Wisdom from Rural America – Plowing
This farmer’s advice is good whether you have a field to plow or a book to write.
Quit procrastinating and Just. Do. It.
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05, 2017
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05, 2017
Are you a Master or a Captain of your writing?
We use the two terms interchangeably in common use while each has a distinctive nuance and historically the titles represent unique roles in nautical vocabulary.
Before standing navies were established, armies used civilian ships to transport soldiers and their supplies. When the captain of a company of soldiers came aboard with troops for transport, he assumed military command of the ship. He determined its destination and, if the ship engaged in hostilities at sea, directed the battle.
A captain had overall authority, but the master maintained responsibility for sailing operations. The rise of steam-powered vessels phased out the need for sailing masters and the demise of the term ship’s master.
On civilian ships such as cruise vessels, the one in charge is officially the captain though sometimes called master. In popular usage, captain or skipper prevails over the term master for pleasure craft owners.
You’ll find the term captain employed in fire or police department hierarchies and on sports teams, but not master.
Simply put, the difference between the terms is that a master is someone who has control over something or someone while the captain is a chief or leader.
If we think about our writing as our ship, I prefer the term master of writing.
Why? Because a writer who controls her writing skill and, at the same time, understands the business aspects of publishing is more likely to be successful.
That doesn’t mean a writer can’t be a captain of writing and be successful too.
Being a leader (aka captain) in a genre or professional writing organization is not a bad thing as long as the leadership responsibility doesn’t hinder writing time.There are those rare individuals who can be both master and captain of their writing.
What do you think? Would you prefer to be a master or a captain of your writing?
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05, 2017
A Frizzle of a Different Color
A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Frizzles are some of my favorite chickens. We had a black one – Frizz – who had the greatest attitude. Now we have Frizz 2 – one of her children. And then there’s Richard, the spastic frizzle rooster. He gets most upset if you try to move him.
My current favorite is a partridge frizzle Rachel has named Watson. She was given this name because she is paired with a very curious red rooster named Sherlock.
Watson is a product of Rachel’s color project and she is wonderful -most of the time.
She and Sherlock like to roost on the chain link fence at night. We have to put them into their coop to keep them safe.
She has inherited the slightly spastic personality of Richard but once you hold her close, she calms down. She did get stuck once between the chain link fence and the chicken wire. It was a little tense because Rosie, the dog next door, was also between the fences.
I had to be careful as I extracted Watson so as not to strip her feathers. Fortunately, Rosie was not interested in Watson and all ended well.
I had hoped she would have learned to stay in her own area. But alas each night we get to snuggle her as we put her and Watson into their coop.
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05, 2017
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05, 2017
Writing Mistakes on Social Media
Copy editing is hard. That’s why I use a professional for my novels, but when I write blogs, FB posts, and tweets, I proofread myself.
Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes not so good.
Recently I ran across this GrammarCheck infographic to use as a fantastic guide for checking for writing errors when writing for social media.
Source: www.grammarcheck.net
Do any of these common writing mistakes pop up in your social media posts?
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05, 2017
New Business Venture
A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Recently our local feed store was running a sale – on chickens. Buff orpington hens to be exact. Beekeeper Brian and Rachel figured that if we raise them until they lay eggs then we could sell them at a nice profit.
So after just hatching 42 eggs, we bought 14 chicks. After all, who can resist a sale, right? We put them in the grow-out pen with the other chicks.
They are the four lighter colored ones.
I must confess they are kind of cute. Not that I am getting attached. They are a business venture.
They will be sold, they will be sold. I have to keep reminding myself.
One of them is different from the others. She managed to get herself into the live trap that Rachel had set for the baby possums that like to eat the chick feed at night.
At first, I took it as a sign that this chick wanted to stay with us. Then I remembered –
they will be sold.
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05, 2017
Something to think about this Mother’s Day
This Sunday celebrate the women who have brought life to your world.
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05, 2017
MOTHER – A Word Study
Mother’s Day, the day set aside to honor mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society, is fast approaching. This coming Sunday, May 14 to be exact.
Knowing Mother’s Day was so soon, I did a word search on the word Mother and learned some interesting facts.
Mother derives from the Old English term modor and can be used as a noun, a verb, and an adjective. Dictionary.com offered some interesting samples.
How many of these adjective examples do you recognize?
mother love – displaying the characteristics of a mother
mother hen – an overly protective person
mother wit – natural intelligence or wit
mother ship – a ship that serves smaller vessels
And these expressions (idioms) using mother?
a face only a mother could love – an unattractive person
at mother’s knee – learning something as a child
everybody/everyone and their mother – a hyperbole referring to a crowd
the mother of all _______ – the best or greatest of a type of thing
swear/swore on mother’s grave – a solemn confirmation that one is telling the truth because of the association with the sanctity of a parent’s gravesite
tied to mother’s apron strings – someone who has not asserted his independence from his mother
The informal variant of Mother is Mom. The Urban Dictionary provides various meanings for its use. Some like soccer mom I’m sure you’ve used.
Of all my research finds, this poem by Chirag Kapoor best sums up the meaning of mother for Mother’s Day. You might want to recite it for your Mom on Sunday. 
5
05, 2017
Rooster Exchange
A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
We recently received an update on Tina and Tom, our turkeys who moved away. Their new owner sent a picture to assure us they are doing well.
They seem happy to be with other turkeys and away from the chickens.
Before they left Miller Farm, there was an issue with the roosters. Tom had become a little aggressive to Buffy leaving him vulnerable to attack from Kaboodle – the Polish crested rooster who had never been a problem.
Bull
Buffy
Anyway, we decided to trade Buffy for the Light Brahma rooster we had given to our friend Greta. She’d named him Bull because he tried to run through the sliding glass door to join them in their house.
Since Bull was the only rooster on Greta’s “farm” we thought our Buffy would be safe there. Bull, being a larger rooster, would be able to hold his own against Kaboodle on Miller Farm.
So we made the great Rooster Exchange.
Things are going smoothly so far. Kaboodle and Bull have come to an understanding and Buffy is glad to be apart from the craziness of Miller Farm.
Of course, we do have 20 or so chicks which could be hens or roosters so we may be sorting roosters once again. Oh well, I’ll enjoy the calm while it lasts.
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05, 2017
Writing Myself Out of the Brink of Depression
Enjoy this very candid blog by guest blogger Danny Adams about how creative writing helped him defeat his depression.
SOURCE: www.pexels.com
Have you ever reached a point in your life when nothing seems to work? A point when nothing seems to make sense anymore. No better thing to do but sleep the whole day or watch TV to get the troubles out of your mind. Funds are running low, friends are nowhere to be found, family giving up on you, and you can’t seem to figure out how to snap out of it.
I once felt this way. I was on the brink of depression.Good thing I was quite aware of it but I don’t know what to do about it.
People around me would continuously give me pep talks. Colleagues suggested reading materials to help me get out feeling so low. I even tried incorporating it on my essay submissions when I was working at EssayHelp.
Nothing seemed to work, though. I was already considering seeing a shrink. Until one fine day, I did what I used to love doing – writing.
I created this character that is carefree and having the time of his life. Then he got into obstacles he had not encountered before. It became difficult for him to overcome the challenges he faced. I was writing freely and continuously. In a matter of a few hours, I had drafted a short story.
The character in the short story was a tad bit like me, but he has some traits that I could only aspire to. He’s adventurous, I was calculating.
He triumphed, and I was losing.
He was young, and I was past my prime.
Then it hit me, why should I limit myself with my traits? Can’t I become like that character in the story?
I continued with my writing, and as I did, matters in my own life were put into perspective. It was me separating myself from the situation and logically analyzing what else can be done revealed through the story I was writing. The issues in my own life became clearer. Fears, anxiety, and worries surfaced. I became aware of them. With this newfound clarity, I had something to work on to improve my state of being.
Creative writing became my therapy. I did not limit myself to short stories. I wrote essays and poems. With this, I had a clearer picture of my life. I was able to recognize the silver lining. I had more things to be thankful for.
With writing, my mood improved and the people around me sensed it. I welcomed help from friends and family. It was the start of putting the broken pieces of my life together again.
Since I regained a positive perspective, I became more hopeful with my work. I came up with better ideas to do my job better.
I eased my way out of the brink of depression through writing my heart out.
From then on, writing has become my outlet. I don’t just write when I go through rough times. I realized that writing about positive things in life result to even more positive things. By writing about happiness, I have a lot of reasons to be thankful.
With gratitude comes hope. Hope helps bring the best in me.
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Author BioDanny Adams is a proud alumnus of the University of Oregon with a degree in creative writing. With his writing finesse and knack for managing people, he co-founded EssayHelp. Some of his published articles are aimed towards helping and providing opportunities for freelance writers. If his busy schedule permits, Danny indulges in golf or hockey.