Tag: writing community

Blogs, Creative Writing, Uncategorized

A Very Brief Rant on National Cake Day

R. H. W. Dorsey
Photo by chudesabyvaut on Pexels.com

The holiday season in the United States is here.  Mass media ads for Pre-Black Friday deals have hit the airways, television, and online. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet! Enough about the inevitable because I want to take issue with National Cake Day this 26th day of November 2019.  

Who decided to name a National Day where cake and all its variations are celebrated two days before the day, we Americans traditionally overindulge? Dessert cakes, coffee cakes, cake donuts, cupcakes, cookie cakes, and cheesecakes are being discounted at vendors throughout the country. I personally have no fears about my food intake on Thanksgiving Day. I enjoy the day with my family eating delicious food to my heart’s content with no shame. It’s only one day. With that said, I realize this time of year brings with it endless celebrations involving food more than any time of the calendar year. Now starts the time of year I struggle to avoid gaining potential pounds which will be harder to take off in the coming year. The weight loss struggle is real and I only fret for recent health reasons. I love myself and my life enough to attempt healthy eating for most of this festive time – with Thanksgiving being the exception. (health nuts, save your comments – I’m good) 

So National Cake Day, I’ll pass.  

Thanks for reading!

Below is a picture of a Chocolate Chip Bundt cake I usually make for a family member every Spring (a perfect time, in my opinion, for a National Cake Day).

Blogs, Creative Writing, Uncategorized

Speaking on Rain, Writing, Loss, and Hope

R. H. W. Dorsey

Deer outside on 062019

Speaking on Rain, Writing, Loss, and Hope

As the month of June 2019 is nearing its end, I’m wondering how Spring passed by so fast. I remember the rain, rain, and more rain most of this year. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t my imagination we’d had a very wet year in southwestern Pennsylvania. Effortless research online led me to this recent article written by a local meteorologist. I can’t say I was surprised at the precipitation level reported. The article* informs my region had precipitation on 72.5% of the days this year. That figure doesn’t include the fifteen days since the article was published. There’s been even more rain since that time. I need to mention today’s forecast shows three of the next four days with rain. I’ll leave any complaining right here as I acknowledge other areas in my country experiencing worse rain. There were massive flooding events around the world and here in my country over the past months. Lives were lost. I don’t make the mistake of forgetting I’m blessed. I took a snapshot recently of the grass and trees outside my door after a rain (featured above). If you look carefully at the beautiful green scenery, you’ll see a visitor behind the fence spying on me. 😊

With the beginning of Summer starting this past weekend, I feel 2019 slipping away fast. Working on multiple writing projects were the things occupying my time in this second quarter. Daily, weekly and monthly writing goals are a welcome part of my life. What I enjoy most is sharing this journey with like-minded writers and readers. The Twitter #WritingCommunity is filled with supportive writers and readers. A recent Twitter non-scientific poll I ran had 75% of the respondents as solely fiction writers. I’m in the minority 20% that write both nonfiction and fiction. I’m still working on finding my true audience. My style is eclectic like me. I believe finding the happy medium between doing what one loves, caring for yourself, and attending to those you love can be tricky. At this point in my life it’s important I focus on all things that bring me joy.

The past year brought the passing of family members and friends. These losses are happening more frequently than ever. The deaths notifications remind me of my mortality. As I get older, I cherish the personal relationships of family and friends more. My faith keeps me grounded with a peace I wouldn’t trade for anything. My hope is to live every day grateful for the offerings life presents.

Do It

Go ahead and eat the cookie.
Go a little over budget.
Watch the mindless reality show.
Laugh at yourself.
Gaze at the moon.
Cheer loudly for your team.
Hold your loved one’s hand often.
Hug your family every chance you get.
Cherish your friends.
Love fiercely without regret.
Say “I love you” out loud.
Life is a moment long.

© Copyright 2018 R.H.W. Dorsey from “Second Act Writings: An Eclectic Poetry & Prose Collection.” 

 

 

* https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06/10/pittsburgh-weather-2019-rain-how-much/

 

 

 

Think It’s Rained A Lot In Pittsburgh This Year? You’re Right

Blogs, Creative Writing, Uncategorized

Non-scientific Writing Community Polls on Twitter

R. H. W. Dorsey
person dropping paper on box
Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

 

I enjoy Twitter polls and can hardly resist scrolling past them (no matter the subject). There’s something about being part of a poll that I just dig. (I’m a Boomer). I thought it would be interesting to get an idea of what writers think, feel, use in their craft, etc. For the last five weeks, I’ve polled the #WritingCommunity on things that piqued my curiosity. I participated in the polls, as well. The writing and publishing processes are dynamic, and I wanted to see what’s fresh. Some of the polls I ran had only a handful of responses – but some data is better than none. Of course, since this is a ‘non-scientific’ poll, the results are technically misleading. I could even go so far to say some responses may have been for sport (see the poll on 3-12-19 below).  At the present time, I’m content being a part of the #WritingCommunity on Twitter.

