Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you today. Over the past few weeks, I’ve written a series of posts about using the five senses in writing. If you missed any of them, you can read by clicking on the following links:
Today, I’m going to talk about what many refer to as a sixth sense. I swear my mother had it. I became aware of her “gift” when I began junior high school. How else could she have known my boyfriend and I kissed on the school bus? Oh well, that’s a different story.
Seriously, we’ve heard the sixth sense called many things—a gut feeling, instinct, premonition, ESP, clairvoyance.
Whatever your thoughts on the subject, I believe, to a degree, we all have a sixth sense. Some of us are more in tune or aware. Have you ever been driving to work and suddenly have an…
I love a great quote. I always have. Quotes from books and movies, quotes from inspirational people…anything! I think most writers feel the same. We have a love of words, and little brings us more joy than seeing words arranged into such a sentence that moves you.
Of course, quotes about writing resonate on a particular level with me. So I thought I’d share the 5 that I always come back to time and time again.
“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shovelling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” – ― Shannon Hale
I adore this quote. Writing a first draft is difficult, and it’s easy to let doubt halt your progress. But when you allow yourself to write badly, to shovel sand, you will get the basic down. And from there, you can build on the story and make…
Princess Valerie and her retainer, Ingrid, had gone out for walk in the royal gardens to enjoy a lovely spring afternoon. The weather couldn’t be better, and the various flowers were beautiful to behold.
As they walked, they chatted about different things, as women will do. They were having such a nice time and not paying close attention to their surroundings that they soon found themselves outside the castle grounds.
A large field filled with wildflowers was spread out before their eyes. Princess Valerie gazed at it, taking it all in with a huge smile on her lips. Ingrid, however, urged the princess to turn around, knowing how dangerous it was for them to be away from the castle grounds.
Princess Valerie ignored her and ran off into the field and began picking wildflowers. Ingrid shook her head and walked towards her, intending to talk some sense into the princess. Neither noticed the dark spot high in the sky coming closer and larger with each passing moment.
Just before Ingrid could reach her, the black dragon swooped down from the sky and scooped Princess Valerie from the field in one its huge claws. The princess screamed as the dragon flew off with her.
Ingrid cried out after the princess, and as the dragon got farther and farther away, she heard the princess call something out to her. It was hard for the older lady to make out clearly what she said, though, because of the distance.
As Ingrid ran back towards the castle the sound the alarm, she tried to figure out who it was the princess had asked her to summon to rescue her.
When the dragon returned to its cave, it stuck the princess high up on a ledge where she would be hard pressed to escape from, then settled down on the floor next to its large pile of gold and jewels and stared up at its new trophy.
“You won’t get away with this,” Princess Valerie told the dragon.
“Oh, really?” the dragon replied, its rumbling voice echoing in the cave.
“Yes. Once my champion, the prince Valiant, arrives, I shall be rescued and you shall be dead, oh dragon.”
The dragon chuckled. “We will see about that. I have dispatched many a ‘champion’ in my time, girl. I shall do the same for yours.”
The dragon settled down and began to nap, and the princess settled down to wait.
After a while, the princess wasn’t sure how long, she could faintly hear the sound of a horse’s hooves outside the cave entrance, followed by the sound of armor clanking, and she quickly got to her feet. The dragon also heard it and woke up, it’s bright yellow eyes intently watching for the intruder.
Princess Valerie watched as her armored rescuer came inside the cave, eager to see her champion fight to save her from the dragon. But as he came into view, her eagerness fell to disappointment. “P…Prince…Valium?” she said. “What are you doing here? I told Ingrid to summon Prince Valiant!”
He turned to look up at her and raised the visor on his helmet. He stifled a yawn and replied, “Yes, well, I was surprised by the summons as well, my lady, and thought there must have been some mistake. But one such as I can’t refuse a royal summons or refuse to come to the aid of a damsel in distress.” He stifled another yawn. “So here I am, come to rescue you.”
“But…but…” she stammered.
He lowered his visor and turned to the dragon. He raised his sword and said, “Now then, dragon! Prepare to die!”
The dragon opened its large mouth. Flames flickered at the back of its throat.
Valium, the valiant would-be rescuer, suddenly dropped the ground, startling the dragon. The dragon stared in confusion, wondering what trick he playing. Then the sound of snoring reached its ears. The dragon shook its head sadly and decided what to do. There would be no real fun in just killing and eating him like this, the dragon thought, so instead it picked Valium up and left the cave, flying off and leaving Valium to sleep in the middle of the woods far away.
Upon returning to the cave, the dragon told Princess Valerie, “I hope your next champion is more of a challenge.”
This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “val”:
Now, Rayne is offering a special free seminar aimed at self-isolating writers who wish to take advantage of the pandemic downtime to hone their writing skills.
Course description: Power up your Fiction
The pandemic crisis creates intense emotions and magnifies character traits. Use your observations, feelings, and experiences to enrich your works in progress, deepen characterization, intensify conflicts, and add realism to tense situations.
The assignments in this course will make you a better writer, and at the same time, you’ll reap the therapeutic benefits.
We will not write about the pandemic. Once this is all over, and the last thing people want to read and buy is pandemic stories. Instead, we’ll extrapolate your observations and apply them to the kind of fiction you write.
Life can be stressful, perhaps now more than ever. I’m in full encouragement of people practising self-care and doing all they can to relax. Writing is my very favourite distraction from the world, so I just had to share those 4 wonderful ways writing can help you to relax.
Writing is an escape from reality
What better way to relax, than escaping our real life worries? Writing offers the most incredible escape from reality. In writing you can focus entirely on other people, other worlds and other situations. You can write things that make you feel happy, powerful, creative, inspired and excited. It is completely in your control, and that’s what makes it so glorious. Writing helps you make sense of your thoughts There’s a wonderful writing quote by Flannery O’Connor; “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” I completely agree that…
The sun had started to rise and the birds began their morning songs after waking from their nightly slumber. Below them, in the bushes and grass growing around the trees, the other forest creatures began to awaken and begin their morning routines.
Not long after the forest awakened to a new day, a warning cry from some birds rang out, followed by a loud and frustrated mew.
“Dang it!” spat the young ginger tabby kitten as he sat underneath the tree, staring at the spot between two roots where the mouse he’d tried to catch had been before it slipped away.
“Don’t worry,” said the long-haired silver cat as she walked up to the kitten. “You’ll get the hang of it soon enough, Rusty. You’re doing fine. You just need more practice. Remember what I’ve taught you. Now, stand up.”
“Yes, Misty,” said the kitten, doing as he was told.
“Good. Now, listen closely. What do you hear?”
The kitten was quiet as he listened to the forest. “Birds are chirping high in the trees,” he said after a few moments. “There are some squirrels chattering in some trees nearby.” He paused a moment and focused his gaze on a bush close by. “There’s something moving under that bush.”
“Good. Now, sniff the air and see if you can catch its scent and identify it.”
Rusty did as Misty instructed. “It’s another mouse,” he said.
“Good. Now, remember what I’ve told you about stalking and pouncing, and get ready. And don’t be so impatient this time.”
Rusty crouched low to the ground, making sure his belly and tail didn’t drag and make noise. He slowly made his way towards the bush, keeping his pawsteps light and noiseless on the ground.
“Good, good,” Misty said softly and encouragingly as she watched her pupil.
When Rusty got close to the bush, he paused and watched for the mouse. The leaves and grass near him began to move, and Rusty crouched and prepared to pounce, his back end moving slightly as he adjusted his legs just so to give him the correct strength and lift.
The unsuspecting mouse darted out from under the bush, and Rusty made his move.
The mouse never knew what hit him.
Rusty looked down at the mouse caught in his claws and purred.
He picked up the mouse in his mouth and carried it back to Misty, his tail held high in the air.
As he dropped the mouse on the ground at Misty’s feet, she purred and said, “Well done, Rusty. As I told you, practice makes purrfect. You are going to be a fine hunter.”
This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “practice/practise”:
Writing helps you make sense of your thoughts
Jeanne Owens, author 