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Writing Exercise: Worldbuilding – Small Creation Myth

Erin Penn Leave a comment

By Boston Public Library – The tree that owns itself, Athens, Georgia, Public Domain,

Acquired from Wikipedia entry “Tree That Owns Itself”

In September, I attended a panel on worldbuilding (I know, shocking, right?) by Matthew Bowman (https://novelninja.net/) . He brought forth the concept of “small world” building – not the grand sweeping political dramas of each country, nor the esoteric breakdown of how the magic system works and interacts with known science like gravity, nor the entire geological plate tectonic history of the planet so the mountains are in the right place, but – the small knowledges of the world: the songs, the creations myths of where the boulder came from in the middle of town, local heroes and villains. All the little things that make a world real. The things that come to you while you are writing, not while you are doing the initial worldbuilding.

Little pieces of knowledge like why women’s clothes button one way and men’s clothes button another (Men’s Shirts Busson on the Right. Why do Women’s Button on the Left? – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mens-shirts-button-on-the-right-why-do-womens-button-on-the-left-180957361/ ) ; why fifty-year-olds wince at “Don’t worry, be happy” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU&list=RDd-diB65scQU&start_radio=1 ) and thirty-year-olds start imitating a gallop when “rock ‘um gangam style” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGc_NfiTxng&list=RDcGc_NfiTxng&start_radio=1 ) is said and why the next generation will break into song hearing their boomer boss says “Are we golden?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yebNIHKAC4A&list=RDyebNIHKAC4A&start_radio=1 )

 WRITING EXERCISE: Make a “small” creation story. How does the tree own itself? (Tree That Owns Itself – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_That_Owns_Itself ) Why does your culture never verbally offered outside (they may indicate it by lifting the water job), but always offer it once inside with the door close? How did “Gingerbreadman Running Road” get its name? What is the lullaby that everyone knows (the more disturbing the better, when the song is broken down)? Why does the town have a Great Molasses Flood Festival every year? (Great Molasses Flood – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood )

My Attempt – I often use sayings from our own world turned on their side, taking our small creation stories and making them a story.. Recently was “pull up by your bootstrap” – for the flash “Bootstrap” (June 1, 2025) – and “Turn Around Don’t Drown” (November 17, 2024). For a small creation myth, though, I have written “Big Rock” (October 5, 2025) – about how one town got its name

Art: Embroidery – Cross-stitch Dresser Scarfs – The Sequel

Erin Penn Leave a comment

TIMELINE: September 1, 2025 – September 22, 2025

September 1, 2025 – Continuing the stash clearout, I am returning to the Dresser Scarf. Still working on cleaning up my stash, but I think I have found all the blue cross-stitch pieces. This final grouping is going to be slower because (1) I am TIRED of doing the pattern and (2) I have other projects I need to get done. BUT it is the perfect project for meetings, once I get all the dark blue cross-stitch and light-blue 2-strand stitch complete.

To recap, these are cotton dresser scarfs, preprinted with a design that will disappear if water is applied (note to self: do not drink anything anywhere near this project!!!!). I am using DMC cotton embroidery floss 809 (light blue) and 798 (dark blue) for the stitchwork, an embroidery needle and a four-inch embroidery hoop. The cross-stitch is worked with three threads pulled from the floss and the additional stitches will be worked with 2 threads. The stitches are: cross-stitch, stem stitch, satin stitch, and a chain stitch variation to create leaves, which I will refer to as the leaf stitch.

I believe I picked these kits up at A.C. Moore while I lived in New Jersey so over twenty years ago. … It’s not so much a stash as a hoard.

9/1-7/2025 (total time spent about seven hours (not counting finding all the materials) – 7 overall) – 9/1/2025 Starting point picture. Bottom left is the already completed dresser scarf (See original post).  It took about 20 hours; I figure two scarfs will take about 40 – similar to the pillowcases (see pillowcase post). Above left is the untouched scarf and to the right is the completely folded out scarf I started before I went – STOP EVERYTHING, I NEED PICTURES!!!! 9/4/2025 – Three normal nights of one hour each. Working on the middle patterns. After all the previous work, habit will make this hard. For the pillowcases, it is easy to have all the cross-stitches crossed in the same direction. For the FOUR-SIDES of the scarfs, the middle need to be started slashed left-to-right “\” and the ends need to be started right to left “/” to have everything on the piece to have the same cross pattern when working on sewing them from the edges. I started in the middle to keep it easy. 9/7/2025 – Three one-hour nights, plus one one-hour meeting. Working on the dark-blue cross-stitch everywhere. Total of 8 patterns between the two scarfs. The middles are done with the dark blue (one is completely done!!!), now to break habit and do the “/” cross-stitches.

           

9/10-22/2025 (convention attendance blew out the time tracking) – 9/10/2025 Another few nights of normal stitching and another of the side-designs is completely done and the dark blue cross stitch is about done which is important as I am about to go to a writer’s con and sit through a lot of panels and need something to do with my hands, just in case. 9/14/2025 A productive convention (ArmadilloCon), but no clue how many hours were spent sewing. North of ten, but also stopping to take notes. The dark blue cross-stitch is complete and the light blue cross-stitch has enormous advancement. With another convention next weekend and a week of meetings this week, I have hopes for completion. 9/22/2025 Second of the back-to-back cons (P-con), then a final few stitches at home and a wash cycle to get rid of the pre-printed design and ALL DONE!!!

         

Full view of all the stitch-work on the two new desk scarfs with an accordion fold of the material. Also the previously finished scarf is folded and on top.

 

Blue Cross-Stitch Pieces Series
Blog 1: Cross-stitch Dresser Scarf (7/29/2025)
Blog 2: Blue Cross-Stitch Pieces Continued (8/31/2025)
Blog 3: Cross-stitch Dresser Scarfs – The Sequel (9/30/2025)

Memes: Write Something (Six)

Erin Penn Leave a comment

Everyone needs memes to encourage them to write. These are available to all who want to use them.

(Need more writing memes in your life ?– see my previous memes under Memes: Write Something and Memes: Write Something (Two) and Memes: Write Something (Three) and Memes: Write Something (Four) and Memes: Write Something (Five))

                                                     

Flash: Rent to Own

Erin Penn Leave a comment

Photo by Max Kleinen on Unsplash

The walls are bleeding, again. Not the typical horror haunted movie with the slow run of what is actually chocolate syrup but looks like blood on camera starting from the ceiling and dripping down the plaster in long streaks. That would be doable.

No, my haunted house gets splatter patterns in the dining room. A screech of metal and *splush* – a dozen of bright red dots, which starting running just a little where the drops were the heaviest before drying in place.

I roll my eyes. “Is it that time of month already?”

The house moans in response, the floor shivering underfoot as I set the table for dinner. A louder high-pitched scream follows and another connect-the-dots pattern appears beside the first, a little lower. A bit of a void is on the left side, as though blocked by a head and part of a shoulder.

Built in the double-oughts for an up-and-coming executive, the house witnessed the end results of the tech-bro who borrowed “just a little” money from his company’s coffers to cover things after a slow month. In the end, the embezzlement toppled into investigations when an audit showed missing millions for which the man blamed his wife “wanting good things” according to his murder-suicide note. He took out the kids first because he didn’t want to leave them orphans but was vindictive enough to make his wife watch. Bastard.

What a way to baptize a house’s first year. That sort of thing leaves an impression on brick and mortar.

“I feel you.” I said with sympathy, putting out the bowls. Tonight was going to be tomato soup with grilled cheese. Returning to the kitchen, I ignore the clinking china in the other room, She is good at avoiding breakage. Sighing, I put a lid on the pot of simmering red soup and move it off the heat. I’ll repackage it for the freezer to be eaten later, once the monthly bloodfest is done. After pulling down another pot, I go to the pantry to see what other cans are in there. Carrot soup should work. And Mercy likes it better anyway, though Wolfgang will complain before digging in.

The gunshot makes me jump, like normal, but it gave me the extra push when opening the soup can, so the lid came off cleanly for once with the can opener instead of having two small burrs opposite sides of the can which prevent the actual removal of the lid. A thud reverberates out of the dining room into the kitchen as though a heavy body just hit the floor. The soup glopping into the pot makes a similar thud.

The timbers moaned and the floor creaked as wood shifted.

I pat the counter after I add water and set the soup to heating. “It’s okay.”

And it is.

A real estate investment firm snapped up the house from the foreclosure company after the quadruple homicide plus suicide. But, surprise surprise, they couldn’t find reliable renters. The firm kept dropping the price until a single mom with two kids – plus “sure you can have pets without a deposit, it’s not like the downstairs has carpet” desperation got Prince Albert, our Siamese, Doofus, our loveable but extremely dumb lab, and Cunningham, my ex’s last purchase to try and regain Wolfgang’s favor after missing yet another track meet – without consulting either me or Wolfgang if we wanted a second dog, which we didn’t but Cunningham is a better bed partner for me than my ex ever was, even if the German shepherd hogs the covers.

I liked the price. I fell in love with the house after the first time the ex picked up the children for the weekend. She did not like him. I thought she was dramatic BEFORE. The glass paperweight didn’t actually hit him, but that is only because Mercy caught it in the baseball glove she was showing off to her dad. The squishy puddles of blood did ruin his shoes, though, and I know from experience the blood splatter does not come out of clothes, not even with iodine.

We now do the exchange at the local McDonalds like reasonable adults, and I no longer worry about him breaking in and keeping any of the threats he made during the divorce.

“I’m going to buy you.” I promise while pulling the grilled cheese from the oven. “It might take until the kids are grown, but I will find a way to buy you.”

(words 749; first published 9/29/2025)

Other Cool Blogs: Elle Cordova

Erin Penn Leave a comment

You have seen her battle as the Grammarian, trade veiled insults as fonts, rap about science, follow her stolen iPhone across the glove, host book clubs,  and so many other things. Elle Cordova is witty, wonderful, and worth watching. Befriend her on at least one of her platforms so you are never without her humor.

Her patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/ellecordova?utm_source=campaign-search-results ) gives you access to her book club and has monthly levels of $4, $12, and $20 (if you want to and are able to support her creativity). It does look like she has enough people (at the moment) to produce content full-time which provides us with entertainment as she can devote a few days to craft amazing ditties like “Monster Slash” (it’s a short and doesn’t copy and paste into websites.

I have subscribed to her both on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/@ElleCordova/featured ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@elle.cordova ). She also has a facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/ellecordovamusic ), and likely other social medias platforms. Her name is unique enough that if she is there, it will show up in a search.

From YouTube, here is one of the many conversations Fonts have had: