Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday! (Links to PF and our latest autographed book drawing (!) are at the end of this post.)
Our current topic is Writer Resources. Esther's fabulous post offers five books for young writers, all of which I covet. I'd like to share four free apps I continually draw on. They enrich my life.
Meditating sometimes helps me hear that still, small voice that tells me the truth about a story I'm writing, about a life crisis, or about a relationship in flux. Insight Timer is an app I use for both silent meditations and also for its free guided meditations. I can filter them by topic (sleep, morning, energy, healing, fear, etc.), by length (from one minute to over an hour), by teacher (from all over the world), by how many thousands of times it has been played, by reviews, etc. I've been meditating for about fifteen years; this app makes it hard not to.
Adblock Plus My computer guy downloaded this popular browser extension for me years ago; it changed my life. It's free and open source and I donate to it. Why? Because if I open a web page without Adblock Plus, there are ads and moving images screaming at me. I can't focus with Las Vegas pounding on my brain. With ABP, all I see is the resource itself in a quiet field of white. Like Ferdinand the bull, instead of fighting in bull fights, I get to sit quietly under my own cork tree and smell the flowers as I write with the aid of the next two resources.
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| Illustration by Robert Lawson from Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf, first published in 1936 |
Thesaurus Many of you already use this resource. If you click on the link, you'll see that it takes you to a word which helps me write. That's the page I bookmark.
RhymeZone Another one that many of you use.
If these last two resources were pencils, they'd be little tiny stubs, I use them so much!
Okie dokie...it's Poetry Friday, so here's my poem for today. I fully admit that it's terrible, but it was fun to write and it makes me laugh.
A RAT'S TALE
by April Halprin Wayland
.
by April Halprin Wayland
.
Ree was a rat who lived by the Source.
She did nothing but watch the Source water course
from her lonely rat hut 'neath the sourwood tree.
Ree was inactive.
Ree had no life.
Just the Source and her hut and her hot, bedtime tea.
But Ree's life was changed
when she joined the gym.
She became a gym rat and the gym referee.
She took 20 classes
that first week on a spree.
And all of her coaches said, "Sweat is the key!"
But the more Ree worked out, the more parched she got—
sweating at night
(though Ree was not hot.)
She guzzled her tea, then looked in her cup.
She pondered, then wandered outside near that tree
then drank from the Source 'til she was filled up.
And that's when Ree realized what gumption begets—
she stood taller, was forceful...
and declared,
"I'm
Ree
Source
full!" (Sorry.)
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| The Scream by Edvard Munch, 1893 |
Readers, now's your chance to enter our drawing to win an autographed copy of Tuktuk: Tundra Tale (Arbordale Publishing), by Robin Currie, illustrated by Phyllis V. Saroff. The drawing ends February 22, 2017. click here for more information.
Thank you, dear Jone, for hosting PF today at Check It Out!
posted by April Halprin Wayland with gratitude for the love and support of you, our peeps of the Kidlitosphere
Your poem is punny - but I like it.
ReplyDeletethanks for the resources. I use three of them, but not the first, so I will be checking that out, as I love good meditation resources.
Thanks.
Thanks for the laugh and the reminder that creating poetry can just be fun. I also appreciate the resource links.
ReplyDeleteRee is good for a laugh, April, & you managed to get all the great apps in! That's good. Thanks for sharing what you find helpful.
ReplyDeleteHee-hee! You are 'Ree-Source-full'! Love these app suggestions, will be checking out Insight Timer today. Thank you, April! =)
ReplyDeleteHa! You are so funny. I enjoy Insight Timer, too. I have a favorite Yoga Nidra meditation that almost always puts me to sleep.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had fun with that poem -- thanks for the laugh today, and for sharing those apps. I have AdBlock Plus and it does make a difference. :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. that pencil stub pic reminds me of a very short pencil Melissa Sweet has, only her point is very, very long.
I like the rhythm of your poem and it made me smile. I love Thesaurus and Rhyme Zone.
ReplyDeleteOh, my--heehee on the poem! Thanks for the apps--I haven't tried the first two, but think I'll have to:>)
ReplyDeleteApril, your poem is fun to read! Thanks for sharing it. Insight Timer sounds great. I'll have to take a look at it.
ReplyDeleteOh, how punny! 😁
ReplyDeleteHaha! Fun to read; it must have been fun to write. I'm now doomed to think of "Ree the rat who lived by the Source" when I hear the word "resource"
ReplyDeleteI pun-ny pleasure to read your not-too-terrible poem. And I use three of those four resources myself. I play yoga music online when I want to do yoga sometimes. It tricks me into stretching for longer.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a scream! I wrote such a dark poem this week, this seems to lighten my thoughts! Thank you AND Ree for making me laugh!
ReplyDeleteI love the illustration from "Ferdinand" it's one of my favorites! I use a couple of your
ReplyDeleteRee
Source
full
links
Though I haven't tried Adblock, I'll have to check it out!
Thanks for the funny ditty too!
Your rat made me laugh!!
ReplyDeleteYou are TOOO much, my Ree-Source-full Friend! Thanks for the tips and the much needed levity. XO :0)
ReplyDeleteYour poem made me laugh. How fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the apps. I've been using the Calm meditation app for some time, but I may need to try Insight now.
I just added insight timer to my phone. I live by Thesaurus, and Rhyme Zone. I also like Wordnik
ReplyDeleteThank you, April. I loved your poem.
Thanks for the Ree-sources :-) And thanks for sharing your poem. It made me smile! I use Rhymezone and Thesaurus always! I also keep Tomato Timer open in a tab on my browser and set the timer so that I will get up and move around...otherwise I get stiff.
ReplyDelete