I’m Thankful for Some Fun

The new issue of Gold Man Review is now available, and includes my poem “Taste of Temptation.” I really love the cover. That shark fin makes me so happy. Yesterday, at my parents’ house after attending a family friend’s memorial, I glanced through a bookshelf in my childhood bedroom that my parents keep insisting wasContinue reading “I’m Thankful for Some Fun”

Visual Music

Today’s form prompt provided by Grace at dVerse Poets Pub is the Flamenca. “The elements of the Flamenca are: *stanzaic, can be written in any number of quintains.*syllabic, 6-6-5-6-6 syllables per line to imitate the rapid click of the heels of a dancer.*Line 2 and Line 5 assonate. (same vowel sounds) “ Here’s my firstContinue reading “Visual Music”

Craft Book Review: How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method (Advanced Fiction Writing) (Volume 1) by Randy Ingermanson takes the unique tact of telling a story to teach storytelling. Why I picked it up: I liked the approach of building your novel in repeating smaller forms like a fractal. I wanted to see how he usedContinue reading “Craft Book Review: How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson”

L is for Lapidescent and Lamott

lapidescent – adjective – turning to stone; petrifying   Watch for spiders when turning to stone A spider outside titanium tombs admits to gathering glass and Pokes positive whispers to flip Lichen over rocky ruins welcome collected chlorinated streams to Come to yes, the dust spinning You between tungsten traps sanction catching carbonation and StayContinue reading “L is for Lapidescent and Lamott”

D is for Duende and a Double Dose of Dufresne

  duende: noun – 1. a goblin; demon; spirit 2. charm; magnetism Bonus word: dejecta: noun – feces; excrement     Azalea Petals                                            It was a shame to cover up those voluptuous curves in that floral tent of a mumu such a contrast to the white hood and robe silently hanging in the padlockedContinue reading “D is for Duende and a Double Dose of Dufresne”

B is for Banausic and Bickham – Craft Book Review: Jack M. Bickham Double Feature

banausic: adjective – relating to or concerned with earning a living; utilitarian; mechanical; practical. Not operating on a refined or elevated level; mundane. Today’s NaPoWriMo theme was the I, or the speaker of the poem. I thought it tied in well with witness testimony which I am studying in an online forensic psychology class throughContinue reading “B is for Banausic and Bickham – Craft Book Review: Jack M. Bickham Double Feature”

Craft Book Review: Story Fix

Story Fix: Transform Your Novel from Broken to Brilliant by Larry Brooks is intended to help authors “reinvigorate” rejected novels, but I found it lacking in tangible instruction and full of discouragement. Why I picked it up: I was looking through Writing Voice: The Complete Guide to Creating a Presence on the Page and EngagingContinue reading “Craft Book Review: Story Fix”

Craft Book Review: The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein

The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein is a great book for writers who are ready to take their manuscript to the next level. As an editor for Scholastic, Cheryl has experience that makes her an authority on the subject of revision and editing MG and YAContinue reading “Craft Book Review: The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Klein”

Beware The Creeping Nouns

I am reading A Writer’s Coach: The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies That Work by Jack Hart. Though it is geared toward journalism,  the information is useful and inspiring for my fiction. One sign of a skilled writer is avoiding redundancy. Mr. Hart uses the analogy of felling a tree. The skilled woodsman takes efficientContinue reading “Beware The Creeping Nouns”