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Sunagrl
Hobby writer and animal fanatic with a penchant for the fantastical.
21 Posts • 30 Followers • 2 Following
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Challenge
Summer-into-Fall Prose. Wrap-up Challenge
In five haikus, tell a story about the cycle of life. Start with being born, then so forth. Because this is absorbing the entirety of all Prose. Challenges until October's start, we're giving the winner $250. Winner is decided by a combination of likes, and our panel. And...Go.
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Sunagrl

5 haiku - by rule and by wrote

Before there is light:

the spring life forms first

in the warm, dark womb.

Enter cold, first breath!

Then embraced in the summer

warmth of a mother.

Like spring, endless youth

dallies on careless and free -

yet fleeting and rare.

The chill creeps in, sly-

when the leaves of innocence

begin to turn brown.

How long abided,

the frost of bitter knowledge-

taken to the grave.

Challenge
March Seven Word Play
Write using all of the following 7 words: slog, patty, ash, gold, ides, crocus, vernal
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Sunagrl in Stream of Consciousness

As she awakes

The winter memory of peppermint patty and hot chocolate on freezing nights begins to fade as the vernal equinox creeps closer. The slog of icy winter drudgery edited with punctuations of spots of purple and green; the drooping violet bells of the spring crocuses standing in sharp contrast with the ash grey tones and earthy browns of late winter. Though the ides of March have proven a struggle through history the rays of late afternoon sun peaking its gold fingers between budding branches, nearly formed flowers yearning to burst free will soon prove to be promises of the warmer days to come.The winter memory of peppermint patty and hot chocolate on freezing nights begins to fade as the vernal equinox creeps closer. The slog of icy winter drudgery edited with punctuations of spots of purple and green; the drooping violet bells of the spring crocuses standing in sharp contrast with the ash grey tones and earthy browns of late winter. Though the ides of March have proven a struggle through history the rays of late afternoon sun peaking its gold fingers between budding branches, nearly formed flowers yearning to burst free will soon prove to be promises of the warmer days to come.

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Sunagrl

Butterflies

The butterflies start again

flitting wild like my thoughts

soft wings beating desperately

against the prison of my ribs

Challenge
What has reading taught you about navigating the world? What is one story that has most impacted your worldview or way you move through life?
Bestselling author George Saunders will read and critique 25 pages of his favorite entrant's work, which will also be promoted on Random House's social media and newsletter.
Cover image for post Life and Lit, by Sunagrl
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Sunagrl

Life and Lit

Books are the haven of the lonely child. What a wonder they were to the little girl with few friends, who struggled to understand the behavior of other children, and who could not learn how from the numerous adults in her life. When the wonders of nature grew tired there was always another world waiting to be explored between those covers. The ink was my wardrobe to a fantasy land where the author laid the scene, offered friends and a goal; the foundations for yet another playground where imagination could run wild and expand the bounds of what is possible. There is little camaraderie I have found that is so quickly and easily struck as that between two fans of a particular piece of media, and books are no exception. Sharing a world and family that you have crafted from the experience of your reading with another fan who shares your enthusiasm and brings their own experience sparks a unique connection. However, the connections don’t have to be limited to those isolated instances, the emotional education many authors try to impart through their works can teach empathy and understanding beyond those who share that niche interest. Anger, sorrow, disgust, or joy. Emotion is the heart of any story, proof that what has come from the hand of any writer is truly art. Even the most dry textbook can strike a chord with some student or inspire some great discovery in the future. The model of fiction makes it a fascinating tool for the exploration of morality, imperfect as any other in common use. The innate influence of an author’s personal opinions and experiences is, unsurprisingly, a hotly discussed issue still in many literary circles. JK Rowling comes to mind as a popular subject for discussions about the concept of death of the author, a term adapted from an essay of the same name by French essayist Roland Barthes. How much of an author’s personal opinions and experiences should a reader take into account when encountering a piece of their work? How much will the reader’s own experiences shape their reading? The biggest question a reader must always ask though is: how will this next story change my life and my views? After all, between each set of covers lies a new world or learning.

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Sunagrl

Winter Joy

Thick and heavy comes our breath

Billows of steam

Floating away to tear apart

Like ghosts in the wind

Mittened hands entwine

As our laughter echoes

Clear and crisp

like the air stinging our lungs

And when you lean in

Lips soft against mine

Your hot breath warms me

All the way to my heart

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Sunagrl

Is this eternity?

I sink into the nothing

Embraced by the dark

There is no emotion in this place

No sense of touch, or taste, or smell

Even thought has vanished

Time is as real as memory

And there is no more of that

All that is

All that has been

All that will be

Is void

Challenge
Love, Hate
Devise a fifteen-word story that begins with Love and ends with Hate. Inspired by a challenge recently created by the very talented @Lexicon. You may tag me if you'd like @KarinaGrey.
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Sunagrl

When hate masks love

I love to hate you, because it’s easier than admitting how much I actually love you.

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Sunagrl

Cat

My angora is a silky beast

With cloudy pelt of white

Her golden eyes like little lamps

Survey the house all night

When I feel her tiny paws

Alight upon my chest

I grit my teeth as she settles down

Purring as she rests

Challenge
Challenge of the Week CXX
Plummeting Thoughts. Thoughts you have as you fall to your inevitable doom. Fiction or non-fiction, poetry or Prose.
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Sunagrl

The Plunge

I wanted to see you just one more time

Hold you close and tell you “It’ll all be okay”

Before this darkness swallows me up

Before I take the plunge that I told you

A hundred times

Perhaps a thousand

Never to take, never to step off the ledge

Never to take you own life

...

Too bad I’m a hypocrite

Challenge
Write a piece either poetry or prose, where each word starts with the next letter of the alphabet
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Sunagrl

It drifted away from me there...

Accented blue clouds

Drift effortlessly

Frolicking gently higher

Impressive just knowing

Light makes new outlines

Playful qualm-less rings

Swirling tumbles unearthed