In school it was having friends, crushes, grades. Okay, flip those first two. Yeah, that’s the order. I remember Roberta and a song that began with . . .
Down on the corner by the traffic light
Everybody’s lookin’ as she goes by
Since college it’s been family, job, health. No flipping the order there. Not really sure of a song I would put to that. Perhaps something like . . .
I think I’m tired today, driving the same old way
Why can’t I see what’s ahead, only blindly living instead
Now here I am in Blog World. I entered in timid and unsure. I didn’t know really what I wanted to write, well I did but I didn’t know how to write it the way it needed to be.
Approaching 800 articles across Blog World later . . . I still find myself worrying.
Or I did.
Ladies and Gentleman, and unladylike and slovenly, I have discovered that, to paraphrase a famous line from a famous baseball movie;
“There’s no worrying in blogging!”
This is not a joke.
Not some pithy thing to say. I mean it.
I worried at one point about talking about my faith. I do it mostly on Sundays, but I’ve been happily surprised at the reception. If the reception had been bad would I have stopped? Well in the beginning no one was really ‘recepting’ it . . . soooo. . .
I’ve worried about things like writing sensual poetry or even articles about race. Would I offend people? Would people stop following me? Would people not visit and like my work?
Yes, I fell into the blogger Blog World trap. I obviously did not fall in so deep that I didn’t post what I wanted to. But I did struggle and worry and even question myself after publishing.
But do I still worry? Am I still afraid people will abandon RonovanWrites over something Ronovan Writes or how bad Ronovan Writes what he Writes?
Let me paraphrase again, only with a slight difference this time.
“THERE IS NO ROOM FOR WORRYING IN BLOGGING!”
I am not saying intentionally seek to offend people. But do not be afraid to speak your mind. I happen to have a fairly rational and calm way of doing it. It’s just in my personality or something. I can’t write intentionally offensive things. Believe me, I’ve tried to write rants that end up as these think pieces and totally change. I end up calm by the end and have to rewrite everything because my thoughts had turned into this debate thing. And then I didn’t have to change much. Yeah, I sometime wish I could just go off on a subject.
I have a site dedicated to Rants but so far it has one article and that’s basically the here I am article. Yeah, its’ going to be a big mover.
We have enough stress in our lives to worry about blogging which is really meant to be a stress reliever, thing to enjoy, fun, creative.
You are worried about offending?
I have three very simple tips for you today:
Turn off your comments
Do not have contact info or a contact form
Or get out of blogging
I am a super over sensitive person. I will admit it. The smallest thing will make me think for days and become depressed. But here in Blog World I do my best because I know there will be people that, in all honesty are just out to be mean on purpose. Trolls anyone?
Why is this something to think about? Why is worrying something that is something to worry about?
One thing I enjoy about blogs is all the different people with different lives, perspectives, opinions, backgrounds and personalities. I like to learn. If we all are worried about things, then we all sound the same. If I was happy talking to myself I wouldn’t be here. Well, never mind, that’s a whole different article.
Sum up time
Blog what you want to and don’t sweat it. Or to paraphrase a famous baseball movie line;
“and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”
So I didn’t paraphrase. But I liked it. And can you think of a better way to not worry?
Badge provided by Me for this time of the year or so.
Welcome to Haiku prompt challenge . . .
#15
(Remember, the Wordless Haiku Challenge with Pictures come out at Noon New York Time.)
I use Haiku in English myself so if you want a refresher on how to do that just clickhere. But you can use whatever Haiku style you want to. As long as you, do a Haiku.
This weeks two words to use in some form, meaning you can use another word that means the same thing are:
Before you start!
I have links that will help you out. Remember for Haiku in English the total syllables are 5 for the first line, 7 for the second, and 5 for the last. I don’t really hold people to that for this but if you want to do it in the 5/7/5 manner, the traditional way, then try that. One link I have for you is . . . howmanysyllables.com. Simply type in the word and find out how many syllables it has. Also for synonyms and antonyms go to thesaurus.com, I find it useful for finding a word to fit the meaning when syllables are not working out right.
The prompts!
Promise & Gift
These are all My words this week. How Dare sian have a life.
My Example
With a guarantee,
Hugh went to the Apple store,
To receive his gift.
DEADLINE: Noon on Sunday New York Time.
(I hate doing deadlines, but it takes quite a while to complete the rewind.)
You may have noticed I am choosing some category standouts now. I have not run across a Haiku I don’t like yet. There are some that hit me in the moment and stand out.
I first want to thank DazzlingWhimsy for creating this badge for the challenge.
#15
The rules are simple: For how to write a Haiku in English and using the 5/7/5 syllable pattern click here.
No words or numbers of any kind can appear in the images you use. This includes sign language . . . of any kind.
You can use just pictures and not put them in the format I have them here. I was being creative. The point of this is to have fun.
This is an example of one I created.
The Haiku was:
Moon Shadow Dancers
Heartbeats Stumble, falling in
Love Infinity
I know, not the best but it was better then the first one I posted.
Here’s the challenge; You created your own wordless Haiku for Wednesday or any day really, then either post a link in the comments here for everyone that visits to go see and/or ping back (or copy the URL for this post into your Haiku post) to this post in your Haiku post.
I will read it and comment on it. Once I comment come get the badge.
If some of you would like a theme to prompt you what to begin thinking of you can perhaps use. . .
Green & Red
What do the words mean to you, and how can you connect the two words through that second line? You do not have to do the prompt, it is just a prompt to make you start thinking of things.
Shine & Potential. Sian chose great words for the week’s challenge. Sorry guys, but #15 Prompts are all on me. What people did were inspiring, thought provoking and in some cases nailed me on the head.
Some people don’t realize what you can do with three lines, the story you can tell, the message you can relay. Once they try it and see what they can do, the end up loving it. I encourage everyone to give the next one a try. Funny or serious, there is no wrong interpretation.
One thing I want to mention; Go and check out the Haiku for each person. Some of these poets have been here every week, and some have really stepped out of a comfort zone to find they have talent for Haiku and enjoy it.
A very good message and it was nice to see some of our regulars visit and not only comment but ‘like’ the Haiku. We hope Takeshi joins us with #15.
If you are not following this blog, I dare say you may be missing out on some potentially amazing things. Just click and find out all about him. IMPRESSIVE!
A.C. connected and was thought provoking this week with his readers. What more can you ask? (I swear that face looks familiar? Wonder if he was ever a politician in N.J.)
The two Literary Angels came through again. Four 4 Us as always. Under the right circumstances I could fall in love with at least one of these two. But shhh . . . don’t tell them. I meant the Haiku, yeah, the Haiku.
I’ll make note here of C.J. Black and his Haiku he put in comments on Meredith’s Haiku post.
Watch the blood moon shine Those clouds on the horizon Potential conflict.
Each time I read Hugh’s Haiku I get a different thought. It could be an offspring graduating into the big adult world. It could be someone forcing themselves to soldier on past the smiles of doubters and naysayers. Hugh has really made Haiku his own thing.
I’m not certain if I’ve ever shared this story with you, but I’ll share it again anyway. Having a memory problem can be a problem. It can get you down at times not knowing things you should know. Then there is me. Yeah, you just know I’ll have some fun with this.
I had to go to the doctor for one of my visits to see how I was doing with everything. Well, they had changed locations and the hospital they were primarily affiliated with so that meant paperwork. As the paperwork was being filled out, the first line of defense came over. (The first line of defense is the lady at the counter who gives you the paperwork, answers the phones, and basically says you cannot talk to a doctor unless you are dead.) First Life of Defense (FLoD) is not always the most cheerful or dare I say nicest.
So she comes up and I can’t help it.
“Can I put ‘I’ or ‘N’ for race?” I asked.
FLoD stares at me oddly. I must not look Indian or Nicaraguan. “Why ‘I’ or ‘N’?” Asked FloD.
“Well I prefer Indy car but I’ll put NASCAR if you insist.”
“Why don’t you just put ‘C’,” she said with a bit of a smirk.
Mistake. I looked around, leaned in and stage whispered for the whole office to hear. “But, I’m not Chinese.”
I know, I was bad. It isn’t my fault that the elderly man sitting near me decided to do the same thing when she came over to him.
As you might can tell my ‘racing’ problem is this, there are no ‘races’. You see as far as I am concerned I go with the Bible. One man plus one woman equals one human race. We might have set ourselves apart early on based on certain things like preferences of being a hunter or farmer.
As time went on people that were in a group started looking a certain way. But really going back to the Bible there aren’t really a lot of difficulties in how things came about. You have the Tower of Babel for one.
But I also look at things like Abraham when his children not by his wife were sent away to the various four winds basically. Each group that went out had the same physical characteristics in them so as time went on, guess what happened. You ended up with a people group looking a certain way.
Now we have the ‘whites’ and the ‘blacks’. I find this one interesting. As a fair skinned man can you guess where I would want to live? The hot places where I would burn in an hour or less, or the cooler less sunny places where I would be more comfortable and safer?
Scientists say I’m a mutant. I have red hair and blue eyes, that makes me a mutant, one of the rarest combinations on earth. They call those living in Europe with fair hair and skin and eye coloring mutations. I call it “Dude, that’s where we wanted to go.”
If there were not air conditioning do you think the divisions would be as prevalent as they once were?
Race in the Bible was never an issue to God. He only had issues with those that did not believe in Him. He didn’t want the Hebrews to marry with those who worshiped idols. Worship God and things were cool.
I’ve written this past week about racial discussions of late. I recognize there are physical characteristics used to divide people. That is a given that I do not deny. I do have a problem with ‘race’. I have a problem with the politicalization of ‘race’ to basically continue divisions for election purposes.
You know, if we ignored politics, some evolutionary scientists and some, I hate to say it, religious nuts we would all be a lot better off and start noticing our similarities as a human race and there would be less and less to notice that really isn’t different at all.
You ever get sick and just wonder what the heck is going on? I mean, you eat right, you do everything the doctor tells you, and you even take your medications and vitamins and still . . . blah.
There is a food allergy in the house. Well a couple really or more now that I am thinking about it. But imagine you are doing everything possible to be healthy and you start feeling not healthy. No, not shin splints. Although those are a bear. Ice down, then heat, ice down then heat. Yeah whatever. How do you stop shin splints? Don’t jog! Ha! No that’s not what this article is about.
MSG is a big, humongoso, major allergy in the house. I mean it is Epinephrine autoinjector major. For those of you not aware of what an Epinephrine autoinjector is, it’s one of those pens that you can give yourself an emergency shot with.
“Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you’re allergic to, such as a peanut or the venom from a bee sting.”-mayoclinic.org
Allergen people should keep them with them at all times. It’s really an auto injector that you stab yourself in the thigh with. Then you head to the hospital. There is another common name for it, but it’s an actual brand name so you an click the link to find out what all they are.
I have to make pretty much everything homemade, when I am allowed to cook. No, I am not a bad cook. Fact is I am a great cook, I will admit it freely. It’s just that this past year has taken a toll and I tend to burn my hands because they work right any longer or I forget and do something silly.
Soy is another allergen in the house. It’s actually related to MSG because of being a sort of naturally occurring thing of sorts or like an imitator or MSG, but not quite as bad.
Now think of this; you are low in Vitamin D and you take a popular Multivitamin Suppliment. Guess what the Vitamin D’s raw material contains. Yes, highly refined soy. And guess what that company take a vitamin One A Day says about that refined soy. It is exempt from allergen labeling.
Imagine if the Vitamin had been taken and the allergen was as bad as it is to MSG? What can an allergen cause?
You know being allergic to something can make you sick or die, so I won’t go into that, but here is something you may not know.
Did you know an allergen can cause weight gain?
You eat right, are reasonably active, and you just can’t lose the pounds. You also just don’t feel great. Check your diet. Soy is in everything. I’m not saying it’s bad for everyone. In fact it is good for some people, but if you are allergic to it check everything you eat, or even if you are don’t know you are allergic to it and want to test out things, try cutting out things containing soy.
One thing they evilly put soy in to help thicken it and harden it is . . . dun dun dun . . . chocolate. Look at your breads. Soy, soy, soy! It’s EVERYWHERE!
Am I soy bashing? No. I am bashing an industry that doesn’t want to put all of the ingredients on the labels. Did you know that some nuts are sprayed with an MSG formula BEFORE being sent to the nut companies? That’s right. The company may not even be aware of that. But it should. Especially in this day.
A bit of an odd post today, but that’s where the head is at. Food allergies can turn your world upside down. You even have to be careful of bagged salads because guess what they spray that with as a preservative?
Your favorite fast food place has MSG and Soy free food you can order. Then someone cross contaminates and you are in the hospital. Or they change the oil they use for something and you end up sick.
