That Place You Love: Real People. Real Stories.
Round-Up on Melody; Next-Up CATS!. Catching up on past themes with links!
We’re in Week 38 of TPYL!
According to Substack we’re in the top 7% of publishers.
Writing on a theme every week has been both challenging & liberating.
I used to hold onto stories… let them take up space in my mind.
Rolling around, jostling for attention. Competing with the day-to-day demands of writing for hire, writing on spec, and writing in my journal.
Very early on - in the first weeks - I felt like I had given myself a gift, an elixir to unclog the memory bank. An equally low & high stakes outlet.
Some TPYL Contributors have also posted 38 weeks in a row.
We’re going for 52.
If this were a marathon, we’d be “hitting the wall” right about now.
Losing steam, contemplating quitting, mustering our internal resources to put one foot in front of the other.
I’ve completed two marathons and dropped out of one.
The turmoil of dropping out stayed with me longer than the joy of finishing.
Let’s go for joy… and let it linger!
If you’d like to catch up on past themes…
Click on the THEME LINK to write 150 - 200 words on:
I always include new posts with unique links in the Round-Up.
Round Up on Melody & New Theme - Cats - below!
If you’re reading this for the first time…
And want to know more about the ZINE’s mission, go to ABOUT or FORUM on the Substack platform or read the introductory post I WAS AN EASY LIAR.
3 Contributors weighed in on MELODY:
I wrote about the origin story of my name, Michelle, how a melody can lodge in my brain like a squirmy worm, and the shock of a rated-G song backed by porn.
Carole D writes about about the flautist’s yearn to embellish a melody and the internal conflict of the healthy “I” and the ego’s “I” in concert with others.
Karen E shares the effect of viewing a video of autistic children in Brazil connecting through play therapy and set to the melody of universal joy.
Intact Animal notes the transformation of a music-based friendship, from melody makers to the honor of godparent, with a different song to sing.
READ & HEART this week’s writers & SHARE your own story in the comments.
3 Contributors wrote on past themes:
Contributor Autumn L went back to RECOVERY to write about the distinction between response & recovery post-cancer and how monsters can dwell inside us.
Contributor Debbie K wrote about HABIT being anything that has become routine, and how replacing a good one for a bad one can be equally enjoyable.
Contributor Tiffany went back to SYMBOLS to write about the collective power of belief in symbols and how meaning is derived from mass acceptance in unison.
(Click on the unique theme hyperlinks to read their stories).
Next Up: CATS
Don’t laugh. It’s a theme.
I was on a birthday Zoom with a bunch of friends recently. Somehow, we got on a roll with cat stories.
Everyone had a cat story that was more than a story about cats.
“We should do a podcast about cats!” someone said.
I said, “I’ll use it as a theme for That Place You Love!”
I’m not a Cat Person, but I have cat stories that reveal more about human nature than I’d like to admit.
Where do CATS take you? Go wild with it!
Read & Share on Monday in 150 - 200 words!
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More to come on Monday….
Have a great weekend.
Sincerely, for real.
Michelle