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Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!You registered on WordPress.com 9 years ago.Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.I received the message above from WordPress yesterday. This kind of thing makes me reminisce, thinking about how I got here. My blog has gone through many changes over the years. It’s still a mish mash of life experiences, poetry or whatever else I happen to fancy at the moment. I’ve made some wonderful friends along the way.
For those of you who have come along for the ride, I thank you!
Tag: blog
Hosting a Writing Challenge-What I Learned
First of all, THANK YOU, to everyone that joined me in this challenge! Please be sure to check out these lovely blogs!
Dawn Benedict
KS Woods
The Reluctant Poet
Poetisatinta
Thank You to everyone that had the patience to READ my posts in January. Not all of them were pretty.
When I first came up with the idea of hosting this Writing Challenge, I didn’t really think about how involved it would be. I simply thought it would be fun and it would be a good way for me to be more disciplined and to write more
I did have fun and I’ve gained a lot of insight and have a lot more respect for those that do this on a regular basis.
Maybe I should have started out with just hosting a weekly challenge instead of one that goes for an entire month! But no, I had to go big or go home! 🙂
The results of this challenge, for me, produced 22 regular posts (the Number I was shooting for) and 12 promotional/roundups for a total of 34 posts.
Since I put my foot in my mouth and not only came up with this challenge, but set my number at 22 posts, I did feel a sense of pressure to get those posts done. But, it turns out that I work well under pressure. 🙂 There are a few posts that I did in January, on the spur of the moment, that came out, to me, surprisingly well!
The Penalty I wrote in just a few minutes and didn’t like it when I was done with it, but posted it anyway. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one of my better poems for the month.
Welcome The Light I did not like at all. The idea that I had in my head did not translate to the page. It received a good response to readers, according to the views and comments received.
The Mirror While not liking it when I wrote this, I did end up really liking this piece. This was just a stream of consciousness piece. I just started writing and this is what came! Maybe I need to do more of this type of writing!
“Holding my feet to the fire”, so to speak, has paid off for me. But I think that from now on, I will leave hosting a writing challenge to others. There are many people on WordPress that do this very, very well and the next time I need inspiration, I will seek out one of these awesome people’s blogs.
Mental illness: Learn. Listen. Link.
My Lovely friend, Audrey, at Minnesota Prairie Roots did a wonderful post on mental illness and the struggles in finding help. Audrey shares my desire to advocate for those that suffer. Please take a moment to read her post and be sure to spend some time on her blog as her writing and photography as worth it! Thank you, Audrey for this post and for your Very Kind words about me and my blog. ❤
HER VOICE RISES. Strong. Compassionate. Without hesitation.
She is Penny Wilson, published poet, blogger, fiction writer, advocate. Penny, who blogs at Penny Wilson Writes, advocates for those diagnosed with mental illnesses. She is open about her struggles with depression. And it is that honesty which impresses upon me how much, how deeply, Penny cares.
From her fixer-up home in a small Texas town, Penny pens pieces that inform, educate, advocate about mental health. Recently she spent hours researching and compiling a list of resources in a post titled “Affordable Mental Health Counseling.” A friend’s need for affordable therapy (when her benefits were running out) prompted the piece. What Penny found was nothing. No low cost or no cost counseling services for mental health issues. I’m not surprised.
Yet, Penny published that list of 14…
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12 Tips to Help You Wrangle Your Muse
Image by Sabine Sauermaul from Pixabay
We writers often stress when we can’t write. Our Muse will occasionally go AWOL. These lapses in creativity can last anywhere from a day or two, to months or even years. What to do?! How can we wrangle that Muse? How can we coax her back in to working? There are no hard and fast “rules”, but there are many ideas that may help. After extensive research, I’ve compiled a list of handy ideas that may help you with this situation.
1.Getting physical is Never allowed.
2.Bribery is often helpful and encouraged.
3.Many Muses appreciate music. Play their favorite genre.
4.Focus is needed. Too many distractions will scare them away.
5.”You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”. Be kind, always.
6.Your Muse may need snacks in order to work. Have their favorites on hand. (see #2, bribery)
7.Does your Muse take care of herself? Be sure your Muse gets enough exercise, sleep and good food.
8.Like us, Muses are not perfect. Let them fail. If they give you something that you feel is a dud, don’t despair. Next time may be better.
9.Your Muse needs practice. Like any muscle, it must be used and exercised.
10.Shake things up! Most Muses enjoy the new and exciting! Rearrange your office or buy a new desk lamp or paint the room. A different view may help!
11.Maybe your Muse is in a rut! Let her try something new, something outside her comfort zone! (see #9, practice)
12.Let her express herself. Maybe she needs to write about her troubles. She has needs too! Let it happen!
