Writing Exercise 076

Another busy week; but I still found the time to write a little something. The topic was "a day in summer" and with this poem I wish you such a day. Enjoy!

2017/05/26 – a day in summer (poem)

Roses, lilies, marigold

That's the story summer told

A butterfly flutters by

Up towards the clear blue sky

The black martins are singing

Good weather they are bringing

Over hill tops to a lake

Wanderer, which route to take?

Through long grass, under the trees

Listen to the birds and bees

Enjoy the day; it won't last

Autumn is approaching fast

Writing Exercise 075

Time sure flies by. This week my task is to restart an old project, and a dream reminded me of something back from 2014, which has not been published yet. So I revisited this very story and decided to continue it.

2017/05/15 – restart an old project (fanfiction, Naruto)

Read the first chapter of my fanfiction 'Peach Flower' on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10913244/chapters/24267126 

Writing Exercise 074

Guess what! It's time for my weekly writing exercise again. :D
This week I wrote a triple drabble; and today is a lovely day, so the topic is 'carpe diem'. Sounds fun?
Here it is:

 

2017/05/10 – carpe diem (triple drabble)

The morning is clear and bright. You feel energized to brimming and ready for action. There are so many things you want to do today. Go for a walk, go shopping, clean your home, meet your friends, call your family, complete the game you recently bought. Study and write, draw and read, set up a cupboard and do some gardening. But where to start? You want to do everything at once. If only you could clone yourself to accomplish that!

First you push the button and make yourself a nice cup of coffee; all decisions are reached faster enhanced by a cup of coffee, you believe. So where to start this lovely day? The weather is nice, but there are so many things to do at home, too. As you contemplate, a whole pot is emptied before you decide you have had enough. The afternoon is gone by the time you realize you have done nothing yet. How odd is that. You have had so many plans, yet you haven't started a single thing.

By now it is too late for shopping or going for a walk or gardening. Disappointed and disheartened you sit down and try to write or draw, but you can't force creativity. So the paper stays as blank as your mind, and you set the idea about creativity aside. The instructions tell you, you need some help to set up the cupboard, and you don't want to bother your friends and family so late. As you sit down to study you feel tired and find it hard to concentrate. So reading is not an option either. You remember why you stopped playing that game, as you are stuck, and you don't want to clean any more either.

Nobody said it was easy to seize the day.

Writing Exercise 073

This week's topic for my writing exercise was the question 'What did you dream last night?'. I waited for a memorable dream and wrote everything down in a hurry, so I didn't forget about it right away. What I made of it is this poem:

2017/05/05 – What did you dream last night? (poem)

Last night I had a nightmarish dream.

On my way to uni I went through the city,

Looking forward to the lecture I felt quite witty.

A lot of people were running about;

Suddenly I could hear frightened voices shout.

Amongst the panicked mob there was gunfire.

A civil war – my heart sank like a piece of lead;

I saw people tumble and fall, they were dead.

So getting out of there was my strongest desire.

But there was no going back; the road was blocked.

A sudden pain – the blood on my hands was hot,

I looked at the barrel of a gun and knew I was shot.

Realising I was dying I was quite shocked.

Then I woke with a silent scream.

Dembelo's discussions

As I've mentioned, I've been to the authors' bar camp at the Unperfekthaus in Essen last Saturday.

The Dembelo team, which I am part of, had a lot to set up before the event could start at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The workshop room had to be prepared, the buffet had to be organised, posters and logos had to be hung up, the reception had to be set up as well as the exhibition desk. But we managed everything on time!

When finally a total of 42 participants, coming from all over Germany, had arrived, the authors' bar camp could oficially start. At first we introduced our project, then explained how the bar camp functioned and collected the topics the participants wanted to address.
These topics were summed up into six workshops, two of them held parallelly each throughout the bar camp.
These workshops were:

• The future of reading and writing
• Writing skills
• Cooperative writing
• Readings
• Selfpublishing
• What to do after the first draft

During my shifts I moderated two of these workshops, Cooperative writing and Readings. I was very excited, but it worked out pretty awesomely. Together with the participants some interesting and intensive discussions unfolded; the important points were noted on a flip chart, so the results could be presented at the plenum at the end of the authors' bar camp and before the midnight writing workshop began at half past eleven.

And in between the authors could hold readings, which were broadcasted via life stream.

So later, when only the participants of the midnight writing workshop were left, we moved to the shared appartment hotel of the Unperfekthaus to write all night.
Well, I wrote until half past three, then I was totally exhausted. At least I managed to write one and a half decent chapters for one of my WIPs.

But after retreating to the room I shared with my fellow Dembelo teammates I couldn't sleep at all. Not even for a few minutes! So many impressions kept me awake, and the appartment hotel was also pretty badly soundproofed.
So the next morning during brunch I felt like a zombie. But still it was a very successful weekend for the Dembelo team, and for me personally. I would totally do it again and am looking forward to next year's authors' bar camp! :D

Writing Exercises 071 and 072

I'm late again; there is just so much on my mind lately that I feel scatter-brained. I thought I uploaded last week's writing exercise, but I didn't. I'm sorry. :(
So this week you get to read two drabbles. I hope you like them.
Here is last week's drabble:

2017/04/23 – a good story (Drabble)

A story has brought you to this place; and a story might leave with you, even have you return. Because everyone likes to hear a good story. There is much to tell, and a story wants to be told. But what makes a good story good? It is clearly not only a happy ending – because a story doesn't have to end well to be good. There is more to it: the things a good story does to you. Sometimes it grips you, sometimes it lingers on your mind, sometimes it becomes a part of you. It leaves you wanting more.

And this is what I've written this week:

 

2017/04/27 – thoughts on thoughts (Drabble)

If you think you think, you'll only think you think. But what is a thought? A spark of neurons, electric impulses and a few chemical reactions. Yet there is more to it. Thousands of thoughts rush through our heads day to day. Some of them repetitive and charged with emotions, others so fleeting they are forgotten the moment they spring into creation. A brain processes so much information, so many impressions. We might say intelligence is essential to formulate thoughts, and thinking is an attribute to being human. Yet thoughts are more than clever sentences, and less than unfinished words.

Midnight Writing

Next week, on the 29th and 30th to be exact, I'm going to participate in an authors' bar camp held by the Dembelo team, which I am part of, at the Unperfekthaus in Essen, and I'm pretty excited about it. :D
So what is this authors' bar camp?
This event is about everything writing related. Authors from all around the area meet and attend workshops where they discuss different topics ranging from the very first idea for a story to publishing and marketing, and everything in between. The bar camp lasts all Saturday, and a particular dozen may stay the night and attend a writing workshop and work on their stories. Pretty exciting, isn't it?
I am one of those few, and I'm relly looking forward to meet other authors, talk to them and polish our stories together. I am really happy I joined the Dembelo team. Anyhow, I'm sure I will return with a lot of impressions from that bar camp! Maybe I'll even meet you there? ;)

Writing exercise 070

I know I'm a bit early topicwise, but it is this time of year and maybe you're about to go on Easter holiday -- in which case I wish you a nice holiday! -- so that now is just the right time to upload my Easter drabble. This writing exercise turned out a bit more controversial. Yet I hope you still like it. ;)
Here it is:

2017/04/13 – Easter Drabble

Let us not talk about belief, or if a man can rise from the dead. Because belief divides us, turns us against each other in a time when unity and peace are rare goods. Let us not talk about hard-boiled animal children and tons of sweets deployed in a game of hide and seek. Because we usually forget about those who suffer from hunger while we play with our food. Let us then talk about congregating and celebrating together. Because we can meet our loved ones, our friends and families, and enjoy the personally really important things. Anyhow, happy Easter!

Writing Exercises 068 and 069

I'm awfully sorry I have been absent. The reason is that I still don't have internet access at my new flat. :(
How can I upload this blogpost then? Well, I use my mobile to create a temporary hotspot. Just to let you know I'm still alive and writing. ;)

So today's update consists of both writing exercises for this and the previous week. Last week's exercise is a drabble about tenacity and this week I wrote a poem titled "good morning".
So here is writing exercise 068:

2017/04/02 – tenacity (Drabble)

Feeling like I have been running for ages I am exhausted, wasted. Is there finally an end in sight? All strength has left me. I feel it in my aching bones, I feel it in my tired head. Yet I still have to go on, have to move. “I am almost there,” I tell myself. “Just a bit more. Just a bit further. Just a bit of everything that is still left in me.” But how far can you get with that attitude? Pretty far, in my experience. Farther than you should have come, farther than you were meant to.

And here is writing exercise 069:

2017/04/08 – good morning

Mist arises from the lake

As the early morning dew

Twinkles in the first sun's rays.

How to start the days

Better than with this view

And a cup of tea to fully wake?

On the move...

I'm pretty late for an update. The reason is: I'm moving. Very excited about that. :D

Today I transported a total of 40 boxes from my old flat to the new one. And all of them were books and manga. Too much, you think? On the contrary, one can never have too many stuff to read. :D
I don't remember who said it, but I second the statement: "Nothing is as sexy as a room filled with books."

Be that as it may, I don't know if I'm going to be able to update my writing exercise on time or if I'm going to have internet access next week, but I'll try. Because writers should be able to make time to write, right?
Even if everything is packed up in boxes, which pile up to the ceiling, even if you hardly take a break from moving stuff, even if you're almost out the door and still not at your new home yet. Inspiration can still happen in between. Take that break -- because you need it -- and just sit down and let it flow. You might be surprised what you can achieve. ;)

Writing Exercise 067

It's time for my weekly writing exercise again. The topic was flowers, and I wrote a triple drabble. As flowers have meanings or are symbols of something, of course I chose them with purpose. Let's see if you can figure out my statement, shall we? ;)

2017/03/23 – flowers (triple drabble)

Recently I moved into a nice little town. My house was situated between an old half-timber house and an industrialized building.

The neighbours to the right were an elderly couple, whereas to the left there lived five young housemates. As I gradually settled in and set about to tend to the garden, I noticed the flowers my neighbours had planted. The half-timber house was surrounded by neat patches of hurtsickles while my neighbours to the left had potted carnations everywhere.

And I began to wonder what my garden should look like.

I couldn't quite decide yet so I postponed it.

Over the following weeks I chatted with both my new neighbours, mostly about the weather and the lovely gardens, but also a few serious conversations came up. I soon learnt that my neighbours didn't quite like each other's views. Yet I didn't want to be caught up in their issues, so I stayed friendly and polite to each of them.

As I listened to his stories the elderly man gifted me a bag of hurtsickle seeds, whereas after a long jaw with the youngsters I received a pot of carnations.

But which flowers should I put in my garden? I knew I would upset either of them if I planted the gift of the other party. Then my garden would become the battleground of their argument.

And while I didn't agree with either of their views, I came to a conclusion: I went to the garden centre and bought a bunch of flowers and little trees. And soon the garden in the middle was overgrown with anemones, white lillies, daffodils, cherries and zinnias. Because if I had to choose between both gifts, I would plant neither. True peace inhabited my house, for I realised I am right where I belong.

VIPs and WIPs

As I've mentioned in another blogpost, it is always good to have more than one work in progress (WIP), so you can switch to whichever work you feel you are able to continue best. Let your creativity tell you what to do!

Surely you will find that -- for a period of time -- you are most in the flow when writing one particular project. For the time being it becomes your very important project (VIP). Which is good. You focus on your VIP and spend a lot of time polishing your work, ideally until you finish it.

You may neglect your other WIPs during that time, but don't forget about them. They are waiting for you to return and spend some time with them, too. Your aim should be to finish what you started; not right now, not tomorrow, but in due time. And take that time. Remind yourself of all the good ideas you've had, and all the stories you want to tell. Can you really turn your back on them?
Surely you will find a new VIP amongst them...

Writing Exercise 066

My dear writing buddy Sam from the Dead Pete Society is responsible for this week's writing exercise. She posted a prompt, and I instantly took it and did with it what you are about to read. You will see, this little story is greatly influenced by one of our day trips while we were in Japan.
So here goes:

 

2017/03/16 – "They thought I would forget. But I remembered. Everything."

Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch she enjoyed the soothing warmth of the late summer sun, sipping on some iced tea and fanning herself with yesterday's newspaper with her good hand. The old radio beside her on the small table played a happy tune. The grass had turned brown due to the lack of rain and the leaves stirred in the light breeze. She peered at the cloudless sky as the weather forecast promised a summer rain in the evening.

The afterthought of a smile faded in the many wrinkles around her mouth. Rain. She remembered the feel of the rain on her skin; even decades later she saw every tiny detail before her mind's eye. Her life had changed so much, but still the image, the noises and smells of this one incident were so very vivid as if engraved in stone or captured in a black and white photo or family stories told for generations.

But photos turned so easily to ashes when set aflame, stone crumbled to rubble in the face of a destructive force beyond comparison, generations of people were winked out in a single blinding flash that made earth the embodiment of hell. Distinctive clouds heralding nothing but death in their wake, an explosion with a destructive force never seen before, the stench of charred black flesh, fatal damage done on a cellular level, a whole city of buildings blasted to dust, the wails of agony of those who survived the blast. And hours later came the rain – the black rain.

She had been but a child back then, innocent, never understood what hit her when it did. She lost everything on that day – everything but her raw life. Surprisingly she had sustained the mother of all explosions, the black rain, the long-term aftermath of radiation, and she continued to do so.

But she would always walk the Earth with her eyes turned skyward, her mind tuned to the many gods in the hope one might hear her prayers for peace to remain and the black rain to stay away. For, even if younger generations became oblivious to the inhumanity and destructive force of war, she still remembered. Everything.

Writing Exercises 064 and 065

While I was in Japan, I still found the time to do my weekly writing exercises. Number 064 is a drabble about my holiday impressions whereas number 065 is a Tanka (Japanese poem with 5-7-5-7-7 syllables) about Tokyo.
Here is my drabble:

2017/03/03 – holidays in Japan (Drabble)

Up, up into the sky we went eight hours into the future. Time seems to run a little faster over here – so much to do, so much to see, so much to experience, yet so little time. Almost a week has gone by, and I am overflowing with impressions. The old and the new, the bustling cities full of stately palaces and shrines and skyscrapers, people in suits rushing by and people in kimonos sauntering across the streets, lots of strange yet delicious food, and the blaring of commercials everywhere – everything is so fascinating and new. And I continue wondering.

 And this is my poem:

2017/03/08 – Tokyo (Tanka)

The vast capital:

Horizons full of buildings

Yet amidst it all

Islands of green and silence.

See the first cherry blossoms!

I'm back! :D

Finally I returned from my holidays in Japan.
It was just amazing and I have so much to tell and show you.

We stayed mostly in Osaka and did day trips from there to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe, then rode the Shinkansen to Hiroshima and spent the last three days in Tokyo.
Here are a few impressions:

This is Osaka castle, which we visited on February 27th. It was rebuilt after WW2, as it was destroyed back then. Now, inside there is a museum, and from the top you have very pretty views over Osaka.

Here you can see the beautiful view over Osaka from the Sky Building. I'm afraid, the photo doesn't show the extent of how breathtaking the sundown was, as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains.

In Kyoto we saw a lot of shrines and temples. The city is really beautiful with its old wooden houses and people actually wearing kimonos. Here you can see the Senbon Dorii (10,000 gates) route starting at the Fujimi Inari Shrine, which goes up to the mountain top and back. And yes, we went all the way! @.@

This is the harbour of Kobe, where we went on March 2nd. In Kobe we visited the Desaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institute, where they research earthquakes and tsunamis and what can be done when one of them strikes. We did not eat Kobe beef, but had very delicious curry. :D

In Nara there are deer everywhere, at the temples and shrines, at the bus stop, in the park, on the streets... As they are very tame, you can feed and pet them. Isn't that amazing? Though I kept thinking how delicious venison is. XD

Hiroshima was both sad and impresive to visit. This is the only building that somewhat survived the a-bomb. We have been to the peace museum, where they exhibited everything related to the incident from torn and tattered clothes to pictures of severely burnt and mutilated people. But there are brighter sides to Hiroshima, too...

This is Miyajima island, which is close to Hiroshima. In the centre of the photo you can see the famous Torii and parts of the temple to which it belongs. When it's high tide the temple is awash. There are also a few tame deer there. I wonder how they got on that island? o.O

Finally, we arrived in Tokyo on March 6th. Here we are in Akihabara, which is loud and colourful and bustling with people. This is pretty much how you'd imagine the capital, right? But this is but a part of it.

Even in Tokyo there are temples, shrines and pagodas like this one everywhere. And deep in the surprisingly green heart of Ueno park, we found this:

The first cherry blossoms!

Writing Exercise 063

Today is my birthday. :D
Terefore this week's writing exercise is a little birthday poem. Enjoy while I'm off celebrating. ;)

2017/02/24 – birthday poem

Once again a year has gone by, once again time was on the fly.

I am twenty-nine; no need to cry. It is time to stop being shy.

This year my ambitions are high and although you might wonder why,

My inspiration doesn't run dry. I sense my time is almost nigh;

My writing skills I will apply to achieve my goals – I will try!

Travel plans

As of next week I'm on holiday in Japan. :D
So for two weeks there won't be any updates. But don't worry. I'll be back with a lot of impressions and maybe inspiration to make up for the time lost.

And I won't leave you without a little something I drew and coloured with SAI. So here I am, ready for travel. :D

Writing Exercise 062

This week I have a drabble for you. It is about something of great importance to our lives, something which most of you might say you didn't have enough of. I'm talking about time.
So here are my thoughts:

2017/02/16 – time (Drabble)

Have you ever thought about the nature of time? How come we measure things in seconds, hours, days, and yet when we want to attain it, it slips through our fingers like grains of sand. When it comes to the things we want to do we often say: “I don't have time for that.” Which is sad. Our lives are just so long. Why not make them worthwhile? Let's break the fourth dimension and bend it to our will. Let's actually have time. For our family and friends, for the things we love and want, for the really important ones.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day! <3
I hope you can spend some time with your loved ones, or at least be with them in spirit as your hearts reach out to them. :D

Today I want to share some fanart of the character I play in the browser game Naruto Online. She is a water/healing Jutsu user, which can be a life saver in this game. Again I used SAI to create this fanart. Alas, I was a little lazy regarding the coloration.
Bear with me, my mind was with my beloved fiance. XD

Writing Exercise 061

I'm pretty late for my writing exercise this week. Still I managed to do a little something. This time it's a Haiku. Enjoy!

2017/02/11 – Haiku

Snow flakes in the wind

How I wish for winter's end!

The first snow drops bloom