Write

Patience…

/ markmkane / 2 Comments
time concept, selective focus point, special toned photo f/x

Patience…

is what it takes to the path of

your dreams, your goals

Patience…

is a virtue they say

but to me it’s a test

Patience…

challenges your hopes,

your strength of will,

your endurance to bear

the uncomfortableness  of it all

So that the light at the end of the tunnel

shines big and bright

like the radiant sun

And all the riches of your hopes and dreams

are there for your taking

So relish the moments

that require patience…

for it truly is a valued trait.

AAAA6

Liebster Award

/ markmkane / 10 Comments

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I am truly honored and appreciative of the fact that I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Haylee.   I had stumbled across her log one day and was pleasantly surprised by her posts…most especially her poems.  They are simple, profound and touch on life experiences that we all encountered at some point in our lives.  If you get the chance, check out her site: stumblingaboutourworld.wordpress.com

You’ll be pleasantly surprised as I was.

Questions from stumblingaboutourworld:

1.  What is the most extreme thing that I’ve done?

When I was in college, I hiked along the entire ridge of Diamond Head.  Which I’m glad I did because now they do not permit anyone to do so because of the dangerous conditions.

2. Out of all the places I visited, which did I like the most?

I really like Hawaii (also known as the “Big Island”) . I got the opportunity to see an active volcano, walk on solid lava, got to go to the top of Mauna Kea, experienced the black sand beach as well as the green sand beach and saw many historical Hawaiian sites.

3. What is on of my favorite memories?

The birth of my daughter Chloe and my son Conor.  It truly was an experience that surpasses anything and everything that I encountered or will encounter.

4. Why did I decide to start my blog?

It was on the advice of my literary manager but in the end it was my passion for writing and sharing my inner voice for the world to see.

5. What is my favorite book or book series?

“Writing Movies For Fun And Profit or How We Made A Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!”  by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon

6.  Do I have a post (one of my own) that you favor over others?

The one that I liked best was a post called “Our Special Gift” :

midlifemaniacalme.me/?s=our+special+gift

7. If I could go anywhere in the world and take one person, who would it be and why?

I would go and see Japan with my wife because she is my everything – the love of my life, my best friend, the foundation of our family, strong, smart and a fighter.

8. If I were given $500 today, what would I do with it and why?

If given a $500 today, I would spend it on a dinner for my parents because of all they’ve done for me.  They’ve taught me the values of life, helped shaped the person into who I am today.

9. What inspires me to write?

It’s just a passion that I’ve had for the past 27 years.  The joy I get from writing anything totally frees me and lets my inner voice be heard and shared with both strangers and all of my blogging colleagues.

10. What is my opinion on the advancement of technology?

I think that it’s great.  A lot of what we do and see whether it be writing, seeing something is all instantaneous.  It’s truly convenient.

Nominees:

I had a hard time trying to determine what blogs I was going to nominate because I follow so many great ones.  The ones that particularly stuck out were the ones that touched me, inspired me, made me laugh and provoke thought.  These blogs are written by the people who provide encouraging words and have the gift of prose.  They really don’t need my help in sending people their way because so many people have found them already.  But on the off chance you haven’t stumbled across them, please check them out..you won’t be disappointed.

anotetohuguette.wordpress.com

comicallyquirky.com

peacefrompanic.wordpress.com

priyasingh91.wordpress.com

realtimelove.wordpress.com

Questions For The Blogs That I Nominate:

  1. What made you decide to start a blog?
  2. Which one of your own posts do you like the best and why?
  3. What inspires you to write?
  4. What have you learned from following other blogs?
  5. How has blogging affected your life?
  6. When do you like to do your writing – day or night?
  7. How do you decide on what blog you want to follow?
  8. Has your blogging experience been so far?
  9. Who is your biggest influence in your craft of writing?
  10. Would you recommend blogging to your family and friends?

Rules for Nominees:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.
  1. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.) At the bottom of this post, I’ve included a whole lot of images you can use for your 2017 Liebster Award.
  1. For the 2017 Liebster Award, I will be shaking things up! Write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog, provide links.
  1. Provide 10 random facts about yourself. (This year I’m making this optional. If you wish to engage with your readers it’s a great idea to include random facts about you.)
  1. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)
  1. List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here or simply link to this post.) Once you have written and published it, you then have to:
  1. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post or mine if you don’t have all the information so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!) (info)

 

You’re Grounded! Write Me A Story!

