A Shade of Ash

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Hello, is it me you’re looking for?

OK, I’m starting to think my last post was a bit of a jinx. It’s been yet another week where Earth to Ash has sat dormant while tumbleweeds blew across my viewership stats with each passing day. I’m a couple of life events back to back now, I must be special. This week, it was Poppy, our new puppy. She got a little ill last week and after a few days went by with no change, it became concerning. With all that going on, there was no way I could concentrate on anything other than getting her back to feeling better. So, with the help of the vet and a complete change in her diet, I’m glad to report that dear little Poppy is back to being the happy, energetic, and loving little monster she’s been since the very day we laid eyes on her. It was heartbreaking to see her sad and miserable from being sick, but as I type these words to you she’s back to her old self which is up to no good. Poppy! Come back here with my sock…

Alright, so let me just say that I’ve had enough of these gut punches. I feel like I’ve had my wack for a while, I’m good trust me. I just want to get back some normalcy in my daily routine with writing being at the very top of the list. The drama of my everyday life can be good and bad for my creativity. Sometimes, I can draw from it, when other times, I flee from it. This time with Poppy on my mind, I full-on retreated. It’s weird, or maybe I am, but the more I thought about writing, the farther ideas would scatter in my brain. Even when I was really trying to focus on producing some content, I would easily get sucked away in my thoughts and lose all motivation. Rinse and repeat until yesterday. Yesterday, with things seemingly starting to return to normal I slowly began to come around. The whole experience was like a form of block I suppose which I’m becoming quite fluent let me tell you. With all that being said, I did manage to salvage one idea which I have toyed around with in the past. It inspired this post and thankfully got me writing again.

Ah, A Shade of Ash, once a name option that made the short-list for this very blog. I remember when I passed on using it, at the time I thought it was too fifty shades, lol. Nah, like all my ideas, I made a point to tuck it away for a rainy day. Figured I would wind up using it as another potential pun to exploit one of my entry titles. This past weekend while I was poking around some drafts I’ve got scattered about in various online clouds, I came across it again. It must be timing because I could use an adrenaline shot of creativity. A couple of posts ago I spoke of dabbling with some new blog ideas and I believe it’s time maybe I give prompts a whirl. They’ve been something I have been wanting to try anyway, so why not? I have a few books with a bunch and one in particular that I like a lot and I am going to use specifically for this exercise of mine. I’m going to take the prompt and use them in a way that tells a little about me, a shade of Ash as it were. If at least, it’s a way to stay active. I was also thinking, being nostalgic and pretty real life posty as it is, this category should fit nicely being essentially just another form of Earth to Ash. Don’t worry, a few posts in and you’ll see my vision. I think this could be fun.

I ask that you please stay tuned and keep your eye out for my first stab at this in the coming days. This could also be a good way for you to potentially get involved too. Some of my closest blogging friends use prompts to engage their audience and execute them quite well. They use prompts in their own unique way which is what I hoping to accomplish with my idea. You know, create a hook that my awesome readers can grab onto and enjoy.

Look at that? I started out mentioning how I’ve been so quiet for the past few days, and now I don’t want to stop. Only, I will, I have to. I got to start brainstorming. Ah…it’s good to be back. Listen, take a sec and share your thoughts in the comments and let me know how you feel about my new venture. Oh, by the way, everything else remains the same with Earth to Ash, this is just something new thrown into the pot. One of these days something should stick, right?

Until…

Published by Ash Douglas

Writer, Poet, WANL Member, Paralegal, Miawpukek First Nations, GymLife, Runner, Bike Writer, & Pun Enthusiast. I like my puns intended. ✍️ “I don’t claim to be a great writer, but I’m enjoying the journey of becoming one”

Published

21 thoughts on “A Shade of Ash”

  3. Glad Poppy is on the mend.
    Interesting….I too have been at a bit of an impasse with my writing, thinking of venturing out into other areas, but not sure how to get there.
    This week for the first time in a long time I used a prompt and I surprised were it took me. Sort of unexpected and it was limited to six sentences so the economy of words was challenging and interesting
    Look forward to reading your new posts.

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    1. I know right? It’s hard sometimes trying to be original or coming up with an idea that truly engages the audience. Chronicles of a mad writer. I understand completely. I opted to go the prompt root as I have used them in the past in a sort of way where I would read a few and ideas would stem from that intial reaction to the prompt. It might not be the prompt, but it gets me thinking. Now, I am full-on giving it a go. Excited to see how it plays out and by all means feel free to take my lead or engage yourself in your own way too. Just keep me posted, I would love to read your take as well. Happy Writing and thanks for dropping by.

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  5. That’s why I don’t really do “I was away, but now I’m back” posts. 99% of people who do that disappear again.

    Good to hear that Poppy’s back to her mischievous self. You need to be kept on your toes (for extra life excitement).

    Prompt posts? I’m excited. Depending on how they play out, I might have to join you on that every now and again.

    I was thinking about your journal story the other day. Good to have you back. Hopefully.

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    1. Thanks, I know. Half the time the post about not posting is just me trying to post, at least it something haha. As for the prompts, I was thinking it would be a fun thing to try and by all means join me anytime, you know that. And…this is a big and, that journal has been dormant too long now so I have something set to go for that real soon. I’m happy you hold me accountable, never stop lol.

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      2. OMG, yes that one. That one still haunts me as it’s sitting in limbo gone stalemate. It’s not done per se, but I realized that the way I ended it was too fantasy. Might have hit a wall right off the bat. But, of course, I overthink everything. You do have me wanting to take a quick peek into that universe.

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      5. No, not this year. I did last year. This year I need to do old edits. SO MUCH STUFF! And I’ve been writing at work (for work) a lot lately, which definitely makes me want to write less outside of work.

        Have you thought about doing it?

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      6. Ahhh, gotcha. Funny thing, I saw your post and was like we are most likely spirit animals because I was doing research on the process. It was a crazy coincidence. That said, I am literally reading a book now called “no plot, no problem” based on that concept and was going to give it a stab…not sure within the month of November but willing to try at some point. Thing is, I wrote like 14 chapters of this story one time last year before xmas and guess what? I stopped. So, I was maybe thinking of finishing that one off or just use the Red Journal and go with that. So many things!!!!!

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      7. That’s cool. I had no plot, no outline last year. Just an idea. I think doing it in November kept me accountable. Like you’re saying – there’s so much to do. Sometimes we start, but we don’t finish. Here, 30 days, 50k. No excuses. And it got me from start to finish. Regular emails from NaNoWriMo and posts on the topic helped keep me accountable. Will you be able to do this all by yourself a different time?

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