Adventure Is Out There!

Are you an adventurer?

Alas, I must admit that I am not.

I mean, given the choice between camping in a snow cave and cleaning grout…

Spelunking and cleaning grout…

Or whitewater rafting and cleaning grout.

I’m going to choose the grout.

Every. Single. Time.

In the vast world of writerly types, I am as close to a card-carrying hobbit variety as you can get…

Without actually carrying a hobbit card.

Yes, I like warm fires, good books, second breakfasts, and elevensies.

Most of all, I like being home.

And yet…

I am about to embark on my most adventurous summer ever!

First, I will travel to a foreign land where my communication will be limited to toddler-level sentence structures, such as “Want coffee” and “Dinner good more wine.”

Then when I've barely recovered from the jet lag coma, I have a date with the Great White North. I’m calling this one “Ten Days No Showers.” Because really, everything else (dehydrated food, bears, whatnot) is irrelevant.

And so…

I will expand my hobbit horizons, and of course, accumulate lots of writing material.

Because even nonhobbity writerly types know…

It’s all material.

Besides,

H. Jackson Brown's mother was right —

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. 

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover."

From: P.S. I Love You:

When Mom Wrote, She Always Saved the Best for Last.

PROMPT: What’s your next adventure?

Explore, Dream, Discover… and Write on!

Grump-Be-Gone

Be happy for this moment.

This moment is your life.

—Omar Khayyam

Get lost, Grumpy! Happy's the only dwarf we want to deal with right now…

Because today is the Great American Grump Out!

That’s right.

And that means for the next 24 hours there is to be no—

whining, frowning, fussing, bellyaching, grousing, grumbling, lamenting, screeching, crabbing, sulking, griping, scowling, glowering, or even eye-rolling.

Yep, all across the fruited plain.

We must refrain from the complain.

And yeah, that means you even have to endure bad poetry without groaning.

But hey, I've got some great stuff that can get you through…

We’ll start with the obvious — some Happy.

Got work to do?

Then this is what you want.

Still need a convincer that happy is the only way to be?

Shawn Achor’s TED talk will set you straight.

Face it, every day is Grump Out Day on the good ship Elbow.

PROMPT: Get rid of the grump, and get on board with these American Authors. This could be the best day of your life!

Get Goofy

According to my sources, tomorrow is International Goof-Off Day!

Go ahead and Google away if you’re a doubter.

I’m out celebrating early…

Big time.

PROMPT: Garsh! Do you really need instructions for this one?

But hey, this is perfect for setting the mood. :)

Angling for NaNoWriMo Recovery?

I have laid aside business and gone a-fishing.

~Izaak Walton

PROMPT: Go Fish.

NaNoWriMo Recovery: Fit as a…

Nobody ever says “piano around.”

Hmmm…

PROMPT: Feel free to fiddle around today. But if you are sadly fiddle-free, any old piano, penny whistle, or didgeridoo will do.

NaNoWriMo Recovery Week is “D”elightful!

Dawdle

Dabble

Doodle

Diddle-daddle

Dillydally

Diddly-SQUAT

PROMPT: So many D words, so little time. 

What if you delighted in all six today?

NaNoWriMo Recovery: The Slow Way

A great place to hang out today

They are slo-mo specialists.

In fact, they move soooooo slowly that algae form on their fur.

They also know how to put some serious POWER into power naps…

like, 20 hours a day.

They are sloths…

this week’s Mind’s Elbow mascot.

PROMPT: Embrace your inner sloth today. How slooooooow can you go?

Letting Go

Congratulations! You've made it through NaNoWriMo, PiBoIdMo, Black Friday, and what I like to call Black and Blue Saturday (in honor of you, Cindy).

Without a doubt, YESvember was awesome!

You ROCKED!

You ROLLED!

But now it’s time for a different kind of R & R.

Yeah… the REST and RELAXATION kind.

Without a doubt, you've earned it.

And guess what —

Kicking back is as key to the creative process as all that kicking butt.

“NOOOOoooooooo!” you might be saying. “I can’t stop now! I got so much done in November — I think I can do even MORE in December!”

Trust me, Cupcake, MORE is the first three ingredients in a recipe called Burnout.

So chill out, hang loose, and let go of all the stuff you did last month.

It’s officially R & R week here at the good ship Elbow.

Let it go.

Let it roll right off your shoulders.

Don’t you know,

The hardest part is over…

~ Rob Thomas

PROMPT: Kick back and sing along. Here’s your Little Wonders link.