It's the first Wednesday of the month:
the day when members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.
To visit the IWSG website, click here.
To become a member of the IWSG, click here.
Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG founder Alex Cavanaugh are:
E.M.A. Timar, J.Q. Rose, C. Lee McKenzie, and Raimey Gallent
I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
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Every month the IWSG poses a question
that members can answer with advice, insight,
a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.
Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:
It’s spring! Does this season inspire you to write more than others, or not?
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It's spring! And after we survived the typical
warm-sunny-snow, warm-sunny-snow,
it is glorious here in the high plains against the Front Range.
Spring is busting out in blossoms like I've never seen.
Spring Blossoms
April 27, 2018
Aurora, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Spring is the hardest time for me to write.
More Spring Blossoms
April 27, 2018
Aurora, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I just want to be outside in the warm sunshine,
exploring nature with my little point and shoot Canon.
I don't care if I'm walking along Piney Creek for the five hundredth time
or following a new path in a different state or county;
the outdoors beckons.
There is always something to renew me and to fill my soul.
Spring Brings Out Busy Critters
April 23, 2018
Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
Fortunately I have a plan in place, a challenge to meet:
write 100 words for 100 days in a row.
I challenged myself on the last IWSG Day.
Today, May 2nd will be Day 29.
My productivity wasn't always pretty;
I squeaked by 100 words a few times,
but I've hung in there.
A Mallard Duck in His Hidey-hole
April 23, 2018
Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
Rushes Filled with Red-Winged Blackbirds
April 23, 2018
Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
By now I've worked out a schedule that contains spaces
for all the things I want to do, especially for writing.
I've always struggled with schedules.
I start something, and I don't want to stop.
I want to binge until it's done, even if it's 3:00 a.m.
Now, I'm learning to walk away.
I hope I'm never again finishing a blog post at two or three in the morning.
We'll see.
My last Friday blog post went up at 3:15 a.m.
I'm determined to make that the last one.
My last Friday blog post went up at 3:15 a.m.
I'm determined to make that the last one.
Waiting for the Light Rail
as Seen from a Passing Train
April 14, 2018
Denver, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
and seeing what fellow IWSG members are up to.
Happy writing in May!
Middle Pond
April 23, 2018
Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
Middle Pond,my favourite today. Dry grasses after winter's cold, blue reflection saying another season has arrived, and a tree covered in green.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jean! It was my favorite too. I often put my favorite photo at the end. All the best to you and Hugh!
DeleteYeah, doing posts at 3 am isn't even for the cat. Good to ditch that haha Great that you are keeping the 100 words going indeed, even as Spring tries to keep you outdoors all the time at your wing.
ReplyDeleteHello Cat Hatt! I will not be up until 3 a.m. tomorrow! 100 words per day is really helping. Take care, my rhyming friend!
DeleteYour work habits sound very similar to My Rare One's. She tends to be a binge-er and a "go-til-you-drop" kinda gal too. Me, I'm the Queen of Schedules. I run a tight ship. My Rare One just shakes her head at me. My insistence on sticking to my schedule drives her nuts.
ReplyDeleteLOL ~ My husband is like you. He just shakes his head at me too and asks if I'm really doing what I want. Nothing interferes with his bedtime; or, now that he is retired, his naptime; or God forbid, pickleball! Well, maybe once in a rare while, and then he is really grumpy. I'm really serious about nixing the wee morning hours. They're harder for me than in the past ~ LOL Have a great day, my friend!
DeleteI don't think my brain could function at three in the morning.
ReplyDeleteThose are some amazing shots.
Hey, Alex! I have a lifetime of three-in-the-mornings behind me. Some nights in university, I never went to bed at all. I think of you sometimes around ten p.m. I remember your saying you go to bed every night at ten. I wish. I'm getting up every morning by 6:45 a.m. now, but I nearly always beat my alarm, regardless of how late I've been up. My goal is the nirvana of seven hours of sleep every night. Call me an optimist ~ 68 years in and I still haven't reached it. All the best to you today!
DeleteLove those blossoms! Spring pulls me away from my desk and I have a very hard time coming inside.
ReplyDeleteHi, Lee! Spring is a wonderful season, isn't it? Once I was stuck in a corporate office and not getting out on the oil rigs or in the field mapping, I knew I had to change careers. Thank God for teaching elementary kids. I took them outside for as many reasons as I could think of. Thanks for co-hosting today ~ All the best!
DeleteYour spring pictures make me happpppy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teresa! I get a lot of pleasure from sharing my photos! Enjoy IWSG Day!
DeleteLove the photos! It (almost) makes me wish we had spring here too :-)
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting on Insecure Writer's Support Group day: Autumn Decisions
Thanks, Ronel! I enjoy playing with my camera and photos so much ~ almost as much as writing. Enjoy your IWSG visits today!
DeleteMagnificent, breath-taking beautiful spring pictures. Thanks for sharing. We are just getting into spring weather in West Michigan.
ReplyDeleteJQ Rose
Thank you, J. Q.! I'm glad that you enjoyed my photos! I hope you have a lovely spring!
DeleteYou've got a great eye. No doubt 100 words about each pic would keep you going for more than 100 days. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Thanks, Anna! Both of my parents were painters as were/are a number of my other relatives. I'm sure artistic osmosis was at work in my upbringing. Enjoy making the rounds today!
DeleteThose photos are beautiful. I wish I had time to go out take some.
ReplyDeleteThanks, L. Diane! I hope that you get a chance to go outside and take some. I'm sure that you are very busy with the launch of the anthology. My copy is on its way from Amazon, and I can't wait to read it. Take care!
DeleteLove the pictures, and way to go with your goal. When I was a teenager, I did a 1000 days consecutive writing goal, and after finally reaching that goal, writing was a permanent habit. I think that's what it's about--establishing the habit. The brain molds to whatever we demand.
ReplyDeleteA thousand days, Crystal? Wow! I'm planning to move on to 200 days next. We'll see how it goes ~ but what an awesome way to create a permanent habit! Thanks for your encouragement. All the best to you!
DeleteGreetings Louise. I'm enjoying the warmer weather of Spring, and I'm glad you are too. Some wonderful photographs highlighting your adventures! Blessings to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew.
Thank you, Andrew! Right now it is chilly and raining, which is good because today is Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) Day, and I'm going to be on the computer a lot. I've got a pot of homemade beans on, perfect for a day like today. Blessings back at you, my friend!
DeleteGlad you are sorting out your blogging. Blessings back at you. Love love, Andrew.
DeleteBravo to you for your commitment to writing. You have such a talent for it. And I love your pictures that you take on your walk. The one with the blackbirds really was intriguing. Your spring is so far ahead of ours but today when I walked Sadie in her stroller I saw the tiny leaves popping out of the bushes so I know we are getting close.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peggy! You are such a loving person to Sadie. I'm sure that she loved being outside in her stroller. It says a lot about your great big heart.
DeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed the blackbird photo. I captured only a tiny section of the rushes and birds. A river of bullrushes runs through the upper part of the park. I saw a lone male sitting on a bullrush and tried to get closer. First some males came up out of the rushes, and then dozens and dozens of females. I got only a few shots off before they were all flying away. It was amazing! Obviously there are many nests hidden in the rushes, and the adults are very protective. I'm fascinated with the red-wing blackbirds. They make such a variety of chucks and trills and other noises.
There is an even bigger mass of bullrushes with a boardwalk through them across Aurora Parkway in Red-tailed Hawk Park, another of Aurora's parks (They all link together and up with regional trails). I love to go there too, but I usually drive my car over to the parking lot, because walking from and to home is a major time commitment.
As for spring, Terry said he just heard we were going to get 12 to 14 inches of snow in the next 36 hours. It's raining now, but at 6,000 feet it will turn to snow if the temperature drops. You just can't trust springtime in Colorado! We shall see!
Time to dish up homemade baked beans and a raspberry rhubarb crisp that smells divine (new recipe). Then "Survivor." Have a great evening, my friend. Hugs to you and Don, and Sadie's favorite ear scratch or belly rub to her!
Gorgeous spring photos, absolutely gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI need a plan like yours: 100 words for 100 days sounds doable. I've not worked on my fiction for several months now. I need to get out of that ditch and start writing again. Maybe tomorrow...
Thanks for your kind words about my photos, Olga! The 100 words/day has really been helping me, because 100 words IS doable. Good luck with getting back to your fiction writing. You're a good writer!
DeleteWhat beautiful photographs! I want to live where you live. Colorado, it's on my list to visit. Happy IWSG day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Raimey! I hope you do get to visit Colorado. It is a beautiful state with diverse scenery. Have a good one!
DeleteBeautiful images. Also, way to go setting a goal and sticking with it. I will be rooting for you to make it through all 100 days. You can do this!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erika! I love photography and have never done a post without images. Thanks for encouraging me on my goal. I'm determined to get there. Have a good one!
DeleteI love your pictures. Also loved your description of warm-sunny-snow, repeat. That was us here in Michigan, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane! I hope the snow is behind us both, although I don't feel we're done until Mother's Day is over. Have a great May!
DeleteFinally spring sprang up to you part of land my friend :)))
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you ,such GLORIOUS PHOTOS !!!
yes this is hard to resist the beauty of outdoors and sit to write inside
best of luck for your project and challenge
Thanks, Baili! So far my challenge is going well. I just want to reach the point where I'm caught up with blogging and pulling ahead on my writing. My days are so busy. Right now I have the doors thrown open and the fans on so that the fragrant breezes from the blossoming trees are wafting through our home. Heaven!!! Have a good one, my friend!
DeleteGo with the flow and do what you can. I find it hard to keep up with blogging, when the temperatures start getting warm, because there is so much to do outside! LOL! Good luck with the writing! I know you'll do well! Love the pictures! Thank you! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteLook what I found, Stacy! A comment from you that I missed. It's good to hear that I'm not the only one struggling with keeping up with blogging. I'm determined to get there. Hugs back at you!
DeleteStunning photos of spring around you dear Louise!
ReplyDeletethe blooming tree resemble your adorable face which has childlike innocence and grace , charm !
since i am dealing with multiple health issues i can realize that my brain is not working as smoothly as it used to be in past
it is so sad and disturbing but most above everything is TIME which i get LESS to sit ,relax and think which is basic thing for productivity in any kind of art
spring is season which used to make me write more than in any other month but since few years i feel it is not the same
You are truly kind, Baili! I'm sorry that you are continuing to deal with multiple health issues. Hand in there and don't give up. I'm resigned to the fact that there is never going to be enough time!
DeleteI'm trying to stick to some sort of schedule, and part of it is walking at least 250 steps and one to eight flights of stairs at the top of each hour from 5 am to 5 pm ~ whenever I'm not in a place where I can't. I was done with feeling tired and lethargic after last summer's health problems. I want to feel stronger and vigorous again. I'm beginning to feel better. Now if I could just get some weight off.
I hope you can find a little time to spend among your lovely flowers and enjoy the spring air. You're right ~ relaxation is important to productivity. Sending you a big hug. Top of the hour ~ Gotta go walk and climb up and down the stairs, and then make Terry lunch.
Better late than never!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, Louise. I love the Mallard one and the Red-Winged Blackbirds.
Ron was telling me he was trying to capture a Red-Winged Blackbird in flight the other day along the trail......he wanted to get the red patch on their wings. To no avail....this time.
Good idea to set some time limits on bedtime. Isn't it a pain that we can't do what we did 30 years ago? Or if we do, we pay for it!!