Here are the prompts for this week’s Writer’s Workshop:
Write a post based on the word respect.
Write a post in exactly 8 sentences.
March 14 is Pi day. Do you plan on having pie to celebrate? What are your three favorite pies?
Your first experience with a credit card: tell us about it.
I used to think…
What do you think a history book 200 years from now will say about the current generation and its innovations?
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I’m choosing Pi, and the pi I love best is my 17 year old granddaughter L who’s nickname is Pi shortened from the sweetie pie when she was little. She’s an amazing young woman in every way and very deserving of respect and love. Oh and she is beautiful too♥️
Two other pies I love are rhubarb and lemon meringue 🥧
Patient Zero is a 2009 novel by American writer Jonathan Maberry and the first book in the Joe Ledger series. It was first published on March 3, 2009 through St. Martin’s Griffinand follows a detective that must help prevent the world from being terrorized by a bioweapon that turns humans into zombies.[1]Patient Zero AuthorJonathan MaberryLanguageEnglishSeriesJoe Ledger SeriesPublisherSt. Martin’s Griffin
I love listening to or reading books in most genres. Usually after reading a serious/sad book I like to read a different type that has humor in addition to a good story. In audible form, the narrator is key to introduce characters and Ray Porter is my first choice.
My favorite fictional hero is Joe Ledger and I’ve listened with Audible to many books featuring this character. He appears firstly here by Jonathan Maberry. I’ve read all of the Joe Ledger books repeatedly. I like Maberry’s style of writing and read many of his other series. I featured “Mars One” here on the blog as one I liked in his sci-fi genre.
Joe started out with a regular workout, running on the treadmill to warm up, a few weights to improve muscle strength and then various gym machines. He didn’t mind it and his girlfriend encouraged him along the way. Joe wanted to impress her and was tired of her eyeing the other men on their dates in public.
As his intense sessions to get larger and more fit, he was not satisfied with the results. A fellow at the gym came up to him. “I see how hard you’ve been working but I don’t see a lot of improvement. I wonder if you’d like to try this secret formula I’ve designed to build muscle faster. Joe’s first thought, steroids and he was not into that! The man said, “I know what came to mind by the look on your face, steroids…right? This is my formula and contains no steroids, believe me!”
Joe did believe him and decided to try it. It was an ordinary looking tablet to be taken with juice in the morning before his workout. Every day he looked for changes but it was slow and discouraging. He started taking two pills in the morning.
Joe’s relationship with his girlfriend started to change as she noticed Joe’s body was becoming more hairy. At first it didn’t bother her and then she noticed changes in his face and jaw. She spoke to him about it but he ignored her. It seemed Joe couldn’t recognize the changes and worked harder than ever to improve his body.
This day Joe was turned away from the gym and the look on the manager’s face was weird. “I think you need to see a doctor, Joe, and don’t come back here till you do.”
Joe went home and looked at himself in the mirror not seeing anything different, but his girlfriend entered the bathroom and her face turned pale. He had been anxious to see her because she had been on a business trip for ten days. Suddenly she ran back to the bedroom, grabbed her bag and left.
Joe was mystified at her actions. What was wrong with these people? He grabbed a coke out of the fridge, went out of the house and sat on the stone edge of the pond. A large muscled man came up to him. “You took the formula too? I can see that you did, and I did too. Funny when we look in the mirror we can’t see it but everyone else can. He sat down beside Joe and they talked. “It will wear off in a few months if you stop taking the pills, I promise. It took me six months to get back to normal.”
The current week prompts writers to choose from 24 forms or explore St. Patrick’s Day symbolism, using kigo words.
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Gogyohka usually contains five lines, but could have four or six lines. Gogyohka has no restraints on the number of words or syllables used. No title and no rhyming.
All you ever talk about is money, how I spend it, how there’s no savings, and I wish we could sit down and build a budget we could both live with. Every time I try to save by lessening the potted meals, you complain it’s pure rubbish. I think your dream sense is in a practical shape it needs to be. Either I get another job or you do and then maybe you will be able to sit down and enjoy the surf and turf meals you like.
“Hey, fancy meeting you here Joe. How about we all catch up over a little dinner? This place has your favorite beer too.” “Catch up? I’ve been trying to call you for two weeks and I texted you also. Take your catchup and pour some ketchup on it. Come on Mike, we’re out of here!”
Here are this week’s questions: 1. What was your favourite pastime as a child? Playing outside in meadows, brooks and forest
2. Did you use colouring pencils, fibre tips, or wax crayons for your childhood drawings? I don’t remember doing much drawing but loved Crayolas
3. Did you use a paintbox or have a ‘magic’ book where you only needed to brush the page with water? I did have a cheap paint box but liked finger painting best
4. What kind of books did you read as a child? I read all Jack London books and all others that featured dogs and horses. My favorite was Cinderella Golden Book at very young age and then Black Beauty
Gratitude: I am grateful my granddaughter returned back to PA safely after visiting here a week.
One of his poems that especially talks to me, is one called “After someone’s death” Selecting a line I wanted to avoid the most obvious and well-known lines and went for this:
all of the names swallowed up by the cold
By Swedish Nobel Laureate Tomas Tranströmer.
Which I believe will be a versatile line to use in your prosery. The challenge is: Write a piece of prose of no more than 144 words (or if you want exactly 144 words) that includes the given line. You may change it with line breaks, punctuation but you have to keep the order of the words.
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Standing near newly mounted dark soil, I automatically reach for the hand of my husband, but he is not there. He is far away caring for our three children. By my father’s side I am remembering other relatives, and “all of the names swallowed up by the cold” come rushing to my mind. I console my father as much as I can while keeping myself tear free and strong. I hold him close during the funeral trying not to sob. I had let my voice explode in the hospital room but now I had to be in control, concentrating on my father. At night, alone in the bedroom is when I secretly grieve my mom.
The Bag Lady 
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