Tag Archives: November PAD Chapbook Challenge

#SoCS: Mistletoe and Other Tree Parasites

Holiday Parasite by Maria L. Berg 2021

Yesterday I discovered a new technique through another happy accident. I left my lights on after the shoot yesterday, and noticed how they reflected in the glass of the sliding door as if they were outside. I used that to create bokeh in the trees this morning. It’s a great discovery for taking outdoor bokeh on a rainy day.

Romantic Parasite by Maria L. Berg 2021

Stream of Consciousness

It’s stream of consciousness Saturday. The prompt for today is “tree.” In preparation for today’s photo prompt, I read up on mistletoe, and learned that it is a parasitic plant that grows on trees. It not only strangles its host tree and hurts its growth, it is also toxic to humans. Romantic, right? Makes you want to kiss someone? Since it’s toxic, it’s been used medicinally in many cultures. The whole kissing under it appears to be spawned of male toxicity, as in the white berries are a sign of virility because they represent sperm? Oh, creepy traditions.

New Poem

For today’s new poem prompt I repeated what I did last week and browsed my WordPress Reader and found:

Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC). Today’s word is Certify.

Paeansunplugged’s Ragtag Daily Prompt Saturday is Crimson.

Molly Shea wrote a fun Cleave poem called Gym Membership. A cleave poem might be a fun challenge for today.

Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt #239 is Smuggle. This challenge includes a word limit of exactly 66 words.

That was a fun bit of discovery. And I think I’ll try to wrap that all into my sleep theme for December. Let’s see what that all inspires.

Crimson Morning Light

Even when certified, I must sleep
officially declared possessing, my eyes close
meeting certain standards, my breath slows
no law covers this nightly transport
the dream smuggler of kermes vermilion
a scale insect, a sap parasite
writhing with nymphs, squashed to crimson
the color of the light behind
my closed lids, the pulsing blood
singing the sun, rising to greet
sneaking through curtains, the day begun

Kisses in the Trees by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoy the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. If you get a chance to take a look, please press the hearts on the images you like. It will help my work get noticed. Thank you.

The Changing Focus Blogging Challenge

December’s theme is Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation.

Motivation and Reward: The pleasant dreams calendar is working. Look at all those stars. Last night was the first night so far that I slept through the night, and I remembered a small part of a dream.

Tools: Still having a cold, and thus being tired, really exhausted, appears to be the only sleep tool I’m using at the moment.

The multi-media project: I started playing with the soothing sounds I’ve been collecting, and I could listen to the kitty purring with rain and wind all day. Here’s the beginning of what I came up with so far:

Soothing Sounds by Maria L. Berg 2021 (recommend listening with headphones).

I’m starting to explore my feelings about sleep in my daily poems, and since I rediscovered my Z filter, I’m catching lots of dreamy Zs in my photos. So some imagery is starting to take shape.

Dreamscapes One and Two by Maria L. Berg 2021
December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Making Icicles

Dripping Icicles by Maria L. Berg 2021

This morning I finally tied up the other mirror and turned the mirrorworld into a triangle. This created some nice borders to attempt some light icicles.

Making Icicles by Maria L. Berg 2021

New Poems

Today is Open Link Night at dVerse Poets Pub. I think I’ll start exploring Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation as a poetry prompt for the Changing Focus December project. This image I made this morning “Freezing Mist” makes me think of REM sleep.

Night Battles

Fresh cool pillows
like fluffy clouds
hold my head
at odd angles,
my neck sloped
and kinked
I fold the clouds
turn and twist
them violently
Soft flannel plaid
pajama bottoms
bunch around my knees
and heat my groin
but leave a bare cold spot
at the small of my back
as if the top and bottom
are magnetically repelled
just there
I tug and squirm
trying to force
their union
Now the pillow clouds
have changed shape
and must be wrestled again
I think about the computer
something to distract me
but it is no longer allowed in
and it’s cold out there
and I unplugged the internet anyway
I roll onto my back
I can’t sleep this way
but a pillow holds my head
for a brief truce
and glimpses of colors and shapes
behind my closed lids
give me hope of fantastic
dreams, so I roll to my side
and rejoin the battle
until the cat wants out.

Freezing Mist by Maria L. Berg 2021

Making a Poetry Collection: November PAD Chapbook Challenge

I’ve started working on my chapbook and wanted to share my progress. As with my poem revision process, my creating a collection process is already changing. I had Step 2 as doing the poem reviews, but while doing my read through, I found selection and organization came first. I am really glad that Step 1 was copying the poems into Scrivener, because I am finding that Scrivener is a great tool for this process.

Step 2: Rate the poems as Yes, Maybe, No – In my Scrivener template, I set up three sections. When I copied the poems into Scrivener, I put all of the poems in Section 1. Then as I read through them, the Yes poems stayed in 1, the Maybes went to Section 2, and the Nos went to section 3.

Step 3: Read for themes – In a brainstorming section outside the manuscript, I created a blank sheet for themes and noted the themes that stood out as I read. I noticed that many of my poems had a counterpart or pair which I found exciting. These pairs had kind of a before and after feel.

Step 4: Preliminary order – After discovering my poem pairs, I started moving my yes poems around and found a preliminary order. Moving the poems around so easily was a great aspect of using Scrivener. After I had a preliminary order, I opened the General Meta-Data and assigned labels and status. For my labels I chose: First draft, Revising, and Final. For the status labels, I changed it to form and labeled my poems as free form, rhyming, or specific structure. I may change what I use that for later, but during review it’s an interesting key.

Step 5: Review

Here’s my revised review checklist from my post Revising Poetry-a Demonstration Part Two: The First Redraft. I turned this into a template page in Scrivener and use the split screen, so I can see the poem while I review. I can make my notes for revision in the Notes section under the meta-data.

  • Identify POV, tense, form, voice
  • setting, narrative
  • themes, moods
  • identify sensory details
  • identify best lines
  • mark weak verbs & nouns
  • words to mind map
  • mark areas to expand
  • highlight cliche language
  • make easy cuts
  • choose what to edit to (theme, idea)
  • brainstorm alternate titles
  • make notes to guide re-write
  • do mind maps
  • free-write around best lines, character and narrative
  • do research
  • write a narrative poem

I’m making some progress with the review. Listing the sensory details is already pointing me toward some areas to explore. And choosing what to edit to is helping me focus on how I want the poems to work together as a whole. I’m also excited to start expanding the ideas through writing the narrative poems. This part of the process may take a few days.

As the Ice Forms by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. While you’re looking, please click the hearts to like the images on the RedBubble site. It will help my work get attention. Thank you.

December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#SoCS: Rev Up My Stream of Consciousness

Holly Jolly by Maria L. Berg 2021

For today’s images, I tried three ideas. First, I created a holly filter with my new filter design that goes over the lens guard. Then I tried grouping my red and green lights on the multi-color strand with twist-ties. Then I put some plastic santas and snowmen on my white lights and made some Holly Jolly lighting as well.

Abstract Holly by Maria L. Berg 2021
December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Stream of Consciousness

It’s stream of consciousness Saturday, and with my cold going into my lungs and not letting up, any activity in this mucous-filled brain at all is a feat of pure determination. The prompt for today is “rev.” To use the word rev or a word with rev in it. My first thought was rev your engines, then reverend and reverse. Then, of course, revise: what this blog was supposed to be all about this year, revision. I made a pretty good go of it until I landed back on creation in October. But I’m really enjoying these daily photos and prompts. For so long, writing these posts felt like time taken away from my work, when now, they feel like pure inspiration, part of my work. I would much rather enjoy what I’m doing than stick to the plan. So I’ve revised that plan of a year focused on revision, to push myself to try new things every day in my bokeh filtered photography and share my daily poetry practice. My main goal of completely revising and completing my novels is ongoing in its stuttering way. The experience of completely rewriting a novel is going well. The previous draft only had a few good scenes, and really was a barely fleshed out idea. So the year of revision continues, it just isn’t as fun to put on this blog. Also, I am beginning the revision process of the thirty poems I wrote for the challenge last month, so I guess this is still the year of revision. There’s no getting away from it. And each time I crop, or rotate, and resize these photographs to share with you, that is revision. There you have it. I have not strayed from my intention. It looks like next year will be another year focused on revision until I master, conquer, and find the joy in it.

New Poem

For today’s new poem prompt I browsed my WordPress Reader and found:

Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC). Today’s word is taciturn.

Misky posted a lovely poem about blackberries on Plumb-Lines in response to Quickly’s prompt Now / Then / When. The prompt asks to list words and phrases that evoke pleasant thoughts about the past then write their opposites next to them, and use your list to “play with ideas of pleasure and contradiction.” I love this theme and it should work well with taciturn.

And Judy Dykstra-Brown’s poem Balm on lifelessons led me to Paeansunplugged’s Ragtag Daily Prompt Saturday. Today’s prompt is The Extraordinary in the Ordinary. A great companion to pleasure in contradiction.

That was a fun bit of discovery. Let’s see what that all inspires.

Calf Muscle Exercises

Holiday Mood by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoy the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun.

The Changing Focus Blogging Challenge

December’s theme is Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation.

Motivation and Reward: I put my second star on my calendar. It’s amazing how motivating a simple sticker can be, but it’s working.

Tools: Last night was even tougher than the first. My cold has progressed to include a cough, so I had to sleep somewhat upright, but after doing a lot of easy sudokus on an old daily calendar, I fell asleep. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I read The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story (associate link) by Douglas Preston for a little while and fell back to sleep.

I started recording calming sounds today. So far I’ve captured: kitty purring, rain, and the kettle boiling (mine is a clear glass kettle that doesn’t whistle).

Happy Reading and Writing!

Playing in the Snow I Created

My World in a Snow Globe by Maria L. Berg 2021

Today I tried something new. I used clear plastic to create a new filter with some glue and glitter. Using the fisheye lens, my world became a snow globe. Using it as a bokeh filter, I created snowballs with light. Then I tried throwing them.

Making Snowballs by Maria L. Berg 2021

New Poems

Though the drafting part of the Chapbook Challenge is over, I plan to continue my daily poetry habit. On days without a dVerse poets pub prompts, I will work through In the Palm of Your Hand: A Poet’s Portable Workshop(associate link) by Steve Kowit and The Creative Writing Coursebook(associate link) by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs.

There is also Wednesday Poetry Prompts on Writer’s Digest. Yesterday’s prompt was to write a yesterday poem. 😁

Today’s prompt from Laura for Meeting the Bar at dVerse Poets Pub is to write a Fragment Poem.

Clinging Fragments

I. Like a snowball on the right day
clings to more snow and grows,
these fragments find each other
and combine into fresh states of play

II. Plastic-coated self / with impenetrable walls
wambles toward the evening / after pushing
to exhaustion / again I fight into the correct coil

III. In the jelly shower of imagination
where no one will deliver a pizza
yet past this loop of secretive neighbors
humility returns with the hitchhiker

IV. Being human is a window turned to mirror
the mind’s eye light-painting an orange glass globe
never in the same place in time / though I see
the trees and houses from the other side

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today the Next Steps are posted on Writer’s Digest. I have until January 15th to revise and submit the poems I wrote in November. Yesterday, I copied all of my poems into a Scrivener file. Today, I’ll create a template page for reviewing each poem and start looking at the work I did.

Step 2: Review and Read for Themes –

Here’s my revised review checklist from my post Revising Poetry-a Demonstration Part Two: The First Redraft

  • Identify POV, tense, form, voice
  • setting, narrative
  • themes, moods
  • identify sensory details
  • identify best lines
  • mark weak verbs & nouns
  • words to mind map
  • mark areas to expand
  • highlight cliche language
  • make easy cuts
  • choose what to edit to (theme, idea)
  • brainstorm alternate titles
  • make notes to guide re-write
  • do mind maps
  • free-write around best lines, character and narrative
  • do research
  • write a narrative poem

Throwing Snowballs by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun.

The Changing Focus Blogging Challenge

December’s theme is Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation. After brainstorming a bit last night, I thought I would start by collecting my own soothing sounds. Sounds I came up with so far are: kitty purring, the fire in the fireplace, waves on the lake, a breeze in the trees, bird songs, and rain.

I have a dream diary, which I have attempted to use over the years. I’m hoping as I progress this month, dream imagery will help me come up with some ideas for bokeh filters for the video.

Motivation and Reward: Today will be the first full day that the laptop is not allowed in the bedroom. I’m making a sign for the door to remind myself and a calendar to put stickers on to reward myself.

Tools: I’m going to re-read Teach Yourself to Dream (associate link) by David Fontana, PhD. I downloaded audio books to my mp3 player in case I need sounds to go to sleep.

December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

December Daily #Prompts, Challenges, and Plans

December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

I am enjoying how my photography is progressing. Like October’s daily photos, November’s daily photos built on each other, creating all sorts of happy accidents and new ideas. So I’ve created another calendar of daily one word prompts for December, starting with Lights, of course, because I’m excited to go play with some purple in my palette.

Seeing Purple Lights by Maria L. Berg 2021

As usual, my daily prompts led to a surprise. My camera does not see purple LEDs the way my eyes do. I was planning to combine the purple with other lights, but the challenge of trying to get my camera to see purple kept me busy. I tried every white balance setting, and every paint effect and the camera kept seeing blue.

In the Purple Light by Maria L. Berg 2021

New Poems

Though the Chapbook Challenge is over, I plan to continue my daily poetry habit. On days without a dVerse poets pub prompts, I will work through In the Palm of Your Hand: A Poet’s Portable Workshop(associate link) by Steve Kowit and The Creative Writing Coursebook(associate link) by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs.

Yesterday’s poetics prompt at dVerse was to use a line from the ABBA hit Dancing Queen. I chose “Watch that scene.”

In Perspective

Watch that scene unfold
through the teary, bleary
eyes of a cold, and menthol haze
created glazed-butterscotch dream
catch that sheen on everything
watch that scene unfold
the one near the end
when everything goes wrong
while sipping reheated soup
and Throat Coat tea
and it is still formulaic
still contrived that everyone
will turn their back at once
that takes time, too much
time for this scene
and the reversal doesn’t
happen, people fade away
But as I watch this scene
and the warmth flows
down my throat, my tea tells me
“the Earth laughs in flowers”
and I smell them in the steam
flowing up my sore nose
and I might understand
why the formula, so
obvious, is used so often,
because there will be an end
to this suffering, these
germs will eventually leave.
I see past the teary haze,
and burn my tongue.

Purple Lights in the Mirrorworld
by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

The next step of last month’s poetry challenge is to select and revise the poems and arrange the collection into a Chapbook manuscript. Like I did with my poetry revision demonstration, I will use this experience to create and revise my process for creating a collection.

Step 1: Organize – Today I copied each of the poems from November’s posts into a Scrivener file. My template has three sections which I can use to move the poems into themes, or styles, or however I choose to organize them. Today, however, I’m not reading through them; I’m only copying them into the project file. That will give them all another day of rest, so I can see them with fresh eyes tomorrow.

The Swirling Purple Lights by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun.

The Changing Focus Blogging Challenge

December’s theme is Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation. To meet this challenge, I will attempt to document a concerted effort to achieve better sleep. My main issue is that ever since hurricane Katrina, I sleep with my laptop on with some show I’ve already watched a million times playing. I know it’s bad for my sleep, but at first that was the point, it helped stop the nightmares by waking me up throughout the night. I recently had some horrible nightmares with the computer going, so it’s not working and it’s just a bad habit.

I have accumulated many tools, read books, and tried to sleep without the computer, but I keep going back. So for this month’s Changing Focus, I am going to use this month-long project to conquer my sleep issue. Though it will be hard, I think I’ll have to go cold turkey and just not allow the laptop in my bedroom. But I will want something to listen to to fall asleep, so I think I’ll start by listening to an audio book or meditation track and see if that works.

But how do I turn this journey into a multi-media project? That is not clear yet. I’ll do some brainstorming today and hopefully come up with some ideas.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo & #NovPAD Day 30: The End of November Challenges is Only the Beginning

A white flower in bloom
Winter Flower by Maria L. Berg 2021

This morning I went out to get a picture of my first winter flower, and took some shots into the house.

A cat on a yellow and white striped towel that looks like it's floating in rhododendrons and red berries.
Magic Blanket Ride by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today’s final prompt of the challenge is a two for Tuesday:

  • Write a the end poem, and/or…
  • Write a the beginning poem.

Only the Beginning

This is not an end
but a pause to attend
to bending light and hours
dead, then begin again
to render hope and engender
excitement in shadow
never ending contrast
to blend and send
a whirling

Flower Cat by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. Sale on Now! Get 20-60% off when you use code CYBER5.

NaNoWriMo

I won! 50k words but that’s only the beginning of this draft. I’m going to take time tomorrow to look over what I’ve written and take notes of important props and plot points and work on writing a complete outline before continuing the draft.

Congratulations to everyone who wrote a novel draft this month!
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

I have enjoyed the one word prompts every day for two months now, and I plan to continue. Tomorrow I will post a new calendar of December prompts. I find it fascinating that one word can help me see in new ways. I rewarded myself for winning Nanowrimo with some new lights, and I’ve reconfigured the mirror world, so I’m excited to see how my techniques build on each other through December.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo & #NovPAD Day 29: The Next Slant

On the Slant by Maria L. Berg 2021

This morning the sun came out and did my work for me. Mr. Kitty is known in the biz to be an uncooperative model, but he didn’t know today’s theme was slant.

It’s a good day to reread Tell all the truth but tell it slant by Emily Dickinson.

Telling It Slant by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today’s prompt is to write a next poem.

What’s Next?

Doesn’t help to ponder
only think up possible
contingencies, or plan
escape routes aplenty
I mean pretense
dictates portance
but I’m pretending
while planking
that all will remain placid

Pondering doesn’t help the
possible up-link only
plans contingencies, a
plentiful route, escaping
pretense and mean.
People don’t average well
Portance, though archaic, dictates
pretending. I am but horizontal,
planking while placid.

Slanted Shadow Cat by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. Sale on Now! Get 20-60% off when you use code CYBER5.

https://www.redbubble.com/people/marialberg/shop
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo & #NovPAD Day 28: Reclaiming My Time

Reclaiming the Light by Maria L. Berg 2021

For today’s images, I crumpled up the photos that I tore up for my visual poetry and let them reclaim the light in the mirror world. I love the way the lights reflect off the crumpled glossy photo paper.

Beyond the Curtain by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today’s prompt is to write a slow down poem.

To Reclaim My Time

To reclaim it,
first it must be taken,
or in an undesirable state,
displaying wrong or improper
conduct to be recalled from,
before rescued, subdued, or tamed
My time runs wild and wanton
How will I demand to obtain its return
and regain possession, to slow
its exponential speed, and hold it still,
still while I breathe
still while I think
no ticking, no tocking
no hands, or faces, or digits
only the hum of the space heater
and the warm, soft, micro-fiber blanket
holding me to the couch
and plush blue socks
holding me to the thick carpet
and the wine, and the wine couch
cushions, supporting my weight,
seconds, minutes worth of seconds
squirm under those cushions, but
I won’t let them escape
eventually they will tire themselves out.

Box of Needles by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. Sale on Now! Get 20-60% off when you use code CYBER5.

https://www.redbubble.com/people/marialberg/shop
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo & #NovPAD Day 27: Burn to Memory

Burn to Memory by Maria L. Berg 2021

I have been wanting to play with candles in my mirror world, so inspired by today’s prompt “burn,” I thought I would give it a try.

Burning Bright by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today’s prompt is to write a remix poem. It’ll be a fun day of looking back over the poems I’ve written this month and finding connections.

Burn Blue by Maria L. Berg 2021
Burn Brighter by Maria L. Berg 2021

Burn to Memory

Memories are malleable
innocently altered
but upon condition
I could finagle
to enable a feeling of wild abandon:

as wild as a huckleberry
after the first frost
a crisp, tart-sweet burst
as wild and fresh as raindrops
collected in the yellow petals
of a buttercup among ferns
as wild and fresh and vibrant as light
breaking through the thick gray.
You won’t be as pleased
as I am with my display

It’s not that you were unexpected
or unwelcome, or unwanted
we found a balance
exceedingly vague
Did you notice
the gravity pulling
you into orbit while it was there,
or only after it was gone?

Memories are malleable
innocently altered
when recalled
you’ll be at a loss
for a cause.

Memories are malleable
innocently altered
they sit in corners
lost in dark shadows
because they are haunted
by my touch.

Burn Hot by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo & #NovPAD Day 26: Digging a Deeper Well

Deep in my Heart by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today’s prompt is to title the poem “Well (blank).”

Guiding Lights by Maria L. Berg 2021

Well Digging

He likes to dig
he digs potatoes
he digs beets
but he’s also
just digging a hole.
If it fills with water
will it be a well?
Or is it already a well
full of ideas and potential
that at this age doesn’t
need refilling, but
only deeper mining,
a wellspring of
rocky soil, worms
and pill bugs
that need to be excavated
and piled in other places
deeper and deeper he
will dig until one day
it is no longer fun.

Looking Deeper by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!