This meme was started by Delores a long time ago. Words for Wednesday is now provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast.
Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write. Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image. What we do with those prompts is up to us: a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore... We can use some or all of the prompts.
Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
Huge thanks to Mark Koopmans. for testing our mettle last month. The prompts will be here this month, but I am providing them.
This week's prompts are:
- Stop
- Reasonable
- Best
- Kind
- Dragon
- Drinking
- Flower
- Foster
- Sing
- Pieces
- Darker
- Thinking
Have fun.
Leonie was in danger. She could feel herself slipping into a place where drinking her problems away seemed like her best option. Watching/listening to the news did her no good at all. Each update, each new story did nothing but foster the pieces of anxiety and despair creating an ugly jigsaw in her mind.
ReplyDeleteThinking, thinking, thinking... And then she had it! She was going to stop being 'reasonable' and staying up to date and instead be kind to herself, and dismiss those darker moods for good.
Tales of enchantment with a wise and wily dragon or two, adventure and perhaps true love frolicking in a garden packed with flowers were infinitely preferable. Things to make her heart sing.
A simple solution. A perfect solution. Smiling for the first time in days she turned the television off, hung a 'do not disturb any further' sign over her door knob and headed towards her crowded bookshelves.
I can't believe we both had 'dragons' in mind. Great story and great advice.
DeleteYes, not just thinking but knowing, knowing, knowing adventure awaits at those crowded bookshelves. Excellent story, thank you.
DeleteOh yes. I have been reading dragon books too. Thanks for the words!
DeleteLove this take on the words!
DeleteShe is making a life affirming choice!
DeleteI'm not sure I have any dragon books, but I do have dragon movies and they are infinitely preferable to what's on the news lately.
DeleteI definitely enjoy true love and a frolic in the garden. hmm.
DeleteHi EC - lovely ... and yes I'm looking forward to heading to the shelves ... just a few dust bunnies needing to be challenged first!! All the best - Hilary
DeleteLeonie is one smart cookie! Tuning out the news and losing oneself in a book is one of the best ways to maintain a modicum of sanity these days. Great use of the words, dear lady.
DeleteI love this paragraph: Tales of enchantment with a wise and wily dragon or two, adventure and perhaps true love frolicking in a garden packed with flowers were infinitely preferable. Things to make her heart sing.
DeleteAs always, well-written, my creative friend.
Sending a medically correct hug,
Love your take, I promise I hadn't read it before I wrote my little contribution. I love dragon books - just got a new one - The Dragon's Heart.
DeleteThis story makes perfect sense in these senseless times. I really loved your story and how it transported me and Leonie away. Stay safe.
DeleteHooray! A perfect solution. (And an excellent story.) :-)
DeleteThank you all.
DeleteGreat story EC!
Delete"Im telling you Dean, Reamus is the very best kind of dragon; reasonable, kind, well...except for when he's drinking."
ReplyDelete"Oh stop! I don't believe a word of it. Reamus is NOT a drinker."
"You're right of course. I've been thinking darker thoughts lately. I've heard him singing pieces, just snatches, of a magical spell when he thinks I'm not paying attention."
"He's just one big flower child Andy. No need to foster those ugly thoughts."
They wandered back into the cave and disappeared forever into the portal Reamus had conjured up. The sound of dragon laughter echoed over the valley.
A drinking dragon? I think it would take rather a lot of wine. Love your mischievous dragon ;)
DeleteI'g glad Reamus does not drink. A drunken dragon might unintentionally set fire to the world.
Deleteonly slightly confused: I love this - and would happily enter a dragon's portal.
DeleteMethinks they should have been more cautious of this dragon.
DeleteWhen Serving with the R N. Ones mother in law among a lot of offensive titles was "The Dragon".Fortunately My dragon was the most sweet lady who was the mother of my equally delightfully loving wife.
DeleteI love the thought of dragon laughter echoing across the valley - fun read: thank you ... Hilary
DeleteAn inebriated dragon is an interesting image to wrap one's mind around. I'm picturing the goofy-looking dragon from the old movie "Pete's Dragon." Like Hilary, I love the idea of dragon laughter echoing through the valley, too. Nice job!
