Mindful Writing Challenge January 2013

Fiona and Kaspa are once again hosting their small stone writing challenge in January. The Mindful Writing Challenge 2013 (formerly River of Stones) is all about noticing something each day and writing it down. I'll be doing it, as will many others around the world. I hope you'll join us! :)


Here's a small stone to get things started:

above the mountain

a cloud that looks

like a mountain

You'll find many more examples on Fiona's A Handful of Stones blog-zine. Enjoy!

A Big Small Kindness

Big thanks to the girls at Cafe Botannix Bethlehem last Wednesday who turned off the music that afternoon at my request. My hubby has Asperger's Syndrome and he has extreme noise sensitivity as a result. It can be really hard for us to find a quiet place to treat ourselves to a coffee. We seriously appreciate the kindness these staff members showed. It meant the world to my husband at that moment. YOU ROCK!

This blog post is part of the Small Kindnesses Blogsplash. You can still get involved. Find out all the info here. As part of the blogsplash Fiona Robyn's novel Small Kindnesses is FREE on Kindle today. Enjoy! :)

With Cherries on Top

Super stoked to find that the pdf book of haiku and senryu from the 31 Different NaHaiWriMo Prompters in August 2012 is available now for FREE download! With Cherries on Top: 31 Flavors of NaHaiWriMo, edited by Michael Dylan Welch can be found here. 

I'm grateful to have the following four haiku included (hubby has one in there too!) along with so many other writers from the online haiku community. Thanks to Michael for the ideas and for putting them into action; thanks to the 31 daily prompters, and thanks to all those who took part in the Facebook haikufest that is NaHaiWriMo.


laundry day . . .
when did my feet
last touch the sand

     (Sand prompt from Vincent Hoarau) 


                              growing dusk . . .
                              the stillborn calf
                              is taken away

                              (Birth prompt from Christina Nguyen)

the lion in her  full moon

     (Lion prompt from Alegria Imperial)

                              psychiarist's office—

                              the painting of a boat
                              hung off-centre

                              (Boats prompt from Alison Williams) 



P.S. Also available for FREE download is the pdf book of small stones from Mindful Writing Day, edited by Fiona Robyn and Kaspa. You'll find that here. Enjoy all the weekend reading! :)

Small Kindnesses Blogsplash

A new blogsplash event organised by Fiona Robyn and Writing Our Way Home...

On Tuesday the 27th of November I'm joining the Small Kindnesses Blogsplash and writing about a special small kindness someone paid me in the past. Would you like to join me?

The Blogsplash is organised by Fiona Robyn to celebrate the release of her novel 'Small Kindnesses' which will be free on Kindle on the day. All you have to do is write something about being kind - a memory of someone who was kind to you, a list of kindnesses over the past week, or something kind you did for someone else. It'll be a celebration of kindness in all its forms, especially those little kind acts that make all the difference.

To find out more visit Fiona's blog, or join the Facebook event. Do ask your friends to join you, and feel free to copy this blog onto your own to help us spread the word.

See you on the 27th! :)

A Blackbird Sings

I'm very pleased to let readers know that the 2012 anthology of small stones is now available on Kindle, and for pre-order on Amazon. A Blackbird Sings: a book of short poems is edited by Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita and will have a special launch on November 1st, the first ever Mindful Writing Day. Once again, people from all around the world with gather to pay attention and write it down. These small stones will be gathered by Fiona and Kaspa and published on their Writing Our Way Home blog, where they'll be giving away five free paperbacks of A Blackbird Sings to their favourites. And also on this day the Kindle version of the anthology will be FREE! Find all the Mindful Writing Day info here. I hope you'll join us. :)

Here are my two poems in the anthology, which are in good company, including many of my haiku poet friends:

Cover by Ken Hurd

gold moon

my nose pressed against

cold glass

                         empty glass
                         the sound
                         of his sobs

My Most Beautiful Thing

...Is those few minutes at day's end when the mountain range glows orange, lilac, pink or gold in the glory of the setting sun. I speak to the mountains every day from somewhere deep inside of me and each evening, just for a moment, I know my prayers have been heard when I watch Nature's gift of illumination.

  

(I live in the valley of the majestic Kaimai Range in Waikato, New Zealand. My husband and I have a beautiful view of them from our home, however this photo was taken by hubby from just down the road. Please click on the image to see it larger.)

