Timeline

image for travel through the tumble weed week 10 featuring a story titled 'timeline' a short story based on a writing 101 promptSo here we are at week 10, the series finale. It has been lovely having you along for the ride, and getting to know some of my readers in the comments section of  posts which had been largely barren until we traversed the tumbleweed to rescue them from the cyber dust they’d been hidden under.

This week’s edition is a story which got a little traction in the comments when originally posted, with a few readers asking to read more. It never seemed the right time to explore the story further, and for a long time, I felt I’d exhausted all inspiration for the story line with the final punctuation mark. However, reading the funny and engaging Dalston Noir series on the blog Tomorrow, Definitely, I’ve been inspired to create a serial of sorts with this week’s travel through the tumbleweed post (thanks Dagmar!). There will be 5 to 10 installments coming up, of approximately 400 words each (theoretically, one a week*). Why 5 to 10? Well, aside from the next post I have lined up, I have no idea where the story will go, so who knows at what point:

  1. The story will come to a natural end; or
  2. I’ll get bored of it, in which case I wouldn’t want to bore you with it; and
  3. More than 10 is really pushing it (and my short attention sp..

Click on the image to take the final voyage through the tumbleweed. Mind the gap, and keep a look out for missing persons and objects you might stumble upon!

If you’d like to read  other posts from this series, check out menu item ‘travel through the tumbleweed.’

*installments, not words

A Resignation

week 9 travel through the tumbleweed series image science fiction storay 'a resignation' featuring dr stephen woodrow

It’s Week 9! The penultimate trip in this series! I’ll have to line up the series reunion tour soon, and re-post each one*.

When I began this blog, I was on maternity leave and needed a space carved out in my life for something that was creative (outside of the little bundle I had a part in creating) and just mine. I decided to do a 30-day writing challenge and stuck to it for the most part, with the exception of about a one week break due to an unexpected calamity at around the twenty-something day mark. On most days, I’d find a prompt in the morning, then ponder on it over the course of the day while breastfeeding, cooking, changing nappies, cleaning etc, allowing the seeds to germinate in my unconscious mind. Then I’d seize moments when my baby slept, and write, sometimes at awkward angles if he was asleep in my arms. Discovering the world through motherhood and exploring my writing through the blogging world made me feel like I was truly living the dream. Well, there was not much time for any other kind of dreaming through those sleep deprived days!

This week’s journey takes us to day seven of that 30-day challenge, by which time I’d warmed up, getting some dud posts out of the way. On day seven, I chanced upon Steven Savage’s incredible random prompt generator that took me where I had never gone with a story- into the realms of Science Fiction! As a result, Dr Stephen Woodrow entered my world- eminent scientist working within the system to subvert it for the greater good. Dr Woodrow went on to feature in another more recent story, set in a different place and time, but with the same rebellious spirit. If you follow the prompt generator link, you’ll notice it also features a fusion food generator- proceed at your own risk! Oyster banana dumpling anyone? On the other hand, curried tomato chickpea on chips doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Light up your bunsen burner, and click on the image to be transported through the tumbleweed. Beware of flammables and shady characters!

If you want to read other posts in the series, you can find them under menu item ‘travel through the tumbleweed.’

*just kidding

Vantage Point

Week 8.png

Welcome to Week 8! This week we travel to my first attempt at a poem that follows rules on structure- a tanka inspired by a little peace of heaven where I live.

I enjoyed the challenge of the tanka, and although initially skeptical of the merits of writing to a set of rules, I began to appreciate that you need to be creative to write yourself out of a tight corner. Rather than stifling creativity, structure provides a focus within which there are still infinite possibilities.

I have since gone on to write a couple of sonnets and about a dozen haiku/tanka/haibun/tanbun on a range of topics from climate change to the sensory delight of pho.

structure, let’s be friends

quake keys to assemble words

job search, conflict, pho

climate summits and kid’s toys

seismic shift, subjects scatter

Shout out to recently published author Ronovan Hester for his weekly haiku prompts that have been the inspiration behind my spate of haiku this year. Ronovan also hosts a weekly flash fiction challenge for those interested in non-haiku writing.

Prompt words for my meta tanbun here were ‘friend’ and ‘shiver’ (which I interpreted as ‘quake’) courtesy of RonovanWrites’ Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge.

The prompt word ‘shiver’ and my use of ‘quake’ reminded me of a song I haven’t heard in a while, that I love- Sweet Jean’s Shiver and Shake. I saw them live a few years ago- they were great!

Not to forget the travel component of this post, click on the image to be transported through the tumbleweed! Watch your step, and don’t count your syllables before they hatch!

A Word…

An image for week 7 of the travel through the tumbleweed series on 10000hoursleft.wordpress.com, featuring a post titled 'a word...' using writing 101 creative writing prompt with the word 'never' in a letter format

Here we are at week 7! It is getting harder for me to pick the posts to take us to the end of the 10 week travel series. I might have to do some creative accounting.

This post was fun to write and fun to re-read after all this time. It was based on a WP Writing 101 prompt, referencing the first word that grabbed my attention on page 29 of the nearest book, and featuring the word in a letter, tying in neatly with last week’s letter themed travel through the tumbleweed. What was the word? I could never spoil a surprise like that!

Click on the image to travel through the tumbleweed! Mind the gap, and heed the warning in the letter!

If you want to read other posts in the series, you can find them under menu item ‘travel through the tumbleweed.’

The Ephemeral Lie

image of tumbleweed for week 6 in the 10 week series exploring old blog posts. this week's entry is a post inspired by a prompt with 7 words, and is titled 'the ephemeral lie'.

This week’s edition in our 10 week sojourn through the tumbleweed is a post inspired by a writing prompt that required seven specific words be included (actually called ‘seven stupid words’ by the prompt creator). Each word had a way of leading my imagination along twists and turns until I found the path that allowed each one to fit in with some semblance of a cohesive story.

If writing in response to prompts were a sport, this prompt would be considered an extreme sport. What were the words? Well, that would be telling! I’m interested in knowing if you can pick the words – particularly if any of them stand out as being contrived, in amongst my usual vocabulary. I won’t be offended if you get the words wrong!

Click on the image to be transported through the tumbleweed. Watch your step, and be prepared to broaden your linguistic horizons! Oh, and pack a dictionary! That is, if like me, you have no idea what ‘fealty’ means (well, I do now, and I’ve just given away one of the words). Bonus points if you know what a pineapple is, and move to the next level if you do your take on the same challenge and post a link in the comments- go on, what have you got to lose?

If you want to read other posts in the series, look in menu item ‘travel through the tumbleweed’.

Enjoy the ride!

Two Stray Lette r s

It’s week 5! We are at the half way point of our travels. This week I have cheated and given you two posts in one. Both are a short (really!) response to the same WordPress Writing 101 prompt.

If you’ve been along for the ride in previous weeks, you know the deal. If you’re new to this, mind the gap! and take your time to pick up and read a stray letter or two that you may find along the path.

Click on the image to travel through the tumbleweed. Once there, you will find directions to the next post.

If you want to read other posts in the series, you can find them under menu item ‘travel through the tumbleweed’.

Bon voyage!

House Sitting Ducks

Week 4 already? Bringing a little creative non-fiction into the 10 week series, I invite you to jump into the world that was mine many moons ago, at the age of 12. Click on the pic to be transported. Watch for road works, flammables and eye rolls!

This week’s edition is a response to one of WordPress’ Writing 101 prompts. The course encouraged me to explore personal stories (which until then, I’d shied away from on this blog) and experiment with different writing styles and narrative voices. I feel I stumbled onto something good with this post, and hope to one day build on it for a longer story.

Want to check out what else you can find among the tumbleweed? Click on the menu item “travel through the tumbleweed’ at your leisure!

Me,Peaches and Sally

Welcome to week 3 of the 10 week series of time travel posts. Click on the image above, to be transported! Watch your head on that tumbleweed, and mind the gap!

This week’s edition completes a trifecta of writings inspired by art. Here, I present a modern day take on Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners. I also wrote on the topic in this post.

If you’d like to continue your travels through the tumbleweed, check out the menu item of the same name for others in the series.

Moonrise

Week 2 of the 10 week series. Click on the image above to begin your travels. This week’s edition is a poem titled ‘moonrise’, inspired by a George Inness painting of the same name. What do you see in the painting? What story comes to mind for you? Share your impressions in the comments…

If you’d like to continue your travels through the tumbleweed, check out the menu item of the same name for others in the series.

Intermission: Kathleen

This is week 1 of 10 in my Travel Through the Tumbleweed series: re-posts of old content, with the intention of sharing them with a new audience. I chose 10 as a good number to allow me to pick my forgotten favourites (out of about 70 on the blog to date) and a way to cap the time travel to ensure I am not re-hashing posts that are best left buried. I will not be editing any of the posts in this series.

Shout outs to Richard Baxter, Marissa Bergen, and Robert Okaji who are probably the only ones to have seen most, if not all, of the Travel Through the Tumbleweed posts- it has been lovely to have your support since the very early days.

This post is a short story inspired by an Edward Hopper painting “Intermission”. The story itself went on to inspire 2 other stories written from the perspective of 2 other characters. I realised only after writing the story that the woman is probably sitting in a theatre. Had that occured to me before writing, it would have been a very different story.

Intermission: Kathleen