DeleteAnother great story, yes, dragon laughter does appeal. Hic.
DeleteOh, good one! And... uh-oh. I think Reamus has been drinking... ;-)
DeleteLove this story!
DeleteI bet I know where he got the dragon part from. (He and I are both part of a Dragon Fellowship group.)
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: I am providing the prompts this month rather than Mark - and have a deep and abiding love of dragons. In all their manifestations.
DeleteI love dragons too, which is only natural, being born in the Year of the Dragon.
DeleteI'm also thinking, thinking, and jotting them down, that yes this word list will be perfect to tell my story of photos from an art sculpture park I'm going to tomorrow, weather permitting! Thank you so much.
ReplyDelete21 Wits: I really look forward to seeing where the prompts take you - and love the thought of them coming with you to an art sculpture park.
DeleteStop! Be the best kind of dragon you can be. Sing! That is so much better than breathing fire. 🐉
ReplyDeleteSandi: I can see circumstances where breathing fire would be very, very helpful - and love the dragon you cleverly included in your comment.
DeleteSandi: I have to apologise. I only realised after I had replied just how many of the prompts you wove seamlessly into your comment. Congratulations - and thank you for joining us.
DeleteWell done!
DeleteI keep rereading this and fine more and more words form the prompts. Great job!
Delete"Please Peter, you have got to stop drinking so much", she said. As usual she was the more reasonable of the two. It seemed she always had to do the thinking for them both, particularly when it came to their business, and she meant this going to be a windfall day, if not their best day ever. She just had to get Peter to quit drinking.
ReplyDeleteAt first she thought she would take the kind approach and try to foster some willingness to cooperate on his part. When that failed, she resorted to a darker part of her nature and spewed threats in bits and pieces hoping some of it would stick in his thick head. And finally she did what she always did when he was like this, and socked him in the stomach then called him Dragon Butt.
Ignoring him as he ran away from her, she picked a flower from the garden and stuck it behind her ear. In a saccharine sweet sing song voice she asked the couple walking down the sidewalk if they would like to buy some fresh squeezed lemonade. After she made the sale, and seeing her mom walking briskly toward her, she had two worries. One was being in trouble for hitting her brother and the other was whether or not a snitch got a share of the profits.
Anne in the kitchen: Snort. I do hope that Peter doesn't get a share of the profits - he has already drunk his share. And perhaps a little more.
DeleteHeeheehee! The mama in me is not sure which child to fuss at first in this kind of situation.
DeleteAh the ages old teenager Lemonade stall. Haven't seen one of late.
DeleteHi Anne - lemonade with a twist ... fun - all the best Hilary
DeleteWhat an unexpected twist! I love it.
DeleteLaurie: They are a heap of fun aren't they? Some week I hope you will join us. Your writing is always so descriptive and evocative
ReplyDeleteNow that I am no longer taking beach walks, I will say that those who are still dipping their toes in the surf are not being reasonable. They need to do what’s best for all of us right now by going home. Stop thinking of only yourselves, folks. Pack up the blue beach tents, neon-green frisbees, dragon-shaped kites and skedaddle! If I were being kind, then I would say that folk are simply unaware of the dangers. The uncharitable part of my brain thinks that these die-hard beach-goers are just plain selfish. I am reminded of the day-drinking spring breaker who said when interviewed on camera, ‘If I get corona, I get corona!’ Okay, buddy, but it ain't just about you, now is it?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to post that I used the first set of prompts for this entry. :)
DeleteBea: Sadly your spring breaker has relatives over here. The new two person limit on gatherings may limit him, but not soon enough. I did see that you had used the prompts - and thank you for joining us.
DeleteIt's not the worry if you get it, it's the worry if you give it to your grandparents, or the elderly person who had no choice but to go to the store because no one else could go for him, or the immune compromised shopworker who had to work because she needed the income to raise her family.
DeleteThey do not think beyond themselves. Excellent use of the prompts.
I love this! A moral lesson using the prompts! Nothing better or more timely.
DeleteThe world is not short of Total Idiots. They live amongst us.
DeleteHi Bea - there are still fools out there - it is April Fool's Day ... yet I sincerely hope people come to their senses - dragon kite or no! Take care - Hilary
DeleteBoy oh boy, you sure said (wrote) a mouthful. You did a beautiful job using the words provided to write a very pertinent and oh-so-true message. Great job!
DeleteSuch satisfying words to work with, my story will be over here.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: I am really looking forward to reading what you make of these prompts.
DeleteWORDS ON WEDNESDAY (HOUSE ARREST)
ReplyDeleteWords used this week are Stop. Reasonable.Best.Kind. Dragon. & Drinking.
Confined to one's home can become as boring as a home arrest.
Although I have a * reasonable sized garden to walk within, I have too * stop occasionally due to various obstacles like the ornamental *Dragon and the bird * drinking pond obstructing my path. Due to my being *kind to most creatures great and small has not afforded me the * best area to exercise within. The Govt in their wisdom have decreed it to be unsafe for me to venture forth within the streets or community, so in order to combat any bodily misfunctions due to inactivity, I have ordered an exercise contraption which may solve any possible or further bodily misfunctions but not necessarily the other movement problem which has been adequately been solved mentally.
To add to my woes I have had an increase in bodily weight since my confinement, plus I am concerned how my mental health will be affected after the Govt Estimated six months to be rid of the dreaded lurgy to wit (COVID-19 restrictions).
However, I am still with the living; but remember vividly 75 years ago to this very day I came close to copping it full time like many others on that April fools day Easter Sunday 1945 in the Pacific off Okinawa, My prayers were answered that day or was it just plain good luck.
Stay Safe. Still here, Vest Daily Gaggle.
Vest: Good luck with your exercise contraption - and thank you for joining us.
DeleteI have also posted Words on my blog for interested bloggers who travel.
DeleteAfter using that exercise contraption every day for the next six months or so, you'll look as buff as you did in 1945! :) Happy house arrest! I have no doubt you'll make the most of it. Nice use of the words.
DeleteGood words. The stories are good, read most of them.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D: Thank you.
DeleteReally very good stories.
ReplyDeleteDeform: Welcome and thank you.
DeleteFlower Foster Sing Pieces Darker Thinking
ReplyDeleteThinking about these times, could they get darker … we can foster thoughts about wonderful Spring bulbs, and greening plants burgeoning forth … trying not to dwell on gloomy thoughts.
I think I need to lose a few decades and just happily sing around the flat … snippets of pieces from my childhood … the nursery rhymes that kept us amused.
I do remember encouraging my brothers to cycle round the house singing ‘Three Old Ladies stuck in a lavatory’ … not the kind of thing one wants to hear today, and for that matter we’d be even shorter of loo rolls. My father was distinctly unhappy – he was trying to work!
In these days of doom and gloom … we can get through – nurture the happy times, away from darker thinking, foster the singing – however challenging it might be … write a few pieces about the glorious garden flowers – so wanting our admiration, even if from afar.
Thanks EC for these words … all the best to you all - Hilary
Great use of the words, Hilary. Yep, singing and laughing is certainly my way of coping. Not sure I've ever heard the song about the three ladies stuck in the loo, but it sounds like it'd fit right in with the other songs I've taught our grandchildren. :)
DeleteThat song might be a tad on the baudy side, but ... yes you're rigth. Let's sing and grow flowers.
DeleteGreat use of the words and a timely reminder that things could be so much worse.
DeleteHilary Melton-Butcher: I really love your use of the prompts. I too grew up hearing that song, and you have given me an ear worm.
DeleteHere's to green and hopeful springs. For us all.
All of those comments are amazing!
ReplyDeleteNatalia: They are, and I am so very grateful.
DeleteSTOP!! Be reasonable -
ReplyDeletetry your best to be kind.
You're like a dragon on the rampage when you've been drinking!
CHILL OUT!!! 😉😉
Have a great day...and stay safe.
Love and hugs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Nice!
DeleteYgraine: I love this. And yes, being kind is always a winner.
DeleteStay well, stay safe. And hugs.