/ markmkane / 5 Comments

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The other day as I was walking through the local mall, I saw a mother unabashedly scolding her son.  He looked like he was about 9 or 10 years of age and completely embarrassed by the staring eyes of the mall’s patrons.

When the mother’s tirade ended, she forcefully grabbed her son’s arm and stormed away.  This scene was reminiscent of my childhood and all I could think of was what was in store for the boy when he gets home.

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I remembered whenever I did something bad, my parents would give me a good scolding and ground me.  “YOU CAN’T GO OUT AND PLAY AND NO TV FOR A WEEK!” is what my mom usually bellowed.  Back in my time, this was painful; I didn’t have the luxuries that the kids have nowadays.

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Being “grounded” meant just staying in my room doing nothing.  At that time there were no such things as cable TV, cellphones or video games.  All that I could do to pass the time away was listen to AM radio stations (because there weren’t any FM at that time).

Now whenever I did something “REALLY” bad, like playing with matches and burning things, I got a healthy dose of spankings.  My mother would get “the belt” and teach me an unforgettable lesson.

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Please don’t think bad of my mom; she’s the most kindest and caring person in the world.  Some of the terrible things I did as a young boy were REALLY BAD…trust me.  Remember, I grew up in a time when this was perfectly acceptable or “PC.”  Your neighbors and even teachers were allowed to do the same if you got way out of line…boy how times have changed.

As I was growing up, I wondered how I would discipline my children if they ever did something bad.  Well, cut to present day…as a parent of two, I decided to go the unconventional route.

When my children were young and did something bad, I made them write me a story and then read it to me and my wife.

“Don’t worry about grammar or spelling, just write me a story” is what I would tell them.

“What do you want us to write about?” my children would reply.

My answer, “Anything!  Just write me a story!”

For some unknown reason, this punishment really stressed them out.  Secretly I think that they would have rather been scolded or grounded.

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For the longest time, they would stare at a blank page and wrack their brains to come up with anything.  Their stories were simple at first but in time, they got to be more and more creative.  Their speaking skills improved as well.

Don’t get me wrong, they still got a good scolding if they did something really bad but I felt that I wanted to try and bring out their creativity at an early age.

This punishment benefitted them during their early school years and were recognized by their teachers whenever we had our annual parent-teacher conference.

Now that my kids are teenagers, this punishment is way too easy for them.  I need to come up with a whole new game plan.  Maybe I’ll make them come up with a dance choreography…yeah, I’ll do that!

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In The End, It’s All Good

/ markmkane / 7 Comments

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I’m always in awe every time I peruse the other blog sites; their writings are eloquent, articulate, beautiful, concise, humorous, lyrical and picturesque.  Even after all these years of writing, I sometimes feel like I’m not in their league.

Because of that, I tend to have a qualm with my writing style; doubts creep in.  Am I too wordy?  Is my writing clear enough to get the message across?  Am I too boring?  Not funny enough?  What are the other readers thinking?

Every time I sit at my computer to write, I always wonder if the words that I choose truly evoke what I’m feeling deep inside.  Because of that, my writing process is hampered.  A3

Often times I get stuck trying to figure out how to convey my thoughts into words.  Do I use simple words?  Are there more elegant ones that would make it sound more thought provoking?  If I use those words will I sound too flowery?  Or will it make me sound like an idiot for not using it the correct way?  A6

The plethora of words wage war and usually the victor emerges after a few minutes.  But even then, I still question as to how I’ll form sentences with it. A2

Writing shouldn’t be this difficult right?  It should be free flowing without any debilitating thoughts.  Or at least that’s how I envision it.  Why do I always go through this?!

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I do admit that I’m getting better at not having these hang-ups but the thoughts are there in my somnolent memory waiting to bust out unexpectedly.

But I’ve concluded that this is what I love to do.  So I just plow ahead, write it down and not fret!  The way I write is who I am and I should accept it.  Other writers don’t care.  We all do this because this is our passion.  We only care if we are inspired, entertained or informed about one another’s writings.

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So in the end, it’s all good.

