Has anyone ever asked you to tell them a story? How can any author, writer, storyteller, poet, narrator, or bard resist the request? Their pulse quickens, their hearts leap, and their minds race. The anticipation builds to a crescendo, and wide vistas of possibilities stretch their imagination’s outer limits. They relish the chance to witness the creation of a memorable adventure. The audience has high expectations as their gaze falls expectantly on the storyteller.

Stories have power. From ancient times, cavemen gathered around the safety of the night’s fire. The best orator of the tribe arrived to help her small group learn from their collective experiences. Her words supported them by acknowledging share feelings, forging deeper bonds, and uniting them into one powerful unit. Her fireside chats developed a shared legacy. The legends provided a sense of place and meaning in the mysterious world beyond the campfire.

The strongest stories are bridges between the author and the reader. They offer an unspoken promise of connection, and tension defines the relationship. The reader wants to be entertained, but an entertaining tale is too easily digested and is soon forgotten.

The writer knows phenomenal tales take everyone on a wild ride of twists, turns, and unfathomable events that spiral downward into a pit of dire circumstances. Surprises abound, and an unforgettable scene unfolds when their security blanket is transformed into an instrument of almost certain death. Careful manipulation saves them with an ultimate act of valor that leaves them all breathless. If the storyteller has done well, the conclusion arrives with everyone clamoring for more.

What story will you tell today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

When I started studying Spanish, I noticed a vast number of crossover words. I had already studied my dictionary and discovered words of Latin and Greek derivations along with German and French-based words. English is fantastic at borrowing words. Forever. Linguists call the appropriation of a foreign language word, a loanword. Some loanwords undergo a phonetic makeover, which makes the word sound more English and less like its home origin.

Linguists say loanwords account for 80% of English words and borrows from 350 other languages. Yep, that number amazed me, but it turns out there may be 7,000 unique languages in the world. More than half of the world’s population speak just 23 of those. The statistic also shows almost 3,000 languages are in danger of extinction and are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people.

I wonder if some foreign words will one day only live in their English form. The Samoan word “tatau” and the Marquesan, “tatu” were used by British explorer James Cook, to describe the inked individuals he met in Polynesia, coining our word, Tattoo. Hoi Polloi, which sounds Hawaiian, is from the Greek word meaning “the many.” Avatar is Sanskrit and passed through Hindi or Urdu. The original meaning was “manifestation of a god in bodily form.”

A writer’s favorite genre is from the French word for “kind” or “style.” Coffee traveled to us on a long road from Arabic, to Ottoman Turkish, to the Dutch “koffie” before entering the English language in 1582. The other writing staple, chocolate, was “xocolatl” in the Nahuatl language of modern-day Mexico, with a detour through Spain. I don’t want to return a single borrowed word.

What is your favorite word?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The English language fascinates me. As the popular meme states, no matter how weird English may seem, it can be understood through tough thorough thought, though. Researchers at the University of Reading have applied computer modeling to determine the words “I,” “we,” “who,” “two,” and “three” are ancient words, dating back tens of thousands of years. Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at Reading, says, “When we speak to each other we’re playing this massive game of Chinese whispers.” Eh? What did you say?

Speaking of pronunciation, Jakub Marian, a Czech linguist, reports the meaning of words can change depending on which syllable is stressed. “If the stress is on the second syllable, it usually becomes a verb. For example, an ADDress is the place where someone lives. To addRESS someone is to talk to them.”

To add to the confusion, many words are contronyms — words with opposite meanings. Consider the word clip. Are you cutting or binding an object together? If something is transparent, is it invisible or obvious? Is a sanguine vampire confidently cheerful, or bloodthirsty? If you are bound, are you heading toward your destination, or are you restrained from moving?

The contradictions are equal parts amusement and agony. Effective communication is impeded or expedited based on everyone’s mastery of simple vocabulary. I have found myself at an impasse today, and regardless of how much I try, I can’t move past a fundamental question. Why oh why do the words pony and bologna rhyme?

What are your favorite English quirks?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Life challenges us with never-ending obligations. The day job creates its own stress. Our employment provides the paycheck for our basic needs, rent, food, and a modicum of security. We struggle to provide for our family. Family responsibilities weigh heavily on our shoulders as we strive to be wonderful parents, loving siblings, and caring children while maintaining a physical distance. If we are foolish enough to presume to manage a side hustle, the demands escalate. Pressure mounts with an overwhelming task list that feels impossible to complete.

Sometimes the answer to bolstering our determination and producing the biggest triumph is to concentrate on a single, modest element. There is immense power in one tiny accomplishment that we can move to the completed column. It boosts our morale. With one detail resolved, we are free to finish the next item. The wins accumulate like pearls in a necklace. It can make all the difference.

What small win can you make happen today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Anna Jarvis was born May 1, 1864, in Webster, West Virginia, to Granville and Ann Reeves Jarvis. Anna was the tenth of fourteen children, and only one of four Jarvis babies to survive to adulthood. I like to imagine that Ann and Anna shared a special mother-daughter bond. The elder Ann was a peace activist during the American Civil War, and she cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

In an era where few women worked outside of the home, Anna became the first female stenographer at the Edison Electric Company after moving to Philadelphia in 1892. She later became the first literary and advertising editor at Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance. Did Ann push her daughter to defy cultural norms, or did she support Anna in her quest to pursue a fulfilling career? Mothers have a way of knowing when to comfort and soothe, and when to apply pressure to their offspring’s backside.

Ann died on May 10, 1905, and Anna began a campaign to honor her mother by establishing a Mother’s Day. Anna trademarked the words “Mother’s Day,” “The Second Sunday in May,” and a white carnation emblem when she incorporated her association in 1912. She said she wanted everyone to celebrate “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.” She attended the first celebration of Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10, 1908. Anna held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia.

