These prompts come from Moxie Books, a website from the UK that's devoted to helping out writers. There's a lot of fun stuff there to look at, so I hope you check it out. Anyway, these are meant to be daily prompts (and particularly used on Instagram) but I'm using them for a single blog post!
You're highly encouraged to follow the creator of these calendars, Vicky Quinn Fraser, on Instagram -- @tinybeetlesteps. You can do the posts daily on Instagram, too! Have fun with it!
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
1 - September Goals
I have lots to do...but my two biggest goals are to get a job and to finish revisions of Son of the Siren. I have an agent who voiced interest in seeing the pages after I took a class from her, and I told her I would have them ready in September. I'm almost done...I hope to wrap things up relatively soon, but first I need MONEY!!!
2 - Back to School
One of the things I regret is not jumping on job searching at the colleges around me to be able to teach in time for the fall semester (likely as an adjunct). It would've been nice to have slid right into the US with a job right away. Oh well.
3 - World Beard Day
I don't really care for beards because in my experience, when I've made out with people with facial hair, their hair rubs the skin on my chin raw. One time it got so bad I was literally oozing clear fluid and then got huge scabs on my face from it. I'm sure I probably have sensitive skin, but since that happened, I'm totally wary of beards.
In terms of how they look, I'm kind of indifferent to them, although I had a friend in Japan who wore one really well.
4 - Live forever?
Maybe only if I never looked older than I do now. Ideally I would have the shape and the appearance from when I was in in my twenties...I guess I want to be a vampire without having to drink blood!
5 - Favorite class
I can't remember specific ones, but I really enjoyed all my classes at Seton Hill University that I got to take for my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. We learned about the craft, our genres, and the business of writing as well, plus how to teach writing. I had a blast during grad school!
6 - Read a Book Day!
Don't mind if I do! I'm working through an English translation of my first danmei novel, Little Mushroom (the first book in the series, Judgement Day). It's science fiction and is very strange, but I like it so far. I picked it out based on the book's description and the cover art by @RuohYeahs.
7 - Memorable Teacher
I have several, but I have to say my middle school teachers really made a lasting impact on my life. Mrs. Jones helped me realize my dreams of being a playwright, and we put on two of my shows while I was in school. Mr. Rose really helped me tap into my creativity and supported my writing. Mrs. Schepflin, Mrs. Tagg, Mrs. Moody...all of them also developed my love of reading and writing even more than before. I loved my time at John Simpson Middle School, and sadly, that school no longer exists, and sadly, some of my favorite teachers have since passed away.
8 - Memorable Lesson
I taught a drama lesson to the Global Course one afternoon where we went over pronunciation, body exercises, inflection, and of course, acting! Students really got to let themselves loose and even the teachers participated, so I got to see a side of them I'd never seen before. We had so much fun during class and I think it's one of my favorite lessons I taught while I was in Japan.
9 - School projects
I liked school projects for the most part but hated doing group projects because the work levels were imbalanced and...guess who ended up doing a large percentage of the work herself?
10 - Mom's birthday
It just feels weird seeing time pass and watching parents age. I love my Mom so much and I want her to live as long as possible!
11 - Favorite spice blend
I honestly don't know. I am a pretty bland person and don't really think about spices consciously, and I'm pretty sensitive to spicy things. If there was a spice blend I've eaten, it was really, really mild and not noticeable on my part.
12 - Least favorite class
It was always, always math, with science in second place, but only when we had to use a lot of math with the science (like with chemistry). I have never been good at math; it has always gone over my head; and sometimes I still have to count with my fingers or write out the math in the air to calculate figures.
13 - The Oxford Comma
I wholly support the Oxford comma and as a teacher and editor have corrected writing with a note about the Oxford comma. And if people get confused, I show them comics like this:
14 - If you could do anything
I would love to be able to write and think faster; I would also like to be more self-disciplined with my health and make the right choices.
15 - Choose a hat
I would love to rock something like this.
Or something like this.
16 - White Dog Poo
I've never seen this. Only white poo from birds!
17 - Your evening routine
Well, now that I'm back in the States, my routine is to watch a couple hours of Netflix or Oxygen's Snapped, then by 8:30 or 9:00, crawl into my bed and either read my Kindle or get lost in social media...or both. Earlier in August I was falling asleep around 10:30 or 11pm, but because I've been napping later in the day, I've fallen asleep around 1am for the past couple nights. I need to change this!
18 - What made you feel rich as a kid?
Being able to buy cassette singles at the local music shop.
19 - How were you creative today?
Well, I've been filling out these prompts today, and that required a dabble of creativity...but otherwise, I haven't really been in the mode lately.
20 - What stories have you read this week?
As of writing this (September 2nd) I read the first two volumes of Semantic Error written by Jeosuri and illustrated by Angy. Then I finished reading Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves, and started Little Mushroom: Judgement Day by Shisi and translated by Xiao.
21 - Telegraph pole appreciation day
Do they mean telephone poles? Who uses telegraphs anymore?
22 - Something you're proud of this month
As I'm writing this (September 2), I hope I can say I finished revising. That would make me incredibly proud.
23 - What would you teach?
English comp, creative writing, or drama.
24 - a relaxing moment in your day
The evenings are pretty relaxing once I can stretch out on the couch and watch my guilty pleasures.
25 - Something kind you did today
I can't think of anything especially helpful I did today or anything that's out of the ordinary in terms of kindness. I try to be kind every day, so I guess I don't feel like I've done anything special. I think people should be kind all the time.
26 - Do you get enough sleep?
On paper, in terms of logging hours, I get enough. But I feel exhausted all the time and nap every afternoon around the same time...you'd think I was sleep-deprived.
27 - Do you have any questions I can help with?
I think this is geared towards Vicki, who runs Moxie Books. I subscribe to her newsletter which talks about writing and links to her podcasts, and I think the newsletter is pretty helpful, so I don't really have any questions to ask at the moment. ....Now that I think about it, maybe I'd ask her about working with beta readers/crit partners and deciding when to listen to them or when to chuck their feedback, especially when it's all conflicting.
28 - National Fitness Day
I absolutely suck at fitness. Ever since I hurt my knees in Japan (even had to go through rehab), I just haven't quite gotten my movement back, and certain exercises are just way too difficult. I also have been depressed for quite a long time, so I've had trouble with motivation. So I guess I need a day like this to try to inspire me.
29 - Who did you play with today?
Well...seeing as how it's the 2nd as I write this and the day's not over, I'm going to guess I haven't played with anyone. But if I do play with people, it would most likely be with my best friend's kids, especially her daughter.
30 - Celebrate your month!
I hope I can celebrate two things...one, becoming employed, and two, sending my manuscript off to the agent that voiced interest in my work. Please wish me luck with both!
If those things don't happen, well...I can celebrate the days that lead closer to autumn and the weather getting cooler!