What to Tell Time?

I'm late / I'm late / For a very important date. / No time to say "Hello, Goodbye". / I'm late, I'm late, I'm late. - The white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.  ~Henry David Thoreau

How do we deal with time as it surges, flaps and beats to engage us?

We measure it.  It marches on.

Some try to kill it. Stop it. Suspend it.

It is of the essence as we work around the clock.

Some have given up on circular time for digital. It's not ten to two; rather 1:50. It's not a quarter of anything anymore.

Watches have released from the wrist. We check a cell phone's notification. Or, borrow it from others.

Time's white rabbits rush on the rampage. We argue that we don't have time when we just need to "take" time.

Writers expel ideas in the moment. We can speed or slow sentences and paragraphs to create mood and provide intensity to capture the reader. Decades can exist in pages. In a chapter, time shrinks, expands or gets pruned as irrelevant. 

Poems and stories jump forward, backwards, even sideways. Characters might move in parallel time exploring worlds beyond the present.

Discover an afternoon free of time's relentless hold. For a suspended hour, nothing dictates but the imagination.

Take time to write about time!

Write with Animal Instincts

"Like the owl, I want to be paid in mice and falling stars, take my midnights in the middle of the day." 

- Lance Larsen from the poem, "Chancellor of Shadows"

Consider the above description and how to develop a character based on animal instincts. Make a list of animal traits for your persona.

Take a look at some of the stories in this site for Aesop's Fables:http://aesopfables.com/

Other possibilities to try on for development:

If you had donkey skills, how would you show stubborn? Or, are you a beast of burden?

With fox instincts, what does sneaky sound like?

Lion strengths include ferocity. Are you also a kitten at times?

A Black Phoebe is a workaholic, flying dawn to dusk capturing one insect after another. Does that apply to you?

Rabbits and Roadrunners are speedy. Are they as calculating as a tortoise?

Does a hummingbird's attention span define focus?

Elephants never forget. What do they do with their memories? 

How would you combine several animal characteristics into one character?

Develop three lines to begin your character sketch. Find ways to mix and match.

Write Your Treasures

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These are your greatest treasures. - Tao Te Ching

Write your greatest treasures.  What three traits do you admire in yourself?

Weave them into a story or poem.