You know for some that would be enough about an article with a title about ‘privilege’. But oh no. This is me after all. Have you ever seen me end a post after only five words? Not ever. So that’s how they came up with never. Some Southern person in Southern Britain said n’ever instead of not ever and there you have it.
It’s kind of like monback here in the States. We aren’t talking about some one humped backed man, nah, we’re telling people to come on back as in when they are backing up a car, “How much farther?” “Monback.”
I just proved my whiteness. Yes. If you ever doubted before, that just did it.
Am I about to tip toe through the garden of political correctness? Is PC land the ruler of Blog World? Do I pass by Taco Bell without salivating?
Ah, heck no!
I started this ‘privilege’ run on Obscured Dreamer where I help out. But here I am going to go another route. That’s right. I am taking a detour, the off ramp. I’m going through funky town, down electric avenue. Hey, it’s Friday and I have the 80s on the brain. And yeah, it’s randomness time too. And I am totally unedited right now.
You know why there is even a discussion about ‘white privilege’ in the U.S. of A. these days? I got two reasons for you. If I have more and it still says two here, that means I just got creative along the way and I didn’t make it back to change the number.
Okay, the reasons:
The Generational Responsibility-You see this is how I see it.
And before I begin, remember I have some of my own unique ideas about things. Don’t judge my thoughts based on what you think I must be coming from. Word!
Okay back to the GR thing-Before you think I mean that everyone in a generation is to be included in this . . . no. Stop, recognize and listen. You see what I am saying is that some people in a family teach the next generation there is either ‘privilege’ or perhaps ‘limitations’. Oh, yes. I went there. And guess what, people. It goes for every skin tone. “Oh, you can’t make it. Just don’t even try. You just follow up in the same way that I do. No one is going to give you a chance.” Say what? This is the U.S. of A., you got a chance if you make a chance. This country is so big that you can go anywhere and become anything. You are not tied down because of where you are from or who you are related to. oooooo I can hear it now. “Oh no he di’nt.” Oh yes I di’id. People in the U.S. of A. have a problem at times if you say they have a chance, especially if they have not ‘made it’ yet. In your face time-You ain’t makin’ it where you at, then move somewhere else. “Where am I going to get the money to go somewhere else?” Heck if I know. I just know people do it all the time. But you know one problem? People let themselves get so deep that they find it impossible to get out. Uh huh, I said it. We keep digging our hole and then we are so deep in it that we can’t climb out.
So another reason for the whole ‘white privilege’ discussion is dun dun dun politics-Yep, the politicos like to say the black problem or we need to work on black this or women’s that.Knock Knock, excuse me. Why don’t you just like freaking do stuff instead of talking about stuff and just generating even more divisions, huh? Seriously, dudes. Yeah, politics. You know the guys that live and die by divisions cause they can’t see their commonalities for their vocal differences.
“Ronovan’s on a rampage today. Watch out folks, please call 911 we think he hasn’t taken all of his medications or perhaps he’s taken too many.”
Nah, I’m good. As good as I get. Scary thought there, huh? But seriously, politicians like to make divisions because divide and concur. If they keep people apart then they keep people from realizing there are a lot more similarities than differences. If you are reading this and you have some type of skin tone issue, or a ‘we’re being held down’ issue, get the freak over it and help yourself and the next generation by getting your head straight.
“This educated white man is talking crazy”
This educated white man had to live with his grandmother in the projects behind the school in Mississippi. This educated white man used be taken to bars as a small child and put on pool tables to shoot pool as entertainment while his dreamer singer of a bio-father was on stage.
This educated white man was the first educated in his family . . . period. HELLO! Do you know why? Do you really want to know why? Because my mother and step father didn’t hold me to a generation thing. They wanted better for me, and you know what. Guess who paid for his own college education, at a major university? This educated white man. After busting his tail unloading trucks for several years and developing some of the physical problems that haunt him today.
Yeah, I’m straight talking today. So if you have an issue with what I say, comment. I’m good with it. I like hearing other sides. It’s how we learn. But one thing to remember, these are my opinions.
“All Hallows is believable and well-written, true to the “voice” of Brontë, and well-researched. In fact, at times I thought Charlotte Brontë was writing this; that is how fabulous a writer Luccia Gray is. This is not to say that she is a copy-cat writer. No, the author understands and “gets” the flavor, feel, and construction of Brontë’s work – an honor to a classic author, and thus, that is how sequels should be written. Bravo!
Luccia Gray is a beautifully descriptive writer. I sensed a need to don my wool cape when she wrote: “ . . . the horizon is grey, the air smells of damp weeds, and the wind is cold and furious . . .” I felt the almost imperceptible warmth on my face when “ . . . the sun . . . was suddenly visible, pale and…
I believe that procrastination is always caused by fear – not laziness. I’ve always really wondered with what ears we hear our inner voice. That’s assuming that all of us humans operate pretty much the same way and have these little guys yammering away at us all day long about one thing or another. I’ve also always wondered why my particular inner voice is sometimes as harsh as it is. I think that that little nag in your head that says things like – Why on earth would you think you could write a book? Why are you such a lazy sod? You should have written two thousand words by now – slacker! You’ll always be mediocre, because you never finish what you start – because it’s trying to protect you from failure, ridicule, and pain.
Most of our fears and general weirdnesses really do stem from our childhood. Thank…
You know, kids are the greatest things ever when you have them. Not everyone has them, you know. So really I can’t say they are the greatest thing ever for everyone. For me they are.
Imagine alarms going off and you’re 10 years old and being rushed into a safe room. Yes, a ‘safe room’. And you are 10 and you know it is called a ‘safe room’. ‘B’ is smart. I’ve mentioned that before. Now when I say smart, I don’t just mean the kind that every parent talks. The boy is actually gifted. Freaky smart. He does math in his head in a way that just freaks me out. He tries to explain it and I just stare at him and nod.
He had a teacher that said never try to fix what isn’t broken. He has a gift for it so leave him alone. No problem there, dudette.
But you know what? He’s 10 years old. We forget how our kids are kids these days. They are pushed to be older. People say, “You can’t protect them forever, you have to let them grow up sometime.” or “They can’t watch Public Television forever.”
Pardon me as I revert to a full blown parental mode for a moment. “Shut up, you freakin’ jerks!”
I’m better now. Can you believe I was told that I should let my, what, maybe 4 year old watch shows with guns in it, like violent cartoons and play with toy guns? That he had to learn sometime about guns? That is when my calmer Dad side came out, “When he is old enough to know the difference between real guns and toy guns, one that kills and one that looks real but squirts water, then he might play with toy guns or watch TV shows with a touch more animated violence.” The conversation ended there. It was made clear that parenting of my son was my business.
Do you want to know what ‘B’ watches on his own? He watches Public Television, yes the cartoons, because they are educational. Yes, he likes to learn about animals and dinosaurs and books. And guess what? He likes to watch This Old House and Antiques Road Show. I will walk through the room and he’s watching them discuss a Civil War rifle and he starts telling me about it.
A child is a parent’s life. At least until they leave the house after graduating. At that point, so long, don’t come asking for money, and keep your laundry to yourself.
But at the age of 10 and 45 minutes from you, in a ‘safe room’ with alarms constantly sounding? The child is your life.
Yesterday . . . here, I was mostly fine . . . in this location. My son however ended up right in the line of fire . . . of a Tornado. Fortunately he got there before the bottom fell out of the sky. Actually the bottom fell out before he got there but was close enough.
Of course my day was spent watching the weather maps. Checking for what it was like when it was time for him to leave. He left his school about 20 minutes before another Tornado came through. Fortunately he was picked up about 30 minutes early.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well this is my blog, and this is where I share things. I used to keep all of this inside so he wouldn’t see the worry, and I still do. You see I am the calm one. I am the one that doesn’t make a big deal out of things. How that is, I have no idea? But apparently I have this thing with kids, even though I never really liked them much. Unless you are a child that I call my own, I tend not to really like you much. No, that’s not quite right. I simply do not seek out your attention.
So what happens? I am like that person that can’t stand cats who visits a person with a cat. The cat can tell something is not right. It knows you are paying it extra attention for some reason so it decides to give you extra attention.
When I would be in a classroom of 1rst grade students, if I sat down there would be one in my lap in seconds. Now I love little girls. What man does not want a little Daddy’s girl? But that’s a big uh uh. So here I am, Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis, not knowing any of that yet, and having to stand for 8 hours.
Yes, I look like a big red teddy bear.
So I have rambled a bit longer than I intended, not that I intended to ramble. And now I am at the end.
Kids are great. When you get mad at your kid, and you know you will, think of ‘safe room’ and your child being led away to a ‘safe room’. Then decide if you are still mad.
Much Respect
Ronovan
Yep, the buttons are up and over if you want to follow me anywhere.
Meredith is a special LADY in my life. There are people that choose to be in your life sometimes that makes you feel good about yourself just by their choosing to be friends with you. Meredith is one of those people. I love the LADY very much but never tell her. Well I am telling her today. I capitalize the word LADY when speaking about her because she is one in every sense of the word.
Here are the guidelines for those who are nominated for the award.
1. Thank the person who nominated you for the award.
2. Display the One Lovely Blog Award on your Blog.
3. Share seven things about yourself.
4. Nominate fifteen Bloggers you admire. Inform them by commenting on their Blog.
Well can you imagine getting the Beautiful Blogger Award from a beautiful woman? Well I don’t have to. Tempest is a lot of fun to read and pulls no punches. Her name says it all and she really enjoys helping her fellow bloggers out.
THE RULES (though I follow them more like guidelines):
Thank the person who nominated you for the award!
Add The Beautiful Blogger Award logo to your post and blog (and add the rules/guidelines).
Nominate 7 beautiful bloggers and say a little something about why you love their blog. (below)
Notify the nominees by commenting on their blog.
And one new award I hadn’t seen before called the Black Wolf Blogger Award from asmukti.
The rules for the award are:
1) The nominee shall display the respective logo on her/his blog.
2) The nominee shall nominate ten (10) bloggers she/he admires, by linking to their blogs and informing them about it.
I am going to combine the rules here as I nominate 10 people.
I am new to Katie’s Blog World but I was just impressed by her. She has a nice heart, a great personality, great sense of encouragement about her and there is a lot more.
My fact about me: I like ladies names beginning with the letter K apparently, as you will find out as you go through this list.
What can I say about Bartlett? Great author, lovely lady to talk to, great to work with, loves to promote other authors, and just really an all around amazing person.
My fact about me: Her Bartlett’s husband and I share a name, and I have never been a pirate.
A guy who promotes every author he can find. That should tell you all you need to know about this guy. Well that, and he has no idea about how talented he is.
My fact about me: I once saw Willie B, the famous Gorilla of the Atlanta Zoo. My son has his picture taken on a statue of him.
Well here I am with Hugh again. I can’t do an award ceremony without mentioning this guy. I don’t think anyone who knows him would say he isn’t deserving of this award. I am actually considering starting a Blogger Award as well and I might use Hugh as the Badge Image for it.
My fact about me: I told Hugh not long ago in a private conversation that he was an incredible person and one of the best friends I had. Everyone has someone they think of as their best buddy. Well I had a lady best buddy, lost that one now, but I haven’t lost the best guy buddy.
One of the best bloggers around. I’ve worked with her on articles and seen how she does her creative work. Although those creative compilations were only for a brief time it was a great experience. If you know her, you love her.
My fact about me: I still am not sure what a jammy dodger is. But I do love a good chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. Only hold a cookie in the milk for 10 seconds, no longer, or you end up with cookie cereal. Yes, my son does it on purpose.
Inspiring, always participates in my Haiku Challenge, and just a very peaceful place to visit. I have no idea if Faith Unlocked is a guy or woman. Doesn’t really matter, just curious. The message is the same.
My fact about me: I am very much a Christian guy. I am into apologetics
Colleen was a surprise addition to my Blog World. I guess really everyone is, but this is another one of those LADIES. A very wise woman and very lovely in every way. Oh and one last thing . . . she really is that gorgeous because she posted photos of her daughters and she passed on the gorgeous genes to them.
My fact about me: Well, Colleen’s husband and I share a name, and I used to do embroidery for a uniform company on a very expensive computerized system. What connection is that to Colleen? You’ll need to check out her blog, and it has nothing to do with the title of her blog.
Real life friend and a wonderful person. Dedicated mother to three beautiful daughters who I like to pretend are my own sometimes. An encouragement to others and did I mention a dedicated mother? I wish I could fully explain that but I don’t know that I really could.
My fact about me: I get on the crazy train sometimes, or used to and Kate has been there to suffer the brunt of it a lot. She hangs in there and is like “Get better and I’ll be here to talk to.” Oh, and that train was mostly before the concussion.
