Technically it’s still Friday in some time-zone, so this post is coming in just under the wire.

Today’s delay was caused by about a million ants that decided my kitchen was the place to be.  Counters.  Floor.  Stove.  You name it, they were all over it.  I can only thank my stars that I was foresightful enough to put my half of a leftover danish in the refrigerator the night before rather than leaving it in a bag on the counter.

On the plus side, the kitchen is now super clean and I didn’t need to resort to the use of toxic chemicals to get rid of the invaders.  Now I just hope they’ll stay gone.

Whether or not my kitchen is overrun again in the morning, I’m going to plan on starting things off with today’s writing prompt and random words.

Care to join me?

For those of you working away on a story (whether a first draft or a polished version on its way to publication), if you’re not feeling random, we’d love to hear a bit – whether it’s a scene, a paragraph, or even a phrase that you are especially pleased with and would like to share.

If you don’t have a story in progress, or just want to work on something new, I hope either today’s random words or writing prompt will catch your creative fancy.

Ready?

Prompt:   Unexpected visitors 

Feel free to interpret the prompt any way you choose (or ignore it completely) and include any (or all) of the following random words:   

caterpillar        coastal            fighting            blame

tyrant               blaze               cradle               flutter

popular            horses             anyone             badge

crawl                fierce               fathead            expression

I look forward to seeing your stories in the comments.  If you’re not feeling in the writing mood today, or don’t have time, feel free to post suggestions you might have for future writing prompts.  Ideas are always welcome.

Happy writing to all!

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope your week is ending on a positive note.  The weather here is beautiful with just the right balance of sunshine and light breeze, and my case of COVID is over, so things are definitely ending on a positive note here.

Welcome to all of the new followers who have found this blog in recent weeks.  I hope you are enjoying the Writing Sprints and have been able to get some words on the page–whatever you may be writing.

My writing these past months has been focused primarily on white papers and articles for my day job, but I’m hoping there will be a lull soon so I can get back my various fiction projects.  Who knows what my characters have been getting up to in my absence.  One can only hope they’ve managed to untangle a plot problem or two.

Regardless what else I wind up writing today, I’m going to take at least a few minutes to give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Sorry this post is a bit late–I’m afraid Covid has finally arrived here at the Writing Castle.  Fortunately, it’s a very mild (yet annoying) version that I’m hoping will soon be on its way.

While I wait for that to happen I’m afraid napping may remain higher on my list than posting or writing; curling up with a good book comes in a close second.

I hope the week is ending on a more positive note for the rest of you out there and that those who may have celebrated Cinco de Mayo with an excess of adult beverages have fully recovered.

In between naps, I going to give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Welcome to the end of another week (and another month).  The world didn’t burst into flame and the war against Ukraine hasn’t escalated to a full scale World War III, so we’ll call the week a “win” for now.

It’s a pretty low bar to meet.

The news continues to be full of political wangling, false narratives, and a variety of other crazy stories — a good reason to turn of the television and head outside, now that the weather seems to have decided that it’s Spring (at least in my little corner of the planet).

I got some flower seeds the other day and planted a variety of them in little starter pots.  They’re out enjoying some sun shine on the back deck right now.  In just 4 days at least a third of the pots have little green shoots poking through the soil.  The Morning Glories even have tiny little leaves already!  I’m hoping the growth continues.  If everything goes as planned, I should have a nice variety of flowers to brighten things up a month or so from now.

While I’m waiting for those seeds to do their thing, I think I’ll give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Wait — is it Friday again?  Time sure flies when you fall down the rabbit hole of reading comments on the internet.

So much of what is happening in the world these days seems to fall into the “that’s crazy–you couldn’t make this stuff up” category that it makes writing fiction extra challenging.  How do you make fiction seem believable when real life seems so un-believable?

I’ll stick to focusing on things that make more sense for now, like the fact that it rained recently and then the sun came out, so there is a whole new crop of weeds just waiting for my attention.  There is also a whole list of meetings on my work calendar waiting for my attention too, so I guess those weeds will have to wait a little longer.

What won’t have to wait too much longer is today’s writing prompt–I plan to give it and today’s random words a try as soon as I finish off my last meeting later this afternoon.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Happy Friday. Here at Ye Olde Writing Castle, we’re celebrating both the impending arrival of the Easter Bunny (chocolate, of course) and the filing of the annual taxes (ouch!).  

According to the National Day Calendar, there are plenty of other things to celebrate today including Glazed Spiral Ham, Rubber Erasers, and the Titanic–who comes up with these?  It’s also “National Clean out your Medicine Cabinet Day”, which is definitely a good thing to do every now and then.  The last thing you want to do is reach for medicine when you are sick, just to find out it expired a decade ago.

“The day aims to raise awareness and effectively rid homes of unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications sitting in medicine cabinets, nightstands, or kitchen cabinets that have the potential for misuse or abuse by family members, friends, or visitors.”

My backyard seems to be celebrating the rain we got this week, so I think I’ll head out to the deck and enjoy it for a few minutes before heading back to work.  Later today I’ll make sure to take some time to give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

If this is Friday, that must mean it’s time for a creativity break.  Sadly, it’s also time for a full work day, so my creativity will have to wait a bit.

On the plus side, it’s a beautiful day here.  Just warm enough for me to have all of the doors and windows open (with screens) and not so warm that everything needs to be shut to keep the house cool inside.

On the non-plus side, there seem to be mosquitoes everywhere, and they’re all treating me like an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Since I’m not a fan of pesticides, I’ll just have to practice my bug-squishing skills while hoping that the ones I miss take the hint and move on to safer territory.

Regardless of what happens on the bug front, I’m going to enjoy the beautiful day and take some time before dinner to give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Happy Friday!  I hope you have all had a good week.  Here on my portion of the planet water fell from the sky a few days, which made it a very good week indeed.  We’re still in the midst of a drought, but at least the spring flowers–and weeds–got a good soaking.

In unrelated news, I’ll be spending part of my day off today pulling weeds in the backyard.

I’ll also be trying to finish off some of the tasks on my To Do list.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It’s more likely that I’ll be drinking too much coffee and reading the latest Charles Todd book that I just got from the local library.  Somewhere along the line though, I will definitely get out my notebook and favorite pen and give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Welcome to the first Friday of Spring.  My yard is doing its part to celebrate by bursting into bloom–geraniums, lavender, lilacs, and some other dark pink flower that remains unidentified.  Even the jasmine is in bloom, in blatant disregard to Seals & Crofts’ Summer Breeze lyrics.

On the negative side, there are also LOTS of mosquitoes that have apparently decided I’m an “all you can bite” landing zone.

Pass the antihistamines.

There is a pair of birds of some unidentified type busily building a nest on the rafters of my front porch.  Periodically I see them engaging in some kind of aerial acrobatics.  It’s either a mating ritual or a technique to avoid capture by the neighborhood cats.  If baby birds appear in the nest in a few weeks (months?) I’ll know which it was.

While I’m waiting, I think I’ll pour myself a glass of lemonade (thanks to the lemon tree which is also abloom) and give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

Happy last-Friday of Winter.  Tomorrow, the swallows are due to arrive back at Capistrano–a sure sign of Spring–and there are rain showers in the forecast–though considering our ongoing drought, that may be more a sign of wishful-thinking on the part of the weather forecasters than a sign of anything else.  

No signs for me today; I’m at a Yale climate conference, having to keep my brain fully engaged on what would normally be a day off work.  Here’s hoping it will be time well spent and a great way to wrap up the week.

However things turn out with the conference, I’m sure I’ll be ready for a change-of-pace once it is over.  I plan to take a mental creativity break later on and give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →