Somewhere in nowhere
I am peaches turned bad
Rotting inside my skin;
maggots devouring
I am the the paper casing wrapped around fast food
Designed for discarding
I am a burned out car
Battered and used;
Abandoned somewhere
In nowhere
Purpose incinerated
I am the mud trodden into carpets
After galavanting in the forest
Drenched in germs and bleeding stains
I am a child beaten
Damaged and tainted;
Incapable of ever being the same
I am dumbbell weights
Down to my bones
Shamed
I am unheard screams
Desperate
Broken
A raging flame.
I am the ledge my toes balance upon
I am the ten foot fall that splits my skin
I am the pavement that shatters my skull
I am living death
Can’t you detect it’s scent?
Tips on How to Flow Through Prose
This was recently posted but couldn’t put it in the Support Portal, but that has been remedied. Anytime you wish to check back on it, it can be found here. There is no need to like or repost this unless you want to but I won’t respond unless it’s a matter I haven’t brought up.
The same thing will be put here (Support Portal) for the Cell phone tutorial.
Veteran Proser’s should already know this stuff, but the newer Proser’s sometimes needs a handy guide to get them around the block a time or two.
Here is a short list of things to do, if you feel the need to.
When editing a post:
1) Click on the post you want to edit
2) In the left-hand corner is a circle with three dots, click on that
3) There are four options, to edit, click edit
4) From that point you can add, change, or rearrange your post as you like.
5) When finished, simply click save and you are done.
6) If you wish to delete a post, redo number one and number two, then click on file in
the upper left-hand corner and poof! It’s gone.
7) Also, if there is a comment on your post you want to delete, directly underneath you
will see the word: delete. Just click on it. If it doesn’t go away soon, it doesn’t matter
as only you can see it until you refresh your page. Sometimes you might forget to tag
someone? Simply copy what was written, delete the post then paste into a comment
box with the person tagged. Simple, quick and easy.
8) Want to tag a post (as in repost)? Simply go to that post near the heading and you will
see a circle with three dots. Click on that and you will see the option there to repost.
If you wish to send a private message to someone:
1) Go to their main page
2) On the left-hand side will be a list including: Posts/Social/Other
3) You want to go to Social and click Send Message.
4) That will take you to your message area and then you type what you will
5) By the same occurrence to Block someone, click Block on this person’s page.
They will no longer be able to see your posts, leave comments, etc; nor will
you be able to see theirs as well. By the same token, if you decide to unblock the
person, go to your Settings and on the left-hand side you will see the word: Blocked
Users. Click on that and from there you can unblock those you choose.
6) To know if you have messages, there will be (or is supposed to be, a red dot
appearing between the News Feeds and the word Write.
On another aspect, if you wish to view what a person has written, go to their page and
on the left-hand side you will see: Under Posts. Then you can click on either Newest- Most Popular-Likes. Each will take you to various pieces of work they have done.
Trying to find a certain post you created?
There are three ways of doing this, but one of them is a bit of a hassle which I will not
get into.
The first way, simply scroll down through your posts on your page. You will see the words: Load More. Click, continue scrolling until you find what you are after.
Another way is on your main page, and to the far left you will see: the word—Home. Click on that and then you will see three choices.
Myself, I generally click on Writing Desk. It takes you to the next series which for looking for posts, you would click the obvious: My Posts. Then you can scroll through the list that way.
But while we are at that point, any challenges you create, can be seen here faster than you normally would and allows you to go through them quicker, especially when someone enters one of your challenges and forgets to tag you (happens to me often enough). Simply click: My Challenges.
The other one where it says: Books. This is where you can create your stories in chapter form for people to read as I, and countless others have. Or, if you choose, you can do poetry. It’s your choice since you are the master of your own ship. There are simple to read prompts that will guide you through the process, but you do have to make sure that when you reach the bottom, under where it says Status, you click on the little circle that says Complete to make sure it is available for everyone to read, and that part is no different from a normal post. Then click save, to save your work. You can create your own book covers to add, starting with Settings. Then just following the prompts down to the end. Once you have clicked complete, follow the last step and then it will tell you your book is saved.
Finding a Portal to Post In
Click home at the top left hand corner.then scroll your page down. To the far left you will see the word Portal. Click on that. If you are not already subscribed, click on the subscribe tab (there is no cost to do so). Once you are subscribed, to your left, you will see New Post. Click on that and you are all set. After you write up your post and save it, when it is on your main page, at the top you will see the name of the Portal it is in.