And finally Jenna. I love Jenna’s blog because she shares some great information and does it quietly. She finds these great articles about writing and we also share a lot of the same thoughts about things. She is one of those great people to have as a friend that you don’t have to worry about turning whack on you. She just puts into her writing instead. Oh, and she has her dimples insured for like a million dollars or something like that.
My fact about me: I used to write everywhere. I even wrote a book sitting in a car at the University during the afternoons in the heat and the cold. I have dimples too. The ones you can see are the one in my chin and I have one on the right side of my smile. Well that one may not be a dimple if I lose more weight.
Well, there you have it. My nominations for all three awards. If I didn’t mention you it’s not because you didn’t deserve it, it’s because I was interrupted about a hundred times while doing this.
Tempest put a video at the end of her award and so I shall too.
“As a writer, I like to say I have found my voice since writing hundreds of articles. I now frequently receive mail wishing for me to find laryngitis”-Ronovan
I think we need to get a few things straight about blogging. Blogging isn’t what it started out to be. There are very few blogs in the true sense of the word any longer. We have become a world of almost websites. But we are called bloggers because we don’t have a company or whatever.
I’m cool with that. I’m a blogger. I’m a blogger in the 21st Century definition. Why did I explain all of that? Because I want to talk about . . .
How to Survive the Blog Life.
There are some people that don’t realize what goes into a lot of our blogs. The hours of writing, researching, networking, formatting, web layout designs and much more. I don’t really know of anyone that just throws out some words and that’s that.
I’ll make this simple:
Write what you like-If you are trying to write in a style you don’t like or are not comfortable in, then you’re likely to feel that eating at you. Maybe it’s just me, but when I am writing, I will just stop even at the end of a 1000 word article if I am not feeling it and trash it.
Only write when you want to-Don’t force yourself to write just because you feel responsible for it. Or you want to have content because you are afraid people won’t come back if you miss a day or two. If that’s true then they really weren’t into your site in the first place. Not to sound negative there, but it’s the truth.
Be nice to people-There is no reason to be mean to anyone. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it. If you don’t want to interact with people, don’t have comment boxes on your posts where people might ask you something. You don’t have to respond to every person, but you can some at least.
Set your boundaries-Make your life easy by setting some rules for yourself about interacting with other bloggers or readers. They are your friends and co-workers of sorts. Keep it that way. Makes for an easier life for you and keeps you a lot happier in the long run.
If you like it you like it-Only click like on things you like, and if you really like it then reblog it. Some don’t like to reblog because it doesn’t look good on their blog or reblogs don’t work that great for views and traffic on average. So what?
There is something that I didn’t mention. It’s the most important thing to remember in order to Survive the Blog Life.
Don’t worry about success.
If you ever start worrying about success go to one of those 5 things and see which one you are missing out on. You see, being you, just being yourself is enough. You don’t have to do gimmicks.
I give tips about how to increase traffic to blog sites, but I don’t use them all. You see, I just like giving the tips because I know that a) some people are after success and b) some people just like to use different types of things, okay and c) I just like to share/teach. Sorry, it’s in the blood thing. Once a teacher always a teacher.
You now I added the star rating to my posts a while back and no one really uses it. But yesterday for some reason someone decided to put a 1 on two of my posts. One was my Autumn post and the other was my Haiku Prompt Challenge post. You see if it had been just the Autumn post then fine, but then when it was the Haiku Prompt as well I realized it was someone just being mean. But I’m good with it. I’ll take down the star rating eventually anyway because it was just for a change and no one was using it anyway and it doesn’t really go with my new theme and layout.
But don’t add things like ratings to your posts if you are sensitive and care what people think. Just sayin’. Oh, and no worries. I know the deal, so I’m good.
So everyone, remember, forget about success, write honest, and take some breaks.
More than likely some of you are looking at those three words and thinking of sports. As they came to mind sports did not. But they apply just as readily. If you follow college football in the U.S. of A. and like your team mascots in the feline variety with stripes and/or confusingly have a mascot that isn’t even your actual team name mascot, you perhaps do not see inspiration in loss today. But never fear, the other teams are inspired by your losses. Your teams have done a fine service to canine fans everywhere.
from wikipedia
For me, as I write this, I am thinking of Autumn here in the United States and the loss of the leaves as they fall from the trees. I see them outside my window as the wind blows and they look like brightly colored snowflakes. Very large brightly colored snowflakes.
This time of year brings a bit of a feeling to me. Nostalgia? I wonder if it is possible. Even without memories I can think of, somehow I believe they must be buried inside somewhere because I get this feeling of brisk mornings outside as I go into the school building and late afternoons waiting to play football on a Friday night. The skeletal like trees barely hanging on to that last cheerful bit of color are just like my football team in school and any possible lead it ever had . . . give up dear tree, you are going to lose it.
Sometimes I wonder if those are memories or things I’ve read about and learned lately. But leaves falling from the trees here now are like worries falling away, or dare I say it, the loss of friendships.
We spend time in agony as we lose a friendship for whatever reason. We drift apart. We don’t connect any longer. We perhaps don’t communicate in the right way. For me, I literally lose the memory of a person that was a friend. And often times it’s really no fault of either friend.
I’ve learned a lot this past year, and one is to push through loss and look at how I can go forth because of that loss. Yes, because of that loss.
Have you ever really noticed what people do with leaves? They put them in scrap books and press the leaves to save them, like photograph memories. Some even take leaves and press them into clay to imbed the pattern of them so that memory will be forever in a work of art. Some rake up the leaves and have their children jump into a big pile and have fun. Those old friends are useful, even if no longer what they once were. Each leaf falling to a new purpose somewhere else for someone else.
I recently read an article that said you should mow over those leaves and give the nutrients back to the earth, the grass, like mulch instead of raking them up. I am not sure about mowing over my lost friends. I think that would be illegal somehow. And I am not really into Chianti and Fava Beans.
I use losses as a way to put feelings into writing scenes in novels, writing this article for my blog, and in truth perhaps freeing up a bit of myself for other things. Yes, freeing up time. That is a rather sad thing to think about. For a writer time is something rare. As a friendship somehow begins to crumble there is a lot of time put into thinking about it and feeling about it.
Don’t feel guilty about thinking of something like ‘now I have time for . . .‘ It’s okay, think it. It doesn’t mean you care about that friend any less. You simply are accepting what has happened, putting it into perspective, and finding something positive to take from it.
Let those negative thoughts of what you have lost go. Move on. Push through. Use any cliche that works for you. Just do it. Just beat it. It’s on like Donkey Kong. Once you pop you can’t stop.
Inspiration in Loss. I am using loss to inspire me to fulfill my dreams. To not waste time because things really can be and are lost in a moment. You have a dream, a goal, then go for it.
Every inspiration and every drive for a goal is lined with beautiful leaves.
Inspiring times are those not so easy.
Inspiring times are those that make you feel queasy.
Inspiring times are ones are perhaps not of your making.
Inspiring times are, however ones for your taking.
See y’all next time,
Ronovan
You can follow me in all those places noted on the side over there if you like. If not, hope you pass this way again.
Badge provided by Me for this time of the year or so.
Welcome to Haiku prompt challenge . . .
#14
I hear the cheer from here.
(Thank you Spunky. That’s my cat. He cheers.)
(Remember, the Wordless Haiku Challenge with Pictures come out at Noon New York Time.)
I use Haiku in English myself so if you want a refresher on how to do that just clickhere. But you can use whatever Haiku style you want to. As long as you, do a Haiku.
This weeks two words to use in some form, meaning you can use another word that means the same thing are:
Before you start!
I have links that will help you out. Remember for Haiku in English the total syllables are 5 for the first line, 7 for the second, and 5 for the last. I don’t really hold people to that for this but if you want to do it in the 5/7/5 manner, the traditional way, then try that. One link I have for you is . . . howmanysyllables.com. Simply type in the word and find out how many syllables it has. Also for synonyms and antonyms go to thesaurus.com, I find it useful for finding a word to fit the meaning when syllables are not working out right.
The prompts!
Shine & Potential
These are all Sian’s words this week.
My Example
Her potential spreads,
Like a warm ray of sunshine,
Her smile shines always.
DEADLINE: Noon on Sunday New York Time.
(I hate doing deadlines, but it takes quite a while to complete the rewind.)
You may have noticed I am choosing some category standouts now. I have not run across a Haiku I don’t like yet. There are some that hit me in the moment and stand out.
ronovanwrites 