Tag Archives: fantasy

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Noveling Action Plan, Revised May 20,2013

April Camp NaNo -

Novels awaiting completion:

  • Sima Garo Provides -Rough draft completed at ~110,000 words. Target attained!
  • Blood and Breath – WIP Rough draft – 86,072 of ~100,000 words. Complete by June 1. On target.
  • To Be or Not to Be – WIP Rough draft – 110,019 of ~200,000 words (double novel). Complete by June 30. On Target.

Here’s what will happen.

In May:

Read through A to Z stories. On target.

  • I have read the first four stories, in alphabetical order.
  • Once all stories are properly filed, I will read the Spock and Niaan arcs separately. 

Move to Scrivener and revise. On target.

  • I have highlighted each story for later revision as I move them to their Scrivener files.
  • 4 of 26 stories in Scrivener.

Create rough plans for the rest of Spock and Niaan’s Trueborn Warp and Weft Genesis novels. Pending.

  • …these should carry both through the moment of truth when they choose their own destiny, by means of an act that cannot be revoked….killing Kaitiiraan, and accepting appointment to Starfleet Academy.

Complete Blood and Breath. On target- see above.

Continue To Be or Not to Be. On target -see above.

In June:

Reread and create To-Do lists for:

  • Chameleon’s Dish
  • Bounded by a Nutshell

Once the lists are complete for these three, begin prioritizing the lists, so that August and September can be used for mass editing runs….with lots of focus available.

Finish/polish plans for Trueborn Genesis novels.

  • Complete by June 30, for July Camp NaNo.

In July:

Sign up for Camp NaNo,

Write Trueborn Genesis novels.

  • Goal- 100,000 words during the month (remembering that things may slow down during Rock the Campground).

In August and September:

Edit using To Do lists – in this priority:

  • Chameleon’s Dish 
  • Bounded by a Nutshell

In October:

Create a timeline if not already done, and note gaps for late 2013 and 2014 work.

  • Virtual and physical timelines for entire scope of both series.

Also create a plan (idea to plan) for King of Shreds and Patches (the ST:TMP to STII:TWOK Spock storyline which partners with Sima Garo Provides).

  • Prepare this for NaNo.

Sign up for NaNo, and, if time permits, explore the gaps, and consider further the Kirana/Andrew and Tisira/Henry storylines….

In November:

  • COMPLETE a draft of King of Shreds and Patches….remember that it must fit around and through Sima Garo Provides. Goal: 100,000 words.

In December:

Wrap up editing runs (To-Do lists) for:

  • Chameleon’s Dish
  • Bounded by a Nutshell 

Begin canvassing for beta readers for these.

  • Try to place each with five beta readers by March 31, 2014
  • Possibly rejoin Critters (a good place for Chameleon?)

Sketch out plans for first half of 2014, which will include:

Beta readings of:

  • Chameleon’s Dish
  • Bounded by a Nutshell

Editing To Do Lists for:

  • Sima Garo Provides
  • King of Shreds and Patches
  • Blood and Breath – plan for partner novel. 
  • To Be or Not to Be – split into Spock/Niaan volumes.
  • Trueborn Genesis -Niaan
  • Trueborn Genesis-Spock

Flesh out explorations/ play with flash fiction for remaining “gap” novels.

  • Begin shaping into plans for 2014 NaNo drafts.

Rough schedule for the rest of 2014.

  • Note NaNo months, and be prepared with planned novels.
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Noveling Action Plan – 2013

April Camp NaNo – (April 1-30)

 

Novels pending completion (75,000 word goal exceeded) :

 

  • Sima Garo Provides – Complete!

 

  • Blood and Breath – Pending.

 

  • To Be or Not to Be – Pending.

 

In May:

 

Read through A to Z stories.

 

Revise, and create rough plans and story arcs the rest of Spock and Niaan’s Trueborn Warp and Weft stories….

 

  • These should carry both through the moment of truth when they choose their own destiny, by means of an act that cannot be revoked….namely, killing Kaitiiraan, and accepting appointment to Starfleet Academy.

 

Complete Sima Garo Provides, with a May 5 target date.

 

  • Completed!

 

Complete Blood and Breath, with a June 1 target date.

 

  • 86,072 of 100,00 words on May 15.

 

Continue To Be or Not to Be, with a June 30 target date.

 

  • 110,019 of 200,000 words on May 15.

 

In June:

 

Complete To Be or Not to Be rough draft.

 

Flesh out plans for the Trueborn stories (pending working titles); prepare for July drafting.

  • Spock’s story
  • Niaan’s story

 

Reread and create To-Do lists for:

 

  • Chameleon’s Dish

 

  • Bounded by a Nutshell

 

 

Once the lists are complete for these three, begin prioritizing the lists, so that August and September can be used for mass editing runs….with lots of focus available.

 

In July:

 

Camp NaNo, and plan to FastDraft (take the class before that!) both Trueborn Stories during the month (remembering that things may slow down during Rock the Campground).

 

  • Spock’s story: 50,000 words
  • Niaan’s story: 50,000 words
  • Total target: 100,000 words

 

Finish prioritized editing lists if not previously completed.

 

 

In August and September:

 

First Editing Run using To Do lists:

 

  • Chameleon’s Dish
  • Bounded by a Nutshell

     

 

In October:

 

Create a timeline if not already done, and note gaps for late 2013 and 2014 work.

 

  • The timeline should be both virtual and physical.
  • Brainstorm and explore projects that will fill these gaps, so that all portions of the saga will be in progress by the end of 2014.

 

Also create a plan (idea to plan) for King of Shreds and Patches (the ST:TMP to [near] STII:TWOK Spock storyline).

 

  • Collect existing scenes and experimentations, and possibly create new flash fiction for this novel.
  • Use this plan to create an outline.

 

Sign up for NaNo, and, if time permits, consider further the Kirana/Andrew and Tisira/Henry storylines….

  • Just play with these, for now…flash and freewriting.

 

In November:

 

COMPLETE a draft of King of Shreds and Patches….remember that it must ultimately fit around and through Sima Garo Provides.

 

  • I hope to complete what will essentially be a double NaNo…a complete 100 thousand word draft!

 

In December:

 

Wrap up Primary editing runs (To-Do lists) for:

 

  • Chameleon’s Dish
  • Bounded by a Nutshell

 

Sketch out plans for first half of 2014, which will include:

 

Beta readings of:

 

  • Chameleon’s Dish
  • Bounded by a Nutshell

 

 

Editing To Do Lists for:

 

  • Sima Garo Provides
  • Blood and Breath
  • To Be or Not to Be

 

Flesh out explorations/ play with flash fiction for remaining “gap” novels.

 

  • Use 750 Words, and a dedicated notebook.

 

Rough schedule for the rest of 2014.

 

  • Assess status of all existing and planned projects, and move forward with plnning.

 

WOW!!!!

 

That was a pretty comprehensive and exciting list! And now, I feel I have a direction to move in, and a focus.

 

Also, with the techniques I have learned, am learning, and will be learning, I believe this list is not only possible, but attainable with sanity…..and while blogging, working on Queen of My Infinite Spaces, and writing flash fiction and essays…..and while learning more about the business side of writing….and while continuing to be an active participant in the groups and communities that fit me, and while pursuing my other writing goals….