 

TWITTER WRITING COMMUNITY NON-SCIENTIFIC POLL

(Total votes are listed after polling data)

  • 2/21/19: Writers, how often does your WIP change genres?
    • 36% Sometimes; 18% Always; 46% Never (11 votes)
  • 2/22/19: How much time do you spend reading books every day?
    • 25% Less than 1 hour; 50% 1-2 hours; 0% 3-4 hours; 25% Over 4 hours (4 votes)
  • 2/28/19: Novelists, do you create an outline for your novel?
    • 36% Always; 27% Never; 37% Sometimes (11 votes)
  • 3/1/19: What writing software are you using, if any?
    • 30% Scrivener; 41% Word; 20% Google Docs; 9% Other (44 votes)
  • 3/6/19: Have you ever completely revamped your WIP before publishing?
    • 75% Many times; 25% Once or Twice; 0% Never (4 votes)
      • (I’m filing under questions just stupid enough to ask)
  • 3/12/19: Have you ever taken an online writing course?
    • 64% No; 18% Yes; 9% I’m a Genius; 9% Currently taking a course (11 votes)
      • (I’d love to meet the geniuses one day)
  • 3/16/19: What are you currently writing?
      • 80% Genre fiction; 13% Literary Fiction; 7% Other (15 votes)
  • 3/20/19: Are you planning a book launch?
    • 60% Not sure; 30% No; 10% In Progress (10 votes)
  • 3/26/19: What to do when writing and losing focus?
    • Total 39 votes: 31% Exercise; 23% TV; 31% Read; 15% Other (39 votes)
  • 3/30/19: Which of the 4 genres would you buy a book?
    • 41% Literary; 0% Nonfiction; 7% Poetry; 52% Crime (27 votes)

Tweet comments were posted on some polls (summarized below)

  • 2/21/19 Poll: “…while it might change, it’s never too far from where it started.”
  • 3/1/19 Poll: Other writing software noted in poll comments: New Novelist; OpenOffice; Zenwriter; Hemingway; Grammarly.
  • 3/26/19 Poll: Activities when losing focus noted in poll comments: watch videos; housework; write something else; nap; physically move to a new space to write.
  • 3/30/19 Poll: I purposely used the four categories of my personal interest in this poll. Two people commented:
    • Sci-Fi
    • Crime Fiction and a split between contemporary Lit.

 

What did I learn? I learned that I was almost always in the lower percentage of the polls. I embrace being different so very much!

What was I surprised by? 64% of those that answered had never taken an online writing course – I’m one of the 64% (the only poll where I was with the majority).

As much as the poll was unscientific, it helped me interact with the writing community.

 

Blogs, Creative Writing, Recipes, Uncategorized

National Pound Cake Day

R. H. W. Dorsey

 

 

 

NATIONAL POUND CAKE DAY

 

Today, March 4th is National Pound Cake Day among other named days. *

According to my journal, I last baked the pound cake noted below in the Spring of 2017. I was living away from my home state temporarily at a Fisher House in the state of Virginia. A close family member was recuperating in a hospital at the time. A lady I’d met months before at the house gave me this recipe. I’d made pound cakes for years with a sour cream addition. The variation of using heavy whipping cream instead was a recipe I was eager to try. The cake turned out well, and I must admit other people at the house thought the same.

I’ve lived in the northeastern United States my entire life. My time in Virginia on that trip lasted close to a year. I had the pleasure of learning the so-called ‘southern hospitality’ was a real thing. The Fisher House was a home away from home. It was always a delight to get a warm welcome from a house guest after a long and sometimes emotional day at the hospital. Most houseguests got a chance to return the favor in kind. I’d have to say it was rare that there wasn’t prepared meals, snacks and fresh baked goods waiting for the guests at the end of their day. Houseguests and staff alike shared in the hospitality that made the time at the house bearable as the hospital patients recuperated.

I don’t have nutritional information for this scratch recipe. And hey, do you really want to know anyway?

So, in the spirit of National Pound Cake Day, here’s my contribution.

(*By the way, today is also National Hug a G.I. Day. My G.I. has been hugged today and he loved the pound cake!) 😊

 

Whipping Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients:

5 or 6 eggs

½ pint heavy whipping cream

2 sticks of softened butter

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour

2 ¾ cups granulated sugar

 

(A Bundt pan can be used for this recipe, but I use the tube pan to get better results for this heavy cake)

Grease a large tube pan with a light layer of shortening and dust with flour.

(Notes: I used 5 eggs, the original recipe called for 3 cups of sugar; this makes a large cake – if desired, a reduction by half in the ingredients would make a smaller loaf pound cake)

 

DIRECTIONS                                                                 

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs (preferably room temperature) one at a time beating each into the mixture, then repeat the process with each egg.

Add the vanilla extract.

Stir in equal amounts of flour, then whipping cream and stir. Repeat adding whipping cream and flour until the last amount of flour is mixed into the batter.

Bake at 300 degrees F. for 1 hour 45 minutes (I preheated the oven for only 5 minutes or less before baking)

Check for doneness with a toothpick or clean butter knife.

round bread
Photo by Isabella Mendes on Pexels.com