Ygraine - clever ... I always want to write short and sweet - never happens. So clever you ... stay safe - Hilary
DeleteOh thank you all...so much!😊😊 xxx
DeleteThe other day I was pondering the term “REASONABLE.” It really is a concept subject to a great deal of interpretation, isn't it? What is REASONABLE to you might seem beyond the pale to me. And even at different times of our lives, now that I STOP to THINK about it, reasonableness is a changing target.
ReplyDeleteTake my neighbour (I wish somebody would). He doesn't agree that my FLOWERS are REASONABLE. My garden has been naturalized for pollinators, birds and other wildlife and the flowers reflect that ethic. A little Goldenrod along the fence is enough to make him go to PIECES. You could be forgiven for assuming that native planting would FOSTER goodwill; something to SING about in fact, but the DARKER side of this guy's nature takes over. He is of the ilk that views man's domination over everything as the BEST way to go. He is not above spouting religious claptrap about us having domination over the fish, the fowl and everything else, the KIND of anthropocentric nonsense that make you want to throw up . This fanatic can become a fire-breathing DRAGON once he mounts his virtual soapbox.
I don't think he approves of DRINKING either. The other day we were out on the patio, enjoying the hummingbirds feeding on the nectar produced by the Goldenrod, relishing the sound of bees and other pollinators, while sipping on a fine Bordeaux and nibbling on olives, prosciutto and a delightfully sharp slab of Gorgonzola. We invited him to join us.
I never would have believed that “No thanks” could sound so much like a curse!
Oh, such neighbours really are a nuisance. Keep up the good work and save the world one plant at a time. Dandelions have feelings too ;)
DeleteI do love the use of the words. Too bad you don't live next door to me. I only try to tame the parts of the yard that supply me with food. The rest, well, let's just say I have a live and let live attitude.
DeleteSome neighbors aren't very... neighborly. Nice use of the words!
DeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: I love this. I know that the descriptions of you and Miriam and your garden is true, but how I hope the neighbour is not. Sadly I fear he is all too reall.
DeleteBrilliantly told David ... but I hope that neighbour is a fiction of your wayward imagination ... fun read - and yes as EC says - I can believe it's you and Miriam enjoying a pre-prandial early evening drink ... loved it - cheers Hilary
DeleteWot no G & T if it's warm enough to sit out? I too hope you don't really have such a nasty neighbour.
DeleteI am happy to say that the neighbour is pure fiction. But I have known people like him.
DeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: I am glad to hear it. And yes, I too have known people like him.
DeleteNow I too have used EC's Words for Wednesday. I am trying to spread a bit of laughter among us, or at least a smile. Let's see what happens next.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte (MotherOwl): I have read your story - and did indeed smile. Many, many thanks.
DeleteHere by request, Three reduced to two old Ladies locked in the lavatory.
ReplyDeleteOh dear what can the matter be
Two old ladies locked in the lavatory
They were there from Monday to Saturday
Nobody knew they were there.
The first old lady Elisabeth wicker
Merely went in to fasten her knickers
She thought she was Quick
But the Vicar was quicker
But nobody knew she was there.
The second old lady Prim Mary Humphrey
Only went in to make her self comfy
She tried to leave but couldn't get her BUM free and nobody knew they were there.
Repeat chorus O D W C T M Be Two O L L IN THE Lavatory T W T F M T Sat N K T W THERE.
Since I did not know the song thank you for supplying the words. now if I just knew the tune!
DeleteHA! Love it. Yep, that's exactly the kind of song I sing with my grandsons. :)
DeleteVest: It was always Three Old Ladies locked in the lavatory that I grew up hearing about (and singing). Thank you for the additional verses which are new to me.
DeleteI expect to get pilloried for my efforts but it will be like water off a ducks back to me.
ReplyDeleteVest: Pilloried? For reminding me of my youth? Not a happening thing. Or not here anyway.
DeleteI’m thinking this looks reasonable, but I’m going to stop right here. The best kind, the easy kind don’t have the darker words. Dragons yes, drinking is good too. I can do flower as well, sing, yup, no problem. But I’m stuck with the f-word that is foster. And I have more than 13 letters to write, all of them way, way darker than anything here, worse than fire breathing monsters -full of Qs and Us and Ws. My strategy has gone to pieces, I need to patch up. So long! :)
ReplyDeleteNilanjana Bose: Smiling here. Good luck with your A-Z. I am looking forward (so much) to you broadening my world. Again.
DeleteIn 1946 The British public had little knowledge or had little info passed on to them regarding the exploits of the R N Eastern and Pacific fleets wartime activities, they being mostly involved with the ending of WW2 in europe.
ReplyDeleteA classic quote from the CinC of the B P Fleet , Vice Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlins was Quote. "To most Of the British people we were like the three old ladies locked in the lavatory, Nobody knew we were there". Excerpt from Author John Winton's Book 'THE FORGOTTEN FLEET'.
Vest: I had never heard that quote. Thank you.
Delete"Stop! You're being Kind of unReasonable," said my AA sponsor, nudging me to Best myself. "Put down that fireball! Quit Drinking!" Who knew a Dragon could be both bossy and astute?
ReplyDeleteRawknrobyn: And who would dare to argue with a dragon?
DeleteStay well, stay safe.
Buona serata.
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo: Thank you. Your country is in so much turmoil. I do hope you are safe.
Delete"Stop! Be reasonable and do it my way," said Donny Dragon.
ReplyDelete"Why is it you believe your way is always the best way?"
"Because I'm a kind and generous soul. And I always pay when we go drinking." Donny crossed his little dragon wings and huffed a cloud of smoke.
"There is that. And the fact that you might set me afire if I don't go along. Friends?"
"Friends!" Donny smiled. "Now let's go. I'm thirsty!"
One more drinking dragon. I like this :)
DeleteCarol Kilgore: I would love to go drinking with Donny. I would even pay to do so. Thank you for joining us again.
DeleteWhat a lot of boozy dragons. Donny Dragon paid in this story, that's my kind of dragon.
DeleteThese are great stories! Love the prompts. Here's my stab:
ReplyDeleteIf only he'd be reasonable and stop drinking, the village might be blessed with a kind and benevolent dragon. But no! The best the villagers could expect was a tipsy one inclined to belched fire after the good dragon imbibed in substantial amount of the local witches brew. Not a thatch home escaped damage.
Best
Dragon
cleemckenzie: I love it. Tipsy dragons have featured often this week - and all of them make me smile. Thanks for playing along.
DeleteTelling a dragon to stop drinking isn't kind or reasonable! They give us joy and transportation so only the best of drinks for them!
ReplyDeleteJemi Fraser: Here, Here. What the dragon wants the dragon should get.
DeleteWhew! I made it! I slept in! I'm a day late!! :)
ReplyDeleteDrinking a glass of Shiraz, a darker red than the Merlot that sat unopened on the shelf while I sat watching the last rays of the sun as it disappeared below the horizon, I listened to the well-known Irish duo, Foster & Allen sing “Maggie”. I loved the harmonious sound of their voices flowing from my stereo.
The song set me off in the field of reminiscing...thinking about pieces of my childhood...the best pieces.
My mother often affectionately called me “Maggie”.
Mum was a reasonable, kind woman, but if/when my brother and I misbehaved she’d soon put a stop to our bad behaviour. Her natural auburn hair proved the saying about redheads. She was no shrinking violet, nor was she a wilting flower!
Out of hearing of our mother, my brother, Graham, would whisper to me,..”Look out! Mum has turned into a dragon! It’s time for us to pull our heads in, and socks up!”
Lee: Lovely memories. I am pretty certain that dragon mamas bring children who become better adults than those who indulge their precious infants in everything they demand.
DeleteLEE. After the passing of my Father 39 in 1930 My two siblings and I were sent to Barnardo's, my sister who was a two year old my brother six myself four. After being fostered and sister separated, at age ten we were sent to a naval boarding school and thence to the navy at 15.5 years, I renewed my aquaintense with my mother also my sister and saintly new stepfather in 1946 after the war. So at last I had a real home. I must admit I bonded well to my stepdad but found my mother to be a dissident person whom I barely tolerated.
DeleteI shall post on my blog a story which relates to my mothers visit to my family in Australia travelling from London in the UK.
The post on my Mother has been posted on the Daily Gaggle .com
DeleteYou have some creative commenters. I'm not sure why but I struggle with these word challenges.