Challenges:
If you wish to create a challenge with an idea you have (most of you know what to do by now), simply click on challenge and write what it is you are after but always, and I mean always, stress the fact you want to be tagged in the comment box and not on the post. (If they don’t, then refer back to Home and click the Writing Desk to find your challenges and it is always good to check it once a day).
After you have put in your challenge prompt, then you can choose a date for the challenge to end and decide if it should be Democracy (most likes wins the challenge) or Monarchy (you decide who should win). To the right-hand side you can pick and choose which category (Portal) your challenge should be under and that’s that.
I may be missing a few things and if I am I am sure “A” … one of the moderators here would be happy to say something or add a detail or two. Right “A”?
One thing they do ask, meaning Prose; if you have any issues/problems, simply email them at: info@theprose.com.
I won’t get into all what the Gold membership offers. That’s an entirely different story, although you still have the same advantages as explained above.
This guide will be here any time you need to refer back to it. And if you need help with something I haven’t covered, you can message me or email Prose.
And to all you veteran Proser’s, help the new people. After all, we were new here once ourselves.
Pen to Paper: Pent-up Prose.
Covid-19 landed me in my seat - my writing seat. I put my writing hat on and started writing.
There’s nothing like living alone during a quarantine to help you bleed pain onto a “page.”
Writing became my outlet, my only solace. And just like that, I got a “like” on my first post. I had written a piece for the April 2020 Challenge, sponsored by Prose. My first piece on Prose. in two years.
Ever since I was sixteen, I’ve been searching for writing contests online. I felt like I had a voice. Like my experiences needed validity. Like my mental illness needed some kind of retelling, like no one on the planet knew what depression felt like. Or what it meant to suffer.
But let’s flash forward to 2018.
On one particular afternoon in Boston, Massachusetts, a decade after I turned sixteen, on an afternoon that hit a hundred degrees - not only sweat poured out of me, but the desire to share what I had just experienced.
It’s not worth getting into, but I had just seriously scared the members of my group therapy session. I had done something because I felt I had no voice.
Then I found Prose. My first rodeo with the website, my first stab at recognition. At recognizing myself.
While I sat on my couch that afternoon in the summer of 2018, sticking to my couch, I thought, maybe if I write about my experiences, they will be real. Someone might hear me and understand. Because isn’t that what makes it real?
Maybe while my experiences are not unique, my voice just might be.
I thought at first that, with Prose, I needed to write an expose. Something splashy. So I started with what had happened at that group therapy session. I wrote probably five hundred words, seemingly endless words, endless awkwardness and forced sentences. I didn’t have a flow and I knew that. I didn’t have the practice. I also didn’t know who I was talking to.
I felt like I was talking to a wall. No one commented on or liked my post. I didn’t go on Prose again for another two years.
Cue Covid-19.
At that time, I wasn’t sure what the Prose community was, or meant. And I simply didn’t have any content I thought was worth sharing, really: until I got a “like” on the April Challenge, I thought I was alone.
My first “like” was the first voice I heard back from the void.
My April Challenge entry wasn’t something I am particularly proud of now, but it was the start. Of Covid-19, and my relationship with myself as a writer.
This Place
This place is different.
Don't jinx it;
the weather will change
from good
to
bad.
This place is
isolated,
has little visitors,
but has its
support system,
has its
visitors
that care,
and worry
and
make sure
the place will remain
fine
and healthy,
safe
and
liked,
loved.
This place isn't breathtaking,
but
still beautiful,
as all places are.
This place is sensitive,
weather changes every now and then.
This place has ups and downs,
places that are beautiful
and happy-looking,
but it has the opposites too.
This place can be harsh,
but has a caring
air about it.
This place has high peeks,
and low creeks.
Flowing rivers,
and blooming flowers.
Heavy clouds
and light rain drops.
Harsh sunlight,
but gentle shade.
This place is different,
perhaps a lot,
perhaps a bit,
but it has what it needs:
the people,
and the water,
the care,
the air.
The love,
The life.
3.7.2020
We regret to inform you...
She waits.
She wonders.
She worries.
She cries.
It opens.
She stares.
She smiles.
She looks.
He is...
She sighs.
She takes.
He apologizes.
He leaves.
She waits.
She wonders.
She worries.
She opens.
It rips.
It says:
He sacrificed.
He saved.
He died.
She screams.
They console.
She ignores.
He died.
He served.
He sacrificed.
He saved.
He died.
She cries.
She sobs.
She screams.
He died.
He died.
He died.
She remembers.
He died.
He died.
He died.
She wonders.
She screams.
She realizes.
He died.
He died.
He sleeps.
She visits.
He sleeps.
She cries.
He died.
He died.
He died.