#FlashFriday #Fictioneers "Leaving Little World"

I especially liked the photo prompt by Madison Woods this week, because it reminded me of a dream I had once. It came at a time when I was so afraid to make a decision, I compared it to jumping from a cliff. In my dream, I finally decided to jump, believing it was my only choice. At first, I fell, but only for a moment. Then, I grew wings. And flew.

The next day, I made the decision, and I've never regretted it.

Leaving Little World

Mama didn’t tell her to stay put this time. How long had she been gone, anyway? And her sister? Her brother?

She was hungry. Alone.

She stared into Big World. Bright sunshine. Big.

All she’d ever known was Little World. Cozy. Warm. But . . .

She was hungry.  Alone.

She stood on the perch, her heart pounding as loud as the clap of thunder from The Storm that almost destroyed Little World in the spring. There was only one thing to do, because . . .

She was hungry. Alone.

She jumped.

Flapping!

Falling!

Flapping!

Until . . . she flew.

Trek Nation

I loved--still love--Star Trek. So today, when I learned that in celebration of Star Trek's 45th Anniversary, the Science Channel will broadcast Trek Nation, a tribute to Gene Roddenberry by his son, Rod, you could have beamed me to Trekkie heaven.

The two-hour documentary explores the impact of Roddenberry's unique vision for the future and will be broadcast at 7:00 p.m. CST.

As a child, I looked forward to it every week, ready to leave my house on Coolidge Street for space, the final frontier; excited to see what strange creatures might enter my living room. I'll even admit to some sort of subliminal attraction to Captain James T. Kirk, though as a little girl, I didn't really understand why. And perhaps because I was often discouraged from showing too much emotion, I also liked Spock, figuring if the always logical Spock could show emotion, certainly so could I.

As an adult, I looked forward to nightly reruns of Star Trek, and came to understand that my attraction to Kirk was based in large part on his "other side," his human, imperfect, "non-captain" side. Oh, okay, he also exuded sexuality, whether implied or not. I realize my fondness for Star Trek is quite different from other Trekkies, but for me, beyond the sci-fi magic of the series, the multi-faceted characters were the appeal.


Now that I write, I look back and can see several techniques that made Star Trek a success. Each episode revolved around the conflict of one or more characters. The protagonists and antagonists were three-dimensional -- not all good and not all bad. The settings were unique and interesting.

My favorite eposides? It's a toss-up between The Trouble with Tribbles and The Menagerie. How could anyone resist the cute, fuzzy, purring creatures called Tribbles? As a child, I slipped on my fuzzy slippers and pretended I had Tribbles following me around.

Though I haven't seen The Menagerie for many years, I remember being saddened by the image of the burned Christopher Pike, touched by Spock's loyalty, and teary-eyed at the conclusion, when Pike is finally beamed to Talos.

Who was your favorite character? Favorite episode? Will you be watching the Science Channel at 7:00 tonight?

Telling Tuesdays 11/29/11

Tuesday was show-and-tell-day at school, and though I remember the excitement of trying to decide what to bring, what I liked best was seeing what everyone else brought to show.

Yesterday, I found a great article on a website called WriteToDone.com, called "How to Show (Not Tell): A Writing Lesson from John LeCarre." It is one of the best articles I've seen on the rule all writers know--show, don't tell--because it doesn't just tell us how not to tell, it shows us some of LeCarre's very own examples.

" . . . descriptions can set the scene, convey the inexpressible, and turn the reader into a witness, instead of remaining a mere bystander." -- Mary Jaksch, author of the article

This inspired me to start a new feature on my blog, Telling Tuesdays. Each week, I'll give a "telling" prompt, and invite you to show us, to make us a witness, not a mere bystander.

This week's prompt:

The coffee was good.

I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours:

     The scent grew stronger, richer, with every step she took down the stairway. Rubbing her eyes, she shuffled into the kitchen and heard the rhythmic gurgle of percolating coffee.
     She flipped on the light, then stifled a yawn as she stared at the mugs hanging over the counter. Picking one at random, she smiled at her choice. "Happy Boss's Day," it said.
     As she poured, steam rose from the dark brew and she took a deep breath. To her mouth she drew it, closer, closer, blowing to cool it, anticipating.
     Then, a sip.
     Ah. A morning to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee. The first time in years. For now, she didn't care that she'd been fired the day before.

Okay. I'm sitting at my desk now, hands folded in front of me, and I'm almost as excited to see what you'll "show" as I was back in elementary school. Only difference is, Johnny Winklebuns is not sitting behind me, pulling my hair.

Addendum: 11/30/11

I had to add this picture of coffee in my grandmother's rosebud cup, after reading Keli's comment. Thanks for the memories, Keli!

Morrill's Monday Morning Mashup - 11/28/11

mash-up

A creative combination

or mixing of content

from different sources.

Since this is Cyber Monday, I'll start my mashup with a link for all you Christmas shopaholics. This site pulls together lots of bargain shopping so you don't have to go surfing for sales!

www.cybermonday.com

And now, on to my writerly mashup:

Do you have Klout? No, not clout, but Klout. Have you heard of it yet? Klout measures a user's influence across the social network. I'm not sure if I should admit my score any more than I should tell you my age, weight or bra size, especially since none are anything to brag about. But I will say that since tracking it in October, and reading Kristen Lamb's book, We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media, it has gone up almost ten points! Here's a link to Social Media Today, which gives a good overview of Klout scores, and why many consider it important today:

The Klout Score: 3 Easy Ways To Become More Influential

However! My next mashup link is posted on Jane Friedman's website. Guest blogger, Christina Katz, cautions us not to spend so much time on branding that we lose the "expressive, evolving pleasure of our natural dynamic."

 Platform and Social Media Must Not Be Your Center 

So, the challenge is to balance our creative branding with our creative writing. As writers, we need to remember where our emphasis should be and write. In the last two weeks, my Klout score has gone up, but don't ask me how many new pages I've written.

Therefore, my last mashup for the week is full of prompts to get your creative juices flowing, posted on a blog by Marelisa Fabrega. It's a mashup within a mashup, with eighteen links to stimulate you to write:

A Plethora of Writing Prompts

I hope these links are helpful. Now all you need to do is decide whether to shop, brand yourself, or create a written masterpiece.

Awesome!

I get many of my blogging ideas on my morning commute from the farm into town: forty solitary, quiet minutes when I think about my writing, tasks of the day, the quandaries of life. Sometimes, like yesterday, an idea comes while listening to the radio.

Once again, I was listening to the Gayle King Show. Gayle's guest was Neil Pasricha, creator of the Webby Award-winning blog, 1000 Awesome Things and author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Book of Awesome. Pasricha spoke of beginning the website at a dark and sad time in his life, right after his wife told him she didn't love him anymore, right after his best friend committed suicide. And in his words, "If you flipped open a newspaper, it was filled with the same stuff every day. The polar ice caps were melting, there were pirates storming the seas, the economy was on the verge of collapse, and there were wars going on all over the world." So, he created the blog to bring its readers a little of the awesomeness of life: "Sunny without being saccharine." (The Vancouver Sun)

After winning the Webby Award, Pasricha signed with William Morris Agency, which represents other blog-to-books, such as StuffWhitePeopleLike.com. In 2010, The Book of Awesome was published.

Here are a few "awesomes" from the book:

* Popping bubble wrap
* Wearing warm underwear, fresh out of the dryer
* Taking your bra off after wearing it for hours

Of course, the interview prompted me to think of my own "awesomes." Here are a few:

* The smell of a shoe repair shop
* Waking to the sound of a tail wagging next to me
* The whisper of wind and water when you turn off the engine of a sailboat


Of course, after all of this, I'd have to say my drive into town is pretty awesome, too.

What about you? Come on . . . share a little of your awesomeness with us.

Here's a great video on Neil Pasricha's TED dicussion: "The 3 As of Awesome:"