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Saturday Mix – Fan Favourites, 2 January 2021

Join in the fun here: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2021/01/02/saturday-mix-fan-favourites-28-december-2019/
I have included all of the options, not sure which I want to do. I may do more than one…they are all good…

Fan Favourite Challenge #1 – SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT
Your ‘Same Same But Different’ task is to take the five challenge words and NOT use them in your writing. That’s right, you need to dig out your thesaurus and find a synonym for each word instead. Your words for the fan favourite challenge are:

  • year
  • health
  • happy
  • safe
  • beginning

Every 365 days I am tickled pink knowing I feel good, have a roof over my head, and can start fresh with my goals.

Fan Favourite Challenge #2 – DOUBLE TAKE
The ‘Double Take’ challenge focuses on the use of homophones to build your writing piece. You have two sets of homophones and you are challenged to use all of them in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Your homophone sets this week are:
hole and whole

AND

broach and brooch

When I’m heading out to garden
and looking for a spot
I check the whole location
for a hole to plant my pot.
I tried to broach the subject
with my roommate ‘fore I did
just in case she wanted input
like the brooch she gave that kid.
He put it in a shoebox
and said he’d keep it safe
She found it in the garbage can
that shitty little waif!

©2021 CBialczak Poetry

Fan Favourite Challenge #3 – OPPOSING FORCES
This challenge is all about “opposing forces” and the use of antithesis in our writing. You will need to use the two opposing words in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Your words this week are:
– front and back
– high and low

If you walk to the front of my classroom
you’ll see the chalkboard is black
You can’t really see any writing
It’s so smudgy that you have to step back.

You know that I can’t stand the feeling
of chalk on my hands, as you know,
but where can I put all my lessons
when the highest spot is much too low?

They said that they’d come move the smart board
or maybe just the TV
But you waited all school year the last time
So you know that it’s all fantasy.

©2021 CBialczak Poetry

Fan Favourite Challenge #4 – UNIQUE PERSONALITY
This challenge is all about the use of personification in writing. You will need to use the statement provided in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Your statement using, personification is: The flowers we fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

When I look out my window each morning
I see mother nature has come
to make all her masterpieces perfect
easier said than is done.

The big purple flowers were fluttering
And dancing away in the breeze
you almost forgot that the beauty
is all meant to be simple and please,

©2021 CBialczak Poetry

Fan Favourite Challenge #5 – MAD ABOUT METAPHOR
This challenge is all about the use of metaphor in writing. You will need to use the metaphor provided in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Your metaphor this week is: Hope is on the horizon.

With the start of 2021 we have new vaccines coming to help stop COVID, the US has a new president coming to help heal our country, and I still love blogging. Hope is on the horizon for a year better than 2020!

Fan Favourite Challenge #6 – SOUND BITE
This challenge explores the use of ONOMATOPOEIA. You will need to use the THREE onomatopoeic words in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Your three words, using onomatopoeia are: bang, pop, splish

I could hear noises coming from my daughters bedroom. First a shriek and a bang. Next a grunt and popping sound. Finally, a sigh and a splish, splash of the toilet bowl washing the creature away!.

Fan Favourite Challenge #7 – LUCKY DIP
The Lucky Dip challenge explores different poetry forms. Your poetry form this week is a Cinquain. See here for a format guide.

Line 1: Noun
Line 2: Description of Noun
Line 3: Action
Line 4: Feeling or Effect
Line 5: Synonym of the initial noun.

Suet
Fat for the birds
Eating it all quickly
Happily chirping and pecking 
Birdseed

©2021 CBialczak Poetry

Fan Favourite Challenge #8 – RHYME TIME
The Rhyme Time challenge explores the use of rhyme in writing. Your rhyming words this week are:
– help
– yelp
– whelp
– kelp

It doesn’t help if you yelp when your whelp eats the shrimp and the kelp.

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Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge: Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Today’s prompt: Write a piece of prose around the question: “How do we stay focused when the world around us is falling apart?” https://godoggocafe.com/2020/03/17/tuesday-writing-prompt-challenge-tuesday-march-17-2020/

Our world is falling apart. People are scared. People are dying. If you are one of the millions or billions of people who live on our earth and are paying attention to COVID-19, you are like me, you are here wondering what to do and what is going to happen.

As of this moment, 9:07 pm, Eastern Standard Time, Northeast Continental US, we (the citizens of the world) are being told to stay home. What do we do to keep our sanity? What do we do to continue living when dying seems to be knocking at our back doors? I turn to art.

For me, art is a broad category. According to Webster one of the multiple definitions of “art” is the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects. During this time I write a lot! I am also drawing, using both the worldwide web and some books I ordered, to teach me multiple techniques. I am learning to draw human features. I am learning to draw 3D objects properly. I am also learning to draw animals. My goal is to become a better artist so that I may illustrate my own children’s books. It also keeps my mind and body occupied at home.

Am I scared of COVID-19? Yes, a little bit. As many of my followers and other readers know, in the last 18 months I lost my husband and my son. I don’t want to lose anyone else, obviously, but emotional pain is draining and I believe it weakens our immune systems. I believe if more of us can keep in touch and provide positive vibes, prayers, and hope, we can conquer this mess.

©2020 March 18, CBialczak

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Handling rejection

Well, I officially got my first rejection from a literary agent. One of many, I know. So many contacts to make, so many letters to write, each one dedicated to the wants or needs of that agent. How many have you written? Have you tried? This is one conquest that I will not abandon until I get the results I desire!

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V.J.’S CHALLENGE #66: SAVOUR

This week, let’s consider what we savour…

When I walk on the beach, later in the day, most people have gone home, and I notice the world around me. I notice the expanse of the ocean. I savour the idea that the horizon line isn’t straight it curves into more ocean, much too far to swim, too far to see across. I savour the sounds of the small waves crashing on the shore while little water birds scurry for little clams washed up in the surf.

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What about poetry?

During my fairly short writing career I have come to love writing poetry. Yes, I know, yuck! Well, to tell you the truth I find my poetry silly and fun to read.

It seems that poetry is not a popular type of literature for children. I know that so many books that are published incorporate rhyming but the anthologies like I read when I was a kid. Have you read “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein? I think I read that anthology a hundred times, as well as his other works. He is my inspiration because without knowing his writing style I don’t think I would ever imagine myself writing poetry.

I hope to put out a Poem Anthology. What do you think? I would love feedback on whether this is a considered a good idea or not. I will still do whatever I eventually decide, but the feedback may help determine when and how I present it to a literary agent.

tag #whataboutpoetry in your response. I think that sends it back to me. I’m still learning how to blog and if you have any pointers on a way I can improve, and you know how to blog, please send your suggestions my way. Email me at stinewriting@gmail.com

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Sunday

To start I will mention how beautiful it is today. Knowing not everyone is in New England I wonder how the weather is in other states or countries. Care to share?

I was so happy last night when I asked a good friend to read the new story I have written. It made me happy for two reasons. one, she liked it! obvious reaction from me! Two, she was an English major in college and doesn’t believe in just saying nice things to make you feel good. She is honest and gives helpful feedback. So, it was nice to hear that she liked my story.

For those of you who follow my blog but don’t know me, I have had a lot of loss in my life in the past 16 months. I lost my husband and my son. Last night I had a dream and in my dream they walked in together. It was the first dream I had when it was so realistic you wake up wondering if that is your real life and the tragedy you deal with is the dream. Unfortunately, that was just a dream but it did leave me with a speck of peace.

So, not to turn this beautiful day into one of sorrow or pain, I think I will fill my day with writing and researching my next steps. I have a goal now, one that is more concrete than before. I want my books to make it to one of the Big Five! I know it’s going to take a lot of hard work and rejection before I get there but I am going to work towards it.

Peace to you all, enjoy the day, ignore the news(lol!), and be thankful for what you have.

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Always something to learn

I am so excited that I sat and took the time to read multiple websites about publishing books, finding agents, and getting you dream come true by getting published by one of the Great 5.

So many people have so much to share, they have been “there” before and have gone through many of the hardest steps of publishing. Next thing you see, these same people are offering help, telling you ahead of time, what NOT to do! I will take all the advice I can!

Another exciting event is I am going to meet with the director of a local library early next week to arrange a reading at their library. Once this is set up I will post the location and time.

If you have read my books, or know someone who has, please, please, please, go back to Amazon and leave a review! Thank you!