 

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ROWing Toward My Dreams… Row Update #11

It’s been a jumbly, tumbly kind of few days, here.  The weather has been unsettled, and I am, too…..

For good reason….

On Saturday, my first poem was published in the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.

On Tuesday, my post appeared  on Tiny Buddha.

I have plans in the work for guest bloggers, and guest posts.

Things are moving, on many fronts, and I am…..

Hmmmn…..

Yes, I am.

Round 2 Goals:

Reading:

  • Read at least 3 articles a week from my To Be Read files on computer, and categorize those I choose to keep or share.
  • I have read Wind and Rain, an article about the out-of-doors, rainy-day fun families can have together.
  • I read a second article there, but it was not very useful, and particularly poorly edited, so I will not recommend it  (or out it) here.
  • I also read  A New Approach, an article by a mother trying out some “free-range” ideas in her family.  This article made me sad, because it seems she’s missed the point of allowing children the freedom of many choices – she seems to be only allowing the freedom as a way of getting more cooperation from her children, and she finishes by limiting electronics (which will likely have led, by now, to electronics being used for all allotted time, and perhaps begged for, or contended over, otherwise…).  There are no further posts on the blog, so I suspect she may have aborted her “experiment” before it had time to prove its merit….
  • I have attained this goal for this week.
  • Read at least 5 blogposts a week (not including my own), and like, comment, and/or share as I am moved to.
  • I have read When Does Fan Fiction Cross an Ethical Line?  This is a pretty serious consideration for me in my Star Trek-related fanfic, which is an integral part of the universe I have created, and I really don’t have any answers.  All I know is, I can’t seem to let go of my Spock-passions, and I don’t want to, either! =D  I commented with words to that effect, more or less.
  • I have read 1 of 5 blogposts for this week.

Writing:

  • Create flash fiction, short stories, dialogues, character sketches, alternate scenes, and poetry for  Chameleon’s Dish.  Wander cow trails, and learn these people and their lives more fully.
  • I have written three more stories about Tisira , the main character from Chameleon’s Dish.  
  • I  have posted  ”The Huntress in Moonlight” to my Story a Day  blog, shanjeniah.org. 
  • I will be adding the next two segments to the blog within the next few days.
  • Finish father-in-law letter and send.
  • I have given this more thought, and have been constructing portions of it in my head.  I almost have a version cohesive enough to attempt another freewriting, but  not quite.
Blogging:

  • Complete Cooperative Catalyst post and relative links (interviews with both children, and their “day in the life” posts from last year) ; submit to editor.
  • I have heard back from the editor; I will be looking at the article again, to see if there are naturally separating themes or portions.
  • He has also read one of my blogposts, I’m THAT Mom…Naturally!, and thought that, with adaptations, it might make a good post, as well.
  • He has also suggested another writer whose posts I might like to read, and a category or two to explore and comment on, to “introduce” myself to what is an organic community.
  • It is quite possible that I will find a home of sorts there. =)

Networking:

  • Continue joining hops, fests, challenges, and other community blogging efforts.
  • As noted above, I have joined two challenges.
  • At the moment, I feel these are all I can handle, for now.
  • Comment on and share blogs regularly; share my blogs as widely as seems feasible, and in diverse ways.
  • I am doing fairly well on sharing my blogs. through several means –  challenges, posting comments,  submissions, and sharing via several forms of social media.
  • For the moment, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the increased attention, and will be just focusing on adjusting, before I diversify further.
  • My essay, Sometimes There Is No Right Way , posted to Tiny Buddha on Tuesday.  It has received nearly two dozen comments and an email, at this point, and I am feeling some pretty major overwhelm.  It’s a big step from where I was, visibility-wise, two weeks ago to where I am now, and I am feeling a considerable degree of disequilibrium at the sudden change after a lifetime of dreaming…
  • As a dear friend and I have been discussing, learning curves are messy.  I will adjust, with time and a lot of deep breathing….and eventually I will get to over 30 comments waiting for me in various places….really!

Submitting

  • Submit at least 5 essays or lists this round.
  • As mentioned above, editing and research are being considered prior to formally submitting a piece, but the lines of communication has been opened.
  • Continue submitting to hops, challenges, fests, etc.; at least 3 each month.
  • As noted above, I have participated/am participating in two challenges thus far, for May.
  • This leaves one challenge left to enter, prior to  this month’s end.

Photography:

  • Watermark all photos that appear on my blogs, and all those I post going forward; begin watermarking favorites not on blogs.
  • I decided I am satisfied with the batch watermarking, and this will make it possible to quickly mark all of my pictures within the next weeks, as opportunity presents itself.

Learning:

  • For WordPress, create a running list of questions; work on finding answers!
  • During dinner with Eden Mabee, she answered one of my questions –  about how to replace the standard header text.
  • I have successfully changed my header text.  It may or may not be permanent, but now I know I can do it, so it will be a simpler matter to change it if I decide  to, at some later point.

Self-care:

  • Add JOY to every day!
  • Monday: I allowed myself a mellow day of puttering, both in my writing projects and in my hometending. A simple day spent with my beloveds.
  • Tuesday: Joy Abounding! I slept in, and, although I woke with a headache at the time t’ai chi was starting, and although it was a damp and somewhat dreary day outside, I was basking in the company of my Syster, Eden Mabee.  When you’ve been friends since you were four and share writing dreams and motherhood and a lifetime of shared memories and interwoven stories, hours can slip by….and then, I was greeted in the driveway, a little after 2am, by my family.  Chatted with the children until 5:30am. Sweet day!
  • Wednesday:  Another mellow, wet, restful day of puttering….I feel my energy slowly returning.  I’ve had some bug writing developments over the last several days, and I am feeling a need to lay a bit low and absorb them.  Why is success scarier for me than failure?
  • Add movement to every day, too!
  • Monday: Puttering around the house and yard.  Moving furniture and bicycles.
  • Tuesday: Moving from building to car, and car to building, and grocery shopping…..not a big moving day…..sometimes, that’s exactly what I need.
  • Wednesday: Puttering with hometending; moving more bicycles –  yes, there DO seem to be an inordinate number of them here –  and I still haven’t moved my own!
  • Add more of my passions to each day, in as many ways as I can manage.
  • Monday: Reading and writing, puttering with storyworlds and blogging.
  • Tuesday: A rare, lovely day with a dear friend.  Utterly rejuvenating.  I wrote my story, but, beyond that, I simply enjoyed the company and the unrolling of the moments.
  • Wednesday: Reading, writing, lolling with the kids, absorbing the nearing of a lifetime of dreaming, and puttering.  A hot shower awaits me, after I post here.
  • Add all these for my beloved others, too!
  • Jeremiah: Finding his bigger bike, saying yes to lots of cooking.  Conversation and cuddles, and patience when he needed it.
  • Jim:  A harmonious home, companionship, and consideration.  Laughter.
  • Annalise: Finding her bigger bike, serious and mature conversation, help when a fall spoiled her baby mosquito study, patience when she needed it, imagination and laughter.
 It seems to be one of those periods where I am doing things, but there is really relatively little concrete to report.
Much is happening beneath the surface, and there is no telling, really, what will evolve from here.
I know, though, that it will involve love, and writing.
And I know that I will keep on ROWing, with trepidation and daring, and remain present not only to the misty path ahead, but also to the rocky, swift, twisty places I am traversing right now…..
Until next time, I leave you with 5 more followers to get to know….

And the ROW Linky, for keeping up with all the other ROWers….

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“The Huntress in Moonlight” – Flash Fantasy

The Storyteller Writing Challenge

*    *   *
Are you a Storyteller? What inspires you?
What stirs you to pick up your pen, open your word doc. and write?
I offer TWO prompts for you to CHOOSE from:
 An Image prompt and an Other prompt. 
1. THE Image PROMPT
For this weeks image prompt, tell us what is evoked by this image.
What is this haunting environment? What story tumbles from your imagination?
Why is she there? Who is she?

The Talented Artist this week is - Artist: Agus - http://psdholic.deviantart.com/

“The Huntress in Moonlight”

Copyright 2012 by Shan Jeniah Burton

She seemed to have forgotten  I was there….

I sat on the wide  branch, my back pressed into the trunk – cushioned and cool where the  mosses caressed my shoulders; rough and warm where my lower back pressed against bare bark –  watching her.

She never seemed to  notice her  beauty,  yet she wore it naturally, with  ownership  I had never seen before.  I couldn’t pinpoint  what differed  from the beautiful, petulant queens of the high school court…Shirana,  Beverlee, and Aspen, who made the boys slobber over themselves like fools, and dismissed the rest of us with something that might have been contemptuous if they didn’t look at  walls and teachers  the same way…

~~ Perhaps  those girls believe  their appearance entitles them to privilege.  I find that attitude most – illogical.~~

I clutched my head,  nearly falling. “H-How —?” I asked, pressing myself backward, as if Tisira was going to attack.

I felt her, now. She was amused – and concerned that maybe she had lost my friendship.   She found me enjoyable and interesting.

She walked a little away, her tank top revealing just a bit of a midriff that was slender and muscular. Her long skirt swayed  with her, and she bowed her head to study her toes, making her short, shiny black bob fall across her face…

She was silhouetted by the enormity of the full moon, which leaning in  as if to tell Earth some wonderful secret….

A sceret about Tisira, maybe……

Without  warning, a small flock of birds winged straight at us.

I yelled, and this time I did fall out of the tree- well, half fell and half rolled, but, still, I hit the ground with a rattling, graceless thump.

When I looked up ,  Tisira  had a small, hawkish raptor  perched upon her shoulder.  She was whispering to it, and the bird seemed to be listening. The rest of the flock circled, then landed in several trees around the edges of the clearing.

“I am not a human high school student,” Tisira said. Although I hadn’t seen her move,  she was  offering me a hand up, which I gladly took.  Hers was calloused and strong, and I noticed a long, fine scar running from the back of her hand to just short of her elbow. “I am a Tacivaarii Huntress.”

In my mind, there was a sense of what that meant, but I could also tell that there was more – much more than I could ever understand.

“You read my mind, and command birds of prey.”

She steadied me as my knees threatened to collapse.

“It’s not reading your mind, exactly.  I could, but I wouldn’t.  I share the strong thoughts and feelings you project outward…..Father says that I always will, no matter how hard I attempt to shield myself. I’m sorry it troubles you.”

She helped me to sit  on a low stump where, hopefully, I could keep from further embarrassing myself with my clumsiness.

“As for the bird, I don’t command her. We have a symbiotic relationship. We share information about prey, when there is mutual benefit in doing so.  And we share feelings, sometimes.”

“Tisira – I don’t understand. About you, about this huntress thing; about reading my mind – or whatever the hell it’s called; about that bird. But most of all, I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

“There is something within you that needs to know, Sarah.  You care, and feel, and seek.  We are kindred, in ways that language can’t express.  You’re ready for what I am, and what I have to offer –  a symbiotic relationship of our own.”

That made me nervous. We were a long way from help – there were no houses for at least a mile in either direction. No one to run to for help, no one to hear me scream -

Tisira looked at me with glowing eyes, as the bird cried into the night….

And suddenly, a lynx crouched where she had stood…..

For a moment, I stared, and then a shaky  whisper emerged.

“Wh- what do you want with me?”

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ROWin’ in the Rain – Goals Update #6

Excerpt from 750words, June 8, 2011 - 

Today is a much, much happier day. I feel like I have struggled my way back to a place of calm and something approaching acceptance of the present moment. And keeping my focus on this moment and no other, the action I can take now, and no other, helps me to feel far less overwhelmed with what, looked at as a whole, complete situation, is utterly and completely overwhelming.

This moment, and no other. This action, and no other. So here I am, writing my 750 words, because that is the action I am taking in this moment. And, after, I will return to some tidying in the house, then maybe try another method of getting the kids’ quarterly reports to the school. Later, when it cools down from the 90 degree temperatures we have right now, I’ll hook up the printer, because submitting the reports in writing may indeed be the route I end up taking, much as I disagree with it.

Deep breaths. Short bursts of activity. Letting things go, or just working on a small part of the whole, in short bursts, helps me to remain calm. Giving myself the time and space to just be, to leave things undone, to decide for myself what is worthy of my time and attention and energy. Understanding that sharing a home with others means there are both others to help me….and others who sometimes do things that trigger unpleasant emotions in me.

Understanding that those emotions might very well be responses to old, entrenched patterns I am not yet even aware of. Learning to slow down, get still inside myself, and attend to the feeling and the associations it brings up. Going into those, until I get deeper than the surface emotion, to the place where I can find what I need in this situation – or if I need anything. Often, all I need is to acknowledge the feeling and its source, and all the perceived wrongness and angst of the moment just fades away.

When there is a need, understanding what it is is hugely helpful, because none of us can fill our own needs if we don’t understand what they are. That’s evident in our society, and very prevalent in my family of origin. Buying things and doing major home additions and renovations, as stand-ins for the need that goes unacknowledged and untended to.

So I am learning to understand my needs, and that it falls to me, and no one else, to tend to them. I an responsible for meeting my own needs.

How I do that depends on the situation and the nature of the need. Sometimes I am at a loss, in the moment, on what to do, except that I need to accept this moment just as it is, and surrender to it rather than fight it. Then, anything I choose to do will be from a place of acceptance, and all my energy can then be channeled to productive measures rather than flailing against life as it is.

This has been particularly difficult for me over the last three or for days. I’m hormonal, and it is very, very hot, and we have been busy, and the kids seem to both be getting ready for pretty major growth spurts.

If I can remember that all of these things tend to lead to a feeling of imbalance for me, separately, I can perhaps be patient with their combined disequilibrium.

If I can remember that it is also disorienting for the children, and that they really need my stability, calm, and patience, perhaps everything else will flow more peacefully through our lives.

Of course, in order to be in a state to provide that calm for them, I do need to nurture myself. There are in fact no housework police arriving on a daily basis to evaluate my daily portion of household chores. The world will not, in fact, come to an end if I choose to skip cleaning sometimes, or do the minimum amount I can live with, if I just am not up for doing more.

There are so many things that are of greater value than housecleaning. Creative expression, hugs and kisses and tickles and cuddles, putting one’s feet up and enjoying a cool day, feeling peaceful and happy to be just where I am, just now. Bliss. Laughter. Joy. Discovery. Time to ponder. Time to wonder. Time to embrace my own passions, and time to help the children embrace theirs, and Jim his. Time to be kind, and courteous, and generous – to myself and to others.



