Tag Archives: Reader Friday

Reader Friday-Gitcher Shovels!

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Digging deep today, TKZers!

As readers and writers, memories are important. When we read, we are often bombarded with memories from our own earthly timeline. A character being lost might dredge up that frightening memory when your child got away from you in a crowded store. Or a nasty break-up reminds you of one you went through.

The question today is this:  What is your earliest memory? Pleasant or harsh or in-between, what is a memory that stands out from your youngest years?

My earliest memory is when I was five and my sister was two. She slipped on the ice outside our house and banged her head on the walkway, knocking her unconscious. My dad hurried over and picked her up. I remember her head flailing around on his shoulder as he rushed her into the house. My six-year-old brother and I both thought she was dead, and were afraid to go in. But then we heard voices, Mom, Dad, and baby sister. We inched in and were relieved to see her sitting up in Mom’s lap.

 

This memory is especially poignant for me because thirty years later she really did pass away—and along with the reality of her death—was infused into both of my novels in different ways. And, tomorrow is her birthday, which makes this post/memory even more precious.

Your turn! What is your earliest memory? And how have you worked it into your story?

 

 

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Reader Friday-A Different Kind of Post

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Sometimes we find ourselves complaining about our life circumstances. You’d think at my advanced age I wouldn’t do that, but there it is.

I was thinking the other day about being the one child out of my parents’ four who had the job of navigating their dying with them. Harsh? No, reality. There were four of us. Two passed away in the ‘80’s, which left my older brother and I. But he lives on the east coast, and I live in our PNW hometown, as did our parents.

When I was actually in the throes of caring for them, I didn’t think too much about it. It was just a job that had to be done.

But after they were both gone—Mom in 2016 and Dad this year in January—it’s like I started feeling sorry for myself that I couldn’t have shared that “burden” with anyone else.

After remonstrating with myself for a few months—telling myself to stop being such a whiner—I experienced a profound shift in heart and mind.

 

That shift is called “gratitude”. It made me realize the stupendous, breathtaking privilege I had been given—to take care of the ones who’d cared for me my whole life.

And then, life turned the tables on me. I got to help usher them into their next life. And there was time, time, and more time to say my thank-yous and my good-byes and see ya later to them. What a gift!

 

 

 

How about you? What—right here, right now—is the most cherished privilege you’ve been given? And how will you communicate that to those around you?

Comments most welcome…

 

Reader Friday-May Day or No Pants Day?

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From Wikipedia:

Now, be honest! Doesn’t this look like fun?

“No Pants Day is an annual event in various countries that became more widely celebrated in the 2000s. It is most often observed on the first Friday in May and involves publicly wearing only undergarments on the lower part of the body, not nudity. Except for making people laugh, the holiday typically serves no other purpose or agenda, but some organizers later used it to raise social issues.”

(No agenda…how refreshing!)

“May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on May 1…

International Workers’ Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and working classes…and occurs every year on May 1 or the first Monday in May.”

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So, TKZers, what’s your pleasure today? Would you rather celebrate May Day, International Workers’ Day, or No Pants Day?

Me? Hands down, No Pants Day, every day and twice on Sunday . . . way more fun than the other two!

 

Reader Friday-Let’s Talk Billets…

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Okay, Killzoners, let’s be up front with each other…and have some fun while we’re at it.

 

Be it paper delivery, fast food shenanigans, kiddo-sitting, or shoveling out your neighbor’s chicken coop . . . what was your first paying billet (or J.O.B.)?

I like to think of my first job as the First Draft of My Life.

 

Remember these?

 

I was the advanced age of fourteen when I was hired in my mother’s office. I worked after school three days a week, filing real estate cards—way before the digital age—and answering the black dial phone. Not exciting, but I could start buying my own clothes!

 

We won’t talk about the other job I had . . . intermittently dog-sitting for our neighbor’s twin St. Bernards . . . actually, I don’t know to this day who was sitting who. (Whom?)

Two of them!

 

Your turn—what was your first experience with a paycheck (and, dare I say, taxes?)

And, second question: How has that first paying job influenced your writing–such as plot, character development, etc.?

 

 

Reader Friday-Bring Back The Face!

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(This post was born on my own website, and I thought it would strike a chord with the TKZ folks also.)

What’s the most recognizable part of the human body? The thing that defines who we are to each other? Other than fingerprints and DNA.

Our bodies have similarities. People are designed with two arms ending in hands, two legs ending in feet, twenty digits, a head, neck, and torso. Requisite musculature and frame to make everything work, surrounding and protecting our inner organs.

Aside from those born with health issues and anomalies, the human race looks and moves pretty much alike.

Except for the face. The human face. Infinite variety.

 

We could say the same about all species. But we, more often than not, cannot tell others of a different species apart by looking at the creature’s face. Perhaps individuals in that other species can recognize a face within their species, but evidence points to other indicators. Like the zebra baby who knows its mother by her stripes.

I had a disturbing dream last night. In the dream, I moved through groups of people—people who talked to each other. In an office, a hospital, a grocery store, on the streets and sidewalks. Everywhere I looked, people were talking to each other. Some argued, some spoke words of love, some asked those mundane questions we ask of each other upon meeting. Just everyday conversation.

But something was very wrong, as often happens in dreams. No one faced each other. Each group of two, three, or more faced away from each other, standing back to back as they spoke. I began to cry when I saw two of my friends speaking to each other, but not looking at each other. I thought, how sad. Is this where we’re headed?

 

Let’s bring back the face. Lest we forget what we look like to each other.

Your comments are most welcome!

 

Reader Friday-Curiouser and Curiouser

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Authors are a curious species. By that, I mean we’re curious about the world around us, not that we’re weird! Ahem!

This is a link to a really cool site that will make you curiouser and curiouser. https://www.rd.com/list/weird-facts/

Image by LeeoMax from Pixabay

 

 

 

Did you know that Donald Duck’s legal name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck? True story. (From Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

And Walt Disney was the first voice of Mickey Mouse? And Mickey was the first non-human Oscar winner.

Or, how about this—Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz was originally a blonde, but the powers that were thought it made her look not so much like a Kansas farm girl.

All true.

But, here’s the one I really like, because I’m one of those height-challenged folks.

People are taller in the morning than they are at night. Really!

Courtesy of https://ar.inspiredpencil.com

“When you wake up in the morning, you’re about one centimeter taller. That’s because at night when you’re lying down, the spine stretches and decompresses. But throughout the day, the soft cartilage between your bones gets squashed and compressed…”

 

So, at least in the mornings I can claim to be tall . . . cool!

TKZers . . . what weird, random fact can you share with us this morning? And how will you write it into the story you’re working on?

 

 

Reader Friday-I Saw What You Did

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Tell us something cool about yourself that no one else knows…or, very few people know.

I’ll start.

My car wasn’t as cool as this one… 🙂

I once drove in a stock car race. It was fun! I got to go really, really fast around our local race track and I didn’t even crash. My three young kiddos watched from the bleachers with my parents. My drag-racing, desert truck-racing Dad was the instigator. In the blood, I guess.

 

Would I do it again? No sirree Bob! (Well, maybe…)

Your turn! Do tell, and have you written about it?

 

Reader Friday-Character for a Day

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Remember the old TV program called Queen For A Day? (I might have just dated myself…)

It ran from 1945-1964. From Wikipedia:  “Queen for a Day was an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners’ and viewers’ fascination with big-prize giveaway shows.” I remember watching it on the old B&W. Do you?

Let’s play that game, but with a writerly/readerly twist. Instead of Queen for a Day, let’s play…wait for it…Character for a Day. You game?

Here’s how it goes–but, alas, no big prize money in the offing–just some good, old-fashioned fun. And God knows we could use some fun.

Pick a character you would like to be, either from your own book, another author’s book, or from a movie. But not just any character, please! Pick one whose spirit speaks to yours.

Here’s my pick…Tauriel, Lord of the Rings…beautiful and lethal!

 

 

 

 

Okay, TKZers…your turn. Tell us what character you want to be for just 24 hours. And, tell us why…1, 2, 3, GO!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reader Friday-One Book

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I’ll bet a paycheck (if I had one…) that everyone reading these words today has more than one book on the bookshelf.

More than twenty? Or a hundred?

So…I have a question for you.

If you were allowed only one, 1, uno, une book on your shelf, what book would you choose?

 

 

If a wicked, wicked genie popped up in front of your face and said, “Choose only one book or die a thousand deaths”, what would be the title of that book?

Cue Deb’s fingers drumming . . .

(My answer in the comments–wouldn’t want to give you any ideas!)

🙂

 

Reader Friday-The Awesome Power of Words

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I borrowed some words from Steve Laube for today’s post.

His post is entitled The Power of a Single Word, and it captivated me immediately.

It made me think of all the times in my life when just one word either made a huge difference in the path I was on, or it didn’t because I dismissed it or I wasn’t paying attention.

Below are some excerpts from his post:

 

“According to various sources, there are about one million words in the English language. Approximately 750,000 of them are technical or scientific. That leaves us with 250,000 words with which to communicate. I doubt any of us know all of them or use them.

Interestingly, in his works, Shakespeare used about 29,000 different words, 12,000 of them only once. The King James Bible has 12,100 different individual words. In our normal life, we use only around 10,000 words to communicate our ideas, our emotions, and our understanding of truth.

You [we] are gifted with words, both spoken and written.

I find that when I’m angry, my vocabulary expands like a thesaurus; and I use that articulation like the sharp edge of a blade. Never to kill but to fillet. To carve enough pieces to leave my victim bloody and helpless. There is no pride in this skill. In fact, it is my greatest weakness. Nay, it is my greatest humiliation.

What if I–what if you–used that skill with words to bind wounds?
To give hope to the hopeless.
To give breath to the drowning.
To catch falling tears and turn them into refreshing joy.
To laugh a little, cry a little, love a lot, and pray even more.

You [we] are word warriors. Called to something unique and special.

Never let the machinations of this publishing industry cause you to deviate from your calling. Never.”

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Thank you for allowing me to share your words today, Mr. Laube.

TKZers, can you think of one word, just one, in your past which made a difference–either positive or negative–to you?

For me–amongst many others–the word TRY stands out in my memory.

Comments welcome.