Boom

Boom.  It was like lightning.  I knew I needed to write.  That happens to me occasionally.  I'll be reading, thinking, dreaming, and then all of a sudden, I have to write.

Sometimes it's a thought, an extraordinary thought that will never reoccur, that I must write down.  Sometimes it is a feeling that I must describe.  Other times it is something that has no category.  Whatever it is, I always drop what I am doing, grab my pen and journal, and write.

This time it is a series of words.  They do not really make sense.

'Anyone can write about anywhere, but it is a rare man who can write about air.'

How To Write a Last Minute Essay

It's finals week in the world of college, and that means tests, essays, studying, and lots and lots of coffee. Oh, and stress. Lots and lots of stress. This semester, several of my finals include essays, and unfortunately, I am not one of those students who sits down the week before and writes her essays ahead of time. I am a procrastinator (darn YouTube!), and I now am having write several essays in just a day or two. This isn't the first time it's happened to me, and I have developed a method of researching and writing an essay in a short period of time.

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We were all taught how to write outlines when we were in middle school. They were such a pain the the butt then, but I have realized how invaluable they have become. Now, it can be time consuming to fully write out an outline, so I have re-vamped the way I use my outlines. Basically what I do is I start  with a numbered list on my computer and write out all the main points I want to make. Instead of just writing the topic, I write a full sentence that will work as the start of a paragraph. Then I add information to each of the points until I'm happy with the amount of information I have. After each section is done, I reformat the whole thing into essay form, throw in a few connecting sentences, and check it for grammar and punctuation mistakes. BOOM, you have an essay.

It's also good to set goals for yourself and then reward yourself when you accomplish them. For example, tell yourself you will go eat dinner after the rough draft is finished. You should also find a way to unclutter your mind. I get distracted very easily while I'm writing, so I've learned to just write down things that keep popping up in my head. doing that helps me save the thought for latter and also gives my mind the permission to stop stressing about that question.

In addition to all of this, learn to know yourself and your limits. Push yourself to get the work done, but don't push yourself so far that you will become a nervous wreck. Know when you can't handle it anymore and just stop. Come back to it a half hour or so latter and finish the job. Nothing is worth a panic attack.

To all of you who are in college and are taking finals in the next few weeks, good luck! I hope you do really well on your papers; I know you can do it! Enjoy your break and have a great time with you family.

Feel

Close your eyes and simply feel.

Feel the moist spring air and all the potential it holds,
the air heavy with the smell of earth, grass,
and the fragrance of flowers.
Feel the humidity pressing its damp fingers on your skin,
still gentle in the cool temperatures.

Feel the air of summer, the humidity now oppressive.
Its fingers have now multiplied and hold down your limbs,
drenching your body in sweat.
Feel that elusive breath of air,
the oh so rare gust of wind. Feel it lift the hair off your neck.

Feel the first crisp in the air, signaling the arrival of autumn.
Smell the decomposing leaves
which will bring life to the hungry ground.
Feel the cold tweak your nose and ears
making them glow red.

Feel the sharp cold race through your throat and lungs
as the icy fingers of winter burn their way inside you,
Feel yourself lost to wonder
as your breath mingles with the winter air
in enchanted dances.

Open your eyes.
How did that feel?

An Apology

I would like to apologize to you, our readers, for being lousy at writing posts recently.  Over Thanksgiving we did not post much, we haven't posted much this week.

To compensate for our lack or writing.  I would like to suggest a double writing challenge.  Meaning, we would both write a response to the prompt given.

For the prompt I am going to use one of my own design.  You may object to me choosing the prompt, but I think is fair seeing that I wrote this prompt as soon as I woke up.  I could not even focus my eyes yet.  My hand writing was terrible.

Here is the prompt:
     Anyone can write a poem about anywhere, but it is a rare man who can write about air.

Lindy, I expect you response tomorrow! 

Ps. Have a wonderful week of finals.

The Unwanted Wedding Part V

The dragon did not pause to introduce itself or give a wordy description of who he was.  He simply walked across the hall scattering screaming puff balls of fabric each time he took a step, and grasped the awestruck princess in one of its enormous clawed talons.

The claws squeezed so tightly around her waste, she could not scream or give vent to the feeling piling up inside of her.  She was horrified at the thought of being this terrifying beasts dinner, but she was also rejoicing because the dragon had done what she could not do.  It had found a way to keep her from marrying the ugly prince.

The dragon launched itself off the ground, and rocketed through the ceiling, creating another hole in the middle of the hall.  The King grabbed the princess's train in a futile attempt to save her, but the thin fabric just ripped off of her dress.  Turned to the queen, and started to yell at her for making the dress out of such flimsy fabric and other foolish stuff.

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The dragon raced over mountains, valleys, and fields.  The dragon had relaxed its grip on the Princess allowing her to breath more easily.  As the time passed, the princess found that she was enjoying the trip.  She had never flown, and, therefore, had had no chance to see her kingdom from a bird's view.  She thought it was simply magnificent.

They flew for hours and hours.  Eventually, the princess fell asleep with the wind running through her hair and stinging her cheeks.