 

Writing Haikus

/ markmkane / 9 Comments

1A

Writing is a gift

Your words convey true feelings

Inspire everyone

 

1C

Your stories bring hope

Share them with everyone now

Invigorate dreams

 

1B

Writing’s a journey

Embrace the path everyday

Always love your craft

Let Your “Inner Voice Shine Through

/ markmkane / Leave a comment

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In my opinion, one of the best things about being a writer is showcasing our inner voice through our pieces of prose to the world.  Our writing style, our choice of words and our descriptive passages all reflect our artistic expression hidden deep within.  inner6

Everyone’s writing style is unique; it can be eloquent, serious, humorous, wordy, concise or simple.  The fact that we get our point across to any and all readers, in whatever fashion our voice dictates, is truly amazing.  AND the painstaking years that it took just to get us comfortable in writing is a feat in itself.  AND the tremendous courage it takes to put forth our laborious effort for strangers to read.  inner7

That’s why I enjoy reading other people’s work; I love the fact that they took the time to share something that was on their mind.  I’m able to get a semblance of their personality through their choice of topics and words.  It’s like meeting a stranger and getting to know them through their writing.  The more I read, the more I become familiar with them.  inner3

We as writers share a piece of our soul in the hopes of bringing to view something that we feel has value and get a sense of self-satisfaction from doing so.  Our reasons for exhibiting our work can be therapeutic, informative or for entertainment.

I’ve known a couple of writers, however, that were quite hesitant to impart their work for public viewing for fear of crucifying comments or lack of praise.  They toiled over their piece but found it difficult to take it to the next step; in the end, they abandoned their desire for writing.  It was a sad loss because I felt that they had something of quality that was worth sharing.

inner1We need to lose all inhibitions and accept the fact that there will be some people that’ll like what we write and others that’ll hate it.  It all comes with the territory of our craft and shouldn’t be a factor in deterring our passion for writing.

The joy we get from putting pen to paper,  the dedication to honing our craft, the anticipation of producing something substantial from a mere thought and the gratification from seeing the final product are qualities that strengthen our passion.  In the end, our devotion to writing should outweigh all reactions, whether it be good or bad.  So let loose, face your fears, WRITE and let your “Inner Voice”shine through.

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If you can say it, then you can write it

/ markmkane / Leave a comment

There’s this misconception amongst some people that they’re not good writers; that they can’t write at all.  They feel that in order to be a skilled scribe, their vocabulary must rival that of a person with an I.Q. of 130 or above.

 These people feel that they can’t string together the correct words and phrases to convey their thoughts, ideas, instructions, stories or feelings.  These individuals see writers as a special breed of people that sequester themselves to a room and sit in front of a typewriter or computer for days on end frenziedly pounding on the keys of their devices creating their masterpiece.

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 I, for one, felt that way; I perceived writers as these “gifted beings” that could poignantly craft a sentence, paragraph or story into a work of art.  Their use of words and grammar were flawless; it’s as if everything they inscribed on paper immediately became canon.

 Every time I had to write a paper for school, I’d have anxiety because I was cognizant of the fact that I was NOT one of these “gifted beings” that could put my words into writing and effectively communicate my thoughts.

 These shortcomings, and the fact that I dreamed of being a writer, drove me to improve myself in both words and sentence structures.  I was obligated to become a master of my craft and not do a disservice to writers all over the world.

I enrolled in many writing classes, read many books, wrote many things ranging from short stories, children stories, poems, screenplays, business writing and reports.  I voraciously wrote every day and even composed sentences in my head to sharpen my skills.

In all those years of writing I found one thing to be true…all of our writing, words, feelings, stories and ideas come from within. 

 Storytellers of old used to pass down their history, urban legends or culture orally from one generation to the next.  One day someone had the solution to record them on paper; that paper soon was passed on and improved on by later generations.

 Now if they could communicate effectively to another, they could surely write it down.  The whole point of writing is basically recording down on paper what’s inside of us.  If we could tell another person our idea then we could surely write it exactly as how we expressed it.

 One’s writing doesn’t have to be eloquent with long words and grammatically correct, it just needs to get our point across to the reader.  When we tell our story or idea, whether it be in a sentence, paragraph, page, or novel, as long as we’re able to get across what we need to say then we’ve accomplished what writing is all about. 

 If you have to compose a letter, report or story or dream of becoming a writer just always remember that it doesn’t take much.  Just remind yourself of the fact that “if you can say it, then you can write it.”  Speak out loud and then just write down what you’ve said on paper…that’s it.  You’ve just take the first steps to writing.

 Forget all that hogwash about long words and correct grammar; you’ll become efficient in that over time.  You just need to WRITE!  The whole point of writing is expressing yourself through your OWN choice of words; you’ll eventually develop a composition style that’s uniquely you.

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 We all talk, we do it every day.  It’s something that is inherently in us.  So go forth and write to your heart’s content.  AND remember…you don’t need a high I.Q. or a vast vocabulary to write; as long as you can speak your thoughts then you can surely write it.

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