Writing with a deadline

Deadlines are wonderful because they keep a writer focused. Working a deadline is something we learn in grade school. All homework and class assignments have deadlines and when we meet those, we learn to use our time wisely. Deadlines become even more important after we leave school and enter the working world.

In order to meet a deadline an author has to divide his or her work into sections. One thing that helps meet a deadline is a word count goal. If you have an article that is due on a specific date, you can meet that deadline by writing a certain amount of words each day. In addition, to the amount of words there is the rewrite and edit time.

When you have an article due on a specific day, say March 31, a write can use a calendar to plan the writing. Always, put the deadline on the planning calendar and then work toward that date. Divide the work so that the article is finished before the date and be sure to include the time it takes the manuscript to travel to its destination. A writer can easily meet deadlines if he or she uses a plan and works the plan.

Never Say, “I can’t think of anything to write.”

Do not say, “I can’t think of anything to write!” Those words guarantee the onset of a severe case of writers’ block. If those words do enter your conscious mind, then sit down at the computer or get out your journal and use them as a free write exercise.

Begin the first paragraph of the exercise with, “I can’t think of anything to write, but if I could think of something to write about, I would write about...” and then begin listing subjects, objects, animals, pets, people, etc. For instance, you could end the sentence with something like this. “I would write about the neighbor’s cat that walked across my backyard while I washed the breakfast dishes.” You then describe the cat. Write for five, ten, or fifteen minutes or until you get tired of writing.

During the free write, do not worry about spelling. Do not worry about grammar. Continue to write until the time is up or you have exhausted the subject. The free write is an exercise to get you started writing and to prove you can think of something to write. If you want to use the free write exercise as part of another document, then rewrite after you have completed the exercise.

City Sports Facilities

Smart Grid a finalist in the Philips Livable Cities Award concerns ways to allow spots facilities to stay open longer. This would encourage the fitness and health of a city’s population. To learn more about this idea click on the video below and then vote for your favorite.

Afternoon Sunshine

As sun peeks from clouds
The temperature increases
Clouds reflect the light

This afternoon the sun finally peeked from behind the clouds. The clouds did not clear, but the sun peeked out warming the day. Prince jumped onto a T.V. stand, so that he could sit in the sun and warm himself. Prince is one cat that likes the sunshine because the only time he likes looking out the window is when the sun is out.

Helping Deaf Children

Health Education Initiative for the Deaf is another Philips Livable Cities Award finalist. This idea concerns educating deaf children concerning life skills and health issues. To learn more about this idea click the video below and then vote for your favorite.

The forecast for Las Vegas

According to the weather e-mail I received this morning, we are in for clouds without rain. Over the past few days, we received ½ inches of rain in the valley and 9 inches of snow in the mountains, which explains why it feels cold this morning.

One would think this type of weather would inspire a haiku; however, the only poem I have written this morning is a Senryu. I like spring and summer better then fall and winter. I like warm temperatures, not hot temperatures, but warm. I like temperatures hot enough to turn of heat off and cool enough to live without the cold air turned on.

Networking in Cities

This Philips Livable Cities Award finalist is iQare helps the elderly live independently by giving them easy access to the digital tools that keeps them in touch with friends, family and needed assistance. Click on the video below to learn more about this idea and then vote for your favorite idea.

Presidents’ Day Senryu

On Presidents’ Day
The Stars and Stripes are waving
In my neighbor’s yard

Health Benefits for people living in the city

Rainwater Aggregation is the title for this Philips Livable Cities Awards finalist. There is a water shortage and this idea suggests a way to capture rainwater with flat rooftops and then store it for later use. Click on the video below to find out more.

It rained again in Las Vegas

The morning rain past
The leftover puddles dry
The birds leave their nest

It rained this morning. When I went out to pick the RJ off the driveway the rain felt cold. I had to avoid the puddle in my driveway. I am either need to give the driveway repaired or stop wearing Crocs. New shoes are cheaper.

Recreational space for local communities

Every community in the world needs recreational space. The concept of this entry in the Philips Livable Cities Award, the Plaza Movil Street Park, is to create areas where local communities can meet, play, relax, or talk. Click on the video below to learn more.

Senryu Poetry Form

Senryu, a Japanese poetry form, is normally written in three lines of 5, 7, 5 syllables. It can also be a three-line poem with 17 syllables or less. A single senryu contains only one stanza of one three-line verse, while a senryu string contains more the one senryu. The difference between a senryu is the subject. The natural world is the subject of the haiku, while the subject of senryu is human nature. The first line of the senryu is the subject and the last two are the action of the poem.

Education for those most at need

A Philips Livable Cities Awards, the idea of this entry is to provide education and shelter for those who need it most. The name of this idea is the Shade Stand, which provides bus shelters that contain posters educating those waiting for buses. This is a good idea that can work very well.

Rain, clouds, and Sunshine in Las Vegas

Rainclouds moving west
In my driveway a puddle
The sun dries it up

An afternoon haze has replaced this morning’s rainclouds. The sun is drying up the puddle left in my driveway. I have to be careful after a rain because of the water; I do not like to step in the puddle because the water is cold. When I was a child it did not bother me to step in puddle, but now I notice the cold more then I used to.

Design your own park

An entry in the Philips Livable Cities Awards, this idea presents a plan to create vibrant area that the entire community can enjoy on a daily basis. This idea encourages groups and people to enter their design to transform unused areas into neighborhood parks.

Writing a Haiku String

A haiku string is a series of haiku stanzas in the same poem. All this week, I have attempted to write this type of poem. I have written other haiku strings, but this one seems to be the most difficult. I am not sure why it is giving me problems.

Nature has attempted to provide inspiration. It rained last night, on Friday I saw a nightingale sitting on a neighbor’s fence, and on Wednesday morning, I heard a nightingale singing. In addition, one of the neighbors’ dogs, one that does not normally bark, has barked periodically all week. I have received plenty of inspiration; I simply cannot get the poem together. Sometimes it goes this way when I write form poems.

Living more secure in cities

This is one of the entries for The Philips Livable Cities Award; this entry proposes an idea to help the elderly live independently. This is the Neighborhood Network Scheme, which gives the elderly access to welfare services. As a senior or elderly citizen myself, I know how important these services are to independent living in large and small cities across the world.

Rain in Las Vegas

Cold drops of moisture
Falling from the midnight sky
Another week ends

It rained last night. I did not find out until I got up about 1:00 AM to answer the doorbell. I looked out the window and my driveway was wet, but there was no one at the door. This happens every so often; someone rings the doorbell once and then leaves. It wakes me up from a sound sleep; I get up and go to the front door. When I look through the window, no one is there. It is weird, but not irritating. Of course, it does not happen often enough to irritate me.

Vote for your favorite idea

The Philips Livable Cities Award, a global initiative, designed to improve the health and well-being of people who live in cities. Watch the video and then vote for your favorite idea. Once you watch, the video be sure to vote for the idea you think is the most achievable and practical or the idea that you think is the best.

Thankful Thursday after a Wind Advisory in Las Vegas

Today I am thankful that the 40 mph gust wind which beset Las Vegas yesterday did not blow down the remaining stone pine tree in my front yard. I sit in my living room and watch the wind move the heavy limbs on that tree. I even moved the car closer to the house so that the tree would not fall on it if the wind blew it down.

The winds are supposed to die down today and the weather become colder. I hope we do not get any more wind advisories for a while because I cannot afford to have another tree taken out this year. I could afford to the tree removal I had done a week ago. I am going to be paying for that the next several months.

I am glad I had the tree removed because it was in worse condition then the pine still in the yard. I have no doubt that the wind gust we received on Wednesday night would have taken the other tree out and the electricity on the block with it. Then there is the issue of what live electrical wire can do to a dead or dying tree that is lying on them.

I like the feel of a leather sofa

I like the way a leather sofa feels when I sit on one. Sitting on a leather sofa is relaxing and inspiring. When I sit on leather divan, my muse wakes up and begins to find themes for stories and poetry. I can sit on a leather couch and write volumes in my pen and paper journal.

I like the way a brown leather sofa would look in my living room. My living room walls are painted pale blue and a brown or light tan sofa and chair would enhance the look of the room. I would place the sofa against the north wall, so that I could look out the large window in the south wall.

I look the look and feel leather furniture because I find it both relaxing and easy to get up off the furniture. In addition to the sofa, I want a tan leather chair and two brown leather recliners. Since I have a large living room these items would fit nicely in one-half of the room and leave the other half for office space.

Leather furniture with rustic looking side tables and a coffee table give the room a comfortable look. I think the only other piece of furniture I want in the family part of the living room is a bookcase to help the leather furniture enhance to look of the room.

I heard a nightingale sing in Las Vegas

This morning I heard a nightingale singing. I was in the kitchen washing dishes and I heard the bird singing in my backyard. I think the bird has a nest in one of the neighbors’ yards, but I do not know in which yard his nest is located.

This bird or one like him has nested in this neighborhood for several years. I have seen him sitting in my front yard, but he does not nest in my trees. This is good, because I would hate to have a tree cut down with a bird nesting in it, especially a nightingale.

The nightingale is not the only bird in this neighborhood. I have seen black birds, pigeons, sparrows, and mourning doves. The nightingale and the mourning doves have the most inspiring songs. I could sit on my patio and listen to them sing all day.

In the spring, autumn, and winter, the birds sing all day long. However, summer days are too hot, so during that season they sing in the morning and evening. I think the nightingale remains all year round; he does not seem to mind the winter weather in Las Vegas. Of course, we normally do not get snow in the valley.

A nightingale sing
His song reverberating
An inspiring day

Happy Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day
The day to celebrate love
To celebrate us

I went to the supermarket a few days ago to get coffee and a prescription. I went down the isle to find the coffee and I heard an announcement over the loud speaker. It said that Valentine’s Day was to celebrate “our” love and it encouraged couples to buy gifts for each other that they could share.

Writing Winter Haiku

A chill in the air
Dirty white clouds hide the sun
Three-sweater weather

This is week 7 of the Poetic Exploration challenge. The poem form for this week is the Haiku or Haiku string. I think I will write a Haiku string about winter or a change of seasons. Today is mostly cloudy with a few patches of blue peeking though the clouds.

Would you like to meet Katrina Kaif?

Would you like to meet Katrina Kaif? Here is your chance to win the ultimate Bollywood experience and meet Katrina Kaif. Make a video of yourself dancing Bollywood style and submit it. Click on the following video to find out how you can win an afternoon with Katrina Kaif.

Writing about the weather requires research

I am writing a story about becoming stranded in a snowed in, so I have to do a little weather research. The stranded part of the story is not an issue because I have had some experience with that. This experience occurred before I moved to Las Vegas. I lived with my grandparent in Oklahoma for a while and one year it snowed enough to strand several travelers in Blackwell. Eventually, the snowplows cleared one lane of traffic, so that people could drive a short distance.

I am have to do some research to help me remember what it was like to drive in one lane of traffic with snow piled high on each side. Finding this information should not be difficult, considering that half of the country had problems with unusual amounts of snow this year. I am glade I live in Las Vegas now because we did not have problems with the snow.

Google Online Science Fair

Registration for the first Google online Science Fair ends on April 4, 2011. This premier competition is for students 13 to 18 years of age. Students who fall within these age groups are invited to enter their creative science and technological project. So click on the video for more information and enter today or encourage a student to enter.

Valentines Day and Chocolate Roses

Love is in the air. Walk down the isle of almost any retail store and you will find teddy bears holding hearts. Some of the hearts are red. Some of them say, “I love you.” Valentines Day is this coming Monday and in Las Vegas, you will find on the side of the roads selling roses. This is for those who are working so hard that they forget that Valentines Day is February 14 and they need to take roses or chocolates home to their beloved.

I have no one to buy me roses or chocolates. Therefore, if I want either on Valentines Day, I have to buy them myself. If I had someone to buy me one of those items, I would want chocolate roses. I would want chocolate roses because I do not like to make choices between my two favorite things. You can eat chocolate roses and you do not have to worry about where you are going to store the vase after the roses have died.

You cannot buy chocolate roses on the side of the road. Giving a chocolate rose or a dozen chocolate roses takes a bit of planning. It is for those who remember a day or so ahead of time that Valentines Day is Monday December 14 and that chocolate roses make the best gifts because they combine the two items that make the best Valentines Day gifts. Perhaps I should buy myself a chocolate rose for Valentines Day.

Wind in Las Vegas

Limbs sway in the breeze
That gently caresses them
Monday afternoon

The Weather Service issues a wind advisory for Clark County Nevada and Mohave County Arizona about 3:18 PM today. I search for the definition of this weather phenomenon and found that it refers to “sustained winds” ranging from 25-39 miles per hour or “wind gust” of 57 miles per hour.

Those speeds do not describe the intermittent, which does not rule out high winds. I simply means those high winds have not yet arrived in Las Vegas or Clark County. I am not looking forward to 57 mph wind gust or 25-39 mph winds. The wind chill factor is only one problem with high winds.

The main issue is the two mature sick looking stone pine trees in my front yard. I am not worried about the wind blowing them down onto my garage because they are not leaning in that direction. The trees are leaning toward the street and if they blow down it could cause other serious problems. The trees definitely have to go; now all I have to do is figure out how to afford their removal. Have mature trees removed is expensive and that expense is not in my budget.

I enjoy Sunday Secrets on Postsecret.com

It is Sunday, February 06, 2011, one of the things I enjoy reading Sunday Secrets on postsecret.com. I like to sit at the computer scroll slowing down the items reading each one slowly and carefully. The secrets are intriguing and it is nice to see that other people have interesting lives, sometimes I suspect they are more interesting then my own life. Of course, that probably is not true.

Today’s Sunday Secrets cover some interesting subjects. One of them had to do with the Sunday Comics. This subject always brings back memories of my childhood. I cannot read anything on this subject without remembering my father. Every time I read Sunday Secrets on postsecret.com, I find something that either brings back memories or makes me laugh.

Postsecret.com is one of the few sites that I can return to every week and find something interesting. I have not yet sent a postcard to this sit, but I think I will. I just have to figure out which one of my “secrets” to submit. I guess I should start with an interesting postcard. I have never attempted to design a postcard, but that might be fun. My only problem is drawing straight lines.

Epiphany in the supermarket

I went to the supermarket today to buy some peanut butter and other items. I got my shopping cart and headed for the shelf with the peanut butter, as I was walking down the isle an announcement came over the intercom. The announcement concerned Valentines Day and items a person could buy for his or her “Valentine”.

I had an epiphany; I realized that Valentines Day did not mean anything to me. I do not have a significant other; therefore, no one is going to buy me a box of chocolates shaped like a heart. If I want a heart shaped box of chocolates, I have to buy them myself. The same thing goes for jewelry, if I want a heart shaped diamond pendant I have to buy it myself.

I do not care for diamonds. I prefer sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, but not diamonds. I think gems with color are much more beautiful. If a diamond can divide light into a rainbow, then I might consider buying one; however, I am not sure if that is possible. I know diamonds can cut glass and I think there are numerous other uses for them, which I think make them valuable, but I do not care to wear them myself.

I think I will use this epiphany and my preference for gems in a poem or a story. Something like that would work well as the subject of a short story or flash fiction.

Writing after a long cold day

All day long, I have been cold. I am wearing three sweaters and I am still cold. I will discuss this issue the next time I see my doctor. I am not going to attempt to guess the problem. I am finally warm, but that may not last long since the weather report today indicated a cold night.

A chill to the bone
Makes me look forward to spring
Weary of winter

Fish stew on a Cold winter morning

This morning, February 2, 2011, was the coldest morning since 1996. Tomorrow morning is going to be just as cold. I made fish stew this morning, so well will have hot stew or soup the rest of the week. I still have to get to the store to buy some other type of meat. I have not decided whether to get chicken or beef. Either on will do, so it depends on price.

Cold winter morning
Fish stew in the slow cooker
Warms body and soul

The Trees Must Go

I like trees. I think they are beautiful, but the stone pine trees in my yard must go. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to have them taken out and I cannot take them out myself. I am not sure what to do about it, except write about the problem. Therefore, I am blogging about the trees in my front yard.

When we moved into this house, there were six trees in the front yard. We had four stone pines, one olive, and one elm tree. A neighbor took out one of the stone pines when he had a new driveway poured. A big wind took out the elm tree a few years ago. A couple of years ago, I had one of the stone pines taken out because the roots of that tree threatened the foundation of the house.

I have one olive and two stone pine trees remaining in the yard. Those two pathetic and ill looking pine trees have to go. I will find the money, but I am not sure where. Of course, I could not afford to have the other pine tree taken out when I had it removed, but I found the money. Therefore, I will probably find the money to have these two taken out.

The issue at present is the weather, specifically the wind. For the past few days the weather service has issued high wind warnings and wind advisories. The wind is blowing now and it appears the wind will blow for the rest of the month. Since that is the case, I am going to have to figure out how to have them removed ASAP.