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Feast of the Immaculate Conception

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Today is the feast day, celebrating the solemn belief by Catholics in the immaculate conception of Mary, mother of G-d and mother of the Church.

My home parish is one of many in the US whose patroness is the Blessed Mother, specifically honoring the immaculate conception by taking on the name. (*)

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Today is also the tenth anniversary of my own mother’s death.

She was 61 when she died. Despite her health problems, it was still a shock when I received the phone call. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her or miss her. I still pick up the phone to call her and it is awful to remember that she won’t be at the other end of the line.

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(*) I have no idea how churches choose their patrons or names.

If anyone is looking for a prompt today: Mothers

Prompt

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Bullying. We’ve all been there; either as a victim, a bully, or a bystander.

What is the one thing you regret doing (or not doing) in a bullying situation?

What is the one thing that you are proud of that you either did or didn’t do in a bullying situation?

Prompt: Fan Fiction as Prompt

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Fan fiction sounds like a relatively new phenomenon, but the reality is that transformative fiction has been around as long as there have been stories to tell. Some examples include Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Bible stories, and Wicked. For some reason, we as a society don’t categorize these (and others) as fan works, fan fiction or transformative fiction.

Granted there’s a legality with copyright, but I’m confident that this will adapt with the times and the movement towards more mainstream idea/world/’verse sharing.

What is the true difference between fan fiction and literary adaptation? Money? Unions? Those of us who engage in this type of writing know it’s not love or respect of the original work.

This literary movement will continue moving forward and with online becoming so prevalent in most of our lives, this “trend” that’s not really a trend isn’t going away but developing and growing and authors should get used to it and join the ever expanding interpretative and interactionary world that encompasses their fan base, not as their equals but somewhat as their collaborators, seeing the big picture through a new set of eyes.

Keeping this in mind, today’s prompt has to do with transformative works. Three prompts to choose from:

If you could change the ending of any fictional book (that you loved), which one would it be and how would you change it?

Which loved character would you bring back from the dead and how?

Your favorite TV show was just cancelled. What plot line would you like them to follow when they bring it back because of all the fan clamoring?

Kryptonite

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(This was one of my E4K writing prompts)

The television show, Shake it Up has a song, “Fashion is my kryptonite.” It got me thinking: What is my Kryptonite?

  1. Pocketbooks, wallets, briefcases
  2. Tumblr
  3. Symbolism – my triquetra for example
  4. Fancy pens although I’m better now
  5. A really good cantaloupe – I could eat a whole one if it’s amazing good.
  6. Bagpipes
  7. British accent – mostly Scottish. I could watch paint dry if it was being narrated by Alan Cumming or David Tennant
  8. Politics, although I’m better now 😉
  9. A really good, creative, but useful office
  10. That might be it

I would say #1 is my real Kryptonite. I love the different ways different bags are organized. I have yet to find the perfect bag. I like the cross body style of a messenger bag. I like the flap that keeps everything covered, but most of these don’t have a zipper to keep things secure. It keeps me from carrying my wallet in there. The one I’ve been using for my retreat has a front and a back zipper pocket on the outside, but putting my wallet in there will make the bag too lumpy. This bag also doesn’t have a drink holder for a water bottle. I actually prefer two of those – one for the water bottle or tea tumbler and one for the umbrella which, while usually unneeded was indispensable this wet, rainy week.

I do have an excellent wallet at the moment, but it’s really a phone case and often that’s too small to go it alone. I need a regular everyday pocketbook to be able to hold my Kindle in addition to the other absolutely-must-have-can’t-leave the house without it things. Lately, I’ve needed my camera and I always need my ginger candies.

I do carry too many notebooks now that I’ve compartmentalized them, one notebook for one function. One notebook goes with my content planner, which is a re-formed day planner. One notebook for my AW* tasks. One notebook for first drafts and lists and medical expenses and to-dos and to-don’ts and all of the crazy. Too many notebooks. Maybe pocketbooks, purses, and briefcases aren’t the problem; maybe notebooks are my kryptonite.

Like too many notebooks, I have too many ideas and not enough tangible use for them.

Write about what you know.

What happens when you know nothing?

Like kryptonite, pocketbooks do make me weak-kneed.

Like kryptonite, they are often green.

They don’t literally burn to the touch, but when the bill comes – ooh, ouch; that hurts.

Kids’ backpacks sometimes come with matching lunch boxes. I would like something like that. A green messenger bag with a matching detachable cross body bag/purse. Like those kangaroo things but with a zipper and a strap.

I’ve tried to make the perfect one but I can’t translate the idea to the concrete. I made a backpack once. It was okay for a while. It certainly served its designated purpose, but there are better ones floating around in my mind.

If I had the money to waste, I could buy four of my favorites and put them together, Frankenstein-style. I wonder if that would work. Hmm. It wouldn’t have the ethical controversy of creating new life, but it would give my bags new life and possibly fend off the effects of my kryptonite.

In the meantime, reinforce those straps. With everything I need to fit, they’re going to need to be sturdy. I just remembered – my mother had a friend who made quilted tote bags and the handles went all the way around and under the bag and they were made of seatbelt straps. Those held up really well, although I don’t know whatever became of those bags.

I still have two briefcases I don’t use, but that mean something to me. One was from my Grandmother when I began student teaching and one was from my mom’s friend, Barbara. It was leather and perfect with retractable handles and pockets. It was a hard leather though, and rough.

I think I like soft with a good frame and support. Well, now that sounds like a bra.