Happy Holidays!

We here at TSR want to take this moment to say how grateful we are for all of your encouragement, interest and support over the last year. Your comments and your visits are much appreciated.

And we hope we gave you something in return! A few chuckles? Some book recommendations? A creepy-crawly shiver or two? 

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season!

See you in 2026!

Happy Holidays!

This month’s post may be short on words, but it is definitely long on gratitude.

 

We here at TSR are so grateful for all of you who read this blog and the stories (micro, flash and otherwise!) We appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment -  encouraging and supporting, sharing information or something about yourselves. We hope you all keep coming back! 

 

Wishing you and yours 

a joyful holiday season 

and all the best 

in 2025 and always!

Digging In This December

I'll be brief – good thing I write flash fiction! -  because I'm still struggling with my novel/novella draft, and I am determined to be done by the end of the year. 

 

This holiday post is short on words, but it is long on gratitude. As 2023 draws to a close, I am grateful for so much in my life, including all of you. Thank you for reading my dark, weird little stories. Thank you for stopping by this blog. Thank you for all the comments. Your encouragement and support, humor and information are thoroughly appreciated. 

 

*** All of us here at TSR wish you 

a wonderful holiday season and a new year 

that exceeds your dreams and expectations!!! *** 

Empty Spaces

A few months back, I mentioned how the little bougainvillea tree my husband and I planted at our new house survived Hurricane Ian. She bent and bowed and lost all her flowers and leaves, but still held on. Once the storm was over, we straightened and re-staked her. We looked for buds but didn't see any. We fertilized and watered her. We checked for new growth. We spoke to local experts. Ultimately, we had to face the fact our little bougainvillea tree was gone.   

 

I know I'm being a giant, sappy, silly goose. The world has so much worse going on, and here I am, all emotional about a tree. It's just she felt symbolic – of our new home, a new chapter in our lives, hope, brightness, and strength during storms. And now, that space in the front yard just feels . . . empty.

 

That's kind of how I feel as this year winds down. While I am incredibly grateful for so much, I've struggled a lot – with physical/mental/emotional health, with focus, with energy, with creativity and writing.   

 

But as an optimistic realist . . . or a realistic optimist . . . or just a plain stubborn fool, I keep going, keep trying. 

 

Maybe I'll go ahead and let that space just be for awhile, let it fill itself with whatever it needs – breath, peace, sun, wind. Or maybe I'll put a container garden there, one full of fun purple flowers or funky prickly cacti. Or maybe a garden gnome . . . or two . . . or three. 

 

All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption hope your new year provides the space and time to breathe when you need it, 

the stakes to support you when you bend, 

and positive growth full of beauty and brightness. 

 

*** Happy Holidays! *** 

*** See you in 2023! ***

Almost There

The weather here is beautiful this time of year – breezy, cool and sunny  – and I hope to let that crisp air snap me out of my long-lasting funk, let it gush out the gunk clogging my heart, mind, and spirit. Yes, that's asking a lot from the weather, so I will help it along as best I can. Even as I take myself outside, I'll also turn inward to figure out some things, like: 

 

* How do I take better care of myself – physically, mentally, emotionally? 

 

* How do I stay focused on what's important to me and not get distracted, especially by things outside my control? 

 

* What kind of challenges and goals do I set for myself so I move forward, slowly but surely, and not end up standing still, weighted down with unrealistic expectations? 

 

Okay, so I have lots of questions and not many answers, but one thing I do know for sure is this: 

 

All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption wish all of you a holiday season and a new year full of more joy than you know what to do with, laughter so loud and hearty it drowns out any negativity, so much energy and good health you thrum with it, and hope so strong and sure it pulls you through any darkness that dares show its face.  

 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 

 

🎄🎉🎄🎉🎄🎉🎄🎉🎄🎉🎄🎉

*****

 

How was your 2021? Do you have any answers or suggestions for the questions I'm mulling over? Kicking around any goals or making any plans for 2022? 

Hunkering Down for the Holidays

I don't know about you all, but I am in need of some peace. My creativity is sapped (I love you, NaNo, but sheesh!) I am out of whack, emotionally and mentally (ah, anxiety, my old friend!) My body and my spirit just feel . . . frayed.

So, it's time to quiet down, tuck in. It's time to reflect and to renew. It's time to read books, eat chocolate, and binge watch shows that make me laugh (holiday episodes of Seinfeld, The Office or The Big Bang Theory) and even ones that make me cry (Game of Thrones, I'm looking at you . . . )

It might seem silly. My holidays are not particularly festive, they're not full of parties and travel. Some people think I should do things differently, I should act the way everybody else does, but I'm learning that I need to do what's right for me, to do what will keep me as healthy and as sane as possible.

All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season - whatever you celebrate, however you celebrate. We'll see you all in the New Year!

(Cartoon by Marzi from Introvert Doodles. Check out her book!)

Round and Round We Go

You all know by now how much I enjoy writing short fiction to prompts or themes. Well, over the holidays, literary agent Janet Reid held a flash fiction contest. But this was no ordinary flash fiction contest. Usually, we have about 48 hours to write a 100 word story that must include all five prompt words.

This time? Rounds. Four of them.

Round One: Prompt Word = bird, Number of Words = 30
Round Two: Prompt Word = ring, Number of Words = 25
Round Three: Prompt Word = colly, Number of Words = 25
Round Four: Prompt Word = sent, Number of Words = 20

Most of the usual rules applied along with a big twist: You could write individual stories each time OR build on a previous "starter" - yours or someone else's (with attribution, of course.)

It. Was. A. Blast.

I chose to build on my story. It was a risk because I didn't know what the next round's prompt word would be until it opened. I kept my story creepy (big surprise!) and my fingers crossed that I could make the prompt words work. My entry is below, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

*****

Fog shrouds the house.

A bird flits by a window, the old glass broken from within.

The fog breathes, escapes.

The bird does not.

Inside, the occupants are still hungry.

Long ago, they gathered at the dinner bell's ring.

But the meal was not for them.

The only thing to grow up was their rage.

Now, they're the monsters. Cursed, caged.

Desperate, their tongues, long and twisted, bruised colly and cobalt, lick the walls, tasting memories of blood and bone.

When they turn on each other, it's swift, unsentimental.

Only one remains.

She crunches her brothers' bones, satiated.

For now.

***** 

Would you build on your own story? Someone else's? Or would you write a new one - with that tiny word count! - each round? Do you enjoy writing to prompts or themes or super small word counts? Or do you find them too restrictive?

Press Pause, Not Stop

It's time to do some cleaning-up and cleaning-out, so I am taking the next few weeks to do just that.

Papers will be tossed! Furniture will be moved! Goals will be set!

But I'll also take some down time -

Books will be read! TV shows and movies will be binge-watched! Beaches will be walked!

Even the tortoises have plans -

Basil will be eaten! Shells will be rubbed! Basking will be done!

I'll still be around the blogosphere and Goodreads, but the next posting here at TSR won't be until IWSG on January 3, 2018. (2018?! When did that happen?!)

All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption wish everyone a wonderful holiday season - whatever and however you shell-ebrate!

Rah Rah! Go, Us!

I'm in the mood to do some cheerleading. (Funny, because I was never an actual cheerleader - I went to an all-girls high school and the college I attended didn't focus much on sports back then. This was waaaaaay back in the day.)

But as I get older, I find that as the holiday flurry ramps up, as the year winds down - and the end of NaNo looms large! - we sometimes lose sight of all the creativity and imagination and passion that suffused our year. Instead, we focus on all that we didn't do, all that we didn't accomplish. We feel like failures, losers.

The cheerleading part is coming, I promise!

At the holiday party, no one asks about our recently published work. During Thanksgiving dinner, Uncle Duke thinks the weather is far more interesting than our dreams. Over Christmas eggnog, Aunt Lola declares that writing is so easy - take a class, get an agent, a book deal, make some money. She doesn't care to know what we're talking about - rejection letters? Critique groups? Improving our craft? Pfft.

Yes, okay, okay. Here - finally! - are the words of wisdom I want to share -

"Self doubt. 

Imposter syndrome. 

Modesty that borders on self-deprecation. . . . 

You guys, this has got to stop. 

We have to stop talking down about ourselves 

just because we're afraid that others might beat us to it. 

We have to start celebrating our successes and strengths 

even though we still have failures and flaws. 

We have to be unabashedly awesome in all the ways that we are. 

We don't owe anyone a disclaimer for believing in ourselves. . . .

Because you are amazing, and you can do this." 

(Annie Neugebauer)

Let's not let anyone else tell us different.

Let's not let anyone else make us think otherwise.

Go, us!

(Pfft. Who needs pom-poms?)

Holiday Wishes and a Blogging Break

THE MORE YOU 

PRAISE AND CELEBRATE

YOUR LIFE,

THE MORE THERE IS IN LIFE

TO CELEBRATE.

(Oprah Winfrey)

The holiday season is not joyful for everyone. Some people are grieving. Others are lonely. Many are stressed for reasons ranging from financial to familial. And society - TV commercials, ads, holiday movies, etc - can often make people feel worse for not experiencing the "perfect" time. 

If you're struggling this holiday season, please try to look beyond the trappings and into the heart of what is good in you and in your life. It's sometimes hard to see it with all the hoopla, but it's there. It might seem small or inconsequential to you, but it's not. It's important. You do have something to "praise and celebrate." We all do. 

How's your health? Is there a solid roof over your head? Do you have a pet that you love? Can you pick up a small toy to donate for a children's charity? How about a stroll to look at Christmas lights? Do you find peace in attending a religious service? How about treating yourself to a book you've been dying to read, a movie marathon while curled up on the couch, a favorite rich food that makes your eyeballs roll back in your head? How about starting a gratitude journal? It might be a lovely way to give the old year a solid goodbye embrace while also opening your arms wide and joyfully to the new year that's arriving.

All of us here at The Shellshank Redemption wish you joy - whatever that looks like for you - this holiday season. I'll pop in and out of the blogosphere, but the tortoises say no more posts until after Christmas. It does take them some time to get things done. After all, the tree won't decorate itself! And Larry is not the handiest when it comes to wrapping presents. So, we need all the time we can get around here.

Merry Christmas! 🎅  Happy Holidays! 🎄

Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to wish you all a very happy holiday - no matter what one you celebrate - from the gang here at The Shellshank Redemption.

We're looking forward to a warm and quiet Christmas that will include a bike ride or a walk on the beach, calls to and from family and friends, presents to open, and baked ziti and meatballs to devour. And the tortoises have been very good this year so there will be a little something special in their food dish...and maybe in their mini stockings, if I can figure out a way to get some grape tomatoes in Larry's and radicchio in Mrs. L's.

Enjoy!