Today’s new word: fainéant n. an idler. adj. idle; indolent. National Poetry Writing Month prompt: Write a poem that emphasizes the power of “if,” of the woulds and coulds and shoulds of the world. Writer’s Digest April PAD (poem a day) challenge: “After (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the newContinue reading “F is for fainéant”
Author Archives: marialberg
E is for eleemosynary- Poem:Donations Eaten by Bureaucracy
Today’s new word: eleemosynary adj. 1. of or relating to alms, charity, or charitable donations; charitable. 2. derived from or provided by charity. 3. dependent on or supported by charity. National Poetry Writing Month prompt: “Write a poem that incorporates at least one of the following: (1) the villanelle form, (2) lines taken from anContinue reading “E is for eleemosynary- Poem:Donations Eaten by Bureaucracy”
D is for dysphemism
Today’s new word: dysphemism n. 1. the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one. 2. an expression so substituted, as “cancer stick” for “cigarette.” National Poetry Writing Month prompt: Write your own sad poem, but one that achieves sadness through simplicity. Writer’s Digest April PAD (poem a day) challenge:Continue reading “D is for dysphemism”
C is for cathect- Poem:Call of the King Fisher
Today’s new word: cathect vt. to invest with mental or emotional energy National Poetry Writing Month prompt: Write something that involves a story or action that unfolds over an appreciable length of time. Writer’s Digest April PAD (poem a day) challenge: Write an animal poem. The poem could be about an animal. Or it couldContinue reading “C is for cathect- Poem:Call of the King Fisher”
B is for Brobdingnagian-Poem: Before Work
Today’s new word: Brobdingnagian adj. of huge size; gigantic; tremendous n. 1. a giant; a being of tremendous size 2. an inhabitant of Brobdingnag I came across this word in a book by Roy Peter Clark. It was fun to find out it comes from the fictional land of Brobdingnag from Gulliver’s Travels by JonathanContinue reading “B is for Brobdingnagian-Poem: Before Work”
A is for Agita- Poem: How to take a picture of the mountain in the morning
Today’s new word: agita n. 1. heartburn; indigestion 2. agitation; anxiety National Poetry Writing Month prompt: Write a poem that provides the reader with instructions on how to do something. Writer’s Digest April PAD (poem a day) challenge: Write a morning poem My poem How to take a picture of the mountain in the morningContinue reading “A is for Agita- Poem: How to take a picture of the mountain in the morning”
The Planner Experiment: The Second Quarter
Here we are. It’s the end of March, the end of the first quarter of the year. A good time to review our progress and create new goals for the next quarter. We’ve finally left winter behind and this quarter, April, May, and June will lead us from spring into summer. There will be moreContinue reading “The Planner Experiment: The Second Quarter”
The Planner Experiment: Fickle Spring
This week spring sprung, pounced really. We raced from snow to Seattle summer weather with speed that could induce spine-snapping whiplash. The cherry plum trees in my yard went from bare to full blossom in forty-eight hours. I woke up one morning and found myself instinctively picking things up and putting them away everywhere IContinue reading “The Planner Experiment: Fickle Spring”
The Planner Pages: Changing course
The Experiment This month is flying by and I have very few submissions to show for it. My main issue is trying to read enough of each journal to get a feel for it and then when I’ve spent so much time reading the journal, I decide I don’t have a story that fits. I’veContinue reading “The Planner Pages: Changing course”
The Planner Experiment: March Week Two
While I worked through the week’s pages, I came across an error. The dates for Pseudopod’s reading period are 3/15-3/31. The good news is we didn’t miss out. I will try to be more careful. I’m glad I have a story that I want to send to Pseudopod, so I noticed the error. I foundContinue reading “The Planner Experiment: March Week Two”
Experience Writing 