Five Word Friday

Today’s Five words are from yet another half-story from Mom’s never-ending collection of unfinished stories. We kinda like this one, so it may have a chance at seeing the end.

16. Rudolph – No. Not that Rudolph. Picking a character name is important for a story. That character will be in the author’s head for a long time, so the name should mean something. Mom was named after her grandma. I was named Cupcake because I am so sweet.

Me being sweet on my Gotcha Day.

4. Trim – Some characters need a lot of adornment. They get trimmed and decorated with traits and quirks. That helps them work. Sometimes, when I used to do therapy work, Mom thought I looked like a plain potato, so she trimmed and dressed me up to be different. It made me fancy. It made the old soldiers laugh.  

51. Wrinkled – If Mom wrote on paper instead of computer-typing, LOTS of papers would end up wrinkled and tossed in the garbage pail. I am an expert on wrinkling. I can’t help it. Warm clothes are so cozy and comfy. It’s tough to resist.

20. Famous – It’s rare that a picture book could make an author famous. I mean Cat in the Hat, Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus don’t come along every day. Even though Mom is nowhere near famous, I have had a moment or two in the sun.

8. Useful – Beds are useful. I use mine sometimes.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Writing gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

~Mason Cooley~

Mom and I have stayed home a lot in the past year. It has been a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in other ways – for both of us.

On the upside, staying home means I got to nap a lot

and watch TV with Mom

and nap a lot. (Yup. I said it twice.)

On the downside, staying home means she did a bunch of homeschooling,

practice,

and brain work with me, so I didn’t turn into a piece of furniture or a potato.

On the upside, staying home means Mom (should have) had plenty of time to write stories and read picture books. (Nope. I didn’t say either one twice.)

On the downside, staying home means actual experiences, people-watching, eavesdropping on kids’ conversations, and observing the world was a no-go.

 

Also, bookstores and libraries gave Mom the virus-germ-heebie-jeebies.

So reading picture books is basically non-existent, and writing is at a minimum around here. Happily, Mom has an idea list, that she started in StoryStorm and continues as always. She has a few half-finished stories waiting for her attention and a few finished pieces waiting for revision. She also has nothing but time. So here’s hoping Mom gets more than 15 minutes of writing done each day. She keeps telling herself that writers write, so she needs to take her own advice. Or at the very least, paws crossed that she doesn’t turn into a piece of furniture or a potato.  

Potato Dog – Don’t let this happen to you!

 

Five Word Friday

Mom’s latest half-story has these 5 words to play with.

Water – I don’t like water. I don’t like to drink it. I don’t like to step in it. And I REALLY don’t like Bath Day. That is way too much water in way too many of the wrong places.

 

Door – Mom is always waiting for the right door to open for her writing work. It did once, but it’s been stubborn since. When it eventually opens again, she will blast through it without looking back. I never step through a door without some hesitation. Mom says I have door-phobia. I always make sure things are safe for us out there. Sometimes the hesitation ends in disaster – like when my tail got caught in the door and a piece fell off! 

 

Snuggly – When it’s snowy and cold and windy outside, I get snuggly in my bed.

Or in Mom’s bed.

Or on the couch.

 

Or the chair.

Those are sometimes good writing days for Mom, but sometimes, she wastes the day getting snuggly with me (and watching way too much TV). 

Night – We do not like night. Mom and I don’t like the dark at all. Ditto for the moon, coyotes, shadows, sunset, owls, fireflies, and moths. We are all about sunrise, morning, sunshine, and light.

Mom has a few stories about being afraid of the dark and getting over fear of the night, but writing them never helped her reality at all.  

Blanket – Winter and summer, I am a blanket-loving doggie. I doze on them, in them, and under them. Move over, Linus van Pelt. You are not the only one with a legendary security blanket. 

 

 

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” 

~Stephen King~

Mom has started a list. It’s for a challenge that she does every January. The StoryStorm challenge is to write down 30 story ideas in 31 days. Then use those ideas to make stories all year.

Today is the 18th day of the month. Mom is on idea #24. We have a good feeling about finishing. Finishing the challenge is a good start to writing stories. See what I did there? Finishing. Starting. Yeah. That.

I am a great finisher. I always finish the kibbles, and treats in my IQ toys. The Tornado

 

and the Hide ‘n Slide.

I always finish the squishy snacks on my Licki-Mat.

I am finished trying to learn Fetch. What is that stupid game about, anyway?

I fetched it. Now it’s mine. What?

I am finished eating my toys. Mom said if she has to throw one more toy in the trash, she’s throwing me in there with it. #rude

So I’m pretty sure Mom can finish one simple list. Then she will start choosing, changing, mixing, nixing, writing, and revising stuff from the list to make stories. I will help by licking her shoes, staring at her,

begging for food,

PB&J? Yes, please. Please?

napping,

and…. did I say staring at her…? Yeah. That.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, “It will be happier.”

~Alfred Lord Tennyson~

Pretty low bar after 2020, but we’ll take it. Everybody loves being happier. 

We are happy, but being happier is even better. Can’t have too many blessings! Am I right?

Writing and selling and sharing the elusive Book #2 will make Mom happier. 

So will good health, good friends, good luck, and plenty of creative ideas. Fingers crossed that some of them go somewhere.

More treats will make me happier.

So will more walks,

You call this a walk?

more kisses,

more toys,

These seem like fun….

and plenty of naps.

Paws crossed that some of them are in the blazing hot street.

Here’s to a dream-come-true holiday season and a new year filled with happiness, health, friends, luck, creativity, treats, walks, kisses, toys, and naps. 

