Creative Writing? I Can Only Apologise….

I do this for a reason. I want you to donate to a children’s charity and write to me. Please see the About Lesley page or read the instructions at the end of this post…..

WordPress is made for writers, story-tellers, humourists, observers, artists, photographers, cooks, techies and many other types. I’m not sure what category I fall into as I don’t really regard myself as a bona-fide writer, more as a person who types in a very random fashion. I like reading posts from others and I have learned much. I do enjoy those who write creatively and have decided that I should so one post where I have a bash at the more creative side of WordPress. So here goes, Lesley does poetry, you have been warned!

My Haiku

Bathing, swirling eddies

Soothing, calming sad thoughts

Refresh my spirit

———————-

My Limerick!

I tweet, I talk and I blog

My nonsense may leave you agog

But I loves to witter

Through WordPress and Twitter

Write to me, I’ll give you a snog!

———————-

That will do me for now, I don’t really think this creative poetry is for me:) I will continue to admire those who can put their words into beautiful and intricate structures, they reinforce my belief that prose must be my medium. However, if it gets people to read the blog and write to me then I am prepared to torture you all with more attempts at the creative stuff, regardlesss of how crappy I am at it. Again, you have been warned!

I close, as always, with this:-

• Please donate to a valid children’s charity of your choice.

• Visit this blog and comment about your donation. Please also tell me what you wanted to be when you were 8. I still want to collect those tales and hope that some child will read about your words and deeds and want to do the same when they are older.

I will:-

• Add your donation to the Totals page on this blog, totals are updated weekly.

• I will also write some words about the current donations and the charity

• Store all comments so that everyone can read them.

Thank you for reading.

Lesley

So, Which Type Are You?

I do this for a reason. I want you to donate to a children’s charity and write to me. Please see the About Lesley page or read the instructions at the end of this post…..

It is a quiet Sunday evening and I have done all I intend to do for this day. I am meandering through the virtual universe, reading some blogs and dipping to and out of social media sites.

I find myself intrigued by the different types who tweet, blog and post on Facebook, Google Plus, Linkedin etc. I find it interesting that there are, to my mind, some very defined categories of social media users. I have of course made a list. This is not a serious analysis of social media by any means, this is just my own little definition:-

1. The Politico.

The Politico is not a politician but a person who likes to put their political opinion out there. Be they left, right, centrist or multi-coloured swap shop they will be telling you what is right, fighting with those who disagree and happily agreeing and reinforcing the opinions of those they agree with. For me they provide education in alternative viewpoint but occasionally my jaw drops when I read something that seems alien to me. The debates can get heated and even quite nasty but I still enjoy reading it most of the time. If I am not grown-up enough to see opinions that differ from mine then I ain’t old enough to be on social media.

2. The Campaigner

The Campaigner is perhaps one of the categories I fit into when you think about the reason I blog but I have multiple traits. The Campaigner works, often quite tirelessly, to promote a cause or causes dear to their heart. This can be charitable, business, technology, lifestyle. They are different from the politicos in that they don’t necessarily want to convert you to their cause but instead raise awareness and understanding of the same. They will try to persuade rather than cajole and are always charming in their thanks when you show your support,

3. The Provoker

You have to love  The Provoker. They are such fun if you can take the pace! The Provoker will stir things up simply to get a reaction. One day they will support blues, the next reds simply to wind up the reds and blues. Some of the reds and blues do get rankled but I think the Provokers have a very necessary function, they challenge. They can be confusing but make you laugh and make you think.

4. The Humourists

The Humourists can have a lot in common with the Provokers as they will burst the bubbles of those they perceive as pompous. However, their focus is on laughter and making people smile. The humour can get near the knuckle but most of us are old enough to take it; if we can’t we are certainly old enough not to click the links?

5. The Lurkers

We all fit into this category sometimes. There are times when we read and don’t interact, when we just aren’t in the mood. Some are permanent Lurkers though; I confess I could never be one, I love to talk in case you hadn’t noticed.

6. The Ranter

Some would say I am repeating myself here and the the Ranter is a copy of the Provoker. Not in my social media world. The Ranter is the Mr or Mrs Angry of the virtual world. They may be provoking but not to stimulate thought, they want to stimulate rage. You have to be brave to take them on.

7. The Amuse Bouche

Perhaps an odd category but I have a large soft spot for the Amuse Bouche. They are the random thoughts of the social media world. They may be quiet for long spells but when they are in the mood their bon mots will have you in stitches. They are not Humourists as they are not joke-tellers, they are observers of life and its nonsenses.

8. The Eejits

I probably most closely identify with this category as I am happy to admit my inner and outer Eejit. We Eejits want to chat, spin daft tales and simply enjoy ourselves. We are serious as well but often we stray into the bonkers where *chortles* await. Social media is a place for fun too and we should not forget this.

I suspect that at times we all fit into the categories above but wonder, where do you think you belong?

I close, as always, with this:-

• Please donate to a valid children’s charity of your choice.

• Visit this blog and comment about your donation. Please also tell me what you wanted to be when you were 8. I still want to collect those tales and hope that some child will read about your words and deeds and want to do the same when they are older.

I will:-

• Add your donation to the Totals page on this blog, totals are updated weekly.

• I will also write some words about the current donations and the charity

• Store all comments so that everyone can read them.

Thank you for reading.

Lesley

Hackneyed!

I do this for a reason. I want you to donate to a children’s charity and write to me. Please see the About Lesley page or read the instructions at the end of this post…..

The thing about blogging is that you have to write words. The thing about writing words is that you worry about your prose. If you want readers you need to be smart, funny, incisive and interesting, a bit of a challenge. The thing I fear most is sounding trite, hackneyed and clichéd. I am sure that all bloggers fear this, whatever their interest. I decided that the easiest way to deal with this is to tackle it head on and do a blog with as many clichés as possible. So, deep breath, here I goes!

Let’s get down to brass tacks here. In this world there are children without food and shelter, am I letting the cat out of the bag or did you know this already? In the final analysis this is not a fact of life I enjoy thinking about. It is as easy as 1-2-3 you know, donate to a charity that helps children, make my day please:)

We all have to knuckle down, these are hard times. Not everyone can grasp this nettle but perhaps we can aim to do our good deed for the day? Make it easy on yourself, pick a charity close to home, then it is just a hop, skip and a jump to pop in and pass them a few of your hard-earned pounds.

You might say, ‘Hold your horses Lesley, you are just jumping on the bandwagon’. I may be but I am in this for the long haul. Repeated blogging is my labour of love, I will continue until I have one foot in the grave. I blog ergo I am, that is my motto for life. It can be hard to get the words out but you know what they say, when the going gets tough, this tough old broad gets writing.

Perhaps you think my purpose for blogging is too hard, I have picked too tough a topic? Sometimes I am between a rock and a hard place, it is difficult to point people towards painful truths, we all prefer to look at the sunny side of life. But when I take a long, hard look at myself I know that I am inexorably drawn to nag you all into donating to a charity that will help one child, many children. For me it is no pain, no gain. Do you think I am all mouth and no trousers? I promise you I put my money where my mouth is, I donate monthly to two charities that help children. It wouldn’t do for me to preach, I need to live into my intent.

I love blogging but it is a joy and a sorrow. I have to think outside the box, dreaming up themes that will catch your interest. I have no hidden agenda, no place to hide. I will take the long hard road, throw in everything but the kitchen sink. If it catches your imagination then it is worth it to me. I won’t be a fly by night blogger. I do dream of my fifteen minutes of fame, I want more readers and more people to donate. I will crawl out from under my rock if it gets those readers to think and act.

Almost done, promise:) I hope my cliché-ridden blog will catch your eye and won’t take my prose in a new direction, the road to hell is paved with my good intentions. This is my attempt to cleanse myself of all clichés, I hope it isn’t easier said than done! I am being light-hearted today but know my aims are true, it would be beyond the pale if this post made you think my prose doesn’t cut the mustard. If that happens I will run away to sea….

I close, as always, with this:-

• Please donate to a valid children’s charity of your choice.

• Visit this blog and comment about your donation. Please also tell me what you wanted to be when you were 8. I still want to collect those tales and hope that some child will read about your words and deeds and want to do the same when they are older.

I will:-

• Add your donation to the Totals page on this blog, totals are updated weekly.

• I will also write some words about the current donations and the charity

• Store all comments so that everyone can read them.

Thank you for reading.

Lesley