ReplyDeleteRick Watson: I know they don't work for you - and on a purely selfish level I am sorry. And yes, I am overjoyed by just how many creative people play this game.
DeleteLOL, so many great entries. I'd try but my mind is shot for the night. :)
ReplyDeleteYolanda Renee: I so understand the shot brain thing. Take care, stay safe.
DeleteSorry, I'm late to the party. Will come back and do some reading tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI had actually been thinking I should stop drinking for weight loss reasons but I actually didn’t drink that much, certainly not enough to foster my imagination when I was alone in my back yard one evening and a dragon landed on the grass in front of me. It didn’t do the flowers much good as they were in shredded pieces to say the least. His skin was darker than night and yet shining in the early moonlight. The sight made my heart sing. I have been in love with dragons since I was a child. It was a reasonable hope that this one would turn out to be the best kind of dragon. Although, as I am sure you know, there are some very dangerous beasts. However, he started to converse with me mentally and I was instantly reassured. He told me, I forgot to say it was a male dragon, that he had been searching for me to be his partner and was now so happy he had found me. He said we would travel the skies together and I would live longer because I was his partner. And then I woke up.
Jo: What a bummer to wake up. That is precisely the sort of dream I would love to have come true.
DeleteI really like your take, and you are never late. There is no time frame for this meme.
Sigmund Freud would have a field day with this one, Jo.
DeleteOh my goodness so many responses how ever do you read them all! I promised to post with this week's words because I just knew it would fit well with my outing yesterday! https://twincitiesblather.blogspot.com/2020/04/sculpture-is-art-of-intelligence.html
ReplyDelete21 Wits: I read with with delight and with awe. Just as I read your contribution.
DeleteThe Three old Ladies locked in the lavatory song has many versions, some as many as seven old ladies, I have discovered several on GOOGLE. Get singing.
ReplyDeleteSorry this is late - my first attempt so a bit slow off the starting block.
ReplyDeletePhil Dragon surveyed Eileen Foster over the rim of his coffee cup and sighed. He was used to dealing with recalcitrant students, but a member of his staff team? A valued friend? 'Be reasonable, Eileen. I'm doing my best to help but I may not always be around to pick up the pieces. You need to start thinking for yourself. Maybe some kind of distraction strategy would help. Something to help you through your darker hours?
'Oh, right, "Doctor" Dragon', Eileen sneered, 'Are you alluding to this new-fangled "social prescribing" that appears to be all the fashion now? Should I 'sing' my way out of this mess I'm in? Or maybe take up flower arranging?'
She smiled at him sweetly. 'Perhaps you could prescribe a social drinking course for me? I would sign up for that!'
SpikesBestMate: Welcome - and you are definitely not late.
DeleteLove your first attempt, and sadly I think that many of us have worked with an Eileen or two.
Hello EC. I've been reading your Words for Wednesday blogs for a few months now, but I've been a bit reluctant to try submitting something myself as I have not written any sort of creative writing for a long time. I've definitely been inspired by some of the submissions and would like to know if you have any general rules for these pieces.Is there a word limit? Is there a time limit for the current set of prompts? Is it okay to use prompts as place names or character names? Thank you for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteSpikesBestMate: The rules (such as they are) are fairly lax. Most pieces are fairly short - unless you are posing them on your own blog (speaking of which do you have a blog where we can find you?). Prompts can indeed be place or character names. There isn't a time limit, but for your piece to get read by more people posting as close as you can to Wednesday is best. Does that help? And I really appreciate you joining us.
DeleteEC: Thank you for the clarification. No, I don't have my own blog, I just follow others. I look forward to joining in more Words for Wednesday's.
DeleteSpikesBestMate: I look forward to that. The next post will go up around 5am (my time) on Wednesday. I hope the prompts inspire you (and others).
DeleteSpikesBestMate: Some people use the prompts for a continuing story - whose direction might change as the next week's prompts are revealed. It isn't something I have done, but I admire those who do.
DeleteThanks everyone for their wonderful stories! Big Hugs EC!
ReplyDeleteMagic Love Crow: Many thanks. I really appreciate you trawling through (and commenting on) back posts.
Delete