Showing posts with label writing prompts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing prompts. Show all posts

Saturday, April 6, 2024

April PAD Challenge + NaPoWriMo 2024 Writing Prompts: Day 6

 

Image by Hoa Luu from Pixabay

Happy Saturday, Poetry People! It's a windy one in this neck of the woods. Never mind that; let's get to it.


The April PAD Challenge prompt suggests writing a minimum poem. 


The NaPoWriMo prompt asks participants to write a poem rooted in “weird wisdom,” by which we mean something objectively odd that someone told you once, and that has stuck with you ever since. 

My Tanka (a brief or minimum poetry form) discusses the culinary technique of adding an opposing flavor to enhance a dish or food item. For instance, salted caramel or adding sugar to a sauce to enhance its savory flavor.

Today's post is also comparatively minimal.

I am debating whether to try the coffee cake bread pudding I just made now or wait until after dinner, which is still several hours away.

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~


Ornery Owl
Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors
"What do you think of my poem, Hangry?"


Hangry Wyrm
Free use image from Clker Free Vector Images
"Forget that moon-June-tune folderol, Ornery! Serve up the dang bread pudding!"




Friday, November 4, 2022

November PAD Challenge 2022: Day 4: Rolling in the Blank

 

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

I'm gonna use my illusion like glue

to try and stick to you

that the basis for our bond is trauma

presages floods of drama

will our love have the strength to withstand

an unfortunate and inevitable smashing on the rocks

I'd like to believe we'd stand strong as a sculpture made of vibranium

but I suspect we'll shatter like our hearts of glass

the universe won't exclude us

from the drawing of the three of swords

our epic disaster of an affair

will not merit an ever-after display in a museum

but will merely be the talk of colleagues over coffee

for fifteen minutes or so

then tossed aside and forgotten 

by everyone but such fools

as those who thought their love could survive

rolling in the deep, dark ocean

of a past fraught with trauma and betrayal

I still love you anyway

There will never be another

for this lonely heart

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

prompts used

Words used:

illusion

glue

strength

exclude

basis

sculpture

and / or

museum

unfortunate

talk

suspect

drawing

colleague


Today's prompt asked participants to write an "In the Blank" poem. I could not be stopped. I changed it up a little and made it a Rolling in the Blank poem, because that's one of my favorite songs. Sorry to blemish your reputation, Adele, but Ornery Owl is a fan.


Here's a link to the video, because that's how I (ahem) roll.

I'll see myself out now.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

April PAD Challenge/NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 21 + Make It Happen Thursday



Good day, Poetry People. I'm pleased that the Deep House Mix channel managed to make their introductory image look like it came from a beach vacation rather than a strip club for today's video. I'm grateful for whatever crumbs the Universe throws my way.

I made myself miserable by looking at my KDP sales report. I learned something, but it was still a miserable experience. What I learned is nobody cares about poetry and I need to start writing erotica again. 

People have strange perceptions of authors who write erotica. They get the idea that we're all insatiable sex fiends. Although I've encountered a few erotica authors who were into swinging lifestyles, often they're just ordinary people. 

Personally, I look like an unmade bed and have the libido of a haunted car with four flat tires and a cracked engine block. This car will kill you if you try to drive it. 

You may wonder why a crabby old bat who compares herself to an immobile haunted car would write erotica. 

The answer is simple. It's a fun genre to write. I find myself able to cut loose with erotica in a way that I can't with other genres. 

Enough about the smutty side of Naughty Netherworld Press. For now, let's look at today's non-erotic prompts. 

The Sound of Lost Things and Absent Friends

Prompts Used


This prompt asks you to write a poem in which you first recall someone you used to know closely but are no longer in touch with, then a job you used to have but no longer do, and then a piece of art that you saw once and that has stuck with you over time. Finally, close the poem with an unanswerable question.

I did a sweet suite of four Haibun with this multi-part prompt.

Write a Sound poem

Write a poem using one of the rose names on the list. I chose Absent Friends.

Words for Wednesday

Prompt word: Dewdrops

Write about an encounter with an animal


I used the prompt for the title question, will anything ever unite us and also the alternate question that came to mind, will anything ever reunite us? Other than that, I really didn't follow the prompt.


Today I would also like to give a shout-out to the folks at the Write Edit Publish Now blog. You have until tomorrow if you'd like to enter a piece in the bi-monthly WEP challenge.

For more about the WEP Challenge, visit the following link.

To read my entry, follow the breadcrumbs to the gingerbread house.

Eh, it's actually a yellow brick house. Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you for dinner. I'm making a knockoff version of Pork Al Pastor using the slow cooker function on my dearly beloved Instant Pot, and I'm going to serve that over rice tonight.

Good gravy but I find the stripper aesthetic that the creator of the fantastic deep house video mixes favors for thumbnails aggravating. Fortunately, the rest of the video seems to be free of such imagery.



I've officially completed my Camp NaNoWriMo goal. I heart Camp NaNoWriMo almost as much as I despise regular NaNoWriMo. 

Camp NaNoWriMo and regular NaNoWriMo are like two sides of the same coin. The Camp NaNoWriMo side is shiny, pleasant, and encouraging. It plays uplifting music whenever it comes up in a toss while beautiful birds fly through the air carrying a brightly colored banner proclaiming YOU CAN DO THIS, WINNER!

The regular NaNoWriMo side of the coin was minted in the depths of Mount Doom from shards of broken glass, rusty nails, and used razor blades, and carries with it the sensation of being forced to do horrible homework in hell while being whacked across the knuckles at varying intervals by a demon nun wielding a spiked ruler. It plays the screeching sound of nails on a chalkboard turned up to 11 every time it comes up in a toss. 

Maybe next time I'll tell you how I really feel about NaNoWriMo and not hold back. 😜

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~




Sunday, October 31, 2021

Helloween 2021 Day 31: Vellichor

 

Image by Denis Doukhan from Pixabay

“Spence, I know what you need,” Uncle Lee said gently. “Put your problem out of your mind for a time and come with me to Every Trick over in Hermival. We’ll bask in the vellichor and not think about anything but finding the very most mysterious long-forgotten books.”

Image by sanjay k j from Pixabay
Happy Halloween/Helloween/Samhain from Ornery Owl




notes if you want 'em
The paragraph above is doomed to become part of my latest WIP, Cosmically Bonded, a cursed novella or novel that is a not particularly well-disguised nudge and wink with tongue planted firmly in cheek fic written with love for my Wincesty friends. Thus far, the story has been fraught with peril as I had to shelve it for a time to concentrate on writing Silent Scream, my contribution for consideration in The Colour Out of Deathlehem anthology. 

Whenever I have to backburner a story, I end up anxious that I may permanently abandon it. The truth is, I have many more abandoned stories than published ones. Some may eventually get a second chance at life. Most will not. 

Wanting to give all the stories and craft ideas in my mind a chance and wanting to hang around and help my son are the two driving forces behind my nightly dyslexic agnostic existential crisis. I don't really sit up pondering whether or not there's a dog. I sit up wishing that my son and I could be together always, wondering how many of my stories I'll be able to bring to life, and whether I'll ever be anything but a crushing disappointment and an embarrassment to my family.

And that, my fiends and foes, is as real as it gets.

Honestly, I don't want anyone telling me not to think that way, proselytizing (it won't work) or trying to "comfort" me by telling me that I and my ideas will be snuffed out and return to compounds. That one really doesn't work. My body will be, sure, but I'm not convinced that one's consciousness/essence/soul just fucks off for good and all. I prefer to believe in the possibility of the continuation of the soul, so let's just leave it at that.

~Ornery Owl~

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


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This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

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Friday, October 22, 2021

Helloween 2021 Day 22: Change

 

Image by Sebastian Wahlhutter on One Big Photo

our blue planet is a treasure
its resources bring us pleasure
we bring change

toujours perdrix self-indulgence
brings discouraging divulgence
we must change

no more winter in which to ski
death of biodiversity
climate change

if we cannot work together
there will be change in the weather
killing change

we are on a slippery slope
before we end up without hope
time for change

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

The Changing Prompts

Prompt: How 2020 Changed You
This could be interpreted in a couple of different ways. 2020 changed the world, not just me, and the world along with me changed in 2020. Working in tandem with the Earthweal prompt, there were changes to biodiversity in 2020.


Prompt: Write a compound word verse. I gave it my best shot. After reading some of the others, I am aware now that I didn't properly compound my word, although I did reference it in the third line of each verse.


Prompt: Write a poem about biodiversity


Photo Prompt
For me, the photo worked as a metaphor for the way people view climate change. We think we are able to rise above it because we are invincible, but we are hanging on a thin line at risk of a disastrous plunge into the abyss.


The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Poems of Spring 2021 Remix

 


Image by David Bruyland from Pixabay

when you look at this rumpled old thing
just what is it that you see?
shall we plant a fence of trees
that will outlive you and me?

the miscreant heir who plays bass at purple twilight
Mad melodies marauding through my mind
Make me want to defy reality
How can I lift myself above this insanity?

dark havens for Stepford girls
mold and shape little women
made delicate like china
staring, pitying, patronizing

I didn't break you
although I cannot mend you
I will support you
if you will allow me to

Dear Cosmic Chef,
Was it fair of you to make me a mind 
that loves cooking up big dreams 
but has no freedom to fulfill them?

In retrospect, I can see 
why you thought Hollywood was wrong for my tastes.
But why didn't you see fit to give me even a morsel of talent?
Or even the smallest sprinkling of pizazz?

I could accept the fact 
that only the most half-baked mind 
could envision me as erotic.

But giving me the appearance 
of a blob of gritty icing 
atop a melted ice cream cake 
left sitting in the sun?

I won't stand for it, and I demand a refund.

waiting for the process server sucks
From where I'm sitting
There are doves and sparrows in the tree outside my window
Plotting to take a dump on my car

six-time loser down on her luck
at least this afternoon
we'll be able to hit the food bank

Would you believe that I am trying to be more like Pooh?
That willy-nilly silly old bear is my real hero.
Because he’s good-natured even when he’s bothered.

Every year one more piece of the past
Floats away on the winding river of time
many years have passed since I last visited a temple
or took a walk anywhere I felt at peace

Everything has changed so much in my old town
When my mother is gone, I will visit there no more
It brings back too many painful memories
Even with the passing of years, some wounds never heal

I don't hear too much from the birds outside my window
they fly to and fro, perching soundlessly
I slowly knit a headband and a scarf
from multicolored yarn, gold and red like autumn

I look at the birds outside my window
when my cats are gone, I will have no more
my heart is still an open wound from those lost before
night will fall regardless of what happens

love is a rat
caught in a trap
I clung onto his arm like a tattoo design
feared his desire would flicker like a dying flame

pressure to maintain impossible perfection
always drove me to hate my flawed self even more
he only saw women as collapsible dolls
why the hell did it take me so long to say no?

The first rain of the season was Thursday
Both the left and right are off their rocker
It's a sick, sad world
believe me or don't

~cie~


Music mix while I remix:


Write a remix poem.


The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

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Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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Saturday, May 15, 2021

Senryu: Believe It or Don't

 

Image by John Hain from Pixabay


I am not ringlorn

within my agnosthesia

believe me or don't

~cie~


Day 27: Write a "believe" or "don't believe" poem.

https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-seven-7/

Write a poem inspired by an entry from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. Overachiever that I am, I selected not one but two entries. I'm such a teacher's pet.

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

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Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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Sly's Feminist Poetry: It's a Sick, Sad World

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

All around me are the indoctrinated
Catechized places, brainwashed faces
Hating the liberals and non-white races
Going nowhere, going nowhere

Rage fills their eyes behind their glasses
Hateful expression, disdainful expression
Hide my head, it fills me with sorrow
I fear for tomorrow, I fear for tomorrow

It isn't very funny
It makes me pretty sad
The American dream lays dying
Replaced with something bad
Cheeto Stalin has something to sell you
He thinks all news is fake
His devotees run in circles
It's a sick, sad world
A sick, sad world




Children waiting for the day they feel good
In a world of rigid ideals based on their sex
That tell them to be stereotypes of what a boy or girl should
Indoctrination, indoctrination

Some kids don't check the boxes, they're shy and nervous
Their parents misconstrue them, counselors undo them
That they were made wrong is their earliest lesson
Docs prescribe drugs to undo them, surgeons cut and reskew them

I don't think it's very funny
I think it's pretty sad
Gender fundamentalists say kids are dying
If a sex change isn't had
I once fell for gender doctrine
But it really takes the cake
When doctors give puberty blockers to healthy children
It's a sick, sad world, a sick, sad world

Both the left and right are off their rocker
It's a sick, sad world

~cie~

you're gonna need the notes
To sum things up:
Biden is doing a better job than I expected him to do. I knew that he couldn't be worse than tRump (it's pretty hard to be worse than that), but he's worked hard and made excellent progress.

I was appalled by the January 6 insurrection and disgusted that its ringleader, tRumpty Dumpty, is not yet in prison. I rather fear that he never will be.

I vehemently disagree with President Biden and with anyone else parroting gender theory unexamined and unchecked. I'm a live and let live kind of person. Transgender people deserve the same civil rights as anyone else. However, something has gone badly amiss, and no one is benefiting from it but big pharma and the medical-industrial complex.

There have always been gender-nonconforming people, but sex reassignment surgery was a relatively rare phenomenon and was only performed on adults. In Abigail Shrier's book "Irreversible Damage," transman Buck Angel discusses the process that he went through in order to transition, including extensive counseling and psychological assessment. 

A transgender person such as Buck Angel experiences extreme dysphoria regarding their biological sex. In Buck's case, taking steps to make his feminine body appear masculine helped alleviate his crippling dysphoria. Buck acknowledges and has honestly discussed the fact that he is biologically female and has shared his wisdom for other transmen to benefit from. 

I do not have a problem with Buck Angel or Caitlyn Jenner. They are adults who have taken what they feel are necessary steps to alleviate their dysphoria. I have no issue with using their chosen pronouns. Live and let live.

The problem is that no one is allowed to discuss the possible pitfalls with gender transition or they run the risk of being bullied and threatened, including physically. Gender ideology is a cult. If anyone expresses critical thoughts about prescribing puberty blockers and surgery to vulnerable children or troubled adolescents, one is shouted down as a "transphobe" or TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist.)

If one dares to take exception to misogynistic and dehumanizing terms such as birthing parents, chestfeeders, cervix havers, front hole havers, menstruators, non-men, or uterus havers, one is shouted down as a TERF. While there are references to "non-birthing parents," no one refers to men as penis-havers, prostate-havers, or sperm producers. Women are bullied for protesting the loss of female-specific terms to describe our lived experiences.

If one dares suggest that male-bodied people do not belong on women's sports teams because of their unfair physical advantages, that person is dismissed and branded a TERF. This recently happened to Caitlyn Jenner, who, as most people know, is an award-winning Olympic athlete who competed for the USA men's team prior to transition. Jenner's thoughts on the matter are sensible, but she is being written off as a "traitor" for expressing them rather than falling in line with gender fundamentalism.

Perhaps most sinister is the rise in childhood transition. Drugs such as puberty blockers are known to promote issues such as early-onset osteoporosis. Adolescent girls are having their healthy breasts removed. I do not believe that children and adolescents should be prescribed these drugs or given these surgeries. Guess what happens to anyone who expresses that opinion.

Transgenderism is a complex issue, and I find it sinister that it is impossible to discuss it without being bullied, berated, and threatened. In this case, it is the left rather than the right who are behaving in an unenlightened, fascist manner.

I leave you with links to books that address the subjects of childhood transition (of girls in particular) and the silencing of women critical of the current trend.




A banner from the now-defunct Gender Critical Feminism Reddit, which was removed for "hate speech." 
"Hate speech" means expressing opinions critical of transing children and silencing women.


Sick, Sad World was an infotainment program from the television show "Daria."


Day 26: Write a (Blank) World Poem

Day 26: Write a parody poem
The work parodied is the 1982 song Mad World, written by Roland Orzibal and performed by Tears for Fears.


Write a "disappointment" poem

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


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This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

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Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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Sunday, April 25, 2021

Late April Thoughts

 

Image source: NASA


It’s around the time of my son’s birthday

My soul, restless

The first rain of the season was Thursday

~cie~




Day 25: Write a "thought" poem


Day 25: Write an "occasion" poem


Today's prompt was the image at the top of the post.





AROUND
FIRST
WAS


https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2021/04/24/weekend-writing-prompt-206-restless/



The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)


Creative Commons License


This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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