Couldn’t breathe. Went to emergency room per pulmonary doctor. Fluid in my lungs and feet and legs swollen. Also have cough. Admitted and tested for COVID-19. In isolation pending results. Possibility of congestive heart failure.
Month: August 2020
#Haikai Challenge #152 (8/16/20): katydid (kirigirisu) #haiku #senryu #haibun #tanka #haiga #renga
#Haikai Challenge #152 (8/16/20): katydid (kirigirisu) #haiku #senryu #haibun #tanka #haiga #renga
This week, write the haikai poem of your choice (haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, haiga, renga, etc.) that alludes to the katydid (kirigirisu).

Image on Pixabay
Katydids
by Tessa Dean August 2020
katydids are like
crickets, long-horned grasshoppers
their song can annoy
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
The Weekly Smile for August 17, 2020 #weeklysmile
The Weekly Smile for August 17, 2020 #weeklysmile

My weekly smile is a little late this week. I fell behind on blog posts again. I have been working on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel still. Although it might be more of a novella, but the interest is still there which is good for me. I am also live streaming a lot on youtube and I am no longer afraid of the camera. I post videos and then the live streams are writing sprints where you motivate people to write and there is also conversation going on. I am about to get up the courage to have my first guest. I have co-hosted on other people’s streams, but I still have to do my first stint as a host with a guest. I can do them by myself, but having a guest is a little bit different.
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
Reena’s Exploration Challenge #148
The Silhouette On The Shade
By Tessa Dean
Full moon glowing on my shade.
Funny silhouettes it sometimes made.
Was that a phantom I glimpsed in fright?
The moon’s glow disappears, reminding me it was night.
Spirits roam through my house.
Quiet as a church yard mouse.
Back to sleep I must go.
Too many distractions you know.
PROMPT #148
I am inspired by the following words, and offer the same as a writing prompt for this week.
- Silhouette
- Shade
- Phantom
- Spirit
No, you don’t have to use all four. You can use one or more of the given words in your piece – poetry or prose.
As usual, there is no restriction on length or format of the piece. interesting photographs are also welcome. Write a post on your blog, and copy-paste the link in Comments. In case you are using a pingback, do check back to see if it has worked.
Last, but not least, don’t forget to tag the post “Reena’s Exploration Challenge” for easy location in the blog roll.
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
One-Liner Wednesday – Live Streaming on youtube

I am streaming live on youtube almost everyday now along with my youtube videos that I post about writing.
If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”
The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!
5. Have fun!
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
Are You a Pantser or Plotter (Outliner)?
By Tessa Dean copyright August 2020
Most writers are either a pantser, which means they write by the seat of the pants or a plotter, which means they have to have an outline that lays the whole story out before they start to write. Now there are a few people who are a combination of both and they are called plantsers.
Pantsers write one day at a time letting the story tell itself. When they start they are not sure whether it will be a novel, novella or simply a piece of flash fiction. They must be ready to scrap their work if it doesn’t work out. The pros of being a pantser mean that you can kill off a character and not have to rewrite the whole outline. The cons though mean that it is far easier to get stuck and not be able to continue on until you straighten it out in your head. You have no plans to fall back on.
A plotter or planner plans their whole novel before they start writing. They methodically plan it out from start to finish. It can be scribbled on a piece of scrap paper or neatly written or typed out. It can be plain and simple or fully color coded. This is great for people who don’t want to go off plot because they can’t focus. They don’t want to go off their original plan. The pros are that they hardly ever have writer’s block because they can’t finish their outline until the whole story emerges anyhow. The cons though are really rough as they can’t just make changes on the spur of the moment as they will have to change their whole outline to fit in the changes each and every time they make a change.
Although I am a pantser for the most part, when it comes to novel writing it is too long for my memory to remember all the details so I am becoming a plantser as I have to create a story bible with my world built in it. It may be a contemporary story, but there is still a world to create for fiction.
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
Hospital Walls

Hospital Walls
By Tessa Dean copyright August 2020
To the hospital I am bound.
Fearful to know what may be found.
Doctor after doctor, test after test.
Trying to help me feel my best.
Answers I am seeking fail.
Making me long to bail.
The walls are closing in on me,
Dependent on someone else you see.
Hospitals are to make you well,
But they can be their own private hell.
Constant traffic in the room.
Someone always around to loom.
Let me out, it’s time to go.
No longer going with the flow.
Homeward bound finally.
They found nothing, I am free.
I spent 10 days in the hospital just before the Corona Virus hit and there is a good chance that is what I had. Timing from the CDC puts cases starting around January 15 and I was in the hospital 10 at the end of January. The symptoms fit.
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
Mourning

Mourning
By Tessa Dean copyright August 2020
When my mother passed away my father was lost.
He lost his true soul mate at a great cost.
We all miss her dearly that’s true.
She has more mourners than a few.
Mourning a loved one never ends.
And sometimes there’s no time to make amends.
Life goes on as it must.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
***
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
Sunrise, My Day Ends

Sunrise, My Day Ends
By Tessa Dean copyright August 2020
As the sun rises
I head to bed.
Trying to get comfortable
As I lay my head.
I usually sleep in short cat naps
Unless someone at my door raps.
The world goes on without me
And all I pray is let me be.
My sleep is riddled with nightmares.
I envy those that sleep without cares.
I wake up with a start
Holding my hand over my heart.
Heart pounding hard in fright,
I found day had turned into night.
***
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.
I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg
Share Your World – With A Twist 8-10-2020
Share Your World – With A Twist 8-10-2020
I am in no way interested in Harry Potter. I will stick with the old questions and answers format.

“Plain” Questions:
Would You Rather Live 120 Years That Are Comfortable But Boring, Or Live Half As Long, But Have An Exciting Adventure Packed Life? I am not an adventurer. I don’t mind boring. So make that 120 years for me. More time for writing.
What’s Something That Overwhelms You? People/Humanity overwhelm me. I like a nice quiet setting to be alone, which is my usual preference.
What Do or DID You Take For Granted? Before Covid 19 I took everything for granted. I have a new granson who I see only by photos and an occasional short video. I am missing his first year of life and for all we know maybe the first 2 or 3 years of life. I know longer just go shopping if I feel like it. I have to need something and make all trips count.
Tessa –
Advocate for mental health and invisible illnesses
New Author’s Website – http://www.tessadeanauthor.com
Author – Old Writing – http://www.finallyawriter.com
About my life – http://www.tessacandoit.com
Author of a book, a work in progress on the blog, https://tessacandoit.com/government-property-a-memoir-as-a-military-wife/
Highlighted chapters are done and ready to be read.I am also a youtuber in the authortube section on writing. See my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpNS-6gfJ0s8eD1berLwQg