it slows loading of the blog page down.
  3. Your page looks like an ad for everything, even though you’re not selling anything. Big turn off.

But does that mean sidebar widgets are bad? Of course not.

  1. If you’re advertising something, go for it, like authors want to get their books out there. But some advice to authors: Switch up those images and their order. Maybe even change the side of the screen your sidebar is on. Why? It makes return visitors look around for what might have changed.
  2. The same thing goes for book reviewers or people who have guests on their blogs.
  3. But if your blog is geared toward images, then widgets won’t make a difference.

Remember, graphics on a blog slow it down loading and slow loading may lead a reader to do one of two things.

  1. Leave because they clicked you on impulse.
  2. Leave because they think something is wrong with your page or their browser and then they’re gone.

One thing about your Widgets you may not realize is that many are never even clicked on. I moved my Widgets to my footer areas and I am still working on their order. But my main goal is to make them useful ones. Which ones do I think are most useful?

  1. Most Recent Posts
  2. Most Popular Posts
  3. About.me
  4. Follow me
  5. Search

Those are off the top of my head. Why am I not going to look for other Widgets? Because those are the ones I remember, which says a lot to me, and look for on other blogs. For some blogs the only way I can find their posts is by using their Most Recent Posts Widget.

#2 Image is Everything, or so your Blog says.

Yes, I am still on images. I try to go minimal with images in my post these days unless I’m just having a moment and decide to go crazy. We all do that at times. That’s fine. Images is a sometimes food. Wait, that’s cookies. I warn you, I’m very visual media oriented today. Weird quotes may show up at anytime. Forgive me in advance.

But regardless, keep in mind that many or most of your Widgets are never clicked on. I like the Most Recent Posts and perhaps the Favorite Posts Widgets. Of course you want a Follow Me Widget and a Search one. Notice these are not graphic intensive and are useful.

A tip about Images: Keep in mind how large your image is in reference to how much storage space it uses such as 250 kb or something like that. The larger the file, the more time it takes to load. Sometimes you need to use high definition image. But then there are times you can optimize your image size and still have great definition. Visit 5 Image Things to Know for SEO for more information about this.

#3 The “I want to be cool” blog moment.

We’ve all done it. Okay, so I’ve done it several times. We do these crazy color schemes and then the possible results begin.

  1. People are scared and run away, okay they click away.
  2. People can’t read because of the color scheme. Check out what color blind people can’t see. A tip here. If you have links make sure to underline them and possibly bold them to signify they are links. Most people understand underlined words signify a link is in those words.
  3. The look doesn’t match the content. By this I mean the feel you have created just doesn’t fit.

Your theme style, color and header need to match what you are promoting. Promoting? Yes, you are promoting your posts, as in you. Will my current theme, layout and everything work for what I am promoting? Maybe, maybe not. I experiment. That’s one thing those of us who for some odd reason think we can give blogging tips do, we are the experimenters. I even have a test blog where I play around with themes to see what they look like and can do.

#4 The Following Frenzy

Yes, we follow, follow and follow even more. For some it’s a trick to get followers and for some it’s a reflex in following people in return. What do you end up with?

  1. If you are WordPress then you have a Reader so full you can’t get through everything.
  2. You have so many “friends” you can’t make any FRIENDS.
  3. You get caught up in the needing to get more and more followers as the Following Frenzy engulfs you.

If you’ve fallen into Follower Frenzy spend 10 minutes each day cleaning up that Follow list. (I might actually take my own advice.) Also you can make sure to follow those ones you really do like by subscribing to their email notifications until you do clean up your list.

#5 I’m Gonna Be Better Than That Guy

Competition in blogging is a thing. You may experience it for a brief moment. Once you do believe me when I say that your readers will notice and some might get turned off. There was a time, prior to two years ago when I had a concussion that brought some reality to my world, when I was competitive. It worked for the big job I had way back when, but for life in general, blogging specifically, it just doesn’t work for me.

  1. Most bloggers are not here to, or at least don’t start out to, be some guru or god of blogdom. Sure, we all want to be read and be popular to some extent but in the beginning we all have that little bit of reality, until we begin to see followers happen and the comments and then we see someone else like our blog who is sort of competition.

They aren’t. You just keep writing, write honestly, and write well.

#6 No One Really Likes Me (Insert Frowny Face, Tear.)

We don’t get the views each day, the follows, the likes. We begin to think no one likes us. We visit blogs and we think how much better our posts are than those. We wonder why no one likes us.

  1. You’re new. Be patient.
  2. Veteran blogs sometimes put out content that is perhaps not as well done as their usual content. Why? Time. Goofiness for the day. Lack of inspiration after blogging for so long.

Don’t worry about them. Don’t WORRY about anyone, including yourself. Just keep writing, write honestly, and write well.

#7 But I HAVE to post because my readers will miss me.

Man, this is a tough one, for new and veteran bloggers alike at times. There is this sense of responsibility to our readers. We think they are just waiting for us to post something and if we don’t they may never visit again. Um, do you do that to blogs you follow? Chill dudes and dudettes. I’ve been in the hospital, been sick, had a laptop go down and people still find me, and they still return. Why? I think in part because I’ve built a community that have my blog in common and met through my blog. Did it happen overnight? Nope. It takes time. Patience. What do I do to build a community and keep readers?

Just keep writing, write honestly, and write well.

#8 Size Matters! BIGGER IS BETTER

We discover how to change the font size and we go crazy at first. It’s not a good thing. You should really only use a different sized font for a heading of a section/topic. Think of how I have been using font size in this article. I know sometimes we will use all sizes of fonts, but make that a rarity. Looking at a page full of every size of font imaginable gets eye weary. Also by using your font sizes in a uniform way throughout your articles, you somewhat train your regular readers to know what to expect. And you do need those section headings at time to break up long passages of text.

#9 My Writing Is Amazing and I am an Original and need not worry about standards.

Have you run across those blogs where the entire thing is one paragraph and about 700 words long? Punctuation is by accident? Capitalization happened because of auto-correct somewhere along the way? Do you know how many times I return to those “I am an Original”?

I’m not saying don’t do it that way. If that’s what you are wanting to do and are going for a certain atmosphere, go for it. Some make a success of it. But it takes a certain type of writing to make it work. For most blog readers, they want to click and be able to read and have a pleasant experience without having to figure out what in the world or how in the world they are reading.

#10 I have to write like this because they expect it.

No, I’m not referring to #9. This is about writing about certain topics or in certain styles. There may come a time in your time blogging that you no longer want to blog about whatever it is that got you started. You have two choices.

  1. Start another blog.
  2. Or just start writing what you want to on your current blog.

I’ve written about just about everything here on Ronovan Writes. But then I did choose a good title for the blog to be able to pull that off. I have hits and I have misses and misses and misses. I’m not trying to build a blogdom here.

I simply write what I feel like writing in that moment.

That is the greatest blogging tip you will ever get from anyone. That’s not a brag. That’s telling you like it is. If you write things you don’t care about you are faking it and faking it can be picked up on quickly by blog readers. Some people write about blog tips every day. That’s something they find fascinating. I couldn’t do that and keep it sounding real. Well I might, if I had broken this one down into one per day.

That’s it for me today. 10 things bloggers get trapped into at some point. 10 things to watch out for and avoid. Avoid those traps and you’ll have a pleasant blogging experience for a long time to come.

This article goes somewhat hand in hand with another of my articles I wrote sometime ago called How to Survive the Blog Life. It’s the number one article on my blog.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

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@RonovanWrites

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I wish I had Jessie’s Cave Girl.

Ronovan Humor, Videos/Music , , , , , , , ,

A little nostalgia and a little humor. Rick Springfield fans get ready. Rick Springfield haters–enjoy. Music drops in at around 1 minute, so wait for it. 🙂 And no, your speakers aren’t broken, that first minute is mono.

Raquel Welch from One Million Years B.C.

5 New Things About RonovanWrites Blog and Why. #Blog #Tips

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It’s time to take a look around the blog. I know those of you who regularly visit have noticed the changes, but here is the official unveiling, and shame to those who peeked.

First, why the change?

Everyone needs a fresh start at some point and it was about time. I could get into some marketing and even managerial reasons, and I might as we go, but for now, let’s leave it as I just needed a change. Maybe as I talk about each change I’ll mention the why.

The Header

I have a header finally. What? Ronovan Writes didn’t have a header before? Nope, it was all in the header image. Now I have the image from my Haiku Challenge that I like so much gracing the abode on a grander scale. Well…at least until I get to learning how to be artistic with my new laptop!!! Why did I change? I decided it was time to be less me centric in the look and I wanted a brighter feel to things. My purpose for this blog isn’t such that it requires anything specific. I’m going to have fun.

No sidebars here.

But all the old information is still here to find, just scroll to the bottom and it’s all in the footers now. Did you really think I would do away with talking about myself and advertising ME completely? Shame on you. No sidebars gives a larger feel to the reading area, cleaner appearance, and simply has that inviting look as far as I am concerned. But then again, to each their own.

Blog Tip

One thing to think about if you change locations of your Widgets and that is the  width of any of your Widgets that have images related to them. If they are too wide then they throw everything off. If you don’t see your Widgets when you change, check that width and reduces to a small size for the moment. Then check your main page again.

Only 5 Posts on Main Page

With the Footers added I decided to limit the number of posts appearing on the landing page to 5. This allows for quicker loading time for the blog and isn’t too much to look at. Also, a reader can get to the Footers a bit faster.

I’ll be doing some other changes slowly to move to as professional and peaceful appearance as I can. That’s what I am going for. I want peace. With a dash of explosions and excitement at the same time. Kind of like Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot. Hey, I saw what I saw in that movie, you see what you want to see. Agreed? Good.

Want to read my best Blog Tip article lately, How to Hashtag Blog Tweets? Click here to visit my guest post on Hugh’s Views & News where you can also check out some great tips of his own while you’re there.

Much Respect-Much Love

Ronovan

Ron_LWIRonovan is an author, and blogger who shares his life as an amnesiac and Chronic Pain sufferer though his blog RonovanWrites.WordPress.com. His love of poetry, authors and community through his online world has lead to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews, interviews and author resources known as LitWorldInterviews.WordPress.com.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

@RonovanWrites

 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015