prairiedaisy

can't ever escape the draw of the emotions i left here.

gratitude

ah, to hell with being away for exams - I can't let this slide without saying thank you to a whole bunch of people for the beautiful surprise that I found waiting in my message centre today.

Many thanks go to KneelingGlory for suggesting my series prairiedaisy.deviantart.com/ar… (reasons for dying), fallenidle for inspiring it and LadyLincoln for featuring it today.  Exams and life in general have not been as bright as I'd like them both to be lately (I firmly believe it will get better, but in the meantime I just have to keep smiling and working hard and keeping my chin up), so this was a really welcome happy-making thing (see I am so excited that I'm not as erudite as usual) that helped lift my spirits to where they usually are.  

Thanks are also due to those who have stuck by me through thick and thin, encouraging me to be happy and to fulfill my potential (this is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech, but I cannot be ungrateful and not give thanks where they are due, right?); all the old-timers who have cheered for me and held me up when I needed it most - you have never failed me, and for that I am so grateful.  You know who you are.


literary news

lovetodeviate has updated the writer's resource central into news.deviantart.com/article/11… news article) for easier access.  This is a useful place to go when you want to brush up on your poetic forms or find out how to get published.

Various responses to KneelingGlory's writing challenge "What will you say when asked why you never stopped _______?" have been featured news.deviantart.com/article/11… it out and give them some love!

ATrue's latest Lit List (hoho look at the alliteration!) was posted on news.deviantart.com/article/11… 19th), featuring a variety of contests and workshops.

Check out British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's poem on the www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/… of the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull).


other news

Happy Earth Day!  Remember to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - not to be preachy, but we only have one planet so we have to look after it well.

Go say happy birthday to fallenidle!

news.deviantart.com/article/11… Lindzey Muir), a 13-year-old stomach cancer patient!  Her family is struggling with her medical bills and it's the least we can do to offer encouragement and if possible, donations.





anyway - it's late and I have class early tomorrow - so thanks again and I'll surface again within three and a half weeks or so!

Wendy

literary things

If you haven't heard already, StJoan is hanging up her hat after serving the dA Literature community as Lit GM for so long.  Go say hello and thank you!  It's the least she deserves after all her hard work for the good of the lit community.

Thank you for your continued support of !   gliitchlord, fallenidle and I are working on some new things which will hopefully come to life in the not-too-nebulous future (Contests galore!  New galleries and features! ).  There is more to come when we've worked out all the details, so watch this space!




a personal update

I am jetlagged and very much awake at 4am.  Okay, okay - I do concede to a certain droopy-eyed tiredness that has always lent a rather whimsical style to the writing I produce during these early hours.  But not so much that I will faceplant into my keyboard.

For those of you who have stuck with me through thick and thin - you will probably be glad to hear that I have finally cut ties with the character who spawned so much poetry and pain and angst and contemplation over the past two years or so; you're looking (or reading, rather.  The annoying thing about cyberspace is that so many sayings become obsolete, whereas they would make perfect contextual sense in meatspace) at someone who is finally free of the hollow friendship that defined such a large part of my early years at university.  It feels good.  I haven't got much more to say about the whole affair - but I felt the need to lay it to rest by writing it down, because to hide it is to give it more power than it deserves.  You may have noticed the change in my writing as a result of this separation, but I feel that it would be appropriate to put a name to the difference in tone and subject matter; it's a rearrangement of my priorities, a return to myself, a change of direction.  And change, for somebody who has been stuck in a stalemate for too long - it is a good thing.

You are also looking at a kid who has to contend with a fearsome set of exams within five weeks or so, and I'm feeling rather ill-prepared for them.  Never fear, though - I suppose I'll get through them like I did with everything else; with perseverance and a whole lot of grueling hard work, not to mention several boxes of Kleenex and a few anguished phone calls to friends and family.  Which means, as is customary, that I will be more absent from here than I'd like.  But I will be around some, at least, because dA is a good thing for my sanity.  Because even if I don't write, at least I can still live vicariously through all the people who are such bright threads in the fabric of our lives on dA.  


W.

gliitchlord has recently set up MythMash, a place for us to share our writing (be it poetry or prose).  The only stipulation is that it should be fiction; the group is happy to feature everything from vignettes to multi-deviation stories in their entirety.  If you want to be part of a nascent literary community, to read good fiction or participate in writing contests - is the place to be!


Here's a little more on our ethos (I was recently appointed as an Administrator, in case anyone thinks I'm trying to do an impression of Queen Victoria );

1. Our Purpose

    MythMash is a group for works of fiction.

    MythMash is focused on the far-reaching works, the kind that generate their own mythology and use that fiction to build their stories.



2. Our Values

    a. We believe in literature. We believe in ambition. Thus, we believe in ambitious literature.

        Shoot for the stars. If you miss, reload.


    b. We believe in respect for all art. We believe in honesty. Thus, we believe in responsible critiques.

        Those who can't do were likely never properly critiqued.


    c. We believe in art. We believe in community. Thus, we exist.

        I ink, therefore I am.


    d. We believe in humor. We believe in sarcasm. Thus, we are awesome.

        My sixth sense is humor. Who wants to see dead people?



3. Our Process

    a. New members are automatically approved.

    b. When a member submits a new deviation to the #MythMash gallery, the current admins will vote on the deviation's MythMashability. The first approved deviation from a member will be shown in the Featured Deviations gallery.

    c. If a member has a multi-deviation story, they will be given their own folder in the Featured Gallery.


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Much love to you all!   W.

I know I'm not around much but there's always time enough for a short hello -

I may never have known Bill GeneratingHype personally but his contribution towards dA has probably impacted all of us in ways we don't realise, and for that, I am grateful.  In his memory, please support StJoan in her Houston AIDS Walk; www.aidshelp.org/goto/stjoan20…

Also; who could ignore the suffering in Haiti?  Donate now to the Red Cross to help earthquake survivors ; american.redcross.org/site/Pag… (US website)

or UNICEF, for those of you in the UK; www.unicef.org.uk/give/index.a…

I know this may not be the best economic time for everyone, but if you've got even a penny to spare - these people need it.  Or if you can't spare money, why not spare time?  

Spread the word -   

W.