Daily Prompts September 6th Regrets

Daily Prompt: Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

What’s your biggest regret? How would your life have been different if you’d made another decision?

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I have worked hard over the years learning that regretting is a waste of energy – once the time has passed, the opportunity has gone. If you chose to walk away not towards, then live with that decision in freedom.

This means that I have only vague shadowy regrets buried somewhere deep inside.

I think the one that I regret the most is not travelling. When I graduated university, I had a partner and chose to live with him and get a job to pay the rent instead of using the money I had to buy a round the world ticket.

I knew if I went it would change me, and him and our relationship and at 21, I thought I was too young to cope with this cause and effect.

I managed a compromise – a short trip around Europe and have since managed to travel to many other places on my wish list. Of course I have known many people who bought their tickets and changed their lives and none of them regret their decision to travel.

Ironically the relationship only lasted a few years after graduation but it was my first long term (7 years) relationship, and I don’t regret that any more than the decision not to travel.

A regret is a waste of a decision. There are always reasons and lessons to learn whichever path you choose.

I am certainly VERY HAPPY with my life now – and maybe this is not the life I would lead if I had made the decision to buy my round the world ticket.

 

FWF – Free Write Friday – Autumn

  foliage – amber – wicker – aroma – sweater – cocoa

 

The leaves fall in heaps on the floor,

Sweet aroma of dew mixing with Autumn’s promise.

 

Deep pinks, reds, ambers and  browns.

The deep rich orange,

Amber jewellery displayed on trays, stall after stall

in the marketplace in Poland.

Brown leaves, the colour of burnt cocoa.

 

Children collect twigs to make wicker wands,

Chase each other around

kicking up the leaves.

 

No time to mourn the Summer,

Autumn has started her dance.

Dressed in a different shade,

Accessorised foliage

changes,

just as we

change from our summer clothes to

Sweaters.

 

 

Purposeful Research & a Plot

The day has come… I went for a very special appointment this morning and it has opened me up. I drove home with my head swimming with ideas and knew as soon as I got home I’d need to switch the laptop on.

I wrote 600 words – notes and structure of my short story idea. It is meaty and I think topical or at least of interest.

I am currently online completing some research to help character development. See… Believe and it will happen. It has only taken just over a week and now the plot lines, events and conflicts have embedded themselves within me.

A few weeks ago I had a ponder over the blog. I love blogging and I have enjoyed every minute of creating this space in Blogland, I have absolutely no intention in stopping it or deleting it, I enjoy helping fellow writers and love what can come from participating in the writing challenges. Not to mention how blessed I have been to meet so many wonderful people.

However, I MUST not forget the theme of my blog, which was exploring and tracking my re-launch into the wonderful world of writing. Much as I love checking in and posting content I have sometimes wondered how much further I would be with my action plan if I was ACTUALLY writing – rather than writing (blogging) about writing.

After reading advice from professionals about their time management and writing agenda I have decided to focus on the writing action plan and organising INKSPILL retreat (Oct 25th) this month rather than the blog (especially because I want INKSPILL to be a great success!) And this will be the only month I have to WRITE without having to juggle work and writing!

I am going to allocate a morning slot to AWF to reply to followers comments and post/ read around. And an evening slot to do the same.

I will still post new content every week day through posts.

This week I have started participating in the challenges so I will complete those tonight and Sunday. After that, I will only be able to enter a response if I have time.

I need my main focus to be on the short story and the characters I have created, in addition to organising the retreat and writing/ submitting sample poetry this month too.

There are plenty of hardly ever read posts here to keep you happy – just use the navigation threads and go find them. Everything is worth a read. Feel free to comment even if I posted it last Spring.

HAPPY WRITING!

Blogtember 6th September – Day 4 – A Tale of Fear

Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.

 

I was 6 and this is still a vivid memory for me.

 

Running down Drummond Hill the rain lashed like a whip against my face, cheeks red and brow soaking. My clothes clung to my skin. The heavens had just opened without warning. The sky turned from white to grey in a blink of an eye and before I knew it the sheets of rain were lashing down.

I’d not got far to go, past the old school, round the corner and across the street. My feet were now soaked and squelched uncomfortably in my shoes, I could feel rawness rubbing at the back of my heels. I should have stayed at my friends house, why did I choose to run all the way home, alone?

Then it started. The thunder, crashing and rumbling over my head. The sky felt claustrophobic, like a low hung ceiling, everything was closing in. I was getting a stitch. I didn’t want to stop. I knew that after thunder came the lightning and sure enough just as I thought it a bolt lit up the dark sky. I was scared of storms. I hid from them even when I was inside the house. Under my duvet cover, safe, as mum went through the house switching off plug sockets.

Out here I was exposed, cold, wet, alone and petrified.

Nearly at the bottom of the hill, just a few hundred yards to go, more thunder, rolling this time. Another pang of light stripped the sky of darkness. I could see the corner of my road now. Lightning lit up the kitchen window of a house near the end of the road, an old bearded man looked out. Before I could pass his house, he was at the door. I panicked. I knew not to talk to strangers. But I was well mannered, soaking wet and scared. What if he invited me in?

I was only about five houses away from home, he was shouting and waving his arm, standing on his doorstep.

‘The tree!’ he shouted, ‘The tree!’

To my left was the Fosters lawn and a tree as old as the houses. I stood underneath it and shivered. It didn’t offer much shelter, the rain dripped off the branches, cold and unexpected. I was soaked through already. I stayed there. Quiet, frightened and cold, until the storm started to subside. I don’t know how long, maybe ten minutes, felt like days to me at the time. The rain lightened too. I looked back at the window, the man waved. I waved back and ran off down my road.

 

 

 

 

As an adult I know the WORST place to shelter from a lightning storm is under a tree. I think that is what scares me most about this story!