It would be nice to feel the sand under my feet it would be nice to watch the clouds in the sky and it would be nice if we could meet and maybe not to spend any time to cry would it be nice or would it be wrong if we could skate on ice or just accept that we belong it would be nice to see everything perhaps never seeing anything or just let it breeze away like nothing at all had existed in my heart these days would it be nice I used to ask all I had to ask for, would it be.
Do you remember when it was the turn of the millenium? Back then looking in the mirror was a passing thought then the mirror cracked no longer happy to look at myself or to look in your eyes but you laid beside me guided me from the night to the day beginning to wonder what you wanted to really say I know it's okay... to think, to feel to understand, none of it was real well this is a farewell no more tears and no more pain no more waiting, for the rain to go away or to see the sky and see my sun daughter, because she chases feet at the end of the bed when she is really, just dead so goodnight, you broke mirror.
Welcome to this short post about some tips to keep track and on track of your weekly goals. It will help I believe to keep you motivated if you have short term weekly goals instead of pushing for stressful, and unrealistic timelines. Here you can see my suggestion and you can also read my Medium post below on ‘keeping track of your goals.’
1) Try to set small achievable goals throughout the week;
2) Don’t push yourself beyond your current limit;
3) Engage with others to tell them what you want to achieve;
4) Be able to complete the goals and don’t dwell on any shortcomings or failures;
5) Try to reward yourself as little as possible as it isn’t that healthy in the first place, you are human not dog;
6) Don’t be tempted to change a goal because you can’t be bothered anymore.
As you can see this is merely 6 tips, and there exists a whole lot of literature on mental health, motivation and happiness which may or may not be of significant help to you. I am currently reading a book by Richard Wiseman which is fascinating and helpful. I also started reading a practical guide to mental health, or something like that. Both are assisting my writing journey and my life at the moment. In times of difficulty of course motivation can dwindle. With time and the right tools though you can heal and get back on track.
Many thanks for taking the time to read my post and have a wonderful day. Thomas.
My recent poem on Medium titled ‘Ghosts’ – https://medium.com/@thomas_maxwellharrison/ghosts-2470f307e8a8
My new and popular sonnet on Medium called ‘Rancid’ – https://medium.com/@thomas_maxwellharrison/rancid-a-sonnet-7f9275f48e50
My Medium profile where I am trying to blog and build an audience – https://medium.com/@thomas_maxwellharrison
What are you planning for this weekend?
I am awaiting an interview outcome, which I expect to hear back from next week. I am writing on here, Medium and want to add another part to the Wattpad story – Apocalypse on Easy Street. Along with trying to round off Fist Fighting the Undead which was a little bit of fun.
Not planning to go anywhere, last weekend at the cinema was as adventurous as it has gotten lately. I did go into town yesterday though and bought a tropical looking rug. It is only small and I’ve put in in my living room in front of the sofa. I wanted one for a while because it is wooden flooring and so when I sit bare foot I want to rest my feet on something that doesn’t slip.
Medlum
No pain or hurt or anger
searing shot in the eyes
you are going to reach the top of your mountain
where you sense the goat
until it flies over
whisk of air
you were never there
Sir Michael Grantham-James-Stewart III
Wizard identity revealed
My new title, or should I say, my official title. I am so damned blessed to have such a long name! That is all! You might find me by other, more boring names, but this was all for show anyway. How many of you are alive?
I have been writing on external sites like Medium, Elephant Journal and Wattpad. Some recent posts are highlighted below.
Fist Fighting the Undead IV, Rancid – a sonnet, Message in a Bottle (freeverse poem) – at https://medium.com/@thomas_maxwellharrison
(please clap to show support if you enjoy what you read)
Apocalypse on Easy Street part 1-8, part 8 recently added – at https://www.wattpad.com/story/308318436-zombie-outbreaks-apocalypse-on-easy-street
(please like if you enjoy, you do not need to be a member to like something)
Some contributions for Elephant Journal – https://www.elephantjournal.com/profile/thomas_maxwellharrison/
Faded, jaded chipped, cracked embedded hatch or portal mere walkway entrance we see support we do not passing through the hidden chamber a chamber of secrets deception is his game but nobody else will take the blame
She sits opposite me in this leather booth. The restaurant is fairly busy, waiters and waitresses flock from table to table, taking orders, delivering drinks and food and gossiping about social media nonsense. I daren’t reveal to this brunette bombshell that I am vegan, after she took the leap to tell me on the way here. “I’m vegan,” she had said. I didn’t want to share my intimate life details or let her feel some connection, because honestly, the whole date was a big set up. I’d agreed to this after being paired with this lady by a friend. Yeah, she was okay, she chatted a lot about family and decided to tell me about her recently holiday with her ‘girlfriends.’ Not that I was bothered though.
But… the waiter came over and I knew there was no way for me to hide my diet preference, and that was all it was, a way to stay slim and healthy. I don’t care about animal activism. I’d rather let her do all the talking, but I have to throw in the occasional question to sound interested. “Been there before?” She’s forgotten her own holiday already, and she talked about it for like 20 minutes. The waiter hovers over our table, pen on his pad. After viewing the menu, seeing the little choice there was for vegans, I decided to brave it.
“Yeah loads of times,” she finally responds, blushing and batting her eyelids. Damn, this woman is really into me and we’ve known each other for about an hour or two. Essentially a blind date. I give her the silent credit, she is busty, slim and tall. Her wit is questionable, after telling me I look like Colin Farrell. I look nothing like him and was born in Brighton to a mother who worked in a factory and alcoholic father who beat me as a child after his drunken nights out. Maybe being a Colin lookalike was the career change I needed. She glances to the menu and looks to the waiter, he’s young, probably early twenties and for some reason looking down her bra. Kid, take the order and **** off.
“I’ll have the vegan burger,” she says.
“Fries or onion rings?” he asks, smiling. Little jerk is jerking me around, can he not see she is on a date? I with hold my frustration and give him some leeway, as he probably hasn’t even reached puberty yet. “Okay great. An you sir?”
All can be forgiven, he’s addressed me by my master title, sir. Maybe I should correct him, to for the laughs. “Actually, it’s madam,” I say. The waiters face drops and he blushes. The young woman chuckles, and I get a leg up.
“Excuse me, madam.” So far so good, obedient waiter. “What would you like to order?” Oh dear the shame is built up, and I have to look at the menu, but cannot contain myself and splutter, laughing my ass off, she laughs again, and grabs my hand.
“Stop it,” she laughs. Her skin is smooth, her eyes magnetic blue. “What are you eating?”
I really was tempted to push it and order a portion of crisps, I didn’t have the mental energy now. “I’ll have the exact same, thank you.” The waiter takes the order and leaves without another word.
“So are you vegan then?” She smells of rose perfume and has that peaky, coloured tone in her cheeks. Do I confess my intimate details to a stranger? It wouldn’t go anywhere anyway.
“No, but I thought I’d try it.”
“You should be, it’s great.” Oh no, que the long animals abuse rant. I cut her off as she goes to speak.
“Do you want to know a fun fact about burgers?” She draws closer, smiling, her pearly whites glisten under the dim light.
“I’d love to.”
“Well,” I say, hesitating. “Burgers are sluts.” She pulls away, flushed. “They told me they like to be eaten out.” I expect her to laugh, but oh well, there she goes, from the table and out the door. I enjoy the moment and thank God I didn’t have to dump her.
I had the pleasure of interviewing a very talented writer of erotica; Rosie Banks! She took the time to talk to me over Twitter as I began to read some of her blog posts on Medium. From there I became pretty obsessed with her work and decided to ask her on this spotlight! She said yes, I blushed, shook and went weak in the knees. I’m not going to ramble but I am so glad to be able to share this with you all, she is a wonderfully vivid writer, with a great taste and talent that will grow from seed to flower in no time, it will transform from caterpillar to butterfly before you know it.
Rosie Banks is the author, editor, and curator of kinky bitesize erotica on Medium and Amazon Kindle. She has been writing professionally for nine months, and writing erotica professionally for three. Her already extensive catalogue contains stories in the BDSM, hypnosis, and cuckoldry kinks, although this is by no means exhaustive. In addition to her erotic short stories, Rosie keeps a semi-regular blog, where she talks about her experiences as an erotic writer, advice she’d give to those interested in entering the erotica field, as well as musings on the genre in general.
Why are you a writer?
Starting with the easy questions I see. Ehm… hmm… I guess I’m a writer because I have this insatiable, and at times perverted, imagination, and writing is the only medium I’ve found that as near as possible captures what’s in my head. Writing comes fairly naturally to me, and I enjoy it. Sure, it can be a chore sometimes, and when the ideas aren’t coming it’s absolutely infuriating, but most of the time writing is fun and a little exciting—on occasion, very exciting… I love it and I wouldn’t want to do anything else with my life, and probably won’t.
What do you enjoy about writing?
Two things: One, I love that I can sit and let my imagination flow without any boundaries. I always feel such excitement when I sit in front of a blank screen, wondering where I’ll be taken to today. It’s marvellous! Two, I honestly enjoy the process of trying to convert what’s in my head into cold, hard scribbles on the page. It’s like a puzzle with no right answers. And the satisfaction of hearing your story made an impact on someone, there’s no other way to describe it: pure joy.
Tell us about your most recent works
Most recently, I’ve been writing approx. 1,200-2,500-word stories on Medium that I publish about twice a week. Almost all of these have been erotica, although a couple have been more straightforward blog posts. My erotic stories generally deal with someone who’s craving something: satisfaction, excitement, danger, ecstasy—perhaps a combination of these. I usually write from a first-person perspective, as I find it the most intimate and vulnerable. I also often write in the present, as the immediacy helps create suspense… and arousal.
Essentially, when you read my stuff, I want you to feel the same pleasure the protagonist feels: be in bed with them, feel the cord around their wrists—the gag in their mouth, whimper as someone caresses their body, lose control in the ecstasy of the moment. Whether or not I succeed in that is up to the reader to decide.
If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?
I’d choose horror, or at least spooky (is that a genre?) Anyway, as I believe I’ve written elsewhere, I’m a big fan of classic Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories, as well as the Weird Fiction of the early twentieth-century. I regularly listen to recordings of these classic spooky stories (you can find them on YouTube), and they’re a huge influence – oddly – on my erotic writing. I won’t bore you here, but I could go on and on about how similar good horror and erotica are. To me, they’re just two sides of the same coin.
Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?
Hm, that’s an interesting question. Yes and no. Inspired me to write? No really… My grandfather, after he retired, wrote short stories for a while. I knew about it as a kid but didn’t really care. I regret that I didn’t take a more active interest in his work, but I wouldn’t say he “inspired” me.
On the other hand, there are plenty of authors whose writing has directly influenced my work. I don’t have time to name them all, but here are the top five. Hopefully, in a future blog post, I’ll be able to go into more detail on how they’ve influenced my work.
In no particular order, except for maybe Wodehouse, my influences are:
Are you working on anything at the moment?
At the time of this interview, I’m in the process of editing about ten erotic short stories that (fingers crossed) will be going up between now and the middle of July. I write pretty voraciously, so I’m always juggling more stories than I know what to do with. I try to follow a strict schedule, but sometimes the hypnotic call of a particularly juicy story is too good to resist.
The three that will be going up next are as follows: one about the fallout of a one night stand; another about the answer to a voyeur’s prayers; the third is… well… something a little different. It’s called, “Seduced By The Sea.” It’s a mix of erotica and… horror? Not quite sure. You can see for yourself what that one’s about when it eventually gets published.
Where can people buy your books?
If people are interested in my work, they should go to my Medium page. This is the best place to find my stories and blog posts, receive updates on upcoming projects, and support me through reading. People can (if they’d like) buy a few of my longer stories on Amazon Kindle or read them for free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Yikes, there’s so much I want to say. Hmm… well, with brevity in mind, I’d recommend that anyone interested in writing professionally should just start. Like today. Sit down with a favorite drink, maybe a little snack, and bang out some writing. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s good or not. What’s important, I’ve found, is the consistent practice of writing. Over time, with enough patience and practice, you’ll get better at translating what’s in your head to words on the screen.
And also bear in mind, there are no gatekeepers in writing—not any more. Unlike the good old days when you had to rely on publishers for your weekly bread, today, you can make money by writing and publishing directly online like I do: either on a site like Medium, or Amazon Kindle, or on your own blog.
Starting is so hard. But really, once you get going, it’s so easy to make a habit of it. Find a time that works for you, dedicate that as your “Writing Time”, and just do it every day, or every other day, or whatever. As long as you’re persistent, you’ll start seeing progress.
Writing is difficult. Anyone who says otherwise isn’t a professional writer. It’s okay to feel discouraged and angry and upset and depressed and everything else. In fact, it’d be weird if you didn’t sometimes feel that way. Just remember to keep going. And little by little… well, you know.
Oh, and have fun! Because, I mean really, if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?
Any other comments?
I’m sure I’ll think of something later, but for now I’m happy with these.
*You can find Rosie Banks work at the following. I already follow her on Medium and recommend you do the same.
My books on Amazon Kindle:
Let Me Sing A Song Inside Your Mind…
Rosie, thank you again for taking the time to do this interview around your busy writing schedule. We all appreciate a good writer, and especially one who can take us deep into the erotica experience and spit us out leaving us wanting more. She had these remarks about allowing me to publish this post:
“Yes, I am; and thank you again, Thomas, for offering to do this. I really appreciate it!”
Well, there you go! Enjoy your day and as always, like, comment, follow and reblog! Go check out the writer!
Through those aged stone walls she moves her tongue licks the remains of her previous victim from her lips she flicks her hair back and graciously parades the castle halls ... the butler is the accomplice luring those young men to the estate promises of glorious parties and sexual women she waits like a hissing viper in the shadow as the clock strikes midnight and her feast is awaiting her arrival her hands guide him to a room darkened candles lustfully light her dark spirit until he is unarmed undressed and she ravages his neck consuming his arterial flow he is lifeless she is possessive and so the clean up began a naughty treat now she wonders, who else will she get to meet...
psychedelicwizard 