Author: JoHawkTheWriter

Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

most-of-the-important-things-in-the-world-have-been-accomplished-by-people-who-have-kept-on-trying-when-there-seemed-to-be-no-help-at-all

Today is the last day to log words for NaNoWriMo, and I have a challenge for you. Whether you long ago hit the 50,000-word goal, if you are near the goal, or even if you think there is no possibility for you to finish, I challenge you to finish strong today.

End the month with the same enthusiasm, the same eagerness as the first day you wrote. I challenge you to make today your best writing day for the entire month.  Don’t give up. Never give up. Remember the reason you started this journey and write.

How many words will you write today?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Refuge — 3 Line Tales

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 12 Comments

From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya.

photo by Lalo via Unsplash

The storm surged, waves crested, and the relentless wind-whipped spray high into the somber sky.

The gulls rode the storm, masters of the air, they negotiated each moment with the sea.

Lightning flashed, highlighting the never-ending fight until the eye hit land, and they found refuge at long last.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

 

 

Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

success-is-not-measured-by-what-you-accomplish-but-by-the-opposition-you-have-encountered-and-the-courage-with-which-you-have-maintained-the-struggle-against-overwhelming-odds-orison

Have courage and don’t stop struggling to obtain your goals. Don’t look for accolades from others. The only validation you need will come from inside. You know the obstacles you have faced and the setbacks you have endured better than anyone else. Those are the badges you have earned.

What will you write today?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Fishing Tales — FFfAW Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title: Fishing Tales
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers
Word count: 145 words

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Yarnspinnerr. Thank you, Yarnspinnerr!

James and I sorted through the old photo box.

“Look,” I tossed the photo I was holding at James, “Looks like Mom didn’t take this. Her finger isn’t in the shot.”

James chuckled as he grabbed the photo.

“Sorry, to disappoint you, Bro, Mom took this one. I remember.”

“You do?”

“Yep, it’s the day Dad taught me to fish. My hook got caught in the raft’s side, Dad grabbed it out of my hands and yanked. The rubber ripped, and we capsized. Dad’s fishing gear ended on the bottom of the pond and we waded back to shore. Dad never let go of the rod.”

James smiled and tucked the photo into his shirt pocket.

“Was that the rod that hung in your room?” I asked.

“Same one. I still, have it,” he said. “One day I’ll teach my son to fish with it.”

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Sentinels — Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 58 Comments

Title: Sentinels
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

old-oil-cans-on-a-shelf

PHOTO PROMPT © Nick Allen

I will never forget the day the fire consumed everything. Dad’s business, his life’s work, reduced to ashes. Dad, in typical Dad fashion, found hope. He saw charred foundations that refused to succumb. Sentinels of fortitude.

Dad smiled, “It could have been worse,” he said, and I wondered what he thought might be worse than what lay before us.

“You are young, there is much you haven’t seen. No lives were lost, only things. It’s a minor setback, a test to determine our character, to measure our resolve.”

Today, I mourn my father. His words echoing in my broken heart.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments

a-deadline-is-negative-inspiration-still-its-better-than-no-inspiration-at-all-rita-mae-brown.

The NaNoWriMo deadline is approaching. Have you met the challenge of writing 50,000 words this month? How many words have you written? If you are close, don’t give up. If you think you might make it, keep writing. If you don’t think you have a change, don’t despair.

The point is to break out of your comfort zone, push yourself to do a little more. If your total is only 5,000 words more than you normally write, I count you as a winner.

Will you write, right up to the deadline?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

its-almost-time-to-switch-from-my-everyday-anxiety-to-my-fancy-christmas-anxiety

Today I turned the calendar and realized December starts on Saturday. It is less than thirty days to the big day. We already have plenty of snow, the Holiday movies are queued, and the playlist is ready for us to sing and dance our way through the crowded shopping malls, scroll through endless websites hoping for free shipping that will arrive in time for wrapping, and attending never-ending festive parties requiring ugly sweaters.

All that remains is to obsess that we are getting awesome gifts, the decorations are perfectly hung, and the meal preparations are beyond sublime. All while performing our normal everyday responsibilities. Easy, right?

What are your special holiday hangups?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Lethe’s Atonement #writephoto

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments

Title: Lethe’s Atonement
Source:  Thursday photo prompt: Hidden #writephoto
Word count:  349 words

stream-in-the-woods

Thursday photo prompt: Hidden #writephoto

Lethe was born the daughter of Strife into a family of sixteen sisters. Her sisters moaned and cried and chronicled the trials of mankind. Hardship, Lethe’s eldest sister made the people toil and bend their backs to eke out an existence. But even if they persevered, sister Starvation was always near.

Pains, the third in line, made them weary and afflicted. For those who could rise above mortal issues, sisters Battles and Wars packed a one, two punch and pushed many more to their graves. Lethe’s other sisters pushed the strong but punished mankind all the same. The sisters goaded and tortured, with Murders and Manslaughter causing senseless death.

The younger sisters seeped into men’s lives, riddling them with Quarrels, Lies, Stories, and Disputes. Anarchy then found fertile ground to pave the way for sister Ruin and leaving men with only Oaths to comfort them.

Mother Strife brought her daughters as a continual plague upon the human kind hoping to crush them, she cursed them and entreated her daughters to spare not even one. But Lethe was gentle and kind and she saw the destruction and scars her family left behind.

She tried to intervene, but her sisters were stronger by far, and her mother rebuked her for her meddling ways. Lethe wouldn’t add to the human sorrow, and she saw how they rose despite all the horrors. Lethe cried with frustration and once the tears started, she couldn’t get them to stop. The tears cascaded down her face, growing into a great river that raced underground reaching the tormented souls buried below.

One lonely shade drank from the waters and finding forgetfulness of all earthly struggles was granted admission to the Elysian Fields.  The gods saw what Lethe had created and smiled upon her. For Lethe’s sake, the gods agreed.  Those who had suffered from her family’s hands and proved themselves righteous, or heroic could drink from Lethe’s river of forgetfulness and enter the Isles of the Blessed. The gods allowed them to remain, to live happy and blessed, the pleasures denied, granted to them in the afterlife.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 9 Comments

always-remember-that-striving-and-struggle-precede-success-even-in-the-dictionary-sarah-ban-breathnach

Snowstorms and power outages make for some interesting challenges. Good thing the fire is burning in the fireplace, the candles are lit and there is just enough juice in the computer to compose this post. I will write until the battery runs low. Just not sure who will give out first. Or maybe the power will be restored?

What obstacles stand in the way of your writing today?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 4 Comments

i-really-admire-artists-who-take-the-time-to-recharge-their-batteries-and-not-continually-call-on-it-i-think-you-can-spot-tired-and-jaded-artists-quite-quickly-rupert-friend

I’m all for taking a nap, or a hot bubble bath or a long walk. They are all wonderful in their own way and I am a fan of each one them.

But… and you could hear that but coming, couldn’t you? But there are times when the only thing that can possible recharge me is the act of crossing things off my to-do list. You know, like, actually getting things done, taken care of, finished?

Managing stress can be a delicate balancing act. Which course of action will do more to alleviate your stress? A break? Or powering through the list?

How will you recharge your battery today?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer