Y Ddraig Goch

May 9 2025 - Fun with Words

Prompt: passion, wit, common, celebration, information, extraordinary, and mystical.

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Passion - is what I have for writing and for reading. There was a time after my father passed that I lost that passion - not because I didn't like it anymore, but because it felt like a little part of me died when he did. Or at the very least, got lost in the grief. It's taken me a while to find it again. To find the space in my life to allow for that passion again.

Wit - is what, I hope, my writing is full of. I like characters full of personality. I hope the ones I create pop off the page with enough sass, wit, and sarcasm that it makes the reader grin... if not laugh. I personally laugh my arse off while I'm writing some of the dialogue - I seem to have a personal infinity with grumpy, sarcastic demons - I'm very good a channelling them. But also, I hope people get a sense of who I am - like here in this blog.

Common - also equates to normal. We need to understand that we are not alone. That we all suffer from the common writer's aliments - writers block, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, dyslexia, life getting in the way, throwing commas around like they are confetti...

Celebration - is what I/we should do more of. Celebrate more. We finally had the balls to enter a competition (big high five), we won runner up in a WDC comp (cup of tea for me), we managed to wash, dry, sort and put away the laundry (well deserved chat-up with the book group). The celebration doesn't have to be big - as long as we recognise the achievement.

Information - is what I seek. I am constantly googling... well... everything: The name of a particular knife blade; The alternate name for wolfsbane; Celtic mythology; and How do you pronounce that... I like to google and find stuff out, because even though most of what I write is fantasy - I still like for it to be grounded in reality. And there is a lot that I do not know.

Extraordinary - is what I strive to be or strive to create. It's something that I am constantly working towards. Learning to become. Not as a person - because my husband and kids already think I am (bless them), but as a writer/artist. And not for the entire world. I'd settle for a handful or people who love something I created and with whom it had an impact - however small.

Mystical - is the subject matter I like to write about the most. The supernatural fascinates me, especially witchcraft; it may be because I grew up on stories of Morgan Le Fey and Merlin. The myths and legends from across Europe feel so alive in our history and have buried themselves deeply in my psyche. It's in the bedtime stories (brother's Grimm) we were told as children (I still remember the real stories...not the Disney version...), it's in the architecture (gargoyles on churches and cathedrals), the old wives' tales and superstitions (throwing salt over your shoulder), and in the things we celebrate - Christmas (Yule), Easter (Ostara), even Halloween (Samhain) - and that's before we even get to the juggernauts of Norse and Greek mythology - it's hard to escape. But equally easy to see how it captivates and offers respite and escapism.