Friday Writings #115: The Power of Discipline

Hello, Word Artists and Admirers! I know you were expecting Magaly this week, but she needed a substitute (and I wanted an excuse to get an extra large helping of mangú the next time I go to visit her), so we're switching hosting duties.

So, I’ve been part of a local writer’s group for over a year now, and recently we got a new member, Darling Eldest. He’s taking his time getting to know everyone and especially enjoying the free write sessions. In the last free write session the mod that week presented us with a big challenge—write a short story in just five sentences.

When we discussed it later, Darling Eldest told me was pretty impressed by the pieces that were shared out loud and how well they were done. I told him that those five sentence stories had the power of lots of writing practice behind them. Everyone there who shared a story had spent lots of time honing their craft in all sorts of ways. And sometimes even very rigid exercises like the one we tried can provide just the framework we need to challenge our skills and fire up our imagination.

 

So to keep with Magaly’s intention for our optional prompt this week, I shall ask you to consider the following quote: “Through discipline comes freedom.” I’m taking fiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry. Just remember, one entry per person and please keep it to 369 words or fewer.

Next week, Magaly will be taking over my prompt which will ask you to write about someone who made an impression on you as a child (for good or ill).

Friday Writings #114: Keeping secrets

 

Hello again, dear Wordsmiths.

How many of you are keeping secrets? I guess we all have some, whether large or small.

Having published my memoir, which reveals one of mine, known to almost no-one even among my closest friends – it's disconcerting that not very many people, so far, have bought the book.

How ironic! What an anti-climax! My deepest secret, kept private for decades … and no-one wants to know. Couldn’t get it on the 7 o’clock news if I tried, not even if I paid them. Clearly, I need to learn the secrets of marketing in the digital age.

It made me wonder – what have other people experienced after divulging their secrets? Shock, fascination, horror, sympathy … indifference?

And what happens if we tell someone else’s secret? When is that gossip? Does it constitute betrayal? Is it sometimes a good, or even a necessity?

So your prompt this week is ‘telling secrets.’ If you don’t want to disclose an actual secret, perhaps you could address the topic in a more general way.

Or you might consider different kinds of personal secrets: ‘The secret recipe handed down from my grandmother.’ ‘The secret to growing healthy roses.’ ‘The secret of my success.’

Then, too, we've just had Valentine's Day. Nowadays Valentines are often signed, but traditionally it was the time for expressing a secret love. Part of the fun was trying to guess whom a Valentine was from. So you might like to write about a secret love, or create a poem which is in itself a Valentine.

And, need I add – your poems and stories can be fictional!

Guidelines:

You’re free to write to the prompt or to ignore it and give us something else.
We accept poetry or prose, new or old.

Word limit: 369 (excluding title and BRIEF notes).

Link ONE post per person on Mister Linky: the particular post, not your whole blog.

 Next week, the wise and wonderful Magaly will invite us to write poetry or prose inspired by the following quote: “Through discipline comes freedom.”