Today I'm taking part in the My Most Beautiful Thing Blogsplash to celebrate beautiful things - inspired by Fiona Robyn's new novel, The Most Beautiful Thing. Bloggers from all over the world are taking part and writing or posting pictures of their most beautiful things today. Find out more here and see everyone else's blog posts here. 

Two Great NaPoWriMo Giveaways!

The wonderfully supportive and energetic Kathy Nguyen is running two competitions to celebrate National Poetry Month.

The first is a haiku/senryu/tanka contest on her blog - Origami Lotus Poetry
Take a look at all the details here, and you'll be able to see my entry already in the comments section.
She is giving away a copy of Peter Newton's What We Find to the winner, and you can read her review of the book here.

The second is for WOWH members and the giveaway is one of Fiona's or Kaspa's e-courses!
You can find the prompt and all the info here, and if you're not already part of the Writing Our Way Home community then why not consider joining. You can find out more about WOWH here.

There's still lots of fun to be had this April!

A Beautiful Blogsplash

What is your most beautiful thing?

Is it your one year old niece's golden smile? The pale pink peony buds in your garden? A silver ring given to you by your grandmother? Your shiny red Vespa scooter? Is your most beautiful thing a place or a moment? Is it a philosophy or a value?

On Tuesday the 24th of April, we're organising a Blogsplash to celebrate beautiful things, inspired by Fiona Robyn's new novel, 'The Most Beautiful Thing'.

We're inviting people from all over the world to blog, tweet & write about their own most beautiful thing.

You could post a photo or write a prose piece about your most beautiful thing. You could write a small stone or show us a piece of artwork you've made in honour of your most beautiful thing. It's completely up to you. You could be extravagant and post a whole series of your most beautiful things.
 
We'll make a directory of everyone who's taking part here, sending new visitors to your blog, and we'll also re-post our favourite entries on this blog over the following month.

If you're interested in taking part, email Fiona with 'blogsplash' as the title and she'll send you more details. You can get thinking and set up your blog post as soon as you like.

I have no idea what I'm going to do (may have be more than one post!) but I hope you'll join me next week :)

Splish splash!

2012 'River of Stones' Anthology: submissions wanted

Fiona and Kaspa will be putting together an anthology of small stones from this year's river. They'd love to have a submission from everyone who took part, so do send them your small stones whether or not you think they'll be included in the book. As last time this collection will be edited by the pair and they'll choose the small stones that resonate most with them.

Submission details: Email up to FIVE small stones and your name as you'd like to be included in the book to this address with the subject 'river book'. Submissions will close on Sunday the 19th of February. All contributors will receive a free PDF of the finished book as a thank you.

Fiona and Kaspa won't be acknowledging receipt, but they'll let you know whether your small stone will be included or not by the end of March. If you haven't heard from them either way by then do let them know and resend your submission.

2011 'River of Stones' Anthology

I didn't officially participate in the January River of Stones: I didn't blog about it or write one each day. But I did still spent time during the month, when I could, noticing moments and writing them down, usually in my preferred style of haiku. I asked Fiona if I should submit to the anthology or not and she said yes! So I'll be sending in a few of my observations from last month.

I look forward to reading all of the stones in the book when it comes out in a few months time, and hope I'll see some of my favourites from the regular bloggers I read who took part.

I'm in the river, are you?

The July River of Stones challenge kicks off in just a few days and I want to know - will you join me?

We believe that it's better to be connected to the world, than not to be. We believe that it's better to notice the unnoticed, the weeds in the cracks in the pavement and the aphid on the bud of the rose, than to let them slip by. And we believe that writing can help us pay attention to, and become intimate with, the world. (Fiona and Kaspa, River of Stones organisers)

Writing a small stone a day for the month of January was so much fun - it reignited my passion for words, it rehoned my observation skills, and I reconnected with my online community of writers and poets. Come and join us in writing a small stone a day in July and see where the journey takes YOU!

All the info you need to get started is here, and if you're blogging, then get your badge here.

Wedding Small Stone

A small stone from me on the wedding day of Fiona and Kaspa -

I study my palm:
soft, pink, warm,
every crease, this scar,
each line tells my story,
and I wonder
if in these hands
I can read the fortunes
of all my past lives too.

You can write one as a gift for the happy couple too and have it posted on-line with all the other well-wishers' small stones. See all the info here and send your small stone in here.

Small Stone Blogsplash – we need your help…

Kaspa & Fiona have taken over my blog for today, because they need our help.

They are both on a mission to help the world connect with the world through writing. They are also getting married on Saturday the 18th of June.
 
For their fantasy wedding present, they are asking people across the world to write them a ‘small stone’ and post it on their blogs or on Facebook or Twitter.
 
A small stone is a short piece of observational writing – simply pay attention to something properly and then write it down. Find out more about small stones here.
 
If you’re willing to help, we’d love you to do things:
 
1) Re-post this blog on your own blog any time before June the 18th and give your readers a chance to hear about what we’re doing. You can simply copy and paste the text, or you can find the html here.
 
2) Write us a small stone on our wedding day whilst we’re saying our vows and eating cake, post it on your blog, and send it to us.
 
You can find out more about our project at our website, Wedding Small Stones, and you can also read our blog at A River of Stones.
 
We also have a July challenge coming soon, when we’ll be challenging you to notice one thing every day during July and write it down.
 
Thank you for listening, and we hope we’ll be returning from our honeymoon to an inbox crammed with small stones, including yours.

Kaspa & Fiona

April Round-Up - My First NaPoWriMo Complete!

NaPoWriMo kept me super busy over April as I followed the daily prompts at InkSeeds on personal mythology, writing a poem-a-day (PAD). I got four days behind on these prompts mid-way through due to illness, but still managed to write a poem each of the days I had off, penning a haiku from my sick-bed.

All the poems are up here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku: haiku, senryu, tanka, small stones, free verse and rhymed verse. I'm happy with all my poems (though some could do with a little fine tuning) and cherish the insights I've gained through this process.

The personal mythology prompts explored dreams, the elements, archetypes, memories - all that makes up your personal story. They're so much more than mere prompts - they're a conversation with your soul. And will be remaining up on InkSeeds: you can check out the first one here - Recycling the First Dream.

You can also read the poems other people wrote in response to the prompts on Fiona and Kaspa's Writing Our Way Home on-line community under April 2011 InkSeeds Poetry Project. Poems are still being posted and discussed here - come join us!

Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:

• week fourteen - submitted 15 haiku to the Anthology of English-Language Haiku by Women
• week fifteen - submitted tanka prose to Haibun Today (first time submitting here)
• week sixteen - entered three haiku in the Klostar Ivanic International Haiku Contest, closes May 31
• week seventeen - submitted my poem "A Journey in Three Masks" to Excellent Writing (first time submitting here)

This month saw one of my photos printed in the local paper as the Weather Spotters pic for that week. I was surprised and excited about this as it's the first time I'd ever sent a photo into the paper, and when I still hadn't heard from them months later I figured it was no good. Great to be proved wrong! You can check out the photo on my Photography page.

I also spent some time playing around with text on photos. I put a few of my previously published free verse poems onto images and think they look amazing. It's a striking way to showcase both my writing and photography on the Internet. I made a few into haiga, doing some with tanka for the first time. I use an old version of PhotoStudio as my editing software, which is limiting. So I'm going to look into downloading the free OpenSource software (as I'm already using OpenOffice as my word processing software) and see if this is easier to work with.

I'm enjoying getting more involved with my prose again. One of my articles was a Friday "Speak Out!" guest post on the WOW! Women On Writing blog - "Writing Each Day Keeps The Doctor Away". And three of my quick tips for freelance writers will be appearing in issues of Excellent Writing - an e-newsletter for writers edited by Janie Sullivan. You'll see above that I also sent her a poem as a filler, which was accepted for the May issue. My post about that here.

This month I look forward to creating some more collage-style haiga and reading and sharing haiku on the NaHaiWriMo Facebook page where many people continue to write a haiku-a-day.

Passing On Some Gifts This Easter

Happy Easter weekend, dear writers and readers! In the busyness of travelling and family and outings: I hope you'll take some time out for yourself this long weekend to notice something fully each day and write it down.

Or maybe you could start with reading Fiona Robyn's FREE e-book How to Write Your Way Home. It contains simple instructions to help you feel more connected to yourself and to the world, information on hunting and polishing small stones, advice on how to build a creative network and much more.

You can also hear more about this practice of writing small stones in the video clip below by Fiona and Kaspa: the beautiful beings behind the river of stones project, which will be running again in July. Come join us!

The Start of a New Month - The Start of a New Challenge

National Poetry Month in April, being American, hadn't really come up on my radar. It was brought to my attention this year via a post on The Muffin - the blog of the WOW! Women on Writing team. I decided then that I'd do it. (You can read that post here, which has info on other writing challenges throughout April.)

The link they gave is to Poetic Asides, which give daily prompts throughout the month. Having never had anything to do with Poetic Asides before I was going to wait and see what they're prompts were like. (You can read their guidelines for the 2011 April Poem-A-Day Challenge here.)

Then I came across InkSeeds - a blog that is giving poetry prompts for April around Personal Mythology, and I knew this was the place for me. Mention Jung, dream work, writing as a spiritual practice and I'm there! Check out the post here. (Thanks to Fiona Robyn for posting this link on Facebook.)

I've also listed my blog on the NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) website. You can submit yours too and check out other participants' sites that are following the PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge. I will post mine daily here on Swimming in Lines of Haiku.

I'm just home from holiday and about to check out the first prompt. You can join me here. I'm very interested to see what I come out with. Happy writing this April :)

For my fellow haiku writers: You can also find prompts for writing a haiku-a-day during April on the NaHaiWriMo page on Facebook.

January Round-Up - What a Month!

A warm welcome to my new readers and all those that have popped in over the course of January - international small stones writing month. I greatly appreciate your comments, and ticking of the 'like' and 'cool' boxes at the bottom of my posts :)

I've loved writing a small stone a day and adding it to the river, and have benefited greatly both mentally and spiritually from doing so. At the same time, I wrote up my small stones in my Mslexia Writer's Diary: a diary I bought for the first time this year and am so glad I did; highly recommend!

I've also enjoyed stopping into other stoners' blogs who I may not have found if it wasn't for this challenge, and I thank you all for sharing your stones. I look forward to submitting my ten best stones this month, and eventually reading many others' in the book to be put together by Fiona Robyn.

January saw me make a goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week for 2011. Here's how I'm doing:

• week one - submitted six tanka to Eucalpyt (first time submitting here) won't hear outcome until after March 31st submission deadline for Issue 10
• week two - submitted one senryu to Haiku News (second time submitting here) was accepted, you can read it here
• week three - submitted five haiku and three tanka to Kokako; had two haiku and one tanka accepted for Issue 14, April 2011
• week four - submitted to Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition (first time submitting here) results will be announced March 31st

I also created a 'My Photography' page here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku, and submitted images to (all for the first time):

• Four and Twenty (online short form poetry journal) - my image was chosen as the cover art for the January issue
• The Bay News 'Weather Photo' Page
• The Bay News 'Holiday Photo Competition' - closes Feb 4th
• And I'm very excited to have been asked to provide cover art for the next issue of Kokako (Issue 15, September 2011) Many thanks, Pat :)

I've continued making collage-style haiga for my collection: four this month, to make a total of twenty-three. I have written two new tanka so far this year for the collection, and still have several haiku and tanka already written to turn into haiga.

I had the opportunity to show them to my local fellow haiku writers at a small gathering in Tauranga on the 29th, which resulted in some good feedback. I'll carry on with this project while it still has meaning for me and the creative process brings me great joy.

January is extra special too because I made it to my first 100 blog posts! Thanks again to all those who have come along for the ride :)

So as you can see, there has been lots of great things happening for me, alongside my continuing treatment for leukaemia. Roll on February!

Count Me In!

Better than January resolutions... a river of stones is an international project organised by Fiona Robyn to encourage people to engage with the world through writing a short observational piece (a small stone) every day during January.

I have blogged before about Fiona Robyn's blogzine a handful of stones. Her creation of NaSmaStoMo (National Small Stones Writing Month) is a great way to bring new life into her 'small stone' philosophy and to engage the senses of people around the world.

Now you have two challenges to kick off 2011: NaSmaStoMo in January and NaHaiWriMo in February. So are you in?

                          

Two Online Opportunties for Your Haiku

Four and Twenty: short form poetry

A monthly online pdf poetry journal interested in fresh and emerging voices. Named for their guideline on what short form poetry is - poems with four lines or less that have no more than twenty words. Full submission guidelines here. The website also features a Four and Twenty of the Week, and if you join them on Twitter or Facebook you'll receive their Monday to Friday writing prompts.

a handful of stones: celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary

This poetry blog zine is edited by author Fiona Robyn. A small stone is described as, "...a very short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment." One is published each day. Read more about the small stone philosophy here and check out the submission guidelines here.