Round 2 Goals:


Reading:


    

  • Read at least as many books as the number of the month (4 in April ; 5 in May; 6 in June) from my bedroom To Be Read piles.
    • 

  • I have finished book 4 of 4 for April, Hold On to Your Kids.
    • 

  • I have now completed my April book  reading goal!
    • 




    

  • Read at least 5 blogposts a week (not including my own), and like, comment, and/or share as I am moved to.
    • 

  • I have read Laughter of Children and Clouds, commented,and am sharing here.
    • 

  • I have read the deep truth and courage in Words…words,words,words, written by my dear lifelong friend, Eden Mabee.  
    • 

  • Because she is my friend – and so much more – I wrote two long comments.
    • 

  • Because this post is incredible, I am sharing it to Facebook.
    • 

  • I read the poem  Shame, commented, and shared on my Facebook Writer Page.
    • 

  • I have completed this goal for this week.
    • 





Writing:




    

  • Create flash fiction, short stories, dialogues, character sketches, alternate scenes, and poetry for  Chameleon’s Dish and Blood and Breath.  Wander cow trails, and learn these people and their lives more fully.
    • 

  • I now  have 489 words in the group dialogue scene for Chameleon’s Dish, and a much better sense of where this piece is headed.
    • 



    

  • Pull material from 750 words posts not part of the Chameleon’s Dish first draft.
    • 

  • I pulled a complete essay, which appears above.
    • 



    

  • Create essays, stories, and other pieces based upon these writings.
    • 

  • I have included excerpts from these writings as part of these updates (see intro, above), and they have informed other writing I have done since reading them.
    • 

  • I will be focusing more on these as I finish the A to Z posts, then the essays and book reviews that have been queued up behind them.
    • 



    

  • Find all chapters of Blood and Breath.  Input into Scrivener; possibly begin rewrite.
    • 

  • I have created a story arc for Chapters 2 and 3, as a preliminary step.
    • 

  • Next, I will begin creating flash fiction as the basis for scenes in these chapters.
    • 

  • In the meantime, I may shift my inputting focus to Chameleon’s Dish, because I have a completed rough draft of that novel.
    • 

  • I will consider my options, and change my goal if indicated.
    • 





Blogging:




    

  • Complete the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge.
    • 

  • I have edited, embellished, and scheduled T is for Toxic People –  Y is for Yelling.
    • 

  • I have written Z is for Zoo.
    • 

  • I have now completed the writing for this challenge, and have 1 post left to edit, embellish, and schedule.
    • 

  • The last post may take a while longer….I found many pictures I want to include, but they will need editing and collaging before posting….and that may take an added hour or three beyond what I usually need for that process.
    • 






Networking:





    

  • Continue joining hops, fests, challenges, and other community blogging efforts.
    • 

  • I posted to the Weekend Creation Blog Hop, as noted above.
    • 



    

  • Comment on and share blogs regularly; share my blogs as widely as seems feasible, and in diverse ways.
    • 

  • I read this “article” (biased, ill-informed, and rather poorly written) on unschooling.  I commented.
    • 

  • I have answered a few comments on this blog.
    • 

  • I have shared Freedom, the 2009 post I edited on The Unfettered Life.  I posted it on Facebook.
    • 

  • I also shared G is for Growth and H is for Happiness, both from my A to Z posts.
    • 

  • I have resumed the process of answering my blog comments –  another ball I released in order to focus on the A to Z challenge.
    • 









Submitting:




    

  •  Submit at least 10 pieces of flash fiction or poetry this round.
    • 

  • I have reviewed the submission guidelines for the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.  I plan on assessing several of my existing flash fiction pieces, in preparation for submitting.
    • 

  • I have decided to make “Twice-Coupled” my first submission, and will begin preparing it in the next few days.
    • 



    

  • Submit at least 5 essays or lists this round.
    • 

  • I have reread my Cooperative Catalyst rough draft, which I had not looked at for a month or two. I will let it rest a few more days, then begin polishing it, as I finish the pieces that I intend to link it to.
    • 



    

  • Continue submitting to hops, challenges, fests, etc.; at least 3 each month.
    • 

  • I have submitted to the Storyteller Writing Challenge twice, and once to the Weekend Creation Blog Hop. 
    • 

  •  This goal has been attained for April.
    • 







Photography:




    

  •  Organize all photos on hard drive/move to organized Picasa web albums or delete.
    • 

  • I synced the pictures from last weekend to my Picasa Web Albums, and deleted the file from my hard drive.
    • 



    

  • Learn how to watermark pictures.
    • 

  • I did it!  I learned how to watermark, and designed one I can be happy with.  It may change over time, but I like it, for now!
    • 

  • This goal has been attained!
    • 



Marketing:




    

  •  Explore marketing articles on my Facebook Writer Page.
    • 

  • I explored a free copyrighting service, and have decided not to go that route.
    • 

  • I read this interview on publishing and marketing to Kindle.
    • 



    

  • Add useful articles to my shanjeniah 
    • 

  • Marketing Articles page.
    • 

  • I added the above article to my Marketing Articles page.
    • 



    

  • Use this information to help define my direction; adjust as needed.
    • 

  • I am beginning to see a shape and scope for my marketing efforts.  Nothing more than a sense of it, yet.  I will keep learning, and pondering…
    • 











 Learning:




    

  •  Get Scrivener  downloaded; begin learning by inputting first an essay, and then Blood and Breath.
    • 

  • I have begun the creation of a story arc for the remaining chapters.  I am midway through Chapter Three in this process.
    • 



    

  • Use Twitter and HootSuite  at least one day a week.  Learn more.
    • 

  • I opened  HootSuite on Saturday…and closed Facebook.
    • 



    

  • For WordPress, create a running list of questions; work on finding answers!
    • 

  • I remembered that I joined a SheWrites group for WordPress Bloggers.  I will be checking it out during the next week or so, to learn more about how to use this blog platform.
    • 



    

  • Begin learning about how to publish ebooks.
    • 

  • I have saved two articles that deal with this topic, and will be researching them through the coming weeks ( they are long; I will read them in sections).
    • 





Organizing:




    

  •  Edit all 2009 posts on  The Unfettered Life.  Consider layout and design changes.
    • 

  • I edited and updated the first of my Unfettered Life 2009 posts, Freedom.
    • 



    

  • Take clips from first Penzu notebook.
    • 

  • I have moved another entry to my LibreOffice clip files – a stream-of-consciousness essay that wanders interestingly.
    • 

  • I have deleted the file from my Penzu journal (as I do with each entry as I mine it for clips, because I am not ready to upgrade to Penzu Pro.  This keeps my single free journal from becoming unwieldly as I add to it.
    • 







Self-care:




    

  • Add JOY to every day!
    • 

  • Thursday:  Staying home; lawnmowing; reading; writing; working in my room.
    • 

  • Friday: More lawnmowing; finished April book reading goal; old blogpost reminiscing; coffee with Jim
    • 

  • Saturday: Listening to Jim and the kids assemble and fly a wood glider plane kit; lingering coffee, with Jim and alone; the rain we so needed; saying yes to Lise in the rain and in my library; saying yes to the candlelit invitation….
    • 

  • Sunday: Old picture editing; coffee with Jim;  time  with Miah looking over the typical course of study for his “grade level”; time playing and snuggling with Lise;  hometending; warm clothes on a chilly,damp day.
    • 



    

  • Add movement to every day, too!
    • 

  • Thursday: Lots of mowing. Hometending.  Yard cleanup.
    • 

  • Friday:Lots more mowing (including the steeply pitched hill; a real workout!); Hometending; climbing dome flipping; yard cleanup.
    • 

  • Saturday: A bit of mowing (ahead of soaking rain we desperately needed); hometending; other stuff.
    • 

  • Sunday: Hometending (too wet to want to be outside).  Played with Corki-dog and Annalise.
    • 



    

  • Add self-decorating to every week!
    • 

  • I decorated myself this week with sunkiseed skin, windtossed curls, and many dimply smiles. Oh, and i wore the prettiest color –  blue – every day.
    • 



    

  • Add more of my passions to each day, in as many ways as I can manage.
    • 

  • Thursday: Working in my library, home, and yard.  Reading and writing.  family time.
    • 

  • Friday: Working in home, yard, and my library.  Reading and writing.  More family time.
    • 

  • Saturday: Jim.  Candlelight. All the above stuff,too.
    • 

  • Sunday: One-on-one time with each family member.  Hometending. reading and writing.  Listening to the rain and the train whistle.
    • 



    

  • Add all these for my beloved others, too!
    • 

  • Jeremiah: Grown-up conversations; exploring and learning together in my library; coffee and snuggles together.
    • 

  • Annalise: Tablet coed arrived, and I got to watch her begin to claim the tablet for her own.  It was mine, and is loaded with lots of goodies like a 3D Brain, painting and light art programs, YouTube App, and a keyboard….I need to check to see if i left anything important stored on it (she lost the previous cord when I loaned it to her, so I couldn’t do it before I gifted it to her at Christmas.  She is loving it!
    • 

  • Jim:  His heart’s desire; a cleaner house; a happily thriving family.
    • 









 Administrative Stuff:




    

  • Write and submit third quarter reports for both children.  These are due on June 1, 2012.
    • 

  • I have completed the Reading section of Jeremiah’s third quarter report, to date.
    • 



    

  • Cleanup email folders/organize, move, read, delete, act upon as needed.
    • 

  • I winnowed my Homeschooling items folder from 60+ messages to just 19.
    • 

  • I will return at a later date and designate new homes for the remaining messages.
    • 



    

  • Input two writing practice notebooks to Penzu.
    • 

  • I am up to page11 of 120 in the first notebook.
    • 



    

  • Pay remaining balances for summer trips to Unschoolers
    • 

  • Rock the Campground and Northeast Unschooling Conference.
    • 

  • I woke in time to call the campground Friday –  but forgot to do it!  I seeem to be going to sleep a little earlier (about 3am; pretty early for me!), and rising earlier.  I plan to get the number and post myself a note so I remember tomorrow…
    • 





 Excerpt from this week’s 750 Words ~~




Oh, I liked that post. I don’t like weathermen, though, who tell us “trust me, we’re going to hold off the rain as long as we can.”




Sorry, Jason, you don’t have that ability, so far as I know. Ok, minor rant over. It’s been a slow and rather lazy day of mellow productivity and big heat (recordbreaking over 90 degree April day, but with a breeze that kept it from being as oppressive as it might have been. And since it’s been a dry spring, it wasn’t at all humid.






Which makes it weirder that a meteorologist would offer to attempt to hold off the much-needed rain.




Oh, it looks as though my battery is getting low…..I want to get my 750 words in, so I am writing, writing…. I did do some writing today, and some reading, and some tending in the home and yard.




Ok, I have enough battery to get me through. I am happy with what I’ve written tonight; it does seem that the words are coming slowly. And yet, they are coming. Sometimes that needs to happen, I think – the lull, the refilling, the pause between the inspiration and expiration; the pause in the heartbeat, the instant of held tension just before orgasm breaks over you…. I’m tired, and the images are here. And I have 750 words. =)~~










In other news:


    

  • I was nominated for my fourth blogging award today.  I will reveal the details when I have a post ready; since I am in the midst of my Z post, this update, and backed-up reading, commenting, and essay-writing, that may take a week or three, but I will get there (this is an award I have quietly coveted  since seeing it on a blog I really enjoy).  This is a new award for me. =)
    • 

  • I will be contacting my prospective guest bloggers before month’s end.  If anyone else is interested in guest posting, or hosting me as a guest blogger, feel free to drop me a comment anytime!
    • 

  • I will have an announcement of something new coming by the end of May, so stay tuned!
    • 

  • I forgot to introduce any of my followers with Wednesday’s check in.  Oops!
    
I remembered this time, though, and so…
    • 



May I introduce you to….?



And now, for the Link Treats:



 
















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							ROWing Mellowly Down the Stream – ROW Update #5
					

			


	
	

		
Miah and Lise enjoy the new coziness of my library. =)




Excerpt from 750Words, June 10, 2012~


Got less than 20 minutes left to get this in under the wire. So, tonight, nothing fancy, no corrections, just typing, to see how fast I can go, and if I come up with anything even remotely worth remembering (or even editing!) LATER!


The “problem”, if it can be called that, is that I finally had a day cool enough to move around the house without dripping sweat, and took full advantage to wring further order out of the chaos of our existence. And, once I had shifted into that that mode, I forgot, over and over again, that I still wanted to get my writing done.


I am not at all upset by it, although I really like doing these words each day, like the challenge of getting to 750 words each day, and find the act cleansing.


Sometimes, our physical space needs some cleansing, too, and sometimes I need to care for my emotional space and our home, and focus most of my energies on moving those things further along……So I got the house into a better shape, culled some of the overflowing abundance of our herd of stuff, and generally took action myself to help us all be able to ,live more easily and comfortably in this space- not to mention moving closer to the goal of thoroughly streamlining each of our possessions, so that the move into a travel trailer, or even preparing for our continuing fair-weather adventures, can be much less stressful as we go along.


Over 200 words now, and about 13 minutes to go. Will she make it,. or will she not? Will any of this be legible or worth the effort, when she’s done….well, I’m her, and I thing the process is definitely worth it, even if I don’t make it or write anything deeper than surface…


It was a physical plane kinda day…maybe there are deep thoughts going on beneath, but mostly, I tried to concern myself with presence or consciousness today. Wow, I an almost half done, with about 10 minutes to go….getting there. I do love the self-imposed pressure of a good challenge every now and then.


Back wall of my library. I like the way it's coming together.


Life is a blend, more and more. It can be hard to remember, in the lulls where things just seem somehow to be difficult and languid, that there will be more up and exuberant times, too, times when my energy and focus allow me to do a lot in a very short period of time, and in a state of flow.


Just as I am learning how my body moves through patterns of hunger, energy, and health, I also go through processes of being best suited, in certain moments, for certain things. I(f I can learn to sense them, know, them, attend to them and honor them, it would seem that my efforts, in each moment, can be more and more directed to those things that really flow easily in that moment.


Maybe that’s the secret that the ad agencies, religious sects, and governments would rather we not learn – that there is no magical political program, no magic product or bill, no technique to be bought that can give what simply attending to what we are ready for in that moment can…


Wow, a bit of shotgun philosophy, wrapped in the typos and missed keys, and Jim’s voice booming loudly beside me as he comments on the Tonight show (Bill Cosby, so we’ll keep it on till TNG comes on. Wow, almost 600 words, but it looks like I am fast running out of time and my not make it after all….but I sure as hell have been giving this my best effort.


Would’ve been better without the technological missteps…erased needed programs on this machine, took too long to find the site on the tablet, and so here I am,. Extremely last minutes, trying to get these words whacked out…


~~




Round 2 Goals:


Reading:


    

  • Read at least as many books as the number of the month (4 in April ; 5 in May; 6 in June) from my bedroom To Be Read piles.
    • 

  • I am reading book 4 of 4 for April, Hold On to Your Kids, and am on on page 213 of 280 (Wednesday 10:51pm).  I find this book vexing on several levels, and thus far disrespectful of children and their abilities, so the reading is less than joyful!
    • 



    

  • Read at least 3 articles a week from my To Be Read files on computer, and categorize those I choose to keep or share.
    • 

  • I weeded out several articles with broken links, or that I didn’t find useful.
    • 

  • I archived two items to explore in greater detail at a later date.
    • 

  • I shared this link on my Facebook Writer Page, as a possible submissions market.
    • 



    

  • Read at least 5 blogposts a week (not including my own), and like, comment, and/or share as I am moved to.
    • 

  • I have read:
    • 

  • Disjointed - commented and sharing here.
    • 

  • MORE voices in my Head  – commented and sharing here.
    • 



Writing:




    

  • Create flash fiction, short stories, dialogues, character sketches, alternate scenes, and poetry for  Chameleon’s Dish.  Wander cow trails, and learn these people and their lives more fully.
    • 

  • I am adding Blood and Breath to this goal, as well, as a way to help reconstruct and/or revision the missing chapters.
    • 

  • I have written a flash fiction scene that may be the foundation of the epilogue for Blood and Breath. 
    • 



    

  • Pull material from 750 words posts not part of the Chameleon’s Dish first draft.
    • 

  • I pulled the excerpt that appears at the beginning of this blogpost.  I liked what it said about blending and balancing, times of intense writing, and times when other things draw my focus.
    • 



Blogging:




    

  • Complete the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge.
    • 

  • I have written rough drafts of all posts through W is for Wonder.
    • 

  • I have edited, embellished, and scheduled posts through Saturday, April 21, S is for Self-Awareness.
    • 

  • I am nearing the end of the creative part of the process, and am looking forward to having more time for other projects –  and reading others’ posts, too! =D
    • 








My newly organized and relocated bookshelf, in triplicate.









Networking:




    

  • Continue joining hops, fests, challenges, and other community blogging efforts.
    • 

  • I have entered  the Storyteller Writing Challenge.  
    • 



    

  • Comment on and share blogs regularly; share my blogs as widely as seems feasible, and in diverse ways.
    • 

  • I haven’t commented on as many blogs this week, thus far-  I have been called away by nice weather and outdoor occupations; my new room; reading; working toward the end of my A to Z posts;  my flash fiction piece; and the rest of life.
    • 

  • I plan to be a very active reader and commenter as soon as I have written my final A to Z post.
    • 



Submitting:




    

  • Continue submitting to hops, challenges, fests, etc.; at least 3 each month.
    • 

  • I have submitted twice so far this month, leaving one more to post in order to attain the April portion of this goal.
    • 

















 Organizing:




    

  •  Edit all 2009 posts on  The Unfettered Life.  Consider layout and design changes.
    • 

  • I have changed the layout of the blog, and added a page for Jeremiah, at his request.
    • 

  • Next will come adding a page for Annalise, and diving into the editing process.
    • 



    

  • Take clips from first Penzu notebook.
    • 

  • I took another rough  essay from the notebook.
    • 











My writing area - spacious, embracing, and welcoming - also, close to the doorway and accessible to the common spaces.


Self-care:




    

  • Add JOY to every day!
    • 

  • Monday: Relaxing day – home and yardtending; coffee with Jim;  hanging with the family; reading; writing; claiming  my space.
    • 

  • Tuesday: Began mowing lawn;  family time; reading; story creating.
    • 

  • Wednesday: Home and yardtending; one-on-one time with all family members; reading and writing; reclaiming my space.
    • 



    

  • Add movement to every day, too!
    • 

  • Monday: More raking, yard cleanup, hometending.
    • 

  • Tuesday: Finished raking front yard; began mowing; hometending.
    • 

  • Wednesday:Finished mowing front lawn; cleaned side yard and began to mow;  hometending; claiming my space.
    • 



    

  • Add more of my passions to each day, in as many ways as I can manage.
    • 

  • Monday: Family time; reading and writing; owning my space.
    • 

  • Tuesday:Lots of kissing and Jim time; lots of kid snuggles; reading; story creating.
    • 

  • Wednesday: Owning my new space; lots of time with Lise; home and yardtending; pursuing goals; Big Bang Theory.
    • 



    

  • Add all these for my beloved others, too!
    • 

  • Jim - Coffee, conversation; what he really wanted.
    • 

  • Jeremiah - Questions answered; snuggles given; conversation.
    • 

  • Annalise - Snuggles; play; talk; being near each other; new cord for her inherited tablet.
    • 





Administrative Stuff:




    

  • Write and submit third quarter reports for both children.  These are due on June 1, 2012.
    • 

  • I have written the Reading section of Annalise’s  report.  That was fun – she is developing her independent reading skills quickly and joyfully!
    

    • 



    

  • Cleanup email folders/organize, move, read, delete, act upon as needed.
    • 

  • Cleaned out, then deleted, CComputer Info, which was a duplicate and unneeded file.
    • 



    

  • Input two writing practice notebooks to Penzu.
    • 

  • I have input up to page 9 of 120 in the first notebook.
    • 




    

  • Jim has cleared us to pay for the rest of the campground fee.  Now I just need to be up before noon to call the lodge and pay them –  easier said than done!
    • 





One of the things that surfaced in my cleaning was an animal drawing book Auntie Mouse (Eden Mabee) gave to Jeremiah several years ago. Annalise enjoyed exploring it - here is her first effort - a duck. Quack!


o, it’s been a mellow few days for me, ROW goals- wise. I’ve been busy with the transitions in my life – creating a writing space, beginning the process of yard care and the outward movement of our lives that is a natural outgrowth of thedoftening of spring; two children learning and growing at a currently frenetic page (game card creating; beading; allosaurus; dog genetics; online tech research; lots of talk and play; animal art – among many other things).


Ans I have been engaged in projects that are a bit longer range – finishing my A to Z blog posts, and my last book of the month. Writing a piece of flash fiction that seemed to have a mind of its own.


Making a neglected and hugely cluttered little cubby into my own personal writing nook, with the full support of my family.


My family…


have loosened up a bit about the state of the house, and have spent some time reframing and redefining what will help me. Then, I simply told everyone what would mean the most to me – one of the things I love is to get up to a shiny kitchen (often, what greets me is diametrically opposed to that).


And, since I shared that little dream, I have woken each day to a cleaner kitchen, courtesy of Jim and Jeremiah.


Annalise helped me with my raking, and with yard cleanup and dog waste removal. Miah took the recycling to the curb, and both children have been making a greater effort to help with indoor tidying.


It’s a bit of a lull, pace-wise. I feel things filling in, and I know that a surge of writing is building.


These peaceful times always seem to be the waiting for the seeds to sprout – and sprout they will.


Let’s check in on the rest of the ROWers!








Grubby shirt; sleepily happy girl who spent a good part of her last week outside.




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							“Watersdeep’s Edge” – A Storyteller’s Writing Challenge
					

			


	
	

		




The Storyteller Writing Challenge










Are you a Storyteller? What inspires you?

What stirs you to pick up your pen, open your word doc. and write?








I offer TWO prompts for you to CHOOSE from:






 An Image prompt and an Other prompt. 

















1. THE Image PROMPT:














Source within the picture.










For this weeks image prompt, tell us what is evoked by this image.






Where is it? What story tumbles from your imagination?

What is she doing? Who is she?






You decide.

—————————————–


“Watersdeep’s Edge” - copyright 2012 by Shan Jeniah Burton


The stench of the pyres – for her son, her sire, and so many beloved others, caused her to retch each time she was minded of them, seared her each moment she left herself unguarded.


They twisted into the burning of her chosen Solemate, lost now to her, somewhere in the vastness of Everdeep.


To him, now, she was only madness…


She was stirring the huge stewpot, in Osiraan’s greatroom, bursting with a jumbled mass of Tribed and untribed, – so many faces blank, such a stench of burning and pain.


Shinjao took the ladle from her hand, and added stew to the handful of herbs in a wooden bowl. .


“Eat, Huntleader.”


She shook her head, trying to hide the dizziness. “Others have greater need.”


“You are three days past birthing, Huntleader. You ARE Huntleader, and Kai, and needed. If you don’t eat, I will sit on you and force you.”


She offered the bowl, but Jeniah didn’t move.


Shinjao drove her down and away from the cookfire – thick furs beneath her; Shinjao’s weight above. The spoon forced past her lips,and she spluttered, then swallowed.


The stew was laced with arytana nectar, and piqued her hunger. She allowed Shinjao to feed her, taking the spoon greedily, and the other woman chuckled. “You are a fine Huntress. There is more than enough. Of stew, time, support, and sleep….”


The words were like new fog. “Sleep?” She recognized the subtler taste of nightbalm, and knew she had been fooled….”No – the fires….”


“Will be there until you find healing. Sleep, dream – and begin to heal.”


~~She was standing on a rocky promontory, waves reaching almost to her shod toes. The seabirds cried raucously, tossed and wheeling in the stiff wind.


 


The reeky,  fertile scent of Watersdeep filled her nostrils, scrubbing away the char of death…


 


She was in garb more useless than any Mother would have demanded she wear, even when she most wanted to impress her Court. One of those new contrivances meant to keep rain off was in her right hand….and, in her left, the cast iron keys to the Kai’s Courtyard- Hallii’s killing grounds.


 


Grief constricted her soul; tighter than the laces that entrapped breath. She was apart from all of life, bereft. Liacivaar dead; Tacivaar – so many others.


 


All pointless… the damage Kaitiiraan and Tacivaar had birthed.


 


What profit had it been? Mother had poisoned her, and lost her throat…. Jeniah could still taste her blood, curdling, and she retched, gasping for what air she could draw into her compressed lungs.


 


Her breasts throbbed, and her milk let down suddenly, soaking the bodice of the dress, meant for the child who would never suckle. Her womb clenched, its emptiness tearing into her soul.


 


Tacivaar  had asked, cajoled, manipulated, and finally forced her to conceive his Truestborn.


 


It had taken longer for the old Huntleader’s machinations to kill him, but they had, as surely as Mother’s.


 


And my child, too – “Liacivaar,” she cried, to Everdeep, to Watersdeep…..


 


She yearned for her child, for her Chosen.


 


The wind whipped the long, spray-damped skirts; hobbled her legs.


 


All gone – freedom, Huntleader, child, sire, lover – all gone with nothing left but duty she hadn’t chosen, and did not want.


 


She felt something welling up from her depths, and she did nothing to stop its coming. “Sima garo provides…”


 


The screaming arched her back, drew her tight against the bones and lacings. She set her legs wide despite the layers of sodden cloth and ill-suited shoes. The seabirds cried answer.


 


Huntlust broke loose, and her arms swung out. The keys vanished beneath the breaking waves; the umbrella bobbed wildly, attracting the birds.


 


She clawed and tore away the clothing, until she stood naked on the wet rock, at last only herself, and nothing other.


 


And then she dove, sobbing, into the sea, letting the salty waters close over her.~~


“You will be fine, now, sisterkin,” Shinjao whispered, as she crawled into the furs to stroke Niah’s quaking back. “You have found your tears, and can cleanse now for healing.”




OR








2.THE Other PROMPT






TIMED WORD ASSOCIATION: Heat, Car, Longing.




Write whatever springs to mind from these three words, in 3 minutes:


No cheating or editing! Lets see what happens.




—————————————–








We are parked at the drive-in, a movie neither of us wanted to see, at least not really, blurred through the heat-fogged car windows.


Heedless of nothing but longing, not even the treacherous gear-shift, we do not realize we’ve dislodged the  shifter –  until we hit the police car parked behind us…..and we’re still tangled in our clothes as he approaches, his light a neon sign of our shame –  and then my elbow hits the car alarm button on my keys, as though to seal the legendary nature of our dalliance.





			


	

	


		
			

	

				

						
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							P is for Playfulness
					

			


	
	

		




500 Words On….Playfulness.


Flying play on a giant jumping pillow, fall 2011.


 


This morning Annalise came to us, playing a game of “Filly Needs to Cross the Raging Rivers to Get to Her Mommy!” All of Annalise’s games involve exclamation points – she is a passionate soul.


The game began at about 1pm on a Monday – most children Annalise’s age are in school at that hour, following a schedule built around  curriculum and lesson plans, and with little room for individual passions.


 


 


 


Learning play with stuffed intestines, Journey Through the Body, spring 2011.


 


She was the filly who had made it across the Raging Rivers to me,  with two very wet legs that troubled her until I, her mommy, licked them dry (no, not really!), We had a nickering and nuzzling session together as we celebrated her victorious conquest of the powerful waters.


 


 


 


 


 


Just then,  a mountain lion appeared!


Pattern and magnet play, artfully explored. 2010ish, I think, by Annalise, then about 5.


I assured her we were okay, as I happened to be a were- mountain lion.  I roared fiercely to warn the stalking predator, and Lise discovered that she was  a were-lynx kitten who began with a tough little meow and then found her roar, too, until we frightened the marauder away with our sheer power!


Tthe play morphed into a snuggle,  and I read her the remaining four stories in her Mad About Madeline book (“Madeline’s Rescue”; “Madeline and the Gypsies”; “Madeline in London”, and “Madeline’s Christmas”).


Butterfly play - antennae self-created from giant pipe cleaners, spring 2011, age 6.5.


She wanted the written for adults notes, Introduction, and the Origins of Madeline read in their entirety, too…


…Which evolved into a tickling and giggling session that lasted for about 10 minutes before we both went on to do other things, filled up with happy companionship and unbounded energy…..


I believe today’s fun stemmed from her play with Crayola Paint’n'Play Ponies , where she loves to color, name, and decorate a whole herd of mares and their little fillies, narrating their stories as she creates.


Sudsy "salon" play, summer 2011, age 7.


 


When I think of how  school as it  currently exists  might fairly easily be changed to accommodate the types and methods of learning that suit children best, my mind turns  to play.


Children learn best through play – and so do adults.


But not the “play” we’ve come to accept as normal – sports, classes, activities,clubs, or any form of play orchestrated and directed by an adult.


Mini-marshmallow/toothpick construction play; Jeremiah, age 8, winter 2010.


Children were meant, as all mammal young were, to make sense of their world by interacting with it through free play they initiate and direct.


To the extent that schools seat children in groups of the teacher’s choosing, to the extent that their day is planned with no alternatives possible, to the degree that the items in the classroom  have arbitrary conditions upon their use, children are not free to play as they choose.


 


 


Independence Day at Saratoga National Historical Park (the "turning point" of the Revolution). Our British officer was 4 days from turning 6, July 4, 2010.


 


To the extent that certain colors, activities, learning, or play are forbidden; to the extent that children’s activities are known as work, rampant imagination is discouraged, and teachers decide readiness for this set of materials or that lesson; – to that extent, free play and the learning that comes with it – the random, chaotic, unpredictable growth that can never be taught, only grasped on one’s own – cannot exist.




 The most vital parts of learning – relevance and personal capability – suffer, and the result is likely to be a decrease in self-motivation, creativity, ingenuity, and adaptability – all things that children gain, with great joy and a natural ease, through  being allowed as much time as they need, when they need it, to play as they choose.










Cryptic word play by 5 year old Annalise, using kindling wood Jim had just chopped. AXAXA, baby!




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							K is for Knowledge
					

			


	
	

		


500 Words On….Knowledge.


“Is it not the point to gain knowledge, Huntleader?”


“It is one point, child -”


She knew he was still speaking, and that a sound cuff could easily be her reward for impatience, but the words pushed up through her throat and out before she could pounce upon them. “Then why must we so often stop, and wait, and why is there so little talk or doing, and so very much stillness and silence, between us?”




She was Kaitiiraan’s daughter, and the Heiress-Princess, and she would not cower or brace for a deserved admonishment. But he didn’t touch her, only smiled, his yellow eyes dancing with pleasure despite the severity in his face, which never touched his scent.


He waited, only watching her silently, and not moving beyond breath.


When Jeniah thought she could bear it no more, when the silvered arytana petals were ticking her nostrils and her fancies, when the way the moons danced upon them, and the ground below their perch, and she was certain that she MUST change and go leaping from branch to branch, and then down to the clearing above the Pridekeep, where she knew the other kittens would be playing tag in the moonlight and shadows and vines, and then would tumble together in clumsy imitation of Matehunt, which always ended in gigglings and ticklings, else snarls and scuffles.


Tacivaar said, softly, “Stay.”




Huntlust was surging up, spiced by arytana, sweetened by the moonlight, beckoning her…….


And, somehow, she let it flow through her, but remained afloat in it….


“You have a sister among the Untribed who studies sensates, do you not, child?”


His questions about that part of her life were always tinted with scorn – a new and jarring aroma in the scent palate, and it soured her stomach a little. “Yes, Huntleader.”




“And how does she make her study?”


“She plants or forages for samples. She feeds and observes. She writes things down a lot – I have not been with her much while she does these things. She wishes to be alone, she says – and I have other things that interest me more.”


“Is her study hurried, child?”


Jeniah caught a sense that she was being led, and wondered why the Huntleader didn’t trust her to find her own knowing. “No. Mostly, she says, she waits and watches.”


“That bloom by your nose, child. Change, and attack it.”




She knew not to argue. The Huntleader did not ask for obedience. One simply obeyed. Even one who was Trueborn.


She released her Huntress energy and leapt, twisting for the sheer joy of finally moving, the flower in her jaws, it’s nectar in her teeth…..oh, yes, soon she would be at play in the clearing, for no words of his could touch her long, now.


Caught by impulse, she shook her head and tore the blossom apart, then rolled in it, careful not to lose her balance on the wide branch, her short sturdy tail a rudder.


When she finally stopped to regard the Huntleader, upside down, he wore the scent of resigned amusement. “Have you not begun your own study, child? As you go off to your play and your dreamings, ponder this: both ways have knowledge to give – but your sister will not know the force and frenzy you will have from arytana tonight, and you will not know the peace and stillness of truly seeing the blossom as it is, and not as it is through you.




“Wisdom, child, is in learning which way is best suited to each soul, and every purpose.”


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							I is for Intuition
					

			


	
	

		




500 Words On….Intuition.


“The Stars Are Fire”




Kirana wondered at the strange bits of feeling and imagery that flitted like nectar-sippers through her mind, there, hovering, but, in the instant that she reached to catch them, just for a moment, were gone. They left only formless echoes, and a sense of something lost – something that could not be named, and that was irreplacable.


She didn’t mention these moments to Mother, or Father, or Kiral Leonard, or to Rachyl. They seemed – private, and the type of thing she might write into a journal, if she could write.


She could allow these things into her mind when she was alone with Seth, and whisper the tiny fragments and shards she remembered into his waiting ears. When she did, he would giggle and writhe and coo at her, as if thanking her for the sharing of this mystery, the trust she put in him not to reveal it -even though he was not nearly grown enough to do any such thing.


For the first years of her life, she had shared this knowing with Tisira, as Tisira had shared hers with Kirana. It seemed they had been doing that since they were in the womb – and, perhaps, even from the moment they were conceived, for Kiral Leonard said that they had come from one fertilized egg that had split to form them both….


Now, though, Tisira was lost away in space and time, and there was only the dimmest sense of her. Kirana felt as though she had lost her shadow – her twin was not vital to her living, but she had always been there, connected to Kirana as Kirana was connected to her.




She was not someone else, without Tisira here, but she was – focused? – in a new way.


What she could feel of her sister said that Tisira was, too.


Sometimes, when Seth did not choose to be with her, and she could not distract herself  - by playing with Andrew at one of the active games he most liked, or watching Rachyl with the sensate plants or her loom, or at chess with Kiral Leonard (which Father maintained would “stultify” her native abilities, but he maintained it with a subtle twinkling in his eye that made it teasing, and he never suggested she decline), or with reading with Father, or learning Huntskills with Mother – she sat alone and wondered if this newness was a thing she wanted, and a part of her resisted the change…..




Another part felt as though it Breathsource and Bloodsource were new-birthed, and that she was younger even than Seth, who had seen far less than a sunround.


Sima garo provides, Mother would say, and believe. But she said, too, that each person must come to their own beliefs, and Kirana did not know that she believed in sima garo as Mother did.


She sat, high in a tree, in Lynxform, and watched the stars through the breeze-dancing leaves, breathing in arytana and opening herself to any knowing that might come.


ANd then, as though right beside her, Tisira’s voice, in her mind, as it had always been.


~The stars are fire.~


That, and no more.


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