Adventure Awaits

Adventure Awaits via pinterest

Well folks, the blog is going on hiatus again.

BoyChild and I will be travelling with my family for the duration of April.

I will be back in May with more WeWriWa excerpts and new blog posts.

If you have any interest in following our adventure in Europe online, I'd love to see you at my Tales of a Nomad facebook page and/or my other blog: MyCakeFace: Random Bloggery by AJ Bradley.

I hope you all have a fantastic extra long Easter weekend and I look forward to seeing you again in May!

XOXO
AJ

Weekend Writing Warriors: Mar. 24, 2013

Weekend Writing Warriors

Ah, Sundays are coming so fast, I almost missed this one!

If you're interested in joining WeWriWa, here are the rules. Give it a try, it's a blast!

This will be my last #8sunday until May because....I am going on a trip for the duration of April (WOOT!). If you have any interest in following my adventure in Europe, check out my other blog: MyCakeFace: Random Bloggery by AJ Bradley and/or my Tales of a Nomad facebook page.

Now, on to the excerpt! We left off with Sahlaana's sons pitching a fit and breaking the land into islands after they discovered their sister gave birth to a generation of people fathered by the mysterious bear.



Sahlaana was angry and in her rage, she abandoned her children and their people.
She warned them that there would be consequences to breaking Awaya’s earth.
Then she descended deep into the earth's core.
Taijala begged her brothers for reconciliation, afraid of the strain their desertion put on the net.
But each of them turned their backs on her and hid their regret under their anger.
Taijala and her children, the New People, migrated to the north of their tiny island in the eastern sea.
A small group of The First People lived on the tiny island; they stayed to the south, apart from the “others”. 
They blamed Taijala and the New People for causing Sahlaana to forsake them.


Don't forget to check out excerpts from the other writing warriors here! 

Happy Spring. Happy Easter. Happy April.
I hope to see you again in May!

Weekend Writing Warriors: Mar.17, 2013

Weekend Writing Warriors

It's #8sunday again. If you're interested in joining, check out the rules here.

When I left off last week, Taijala, the ruler of air and Guardian of the Spirit, had shared the workings of the Spiritworld with the people that Sahlaana had created.

The next part of the creation myth is the bear story that I shared on Feb.10th wherein Taijala mated with a mysterious bear that appeared as if from nowhere on the beach of Dakina.

This is what happens after the bear has continued on his way:




Taijala gave birth to an entire generation of people, the New People.
The New People were different; they had a magic all their own, the magic of the beasts inherited from their father, the bear.
The gods were angry with Taijala and afraid of this new magic.
Sahlanna's children fought.
Tiga, ruler of earth and Guardian of the Body, stomped his foot and broke Dakina into four separate islands.

Tanga, ruler of water and Guardian of the Mind, moved to the northernmost island and ruled its people.
Tana, ruler of fire and Guardian of the Heart, took the island and its people in the east.
Tiga stayed on the largest land mass in the centre, and he broke off the southern region where Sahlaana and Taijala were and kicked it far out into the Endless Sea.





Don't forget to visit the WeWriWa website to read excerpts from the other writing warriors!

Weekend Writing Warriors: Mar.10, 2013

Weekend Writing Warriors

It's Weekend Writing Warriors again, woot! 

I keep trying to encourage you to join, and I really hope you will because it's great fun, and the writers at WeWriWa are amazingly talented and supportive. They are a fantastic community, JOIN!

Last week, I left off with Sahlaana creating people from the Raven's chucked up shells. Each one of her children gave the people something of themselves; something good and something bad. Taijala taught them about the net that binds all things and that this net must be maintained for the health of all the world. Here's what the people made of it all:



 

The people called this net, the Spiritworld; and the place on the other side of the net, they called The Afterworld.
When a person died, his spirit went to the Spiritworld, and there he was allowed to revel in every joy he caused during his life.
He was also made to suffer every hardship he caused.
When this was over, if he carried more joy than pain, Taijala allowed him into the Afterworld.
If he had lessons yet to learn, he was reborn into a new life under the net.
The people understood this.
They worked hard to keep peace and balance within themselves and in the world under the net.
For many generations, there was harmony in Dakina.


Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments, I always appreciate it! And don't forget to visit the WeWriWa site to read excerpts from the other writing warriors, it's time well spent.


Thanks for reading!  :)

The Power of Positive Feedback

If you've read any of my other blog posts, then you know that I've struggled with my writing. Not long ago, I seriously considered giving it up altogether. 

But, enough of that (I hope). Time to say something positive about writing. Like what a FANTASTIC community writers make. I can't think of another group of people as encouraging, supportive, friendly, and inspiring as the community of writers out there in the cyber-world. 

Every time I've come close to hanging it up, someone out there pulled me back in. But here's the rub. You have to let people know you need help (see Amanda Palmer on the art of asking). You have to throw yourself out there and hope someone will grab your hand before you crash. 

On the very precipice of giving up, I put some of my writing out there. This was my way of asking for help. I joined WeWriWa, and without even knowing what they were doing, they grabbed my hand and pulled me up, up, up until I was flying with them. They made me feel like part of the gang, part of this awesome community. They made me feel like a writer. This is the power of positive feedback. But it's also the result of participating, sharing, giving, trusting others with your work (your heart and soul), and being trusted with their work. This is why it is essential to put your work out there, get it out of your head and into the world. Share it. Give it. Ask for feedback. Our strength so often lies in our vulnerability. And people will be there for you, if you let them.

In giving a little, risking a little, you get so much.

"There is a knack to flying. You must throw yourself at the ground and miss." - e.e. cummings

I'm not saying I've conquered self-doubt. But sometimes that poison in your head just needs to be lanced out, and you can't do that on your own, all by yourself, stuck in your toxin-bloated bubblehead where no one can hear you and you can't hear them. Once you let that poison leak out, you see that what felt like a grotesque boil is really just a little blister, and we've all been there. 

Sometimes you're the wound. And sometimes you're the bandage. So don't forget to return the favour. This is part of being a member of the community, you get help and you give help. Comment on someone's blog. Read and share other writers' posts. Congratulate those small (or big!) victories, and commiserate over small (or big) setbacks. Be a friend. You never know when a few words can bring someone back from the edge of giving up on themselves.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Mar.3, 2013

It's Weekend Writing Warriors again!

If you would like to join the fun here are the rules. And don't forget to visit the WeWriWa website to read 8 sentences from the other writers!

Thanks again to all of you that read and commented last week, it really keeps me writing!

Last week's 8 showed how Sahlaana's brood of gods created the landscape, animals to inhabit it, and a spiritual net to bind them all together. Here is the next step in the creation myth of the Dakina Islands. (I'm sorry, I did get rather creative with my commas and semi-colons to fit this into 8 sentences.)



One day a raven fell from the sky.
He coughed and sea shells came up from his belly.
The sea shells tore the raven’s throat and destroyed his song forever.
Sahlaana gathered the shells in her hand and blew on them and the First People were born.
Tiga taught them to hunt and to harvest; he touched their bodies and gave them pleasure and pain.
Tanga taught them to fish the seas and streams; he touched their minds and gave them thoughtfulness and pride.
Tana taught them to make fire; he touched their hearts and gave them love and hate.
Taijala taught them to tend the net, for a single weak thread could unravel the whole; she wove them into the net and gave them connectedness and consequence.

And that's my 8 for this week. Thank you so much for reading and feel free to leave any comments or advice. Check out the fantastic excerpts by the other writers at Weekend Writing Warriors, and come back next week to find out how people effect the world of the Dakina Islands.

I would also like to say THANK YOU again to WeWriWa and Basan for the song they prized me with on my excerpt from Feb.10th (check it out to hear the song!). I've been bragging like crazy and sending it to everyone I know!