VW and the land of the Volkswagon

I saved V for today specifically to have the VW post.  I know that sounds right and it sounds plausible but it was also convenient.  As the story I am just finishing lurches to the finish line it is gobbling more of my time and it seems like it will never be done.  But the end of a story always feels like that, like the edits will never end.

And I'm happy to declare as I return to writing a blog post I started this morning, that the finish line has been reached, for now.  The story is out to my reader who fortunately, is much faster reading than I am at writing.

The punch to the finish line of a book reminds me of one of my first vehicles.  Back when in those free and easy days when all you have to think about is yourself and your possible career plan or lack there of, I was in love with the Volkswagon Beetle, and one of my first cars was a bug.  That was before its rebirth, we're talking the vintage model.

And as I thought about that old bug I remembered a trip that I took with a friend from the prairies to Victoria, British Columbia.  Now the VW could do sixty miles an hour top speed and that was with a

wind in your favour and a flat road.  So the mountains presented a bit of a challenge.  My trusty old VW crawled up those mountain roads chugging and panting to make it only to race down the other side. 

And then the worst happened.  The car wouldn't start.

Remember the days of youthful flying by the seat of your pants, when worries were as few as the dollars in your pocket?  A car that was a little finicky was not going to stop us from reaching Victoria not when just cooling the engine off got that car going again.  I shudder to think of driving that balky little vehicle onto the ferry for the last round of the trip.  But she started right up to drive off with no problems and we were problem free again until we hit the mainland.  From there we jump started the car a couple of times before we finally arrived home.

Why didn't we check in at a service station?  I wonder that now.  But if we had, I suppose now, I wouldn't have a story.  And the story was, that Volkswagon made it despite weary parts, all the way to the end.  Kind of like a story, one day at a time, one word at a time and eventually you'll finish that last word and voila - a story!

Ryshia
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Letter V Song

This morning there's not just one word beginning with V but a whole lot of V words.  Why weren't there learning videos like this when I was learning my alphabet?  Although, I don't know about you, but when I was singing A B C D - no one was mentioning consonants.  However, consonants are something every fledging writer should know.

For all you adults just enjoy this light video with your coffee, and maybe it will begin your day with a smile!

Ryshia
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Time for U

T is for time

U is for underestimate

Never underestimate time for it is probably out and about over-estimating you.  Like today when I am blogging T and U because I had so much time yesterday...not!  I thought I did.  I thought I had time to do it all, to catch up on my edits, to get a brochure for the upcoming craft sale ready, to walk the dog, pay the bills, answer e-mails, clean the house and the list rolled on. 

We all know the list.  The tasks that scroll threw our mind when the alarm rings in the morning.  And then like water dripping out of a tap, that distinct blip, blip, blip... and the day is gone. 

Yesterday I threw a few extra things into the rotation, a book finished and reviewed, a coffee with a friend I'd neglected, and the list goes on.  But there was even more I didn't get done.  Like that book, excuse me books, two of them - still working on it.  The book prizes that need to go out have moved to today - tomorrow at the outside and there again is a list, of what still needs to be done.

Time just got away!

So when I had the opportunity to review a new book about just that - maybe being happy with where you are and not rushing to be somewhere else or even be something else - I thought, yes I'm interested.    Now, I'm not sure if this is exactly what the author is going to tackle but it appeared to be on those lines and caught my interest.  Yes, it's more on my to do list but sometimes it's nice to do something a little different and give back.  Plus, as I said, the book might be helpful.  I'll update all of that on Goodreads.

Meantime I will continue to time wrangle and today in honour of saving time, I am blogging T and U. 

Til tomorrow.

Ryshia
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Moving on the the letter S

I could say S is for snoring.  For that is what Rourke is doing as he lays on his bed, to my right this time.  He lays to my left when he curls up on the rug.  Don't ask, it's a dog behavior that he has developed on his own and one he refuses to explain.

S by contrast is also for silence or quiet that I blogged about only two days ago.  The silence that I often need when I write and somehow get by blocking the canine snoring.  To be fair, he doesn't always snore - but sometimes...  Maybe there lies my answer to how people work in coffee shops, they block out the noise.  Thank you letter S.

S is also for summer, a season we're looking forward to on the prairie where snow is still being punched and pushed and reconfigured to encourage those last few piles to melt.  I suppose we could mention that other S - snow but we don't like to encourage that party animal who needs no invitation to show up unannounced.

And one other thing, S is for soda.  Hey, I needed that word for the picture.  I was getting a little tired of posting the party animal's pic - you know the one, read up a line or two, it begins with S too.  Shhh!

Ryshia
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What Are You Reading?

I'm one day behind on blogging the alphabet.  Does being one day ahead in the earlier letters give me any banked credit?  I thought not.  I also see that my reading might be a little behind too.  Possibly it's having five books on the go that's the problem.  Possibly it's those two book I'm trying to do edits on.

But all that aside here's some of what I'm reading.


Luckbane by Tony Breeden
In a dystopian future, online gaming is the ultimate escape… until one corporation gives a few lucky players the chance to play their favorite sword and sorcery game live and in person on a distant planet. In the inaugural Øtherworld campaign, the winners will face monsters, magic, warriors, dragons, and betrayal as they quest to find a weapon capable of stopping the dreaded Firelord and his armies.


Against Her Will by Peter Martin
Rape is every woman’s worst nightmare, an act so vile, so devastating, it robs the victim of any sort of dignity, leaving scars that can last a. lifetime. Having family and friends rally round can make all the difference in the world. But without this support the victim may never fully recover.
Donna is such a victim. 


Against Her Will is a dark story that draws you in right away and interestingly enough, written by a man.  Luckbane is a rollicking, fast paced story that took me into the amazing world of gamers.  So far, I'd recommend both.

What are you reading?



Ryshia
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Q is for Quiet Spaces

It interests me, the people who can write in coffee shops and train stations and airports and other such public places.  I can glean ideas from these places, jot down observations, take those kinds of notes that will eventually become a story but to be able to write fiction in such a place.  Never. 

The most noise I want to hear while writing, is sometimes only the dog snoring, as he is this afternoon, to my left.  Sometimes I'm a little more open to distraction and I'll have music playing - classical with no voice to distract.  And sometimes I go for the gusto and it's music with lyrics combined with the dog snores from - you guessed it, the left hand corner.  It all depends on my

mood, how much noise I can tolerate. 

Today, it's one of those dull days.  You know the kind, a day when even the weather is dull.  It feels like Sunday, which is the slow day of the week, when in actuality it's Saturday.  It's a good day to get some work done amidst the quiet.  Even the television cooperated with offering curling as a distraction to writing - not. 

Are you one of those writers that finds their best work in a public place?  Or do you seek quiet and solitude to get your best writing done?

Ryshia
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