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Footprints #WEPFF Challenge featuring My Way #amwriting #flashfiction

No one ever accused me of being a poet and I’m not going to pretend I know anything about the craft. I’m submitting a poem this month because that’s all that came to me after being sick and in quarantine for 10 days (missed 4 days of work). I am now going to try to read all the IWSG Day posts I missed from people who visited my blog and then I’m going to try to read as many of the WEP entries as I can (I will likely fall short of reading all the entries before the deadline, but it is what it is). It’s been a rough 2 weeks and I wrote this poem to help combat my feelings of being overwhelmed.

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My Way

A gray shoe leaving a print in the mud.
Pexels.com

I looked around one day,

And realized, I’d lost my way.

There was no path for me to follow,

But there were footprints in the hollow.

 

So many legacies left behind,

One would help me discover mine.

All I had to do, was take a step,

A step or two in someone else’s shoes.

 

But which way to go, which prints to try,

The ones too big, you can’t reach that high.

Or the ones so small, there’s nowhere more to grow.

Perhaps the ones, long and narrow,

Full of fears you can never know.

 

I looked around, overwhelmed with choices,

Big ones, small ones, deep ones, shallow ones.

 

The prints were my only way forward,

Regrets of a wrong choice, I could not afford.

 

Then I saw it, one pair on their own.

Footprints leading away from the rest.

Up the side of the hollow floor,

Footprints creating a new path never worn.

 

Someone brave enough to climb up and out,

To seek a path of their own without doubt.

But would I go that way, or would I stay?

Stay with familiar prints going the usual ways.

 

Each path led to a future unclear,

But those prints represented that 1% fear.

That small chance that could be good or bad,

While the other prints were safe and clear.

 

Perhaps to fear regrets that have not come,

Is the problem that I took on.

Any path could work if I chose it,

If I rose above and didn’t abuse it.

 

I looked at the footprints once more,

I’d made up my mind which way to go.

I’d go my own way and leave my legacy,

Perhaps my path would help someone like me.

~

FCA- 284-words- My Way 2019 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas

**Update- For some reason, many comments are being delayed, not for approval, just being delayed. I’ve come across several that didn’t post until hours later. Sorry. I’m trying to figure it out. If you leave a comment and don’t see it right away, it’s okay. It’s probably just delayed. 🙁 **

Please visit other entries in this hop and enjoy some funny, scary, touching, and thought-provoking stories. You’ll be so glad you did.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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IWSG

#IWSG December 2019: What Does the Dream Look Like?

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Oops! I forgot to post this morning and then my site experienced some technical difficulties.
You know how it is this time of the year. 😉

Optional Monthly Question: Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

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I’m not really sure what living the dream looks like for me because I have so many ambitions. I guess if I was to imagine that everything I ever wanted to do happened just as I wanted it to, it might look a little something like this…

As a writer, I wouldn’t necessarily be award-winning, but I’d have regular consistent sales of my four major series (only two exist right now) and would be traveling, at least, around the U.S. speaking about them. As a book lover and entrepreneur, I’d be running a successful book fair in Hampton Roads, featuring mainstream and indie authors from all over. My claim to fame would be as an advocate of reading.

Between my writing, speaking engagements, and my book fair, I wouldn’t have a day job anymore. My husband would be my manager and my sister would be my stylist… Oh, and I’d be surrounded by all my rescue pups, however many that may be.

A girl can dream, right?

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The November IWSG member spotlight was Ronel Janse Van Vuuren. Be sure to stop by her blog and say hi.

IWSG Book Club News

Join the IWSG Book Club on Good Reads for polls, freebies, book chats, and fun.
The December 2019/January 2020 book will be On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. Discussion Fun Day will be January 22, 2020.

WEP-IWSG

Footprints in the sand…Footprints in the snow…and they don’t have to be human – alien, monster, unknown creatures…all up for grabs. Footprints are metaphors for so many situations – we walk in someone else’s footprints, we leave footprints in the sands of time, we minimize carbon footprints, or at least try to.

The next WEP challenge is coming quickly; not sure I’ll be ready in time.

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Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ve submitted to three anthologies. I was accepted to one, but it doesn’t offer a royalty. I honestly just wanted the practice of submitting and really liked their specifications. I’m still waiting to hear from the other two. I’ve submitted to anthologies before and have about a 50/50 track record on acceptance, which I personally consider a win.

I recently set up a vendor table, two weekends in a row, to sell my books and meet and greet people, while hoping to spread the word about my idea to host a book fair. I guess I’ll be focusing on fundraising for the next few months. I’ve designed some original t-shirt designs and set up an online store. We’ll see what happens. You can check it out here if you’d like. My husband and I are wearing two of the designs in the image below. I plan to add more designs later.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been busy writing some of everything: short stories, children’s books (trying to illustrate but it’s really hard), and even a screenplay. I’m very excited to take some time off from my day job to celebrate the holidays. Looking forward to time with family, sleep, and more writing.

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Ever consider where you could be in five years? What does your writer dream look like?
Submitted any work lately?
Looking forward to or enjoying the holiday season?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Tonja Drecker,
Beverly Stowe McClure,
Nicki Elson, and
Tyrean Martinson!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #42).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG November 2019: Do Not Google That!

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?

I have had to research a lot of things when outlining a story. I’ve delved deep into angelic lore, the origins and meanings of names, and even some exotic botany. I think the most unusual research I’ve done included DNA and blood disease research. But the one topic that actually started sending out odd things to my SPAM folders and social media feeds (because you know all that stuff is connected) was my dream research. For weeks I couldn’t get away from dream interpretation articles and programs and crystal recommendations for anything that might ail me. I was also contacted by three psychics and two dream studies. So, be careful when researching dreams.

*Updated 11/7/19- I started with a Google search, but it was the pursuit of those results that led to all the SPAM and psychic and sleep study contacts, not just the search.*

Since we’re on the subject, I thought I’d share a few crazy Google searches others have shared with me.

A family friend and youth pastor once told me that he had to destroy is office PC and get a new one after doing a search on “Teen Sex”. He was looking for statistics on pregnancy and STDs and got images and videos he says still haunt him to this day. Another family friend, an older woman, had to destroy her laptop and get a new one after trying to do research on Black Holes, only she couldn’t remember that’s what they were called and tried all sorts of searches that deeply disturbed her and crashed her computer. I still have no clue what she actually searched but I have some ideas and I know better than to test them out.

My suggestion for those not so computer savvy or unsure of what you’re searching for, try the library first. If it doesn’t crash their computer, you’re good to go. (PLEASE don’t tell the library I sent you.)

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The November IWSG Newsletter member spotlight was Pat Garcia. Be sure to stop by her blog and say hi.

IWSG Book Club News

Goodreads

Our October/November fiction book, voted on by our members, is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Discussion Fun Day will be November 20th.

WEP-IWSG

Click here to see all the winners!

I won the commenting award this month. I really enjoyed reading all the stories and look forward to the next challenge in December. You can read my entry here.

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Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ve been trying really hard to be more active on social media without overwhelming myself. I figured out that social media is there all the time whether I am there or not so there’s no way I can see and do everything. Now that I’ve accepted that, it’s been going a lot better for me. I think I might even go back on YouTube and stop caring about the fact that my videos don’t have the production value of the larger channels. I’m not trying to reach everyone, I’m simply trying to reach those I’m meant to reach.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share two posts, one from each of my Instagram profiles, just because. One is dedicated to Margie my Redbone rescue and the other is where I post my bookish stuff.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Just had my walk, got a treat, feeling WONDERFUL! #coonhoundsofinstagram #petcostumes

A post shared by Margie “Scaredy Dog” Thomas (@margiescaredydog) on


 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Meant to start this in October. Better late than never. #tbrpost #bookstagram #ebook

A post shared by Lit Carnivale (@carniethebookworm) on

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What Google search have you regretted in the name of research?
Anyone want to follow me on Instagram? I follow back. 😀
It may take some time, but I will stop by your blog too.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Sadira Stone,
Patricia Josephine,
Lisa Buie-Collard,
Erika Beebe, and
C. Lee McKenzie!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #43).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords