Attaining “High Flight” and “Slipping the Surly Bonds”- Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 25 Comments

Title: Attaining “High Flight” and “Slipping the Surly Bonds”
Source:  Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

looking up into a hot air balloon with blue sky

PHOTO PROMPT © Ronda Del Boccio

“You’re full of hot air.”

“Who do you think you are?”

“You can’t.”

“You’ll never—”

Eyes closed, I clap my hands over my ears, hum to drown the sound of their echoing fear, and search for the quiet cry.

Creativity, inner voice, muse, true self, she answers to many names.

Squashed, derided as child’s play, and nothing more than popsicle sticks, school glue, and glitter, she retreated.

I had rejected false experts, and I resolved to change. I hitched my life to Creativity with a capital “C,” vowed to prove the naysayers wrong, and I floated towards the stars.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The Daily Work of Doing – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments
i-have-been-impressed-with-the-urgency-of-doing.-knowing-is-not-enough-we-must-apply.-being-willing-is-not-enough-we-must-do.-leonardo-da-vinci.

The experts disagree on how many works Leonardo created. There are generally fifteen paintings everyone agrees were done by Leonardo and a handful of others that are in dispute. It is believed there are many more works that have been lost through the years or remain unidentified. Then there are his manuscripts. Volumes of notebooks filled with his writing that span the whole of his adult life.

Learning and understanding are important, but nothing exists without doing. It is a slow steady process, the work we do every day that adds up to a legacy. The doing keeps us alive.

What will you do today?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – June 10

/ JoHawkTheWriter

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 162 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?  We get knocked down sometimes. Current events have done an excellent job of destroying normal. There is a silver lining. These times have granted us an opportunity to reexamine life, priorities, and what happiness really means.  I am determined, and I refuse to stay stuck in a mess. Today, I stand up, regroup, reset my intentions, and recommit to attaining my dreams.

An ongoing topic of exploration is Cal Newport’s concept of deep work, “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” Newport advocates approaching and completing challenging tasks by eliminating distractions, committing to block scheduling, and adhering to your intentions.

What are your intentions? Unlike goals that concentrate on achievement, intentions emphasize awareness. They are essential elements necessary to effect lasting change and establishing meaningful habits. Acting intentionally probes the root of your “why.” Examples of an intention may include creating space for writing and creativity. Do you hope to bring light to others, develop your skills, or gain strength? Perhaps your aim is to commit yourself to hard work and following through, regardless of the outcome. Does your purpose require you to face your fear and resolve to move forward, anyway?

Will identifying your intentions and reviewing them daily help you find your voice? Does it compel you to open your laptop or a notebook, grab a pen, and record the words and stories that are begging to be told?

Try it and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Take It All Back – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 12 Comments

Title: Take It All Back
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story about justice for all.
Word count:  99 words

man sketching portrait of woman

Photo by Samuel Castro on Unsplash

It should have been a simple assignment. A modest portrait of his patron’s daughter. While he didn’t like children as his subject, the commission promised to launch his budding career.

Except, when she showed for her appointment, she wasn’t a child. She was no blushing bride-to-be, but a temptress with a siren’s song. Engaged, another man’s prize, she exchanged the poor artist’s heart with her own. Forbidden love blossomed.

There was only one solution.

“I cannot do her justice,” he declared, “For all our sakes, take these godforsaken sketches, and I will try to forget I ever met her.”

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Experiencing Harrowing Adventures Without Personal Risk – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 6 Comments
as-a-youth-i-always-did-a-good-deal-of-reading-in-the-summer-months-having-suffered-since-birth-from-an-allergy-to-athletic-activity.-amor-towles

Through the course of my life, I have been call lots of names, a brainiac, bright, an Einstein, sharp as a tack, a smart cookie, and a whiz. No one has ever willingly called on me to be part of a team sport. Coordination is not my forte. My first black eye resulted from attempting to catch a ball tossed underhanded to me. Roller skating left my fingernails embedded in walls and claw marks on my brother’s arm as I tumbled to the floor. I have fallen while walking upstairs and tripped over my shadow. The greatest danger books presented was a paper cut. So much safer.

Books let me experience feats I could never dream of accomplishing. I have battled dragons, won foot races escaping from evil pursuers, and climbed trees with nimble ease. For years I lived on a prairie, I discovered the sidewalk’s end and delivered packages while flying on my witch’s broom. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

What are your favorite summer reads?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – June 9

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 161 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?  We get knocked down sometimes. Current events have done an excellent job of destroying normal. There is a silver lining. These times have granted us an opportunity to reexamine life, priorities, and what happiness really means.  I am determined, and I refuse to stay stuck in a mess. Today, I stand up, regroup, reset my intentions, and recommit to attaining my dreams.

An ongoing topic of exploration is Cal Newport’s concept of deep work, “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” Newport advocates approaching and completing challenging tasks by eliminating distractions, committing to block scheduling, and adhering to your intentions.

What are your intentions? Unlike goals that concentrate on achievement, intentions emphasize awareness. They are essential elements necessary to effect lasting change and establishing meaningful habits. Acting intentionally probes the root of your “why.” Examples of an intention may include creating space for writing and creativity. Do you hope to bring light to others, develop your skills, or gain strength? Perhaps your aim is to commit yourself to hard work and following through, regardless of the outcome. Does your purpose require you to face your fear and resolve to move forward, anyway?

Will identifying your intentions and reviewing them daily help you find your voice? Does it compel you to open your laptop or a notebook, grab a pen, and record the words and stories that are begging to be told?

Try it and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Silver Linings – Weekend Writing Prompt

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 11 Comments

Title:  Silver Linings
Source:  Weekend Writing Prompt # 159 – Intrepid
Objective: Write a poem or piece of prose in exactly 52 words.

Airstream Travel Trailer on a Mountainside with Big Sky

Photo by Airstream Inc. on Unsplash

A derelict Airstream sat on the family’s vacation property. Tyler’s grandmother peeled apart pages of a fragile photo album, each image prompting stories of grand adventures shared with friends and loved ones.

Inspired, the intrepid Tyler devised a plan. Grandmother’s memory guided the trailer’s restoration and the promise of a remarkable life.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Finding Success on Shifting Sands – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments
uccess-is-self-defined.-you-can-choose-what-you-think-success-is-and-you-can-always-change-your-mind.-mark-manson

Sand dunes are shaped by the wind. When tiny grains of sand encounter an obstacle, they build one upon the other, rising to astounding heights. Success dances along the shifting line delineating the dune’s windward side and its slip face. Stability on a dune is nonexistent. Gales relentlessly pound, driving sand, forcing it to the top where it slides or rolls down the opposite surface.

Achieving our targets are often just as elusive. We believe we are on the right path, the one guaranteed to bring us what we desire. But the terrain changes, the wind changes, we change. Our goals don’t have to remain static, instead, as we evolve, they can morph and develop. The choice lies in our interpretation.

What is your definition of success? 

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The 2020 Daily Writing Challenge – June 8

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

2020 Daily Writing Challenge

Writing is like driving at night in the fog.
You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
– E. L. Doctorow

Today is Day 160 of the 2020 Daily Writing Challenge.

Did you write yesterday?  We get knocked down sometimes. Current events have done an excellent job of destroying normal. There is a silver lining. These times have granted us an opportunity to reexamine life, priorities, and what happiness really means.  I am determined, and I refuse to stay stuck in a mess. Today, I stand up, regroup, reset my intentions, and recommit to attaining my dreams.

An ongoing topic of exploration is Cal Newport’s concept of deep work, “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” Newport advocates approaching and completing challenging tasks by eliminating distractions, committing to block scheduling, and adhering to your intentions.

What are your intentions? Unlike goals that concentrate on achievement, intentions emphasize awareness. They are essential elements necessary to effect lasting change and establishing meaningful habits. Acting intentionally probes the root of your “why.” Examples of an intention may include creating space for writing and creativity. Do you hope to bring light to others, develop your skills, or gain strength? Perhaps your aim is to commit yourself to hard work and following through, regardless of the outcome. Does your purpose require you to face your fear and resolve to move forward, anyway?

Will identifying your intentions and reviewing them daily help you find your voice? Does it compel you to open your laptop or a notebook, grab a pen, and record the words and stories that are begging to be told?

Try it and let us know how you did in the comments below.

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

An Everyday Hero – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 13 Comments

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

empty diner plate

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

Earl pushed the paper cap askew and wiped sweat from his forehead. The tiny kitchen was warmer than Hades.

As a kid, he dreamed of saving the world. He ran with his red cape streaming behind him. Flying in the sky, he shot lasers from his eyes and righted every wrong. He remembered the moment a disbeliever’s careless shoe squashed his purpose. Disillusioned, he became a hash-slinger, cooking meals for hungry customers regardless of their ability to pay.

A grimy hand returned an empty plate. “You saved my life, Earl.”

Sad eyes brimmed with unshed tears. It was payment enough.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer