Did you know that WordPress gives you a prompt when you start a new post? I certainly didn’t. I just kind of glossed over whatever print was under “add title” and took it from there without ever actually reading the text. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’ll leave that up to you and your ever-so-active imagination.
So…does that prompt change every day? Every week? Is it a set of prompts that rotates every so often? Will AI recognize if I actually post on that subject and try to get me to write on other stuff? If I drafted another post today, would it give me the same prompt or a different one? Do other people get the same prompts I do?
Well, friends, there’s only one reason why I noticed and read the prompt today. It’s because between all of the avenues and corners of my life, I have been swimming in words, in wordcraft, in wordsmithing, in articulation of all manners of things. Some of you followers may have noticed that I’ve been a little…spotty in my posting. Yeah. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, either.
Anyway, the reason I noticed and read the prompt today was because I had spent a solid two minutes staring at a blank screen, wondering what on earth I was going to post about today. Nothing seemed…worthy. Or, at least, nothing seemed like it was worth going INTO for just one post. I’ve got everything I can write about, but I’ve digested none of it so far. Who knows? Maybe that’s the purpose of writing more often…so that I CAN articulate it more.
But the prompt (and yes, I’ll have to check on it tomorrow) from today is…”Give five things you are good at.”
Only five? I could have more fun with this than FIVE. So here goes. I’m good at:
Making granola.
Leaving cabinet doors open in the kitchen.
Scratching my dogs where they like it best.
Achieving a perfectly-sharp pencil.
Quoting from my favorite movie.
Doing handstands.
Making my students stand on their own two feet.
Removing shoes without untying them.
Falling asleep.
Getting my husband to pick the restaurant we go to.
Telling people why I’m a member of their fan club.
Punning around.
Hugs.
Messing around with numbers in my head.
Getting to the heart of things.
Picking the right Flair pen for the job.
Making lists.
Gratuitous pic of this week’s birthday girl
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
I have handstand envy.
You must have great strength and balance.
Aw thanks! My shoulders do good things. I’m kind of proud of ’em. That, and I actually like being upside down…
Lainie, I think it’s a new phenomenon. I got the same subtle (gray words) suggestion today. I know it’ll come in handy even though I didn’t need it for this Slice. I’m so glad you used it though. Your list is well-composed; I particularly loved these three lines:
“Doing handstands.
Making my students stand on their own two feet.
Removing shoes without untying them.”
How clever are you? Just to say, I’ve missed reading your posts since you hosted the SOL Tuesday blogging a while back. Now I’ll be checking back to answer the question you asked. “Does that prompt change every day?” Tomorrow is begging for a reveal. (Nice to read something from you today.)
Thanks, Trish! It does feel good to be back, and I have to confess it feels good to be missed. =) I keep having to remember that even when (especially when!) I’m in the weeds, I can and need to count on writing as a form of expression. And, you know, I didn’t think about the juxtaposition of those three lines, but now that I see them isolated, I kind of like the happy accident of those words next to one another!
This is news to me. I guess I am not observant. Lists are always a great prompt. There is something satisfying about making them and then seeing everything included in the list. Glad you are back posting.
Thanks! Clearly I wasn’t observant either, or I would have figured out that WordPress was trying to nudge me along.
As for lists, I completely agree. There’s the satisfaction of making them, the satisfaction of doing them…believe it or not, I have a whole section of my notebook that I reserve for listing. I find it especially helpful when I’m overwhelmed – which, come to think of it, saved me again with this Slice. Funny how that works.
I had no idea that WordPress offers prompts! That is so cool. I love your list – and this prompt definitely did the trick for you, letting you write a super fun post. We all know that blank screen phenomenon!
YES. The BLANK SCREEN. It has a way of tricking me sometimes into thinking that perhaps my mind is blank as well. Of course, in my instance, my mind is almost never blank. Quite the opposite. So my writers’ block stems from having way too many things jostling for attention, with none of them quite bubbling to the surface. Kinda like picking one out of a box of puppies…
OMG–I just wrote about this same Word Press phenomenon on my post! lol (I must say, I like your post better. But still I posted and that was the low bar that I set myself.) And I did have the same question that you had. I love that “telling people why I’m a member of their fan club” is on your list. That is fabulous!!!
Thanks! I find that the fan club action is one of my favorite things to do: low investment, high reward. And it’s super easy for me when I’m telling people things I mean. =))
I’m hopping over to your blog now to check out what you’ve done!
LOL!! So many slices about this WordPress thing! I love it!
And look at your list! Overachiever! I love the things you have down, especially leaving the cabinet doors open in the kitchen (a pet peeve of my wife) and making lists (and finding them months later, then questioning my life choices about said list).
Thank you for your list and your slice! It made me smile! 🙂
I’m nothing if not an overachiever. Guess that makes up for all my days in school as an UNDERachiever.
I’m also glad I’m not the only one who excels at scratching at my spouse’s pet peeves…
Hey, that’s new! I didn’t notice the prompt prior to this. And I’m fairly certain it wasn’t there till they made the latest aesthetic changes to the editor. That’s cool. Mine today is: “Have you ever seen a wild animal?”
Yes I have. And said wild animal (dang you, pelican) chased me for no reason at all.
Perhaps you’re right about the editor, that the new prompts have come as a result. And actually, I’m noticing that the prompt shows up on my dashboard when I come to the site. Oh that WordPress. They’re getting a little pushy, maybe…?
As for the wild animal, I guess they’re relying on us being adults, because some of the kids in my life would just answer “yes” and consider themselves done.
Wild animal…I mean, apart from the coyotes and foxes and raccoons and such who skulk around my community? Well, deer, wild turkeys, who ALSO give quite the chase…
Oh you and I would go to WAR on that second one. I swear I’ve seen stars and lost myriad brain cells for the amount of times I discovered a previously closed cabinet door was opened behind me by my husband and left that way while I looked elsewhere. Grrr!
You quote movies, I quote song lyrics.
I untie shoes AFTER I’ve taken them off – go figure. 😂
Picking the right Flair pen is IMPORTANT – I’m with you on that sista!
Gratuitous birthday doggy pics are a necessity.
You know, I actually beat myself up about the kitchen cabinet thing. It bugs even ME that I do it, so I try to keep myself in line. I don’t always listen.
Also…how much do I LOVE it that your comment *also* took the form of a list? Consider my day MADE. =))
Hee-hee-hee! Knew you’d like that!