 

Five Word Friday

Today’s five words are from another new story in Mom’s computer.

16. Love – Mom is the human I love the best in the world. I am the doggie she loves the best in the world. Sometimes she calls me the name Stubborn. I’m pretty sure that’s a good thing.

23. Dozed – I doze a lot around the house. During the day, I try out different chairs,

the sofa,

the rugs, and the floor. Mom does not doze – literally or figuratively. She works on stuff, plays with stuff, cooks stuff, makes stories, talks to her friends, and watches TV. Sometimes she tells me, “You snooze, you lose.” That usually means she ate a snack without me! #rude

Is that pound cake??

81. Snuggle – I like to snuggle. I squeeze in next to Mom when I am cold or sleepy or lonely. Mom doesn’t mind at all.

Sometimes she says, “Do you know what personal space is?” That means she likes it.

9. Peeped – Mom peeps at some of her old stories once in a while. She loves some of them and hates others. Sometimes she says, “Meh.” Those are the worst ones.

12. Book – Since quarantine Mom hasn’t been to the bookstore or the library to read dozens and dozens of picture books like she usually does.

She reads and listens to regular grown-up books on her Kindle and Audible, but not a lot of picture books at all. She just stays right here with me. *sigh* Sometimes she says, “2020. UGH!!”

 

Heads Up!

This is not my usual blog post, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up about an exciting event.

This Sunday, November 1, 2020 a video Mom made of me will air on the TV show America’s Funniest Videos. ME! ON TV! Yay! It’s about time!

The show is on ABC at 7:00pm. I hope I don’t get edited out. I think I will be fabulous. Move over Lassie. Step aside, Clifford the Big Red Dog. Outta my way, Benji. This is happening. #callmehollywood #nopawtographsplease #wherestheredcarpet

 

 

 

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Whatever pool of possibility stands before you, jump in!”

~Marianne Williamson~

Mom jumped in and submitted a few stories in the past few weeks. We didn’t hear back yet, but things inside the wheels and gears (whatever) of the computer stand no chance at all.

With things out in the world of books, there’s a chance that something will A. be good enough, B. get into the right hands, and C. land in the right place at the right time. If none of those things happen, we are no worse off than before, and Mom will feel like she’s a writer because writers take those chances all the time.

Win or lose, we will smile through and keep on hoping. And jumping.

Mom doesn’t like when I jump from high places. She says it gives her 6 strokes and 4 heart attacks every time. But when she plops me up on top of a rock, it’s awful tempting to make a jump for it.

Ditto when I leap onto a bench. Jumping is fun.

When Mom calls me I will jump and run every time. That is not my fault. It’s what she taught me.

Once on my walk I tried to jump up and catch a bird. I have also jumped up to try and catch a butterfly, a helicopter, and a hot air balloon flying over my house. If (When) it doesn’t happen, I am no worse off than before.

So, win or lose, I smile through and keep on hoping. And jumping.

“Those who don’t jump will never fly”

~Unknown~

 

 

Five Word Friday

This month, Mom is challenging herself to get a story ready to submit somewhere. Our five words are from one of the stories that made the cut as a possibility.

Cloud – When clouds come and cover the sun, they interfere with my street naps.

Mom is always happy when the sun goes behind a cloud because then I get up and start walking. When the sun comes back, I hit the deck again.

Garden – Mom has a whole garden of stories and poems inside her computer. The challenge is to sort through them and pick a good one. Sometimes in a garden, the flowers die off. That happens with stories, too. Mom doesn’t want to submit a dud.

No duds here…

Popped – Last week, I had surgery to remove a bump from my chest. I had a bunch of staples in there to hold the cut together. The vet told Mom not to let me jump around. Mom and I both knew that was just crazy talk. As soon as I got home, I popped up onto the chair and have popped up and down all over the place ever since.

Mom did waste spend $70 on a ramp, but I only use it when she tells me to.

Puddles – I like puddles. Even though I dread bath day – leaving drippy, soapy, sloppy puddles everywhere almost makes it worth the torture.

Sky – Since we live on top of a hill, we look at the sky a lot. I mostly look for sunshine. Mom sees planets, stars, sunrises,

storms,

rainbows,

and sometimes, planets and the space station. Plus we always need a reminder about where we should be reaching.

 

Five Word Friday

Today’s five words are from Mom’s June Challenge story, which she barely finished a couple of days ago. #junechallenge Yes, it’s the middle of July.

16. Bumblebee – Even though Mom is afraid of bees, she wrote a story about one. Sometimes, she tells me a bumblebee is going to sting my face off. I dare you, Bee.

4. Swing – I never miss a chance to show my baby swing picture. Now that I am older and fatter… I mean more dignified (and more stubborn), I will NOT let Mom squish me into the swing anymore. Sometimes you just have to put your paw down.

22. Colors – Mom never plans her stories before she starts writing them. She just jumps in and types and follows the characters, hoping they will grow and change and get more colorful as the plot develops.

Sometimes, she doesn’t plan what I’m going to wear. She just picks random things and puts them on me. Then I end up wearing so many colors, I look like a hobo clown.

It’s not polite to stare…

8. Froze – In the winter, everything around me froze,

This guy…

but I stayed toasty warm.

95. Flowers – Like flowers, story ideas start out as tiny seeds. If they get the right attention, they grow into something awesome. Flowers in my neighborhood look amazing.

Certainly too amazing to harbor bumblebees that will sting my face off. I hope…

Bring it on, Bee.