General

My writing journey began March 1,2018 when I joined the WordPress family. I had turned 70 and was reading an online article by Professor Jordan Peterson when I glanced at a WordPress icon at the bottom of the page. Being curious I clicked the icon and ended up following the instructions on becoming a member, it took all of 30 seconds. My biggest decision was the naming of the site and as I used to keep a diary from time to time, I decided on an online diary. So I named my site lensdiary. This process took me all of 30 seconds. My first blog introducing myself included the following:

My name is Len

Three score and ten

The biblical age

For leaving life’s stage

But I’m not done yet

My initial attempts at blogging were mainly…

Reena is the host of Reena’s Exploration Challenge

What does it all do to a writer’s sensibilities?

PROMPT #137

I give below three phrases

1. Writer’s platform
2. Writer’s Cave
3. Writer’s Reality

Choose one or more to elaborate on your writing journey – not necessarily through this phase. It could be anything that happened before, or you foresee as happening after this

~*~

Reading can broaden your mind

You’ll learn new things and points of views

New facts and a new way to look at old ones

But at the end of the day, it’s the writer’s reality

Pontificating from their writer’s platforms

Sitting in their writer’s caves, sometimes away

From real life, it’s real struggles and challenges

You can take it as the gospel truth or you can

Analyze it, dissect it and put it together again

It is important to learn the truth from the source

To get the…

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Many a tear fall,

Breaking us into pieces and fireball.

Hold that spark, Learn to glow in dark.

You aren’t a single jewel,

You’re an ocean of pearl.

There’s no might, that can make you feel plight.

Look beyond the sky,

Beyond ‘you’ & ‘I’ .

A beautiful life awaits for you,

And not disguise.

It’s your time to run for things you desire and destiny

Wipe your wail, Get rid of jail .

It’s your chance to fly,

Pick up your wings

And GOODBYE

~Aayushi

दास्तान-ए-वस्ल कभी ज़िक्र-ए-फिराक़
कौन कहे शायर की हकीक़त क्या है  

बेसाख़्ता यूँ ही उलट देना निक़ाब
पूछते हो हमें कि क़यामत क्या है

खून-ए-ज़िगर को तलवार ज़रूरी नहीं
उनकी नज़रों की नज़ाकत क्या है

पूरी वफ़ा से निभाते हैं बेवफ़ाई हमसे
कोई सीखे उनसे सदाक़त क्या है

करते कोशिश दूर करने की अमित
बतला देते अगर शिकायत क्या है

In response to: Reena’s Exploration Challenge # 137

“Perhaps he does not want to be friends with you until he knows what you are like. With owls, it is never easy-come-easy-go.”

―T.H. White,The Sword in the Stone

She flew-
One early morn
Mystifying Bella
Resting in shade after hunting
All night

She gazed-
Into my soul
No more a mystery
To this miraculous creature
Golden

Owl eyes-
Wise and knowing
Trusting my gentle heart
With her life, slow ebbing away
Fading

Feathered-
Wings of power
Swift wind brushing my face
What beauty and grace to witness
Why me?

And now-
That she is gone
My world less magical
A feather drifting from the sky
Her gift

She flew-
Into my soul
Trusting my gentle heart
What beauty and grace to witness
Her gift

Author’s Note: For six amazing days, I had a Great Horned Owl visiting me, filling my world with magic…

I turned the first two into acronyms and filled them out with aspects of each.

The writer’s platform is a framework to build your scaffolding for the story:

Point of View – there is no story without a point of view
Life – the story comes with how people, places, and things interact with each other
Attitude – a character without attitude, or personality, is robotic, sterile, and/or it’s an instructional manual
Theme/topic – you should have an initial idea but keep it flexible as you go
Form – will it be a poem, a short story, an essay, a novel, fiction, non-fiction
Organization – it has to be cohesive; organized does not mean linear (necessarily)
Relevant – connecting with the emotional circuitry of your reader in some way
Memorable – making your story stand out from the zillions of other stories…

Perchance to Dream, Again

From the buzz I felt, half-awake,
sipping water mid-night.

To my bones, my joints aching
to move as they did mid-dream.

Goosebumps telling me,
“It’s not over. Go back to sleep.”

Signs I heed, yet traces slip away
as I struggle to grasp them.

I piece together what’s left,
intent on returning to something

already gone, only to find a new tale
in this writer’s reality.

Reena’s Exploration Challenge #137 offers three phrases for inspiration:
1. Writer’s Platform
2. Writer’s Cave
3. Writer’s Reality

Image source: Wikimedia Commons – Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh
(edited here)

When I sit down to write so often there is an idea in my head to explore and elaborate on.

It’s also the reason why sometimes I don’t write. There can be days where I have nothing to say in relation to a prompt and so rather than force something, and not be happy with it, I let it go, as there’s always next week.

My reality is I have to be enjoying the experience. It must be of value to me. If my readers find some meaning in it be it only entertainment then that I consider is a winner.

I write for me. I long ago came to the conclusion that writing to please others was not a good way to go. I’m not trying to sell my work; another aspect of my reality is my short attention span!

But when I start and I find the words…