*This is, of course, is all meant in fun. Generally, our Muses are within us. With that in mind, maybe something here will spark you, and your Muse! 🙂
Copyright (C) 2022 Penny Wilson All Rights Reserved
*The original idea for “wrangling your muse” was prompted by my Dear Friend Chuck over at The Reluctant Poet. Thank you Chuck, for your inspiration.
*REBLOG: Dear Poet — forgottenmeadows
This is a REBLOG from Forgotten Meadow’s beautiful blog. Be sure to visit her site!
Dear Poet,I see you behind the blue inkof your spilled heartfallen,amidst wordsthat you meant to say,but never did. Dear Poet,I see you… poetry and image copyright neha 2022
Dear Poet — forgottenmeadows
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“You like me! You really, really like me!”
I don’t think that sweet Sally Fields ever lived down those words.
Thank You, to everyone that took time to visit my blog and like something that you saw here. I appreciate it so much!
Years ago when I first started this blog, I had no idea how big of a part in my life this blog would play. It’s become not only a place to express myself, but also a place I can come to and always be welcomed. It’s a place where I can check in with friends that I’ve made here. It’s also a place where I can discover new talent and make new friends.
My time here has been rewarding in ways that I never imagined. Thank you for being here for me and for joining me on this journey! Penny
I Know… You Warned Me!
I know, I know, you warned me again and again about the Block Editor that WordPress has insisted upon us using. That it was coming. That there were tutorials & how-tos. That I should practice with it.
Obviously, I have resisted. What I was using worked, worked great, in fact! Why fix it if it’s not broke? Right?
Well, WordPress has forced my hand. So here I am, stumbling over the building blocks of the Block Editor. ha ha… 😦
WordPress has also been playing around with other parts of the site lately too. I find that I have to search for things that I used to be able to locate with no problem. Why, WordPress, why??
I know that with time, this will become old-hat. But why push me out of my comfort zone? Was the Classic Editor some weird threat to WordPress? Did it allow a security hole of some kind? What was the harm?
If you know of a work-around or a way to get back the Classic Editor, PLEASE let me know.
No, I don’t want to be told ‘how easy’ the Block Editor is. I’m mad, dammit! And I want to stay that way! 🙂
Copyright (C) Penny Wilson 2021
Happy Anniversary To Me!
Thank you to all of you that visit, comment, like and share my posts! Also, thank you to everyone that enjoys, likes or tolerates my musings! 🙂
Friday Favorites-The Stories In Between
Welcome to another Friday Favorite! Each week I will bring to you information about a favorite blog/blogger that is a favorite of mine. Please be sure to take a minute to explore their blog and they might just become a favorite of yours too!
This week, I’d like to introduce you to The Stories In Between. River Dixon’s imaginative way of expression is thought provoking, stunning and always a surprise. Some of his pieces are dark & brooding, but their brilliance is clear. THIS is a piece I found quite sad and sweet. River’s poetry will sometimes leave the interpretation up to the reader. But everything makes you ponder… Like THIS POEM.
The Stories In Between will take you on an emotional roller coaster. River writes of love, hate, life, death, darkness and light. Through this journey, you may just find yourself breathless. For you never know for sure which way the coaster will go. THIS piece is touching and sad, but eloquently penned.
River Dixon is an accomplish author, having published several books that are collections of his poetry and short stories. HERE is where you can find information about his books. I’ve purchased 2 of his books, The Stories In Between, which is short stories and Left Waiting, a poetry collection. Both, amazing works. THIS is his Amazon Author page.
So head over to The Stories In Between today. Explore the depth of talent you will find there. I’m going to bet that River’s blog will become a favorite of yours too!
Copyright (C) 2020 Penny Wilson
Friday Favorites-The Mad Chatter
Welcome to another Friday Favorite! Each week, I’ll bring you information about a blog/blogger that I follow and why they are a favorite of mine. This week, I’d like to introduce you to The Mad Chatter. Be sure to visit her blog and it may become a favorite of yours too!
I think that The Mad Chatter (Jessica) is a fairly new friend/blogger of mine. I’m not sure exactly how or why we connected, but I’m sure glad that we did. Jessica isn’t afraid to poke a little fun at herself, while getting her points across. She’s an advocate for Mental Health issues and ending those stigmas. These are just a few reasons why I enjoy her blog.
Like mine, The Mad Chatter’s blog is quite varied. She writes what she wants to write and posts what she wants to post. As it Should Be!! I love HER POST “Gray Matter” where she talks about the variety of her posts.
The Mad Chatter has a page devoted to Mental Health. Go HERE to see it. I guarantee, there is food for thought on this page.
The Mad Chatter has a page on HUMOR, one on POETRY and a variety of other topics. I love THIS POST that she did about the intelligence of an octopus.
All in all, Jessica’s blog, The Mad Chatter has a lot to offer! Be sure to spend some time exploring this entertaining, and enlightening blog! You’ll discover a new friend and a favorite too!
Copyright (C) Penny Wilson
Penny Wilson Writes 