One Picture, Three Stories

For me this little brooch manges to convey the  beauty and elegance that dance can encompass. I took this photo of it to try and capture the magical nature of it in the hope that it would inspire a short story.

As part of the one picture, three stories link up with Jane Heinrichs, I'd like to share some of the thoughts, stories and memories that this picture evokes in me.

1. Oh how I wanted to be a ballerina! To have grace and elegance, to twirl and leap as though I was made of dandelion down... alas for me I am flatfooted, clumsy, have no sense of timing and have all the grace, poise and balance of a lumbering anteater. Any time that I have ever performed anything resembling a dance on stage I have come in at the wrong time, or turned the wrong way, or missed my entrance completely. As you can imagine, a career in dance was never on the cards. But how my heart soars when I watch anyone else more blessed with talent, skill, and the ability to stand right up on tippy-toe without looking like a gangling idiot.

2. I found this brooch on  the pavement lost, abandoned, covered in mud and broken. It makes me wonder who owned it, where they got it from. Was it a gift? A token of love, of faith, of hope? Was it a promise? How did it get lost? Is it missed? Who could not miss such an elegant, pretty treasure? Stories can be found anywhere and attached to anything. I like to think of this little dancer as a talisman, a good luck charm for someone embarking on their life of dancing. I hope though that they are not suffering for having lost it, but rather that they no longer needed it and it has been passed on to inspire someone new (i.e. me!)

3. The Steadfast Tin Soldier is my favourite Hans Christian Anderson story. Although this dancer is made of plastic and not paper, I imagine her as the dancer in the story and can understand the love she inspired in the  Tin Soldier. If you're not familiar with the fairytale, you can read it here.

I haven't written the dancer her own story yet but if I do, I'll share it with you!

Weekly wishes

So as I was entering Jane Heinrichs give away and exploring the blogs involved in it I came across a link-up called Weekly Wishes - a community of goal setters:

I followed the button above which took me to this post: thewellnessdoer and then this post Challenge Accepted. The idea of the community of goal setters really appealed to me because my friends and I hold 'Positive Planning' sessions (to read more about what this means, visit my friend's excellent post all about them: Jennifer Grace Creates. Anyway, the idea of weekly wishes fits perfectly into this idea of positive planning - although we tend to make targets for a month rather than a week. However, as we are in the middle of March, I'm going to do a few weekly wishes and see how that gets me through, ready for April and a load of monthly wishes!

So, my weekly wishes for this week:

1. Use my spare time to do something related to writing - be it a feature proposal, competition entry, research...
2. Write the next chapter of my book (or at least start on it)
3. Sort out the loose filing on my desk.
4. Send back the pension information form sitting on my desk.
5. Write a blog post about my word of the year.


Just five to get me started, though I know a couple of them will be tricky!

Want to join in too? Then just click on the button above and get going!

One Picture, Three Stories - Childhood

Thanks to Jane Heinrichs (janeheinrichs.blogspot.co.uk) for inspiring me to think about this and for having the idea for a 'one picture, three stories' link up on her blog (see her blogpost about it here and take a look around the rest of her site, I guarantee you that you'll find something to encourage/dazzle/motivate/inspire you).

Here is my picture, and the three stories that it sparks off:

1) Childhood - that time of long hot summers, wonder, exploration and adventure, when everything is new and exciting. This is my niece. I don't see her as much as I would like as we live in Dorset and she lives in Oxfordshire so every moment I have with her is magic. This was taken last year when she and her dad (my brother) came to stay for a few days. She is standing on the walls of our town surveying the world below her and engaging in some impromptu ballet! If any child captures the sense of joy and excitement of being a child throwing herself at the world in joyful and trusting abandonment, it is my niece. She fills my heart with joy and also a wistful longing to remember the experiences and feelings of being that young, that small and that sure of yourself.

2) Hope - The pure joy and hope of being alive is, for me, captured here. The sunny day, the warm breeze, the beauty of life and the promise of a future yet to unfold. A grown up shadow falls across her, every so slightly touching her - the reassurance of security, the suggestion of the life she will lead and the woman she will grow into.

3)The Circle of Life - my niece looks extraordinarily like I did when I was her age. She brings back vivid memories of when I was her age exploring the countryside around our home. She reminds me what it is to explore as a child - something so necessary for someone who writes for children. Sweet, vulnerable, stubborn, strong, excited and overwhelmed, I can see the influences of my brother, of me, of my mother, of our family shining out of her, even (maybe mostly) when she's sulking, having a tantrum and trying to make sense of this sometimes unfathomable world she's learning to navigate. She seems to be a part of me, and I a part of her.

I highly recommend that you browse through your pictures and see which ones prompt three stories from you, and then link it back to Jane's blog and explore what other people have posted. Candy Gourlay's post is fascinating!

happy story making!

Rosie