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 Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland |
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Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland  Welcome to the place were I chronicle my own falls down dark holes and adventures chasing white rabbits! Come on In, Take a Bite, You Never Know What You May Find... "Curiouser and curiouser." Alice in Wonderland ** Image ID #1701066 Unavailable **   |
| "Blogging Circle of Friends " DAY 2175 November 2, 2018 "You are home alone when a young monster knocks on your door saying “Hey, can I borrow you? I need to bring something cool for show-and-tell.” Stella looked down at her son. He'd smeared most of the blue face paint off one cheek already. She reached out an adjusted his lopsided horns. "You can't take Momma to show and tell, " she said, smiling with delight that her six year old deemed her "cool" enough. Steven hung his head, the childish pout exaggerated by the monster makeup. "Why me? Why not take Mr. Bear or one of your action figures?" She offered. Steven looked up at her, his eyes suddenly bright. "Because your skin is painted with cool stories," her son reached out and pointed to a small tattoo on her forearm, "like this one." Stella was temporarily stunned. Her son was referring to her tattoos, of which she had many, colorful ribbons of artwork that traveled down both arms and ended at her wrists like sleeves. Steven laid a finger on the heart tattoo, the one she'd had done after she lost her sister in the 911 terror attacks. Then he ran his fingertip up to the pair of cutting shears on her bicep that got when she finished putting herself through school. Her son moved to the other arm. He pulled her closer to examine the band of blue sky and rainbow that marked the memory of giving birth to him after she'd had a miscarriage the year before. His eyes crawled upward, following the sleet, black back of the panther that occupied the space from her elbow to her shoulder. The panther was her design, the first tattoo she'd ever drawn for herself, drawn in the darkened room of the safe house she'd fled to with her infant son when her ex's abusive rage threatened both their lives. How could Stella tell her young son that these pieces of art were more than pictures? That the stories behind them were not stories for kindergartners? Her body was a canvas of her triumphs and her tragedies. These were bigger stories, ones her own son was still too young to hear. She had an idea then, a compromise of sorts. Stella went to her closet and took down a battered spiral notebook. She handed it to her son. "This is momma's sketchbook from when I was a teenager. There are lots of pictures in here that tell stories." Stella reached out and flipped through several pages of ink drawings of mermaids and dragons, skulls and castles. She told him that many of the drawings became tattoos for other people. When she placed her designs on their skin, it brought the stories to life. It was very special and she was trusting him to take care of it. Steven's face was blazing with interest and with pride. He solemnly promised to keep it in his bag until show and tell, and to put it right back in after his turn. Stella kissed her blue-horned monster right above his third eye. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge - Nov 2nd Do you think taste is an under-utilized sense in writing? Reflect on how taste can be better utilized in your writing to enhance a scene. I have read and written a fair amount of erotica over the years so, at least in that genre, I feel the most talented authors make deliberate use of all the senses most effectively. Touch and taste are certainly the most tactile and are incredibly important when crafting a story that is sensual in nature. It is certainly easier to describe how something looks or sounds but that is far less intimate than how something tastes or feels, that is a more personal experience. I published a piece of erotica once that was completely devoid of any sexual act at all. Instead, it was a tactile journey that involved chocolate body tattoos and rare, rich truffles that tasted both bitter and sweet on the tongue. I used taste and touch very heavily throughout that piece and I hope, to good effect. It remains one of my favorite pieces that I have written in that genre. Taste and touch are wonderful tools for writers. Some of my favorite authors are masters at invoking them in their work. I have come away from passages in which a dish of food is described so effectively, that I can almost taste the remnants of it myself. Likewise, the feeling of warm sand flowing across the arches of my feet, or the way the autumn wind feels on my bare shoulders are the kind of sensations writers can use to transport you into the moment, into the space of their stories. |
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