Blogging | But I Smile Anyway...

Spidey’s Serene Sunday – Part 255

19 Jan 2020 35 Comments

by Ritu in Spidey's Serene Sundays Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Dreams, Spiderman, Spidey, Spidey's Serene Sunday

“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
John F. Kennedy

Thank you, Spidey, for making me think!

When you have a dream, often there is an inspirational person out there, willing you to dream this dream.

Why keep it at dream status?

If you want to achieve something, you are the only one who can do it. And if you don’t, there are many people out there with the gumption to take their dream, which might be similar to yours, and fly with it.

BE that person. Live your dream!

Okay, so you want to be that person. But, life, you know. Too much going on. Work, family, commitments. They all take up so much of your time, that there is none left to achieve your goal.

Nonsense.

Unless your dream involves a huge amount of planning, and maybe finance that you have to raise, there is NOTHING stopping you getting on the ladder to climbing up to that dream cloud your idea is sitting in, and reaching it.

It may be small things to start with, but if you want to buy a house, start looking. If you want to streamline your life, start decluttering small parts of your house. If you want to write a book, cut down on the TV you watch, and put some words to paper.

They may not be your dream achieved, but they are the starts. And everything has to start somewhere!

So… tell me, what dream do you have, and what step can you take to make it come true?

January 16: Flash Fiction Challenge – Protest!

18 Jan 2020 37 Comments

by Ritu in #CarrotRanch Tags: 99-Word Fiction, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Carrot Ranch, Protest

Charli’s Carrot Ranch 99-word flash fiction prompt:

January 16, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a protest story. It can be about a protest, or you can investigate the word and expand the idea. Who is protesting, where, and why? Go where the prompt leads!

“No more slop! No more slop!”

The sound of the butts of knives and forks being bashed against the tabletops echoed through the dining room.

“Children, please!” Mrs Garrett, flapped her arms up and down, trying to calm the situation, to no avail.

“We ain’t eating that rubbish anymore, Miss! It’s rank!” Tommy, the protest ringleader, piped up.

A chorus of voices echoed his sentiments.

Mrs Garrett looked at the greying mass of potato, with an unidentifiable beige stew, and cabbage that had long since lost any goodness, and sympathised.

I think it’s time to talk to the cooks…

January 16: Flash Fiction Challenge

#WritePhoto – Keep

18 Jan 2020 24 Comments

by Ritu in #WritePhoto Tags: #WritePhoto, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Flash Fiction, Keep, Photo Prompt, Sue Vincent

Sue’s #WritePhoto prompt this week:

“When you’re dealt a King, never reshuffle. You may just end up with a joker.” That’s what my mother always said. “I’m not talking about playing cards here, Emira, I’m talking about life. Take heed.”

Well, I’d found my king, and there was no way I was planning on reshuffling this particular hand that life had dealt me.

Jonathon was perfect. Good looking, dashing, fantastic job, loaded family, and what’s more, he was due to inherit a huge ancestral pile from a recent death in his family. Old uncle Whatshisname. Oh, I don’t know.

What I do know is that the old boy had a real castle that he had lived in, up until his death. It was set on acres of land, in the middle of Kent.

I’d be like a princess, or a queen, even, living on my own castle – if Johnny was to propose, that is.

We’re driving down there no, as it happens, to view the new property. I can’t wait to get my first glimpse of my mansion. Oh, the parties we’ll throw! My Insta feed will be full of photos of my new home. I wonder if it has a real throne in there?

Wait, he’s slowing down… What the heck is that?

“So, what do you think, darling? It’s a bit rundown, but imagine what we could do with the place?”

I turn to look at him, disgust etched across my face.

” I want to go home, Jonathan. Now.”

King? Nah, a joker with ideas above his station, more like!

***

“So, son, what did she think?”

“Mummy, you were right. A true gold digger if ever I saw one. One look at the battlement ruins and she was off. Thank goodness you told me to take the back route. If I’d gone up to the main entrance, she’d have seen the real castle, and I’d never have been rid of her.”

“Mother always knows best, my dear.”

Thursday photo prompt: Keep #writephoto

Colleen’s 2020 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 160 #SynonymsOnly

14 Jan 2020 32 Comments

by Ritu in #ColleensWeeklyPoetryChallenge Tags: #ColleensWeeklyPoetryChallenge, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Calm & Present, Colleen, tanka

It’s Tuesday, and that means Colleen’s Tanka Challenge! Of course, just providing a couple of words would be far too simple, so we have two words, yes, but we can’t use them! Only synonyms allowed! And only syllabic poetry!

“CALM & PRESENT”

In this moment, I 
Feel a sense of peace within
Relaxing my mind
A gift from the universe
All stars and planets aligned

Ritu 2020

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 14th, 2020 – Publish

14 Jan 2020 25 Comments

by Ritu in #jusjojan Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Publish

Linda is doing her #JusJoJan thing, like she does every year, and though I haven’t taken part as such, this year, because of, well, stuff, I did offer a prompt word for a day, and that day happens to be today, so I thought I should really pop a post on!

Hello again! It’s time for the 14th daily prompt for Just Jot it January 2020. Today’s prompt was generously donated to us by Ritu. Thanks, Ritu! Make sure you visit her blog to read her post and say hi. And follow her while you’re there!

Hello Ritu! Popping in to say ‘hi!’ and I might just follow you too! 🤪

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 14th, 2020, is “publish.” Use the word “publish” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Ho hum. Well, I wonder why the word publish is on my mind so much at the moment?

Could it be because in less than four weeks, I am finally going to be an official novel author?

You know this has been a LOOOOOOONG time coming if you have been with me since the beginning of this blog.

The blog is five years old, but the story that I finally managed to get ready to publish was already in its teen years at that time, and now, at the grand old age of nearly twenty, it is finally going to be out there.

It was always a dream to have a book published, though I didn’t know the ins and outs of how that would happen, until I started blogging. Encouragement from my Blogily, all my readers, pushed me to finally finish that manuscript, and to polish it to a state I never thought I could achieve.

But I did managed to sneak in a poetry book in the middle, somehow.

I found it much easier to publish that. After all, aside from spellings, and formatting, the editing wasn’t as arduous.

Well, that’s what I think, anyway. Because I believe poetry conveys the words from a poet’s heart, and no one should tamper with those.

And now, here I am, writing blog tour posts that will be published in the lead up to Pub Day (no, not a day celebrating English drinking establishments, but Publication Day!) on 9th February, 2020.

Right, off I go to write more words!

But if you are interested, here’s the info about my book baby, and a preorder link!