President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation making Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1914. Anna spent the rest of her life fighting the commercialism and “anti-mother propagandist” who sought to exploit the day for their own gain. It seems nothing really changes.

How will you commemorate Mother’s Day?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Often the most difficult tasks to achieve, appear to be the easiest. As we struggle to succeed, it is easy to compare our skills and our progress with everyone else. We listen to advise from teachers, family members, and friends, without realizing their advice represents their choices. If we neglect to choose our path in favor of a consensus, we lose ourselves. Doubts cloud our judgment, and we succumb to our insecurities and fears.

Honoring our authentic selves means determining what matters most. We must place less reliance on the opinions of those around us, since trying to satisfy everyone is a guaranteed way to please no one and to make ourselves miserable in the process. Regardless of our choices, we will never gain everyone’s approval. Releasing the need to subjugate our genuine desires is an important step towards discovering who we really are.

How will you be true to yourself today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

They filed the first reports in mid-December. Through January, residents of eastern Colorado and western Nebraska claimed they saw swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The objects flew in groups and grid patterns in the night sky. Reports described large drones with blinking lights and six-foot wingspans flying over farms, towns, and open fields. Unexplained sightings, unverifiable flight plans conducted by unknown operators prompted a federal investigation and rampant speculation.

“Aliens,” some declared. Others blamed the military, oil and gas companies, Uber, Amazon, private aerospace corporations, and mischievous hobbyists. No one is claiming responsibility. Investigations revealed nothing. Law enforcement did confirm four cases where they encountered something “unidentified” flying overhead. The remaining sightings they chalked up to atmospheric conditions, planets, stars, and commercial aircraft.

Last week, the Department of Defense released three Navy videos. They said, “the aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as ‘unidentified’.” It makes me wonder. Highly trained U.S. Navy fighter pilots can’t identify the objects on their displays. Weird? Right?

They instruct fantasy and science fiction writers to tell believable stories. We must ground our tales in fact and plausibility. If I were an alien with the capability of zooming around another planet, I would. Imagine observing and studying a sentient being’s evolution. History is full of cultural myths of life among the stars. I think the sea of credible facts has just expanded my storytelling possibilities. Maybe I’ll create an invasion of murder hornets. Oh, wait. That has already happened.

What weird ideas are you exploring?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I’m not a patient person. My modus operandi is setting huge goals and compiling long to-do lists as I schedule my daily and weekly tasks.  Friends and family tell me I am too optimistic, too unrealistic, and too driven. They caution me to decrease my breakneck speed, saying I will burn out and quit. But that only makes things worse. They don’t understand, and with them standing in my way, they make my job more difficult.

I admit I am very Type A and prone to adopting an “I’ll-just-do-it-myself” mentality. But it helps me accomplish my projects without wasting time. I do my best not to roll my eyes when others tell meandering stories. I don’t tap my foot when they can’t decide, and I don’t blow a gasket when they arrive twenty minutes late. The explosion happened at the appointed hour when they were officially late. Spending even two minutes ranting to myself exasperates the issue. Better to complete classwork, send emails, or write on my phone’s note-taking app.

I can appreciate slow. Sometimes I downshift into low gear. They say it is necessary and healthy to disengage and relax. I take days away from work. I can do nothing—for a while. Extended periods of rest and relaxation increases my stress, it grates on my nerves, my anxiety escalates, and I can’t sit still. I pace the floors, roaming from room to room, desperate to find an activity to keep my hands and mind engaged.  I know I will attain my goals because I cannot stop.

How do you relax?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Outsiders often think creative people can do whatever they wish. You wield great power when you are the boss. But freedom comes with an equal measure of responsibility. The creative must manage every step in the creative process, from idea generation, creating the work, marketing, selling, managing submissions, to staying organized and on target. With luck, they invent a strategy that gets results.

It is a wonderful feeling when you devise a blueprint that works. The design’s strictures can lead us to question the wisdom of messing with the constructs of a proven method. Success raises the cost of failure. Making an adjustment is intimidating, and choosing a different path is frightening.

We can’t stop taking risks or trying a fresh direction. Picasso’s works exemplified radical change. He began with realism, switching to what they now call his Blue Period and his work continued to evolve. Each innovation he undertook, carried the possibility that no one would buy his art. But each stage allowed him to grow as an artist. His evolution strengthened him.

When we take risks, we run the chance of failing.  But we can’t let the fear of failure stop us from doing what we were born to do.

Is there a project which frightens you?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Every month I review my goals. I try to remain objective. I don’t pass judgment or beat myself up for doing less than I planned.  Numbers, facts, and an honest assessment of my current position help me determine how I got to this place today. Two details hit me hard this month. The first was how much the crisis derailed my hustle. Uncertainty, anxiety, and concern for my family had a profound impact on my normal productivity. The second realization was the fast approach of this year’s midway point.

Realizing you are substantially off-target is not pleasant. Many people’s reactions demand they press harder, double up, and do more. They add an extra hour to their day, cancel scheduled time off, or vow to focus. This tactic works in situations where you might have a slight timing issue. If you set aggressive and detailed calendars, with tight deadlines like I do, the prospect of an increased workload is not attractive. It may not be sustainable in the long run. While I live by my to-do list, I would much rather succeed. My answer is to simplify.

My list for this year’s priorities shrank, and I focused on my most important goals. The goals are still ambitious, but they are also within my ability to accomplish without compromising my sanity. I have eliminated, reduced, or set aside less important targets. No one wants to fall short, but life happens, and priorities must change. Living a calm, and fulfilled life is not negotiable.

Have your annual goals changed?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer