Tag Archives: poems

Reflecting on the use of Janus words in my April poems

Today is reflection post day for the A to Z Challenge. I enjoyed their theme and posts about games this year. Though I did not remember to do the scavenger hunt, I really liked the idea, and if anyone is still looking for a post for “bear”, I wrote a poem called Black Bear’s Branch. I also did a questions post.

Though I made it through the alphabet with Janus words (also known as contronyms, antagonyms, or auto-antonyms), exploring their uses in my poems, I didn’t find them to be as useful in turning the poem as I thought they would. Without holding both meanings of the word in mind, it’s too easy to glance over the words less familiar, or less contextual meaning, which takes the power from the twist the Janus intends.

I wish adumbrate was a more common word because it’s a great Janus, meaning both to disclose and obscure. My post that got the most likes was a puente form poem called Overwhelming Possibilities which used the Janus phrase “wind up.” My post that got the most views included my poem Put Out by Perch which was selected as a featured poem on NaPoWriMo.org. It was an amusing rant using the Janus phrase “put out.” I think my favorite Janus used was “overlook” in my poem He is a Selfish Moon. My other favorite outcome of the challenge was discovering “Popcorn-can Coveer by Lorine Niedecker and attempting to emulate her form. In one of these concise poems I used the Janus word “terrible.”

At the end of the first week, on my birthday, I found out a friend died. That messed up my motivation and put me in a bit of a funk. Writing poems was more difficult and reading and commenting was also more challenging. Definitely my least favorite part of the challenge, but not something that could be learned from really, unless it informs me to prepare for the unexpected. I’m not sure how I would do that.

I know that many A to Z bloggers prepare their posts in advance, but I don’t have a way of doing that and combining the challenge with NaPoWriMo. I guess I could prepare alternate, off-prompt poems for each day, just in case life gets in the way–in case of emergency posts for the whole month? Writing through it, was probably a good thing. Something to think about.

Overall, April (for me) came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. I hope May will leave me focused on revision.

Just for fun, I found this song called Janus Stair by Contronym

I want to thank J Lenni Dorner for bringing my attention to the film The Professor and the Madman today. It’s an interesting story about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary based on the book by Simon Winchester.

NaPoWriMo 2020 Poetry Anthology Comes Out Tomorrow (and I’m in it)

AB-NaPoWriMo-Anthology-2020

I’m happy to announce my poem, “A Review of Wonderment,” is included in an anthology!

The Auroras & Blossoms NaPoWriMo Anthology: 2020 Edition will be released as an e-book tomorrow (June 23). It includes poems written during National Poetry Writing Month (April) from 38 poets with a focus on positivity and inspiration.

Give yourself, or someone you love, the gift of positive poetry!

Happy Reading!

And you can check out some of the other poets’ sites (these are the ones I found with a quick search) :

MiMi DiFrancesca

Fiona D’Silva

Kate Duff Poetry

Judy Dykstra-Brown

Amanda M. Eifert

Stacie Eirich

David Ellis

Michael Erickson

Alicia Grimshaw

Jenny Hayut

Patrick Jennings

Cendrine Marrouat

Angela van Son

Michele Vecchitto

Penny Wilkes

Gemma Wiseman

 

 

 

 

 

#Poetry out in the world

Cover of Washington's Best Emerging Poets 2019

Today’s the day! Two of my poems have escaped Experience Writing and are out exploring the world. I hope you will pick up a copy of Washington’s Best Emerging Poets 2019 and read all the great poetry by Washington State poets. It will also make a great gift for the lovers of words in your life.

I want to thank all the poets of OctPoWriMo, NaPoWriMo, dVerse Poets Pub, and PAD Chapbook Challenge for keeping me motivated and inspired over the last few years.

 

The Planner Experiment: May Week 2

pink rhodies small.jpg

My new focus on contests brought me to something fun. Literary Taxidermy is having a contest in which participants write a story that starts and ends with lines from a selected work. This year’s selection is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The idea of the contest is to start with the first line of Mr. Bradbury’s story and create something completely different that then ends with his last line. I already have a ton of ideas. I think I’ll write drafts for at least three of them, maybe more.

Other interesting contests I found were:

Jerry Jazz Musician’s Short Fiction Contest  This site is looking for fiction that incorporates aspects of jazz music.

Online Writing Tips Story Prize This contest is free and offers a £100 prize. There’s no theme or genre. Enter any story of 1000-4000 words.

This Week’s Pages

May Week Two.png

2019 Planner May Week Two

I think part of my frustration last month and why I kept getting behind on the pages was I wasn’t making the time to use them. This week, I’m renewing my efforts to completely fill in the pages each day with the goal of three submissions every day. I hope you’ll join me. I look forward to hearing about your journey to publication. I hope the daily planner helps motivate you to submit your stories and poems.

Happy Reading, Writing, Planning and Submitting!

The Quadrille: Not Just An Old Dance Anymore

quadrille: noun – 1. a square dance performed typically by four couples and containing five (or six) sections, each of which is a complete dance in itself. A piece of music for a quadrille dance. 2. each of four groups of riders taking part in a tournament or carousel, distinguished by a special costume or colors. A riding display.

The Dance

The dance took its name from square formations executed by four mounted horsemen in 17th-century military parades. The dance was executed by four couples in a square formation.

The following table from Wikipedia shows what the different parts of the Viennese six-part style look like, musically speaking:

  • part 1: Pantalon (written in 2/4 or 6/8)
    theme A – theme B – theme A – theme C – theme A
  • part 2: Été (always written in 2/4)
    theme A – theme B – theme B – theme A
  • part 3: Poule (always written in 6/8)
    theme A – theme B – theme A – theme C – theme A – theme B – theme A
    • Part 3 always begins with a two-measure introduction
  • part 4: Trénis (always written in 2/4)
    theme A – theme B – theme B – theme A
  • part 5: Pastourelle (always written in 2/4)
    theme A – theme B – theme C – theme B – theme A
  • part 6: Finale (always written in 2/4)
    theme A – theme A – theme B – theme B – theme A – theme A
    • Part 6 always begins with a two-measure introduction

All the themes are 8 measures long.

The Poem

I started this study of quadrilles today because it’s Quadrille Monday at dVerse Poets Pub and I wanted to participate for the fist time. The connection between the quadrille dance and poetry began when Lewis Carroll lampooned the dance in  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’s “The Lobster Quadrille” (1865).

The dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille is a poem (or short prose) in exactly 44 words that incorporates a given word. To quote from the original post from Björn Rudberg, “The challenge combines two essential elements to have fun.” Today’s word is muddle and the quotes on the site are great!

I headed over to Shadow Poetry to see if they had a poetry form page for the quadrille and the closest I found was an invented poetry form by C. G. V. Lewis called a quadrilew.

Over at Poetry Soup I found a page of links to poems about quadrille that they call Quadrille Poems which I thought was interesting.

And now that I have some understanding of quadrille (at least the word), here is my first attempt at creating my own:

The Dance

Lace and denim muddled
space in a rat race

Grace; a muddled mint
in a julep glazed

Chase a hint
of mace-muddled flint,
a warm taste

Face the phenom
of muddled voices
venom without trace

Time is a climb of thirsting,
bursting rhyme sublime

 

The Horses

Happy Reading and Writing!

and dancing and horses and costumes

Happy May! A recap of my April adventures and what’s next

galluping purple flowersI want to start by saying thank you to all of the organizers of NaPoWriMo and A to Z Challenge and the poets of dVerse. And the poets that included my poems in their lists, especially David Ellis at Too Full To Write.

I also want to thank everyone who read my poems and left such lovely comments. Everyone was encouraging and made me feel my efforts are worthwhile.

This was a long month for me  with some very high points and some low points.Signed by Anne Lamott

The high points were: my birthday evening seeing Anne Lamott at Benroya Hall; scrolling up some of my poems for Poem in your pocket day and having them on the counter at A Good Book Bookstore; and, of course, completing the challenges while learning so many interesting new words and facts.

The low points all had to do with short story rejections, but I think my very negative feelings had to do with a bout of the flu, so actually, the low points should have been seen as high points, as in, “I have new stories to shop around.”

This month hit some milestones for Experience Writing:

♦ Most views ever: April 30
♦ Most likes ever: April 16

Thank you for the comments, likes and follows!

Now to the recap.

NaPoWriMo

I found all of the different prompts inspiring. I learned so much from the resources and examples, the great interviews and unique ways to approach the page. This was a great experience and I’m glad I did it. To my readers who didn’t participate this year, I recommend giving it a try next year. And you can dive in sooner with OctPoWriMo this fall.

My favorite prompt: I think the haibun prompt was my favorite. First, because I had never heard of haibuns before. Second, it adds another element to haiku that I really enjoy, and third, because it opened up participation in dVerse’s Haibun Monday. I wrote three haibuns during the month:Contemplating the Other

Summer Comes Too Soon

The Lingering, Long Spring Day

Self and Setting

My favorite poems I wrote:

Contemplating The Other This poem, inspired by the Polish poems from Here by Wislawa Szymborska, is one of my favorites and my sister liked it and wants a copy for my nephew’s baby book which makes me very happy.

Then I think it’s a tie between the poems I did the most factual research for :

An Apple Is An Apple – noosphere

The Next Pasquinade – Pasquino

The Reliquary for the Miraculous -Saint Sidonius

I really enjoy learning new and interesting things.

A to Z Challenge

I think doing the A to Z Challenge as part of my NaPoWriMo experience was a great idea. As I learned last fall, I like to use multiple prompts to enhance my creative efforts, and the word of the day often lead to more interesting poetry challenges.

My favorite words were: xanthic (xanthodont), wayzgoose, wazzock, and atresia. All of them really.

Flash! cover

Reading

Favorite poetry books: Here by Wislawa Szymborska

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Favorite writing book: FLASH!: Writing the Very Short Story by John Dufresne

May Plans

So what comes next? It’s time to turn my attention back to my novel. I have scenes to draft and then another full edit. While I work, I will hopefully find inspiration from:

Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing by Jessica Page Morrell

Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling by Donald Maass

The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method (Advanced Fiction Writing) (Volume 1) by Randy Ingermanson

I also have a great stack of fiction and poetry to inspire me as well.

monster dancer

I’m hoping to continue to blog three posts weekly:

  1. a writing and editing post
  2. a poem
  3. a book review

Site stats tell me that my most popular day and time is Thursday at 1pm. What would you like to read most on a Thursday at 1pm: a poem, some insight on the craft of writing, or a book review?

Or is there something else you would like me to share this May?

I have decided that the photography focus for the next Gator McBumpypants picture book will be using filters. I’ll be studying an old KODAK Workshop Series book called Using Filters, so you may see some odd photos to illustrate my posts.

If you have a poem, a micro-story, a book review, or a guest-post you would like to share on Experience Writing let me know in the comments or head over to MBer Creations and write to me on the Contact page.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Here’s to an abundant and prolific May.

Q is for Querl

querl: transitive verb – To twirl; to turn or wind round; to coil; as, to querl a cord, thread, or rope.

 

Inattentional Blindness

Seeing you especially violent, one witness

Elsewhere, the querling stimulus is only concern
Processed stress narrowing focus due

The physical weapons drawn
A state of attention blinding
Can occur during high events

Cognitively inattentional, blind witness

 

Inattentional blindness is a state of seeing but not seeing. The physical stimulus is visually processed, but due to attention drawn elsewhere, you are cognitively blind. Attention narrowing, like querling cord, can occur due to periods of high stress, especially during violent events that cause weapons focus. Inattentional blindness is only one area of concern in witness testimony.

 

*This poem was written in response to today’s Na/GloPoWriMo prompt. I didn’t follow Dan Brady’s form, exactly, but enjoyed the practice of finding my poem by pulling the words from the prose paragraph I wrote. The prose paragraph was inspired by the Forensic Psychology course I’m taking through Open University at futurelearn.com.

Happy Reading and Writing!

M is for Mawkish

mawkish: adjective – 1. having an insipid often unpleasant taste 2. sickly or puerilely sentimental

writober 27

Mutation by Maria L. Berg 2017

 

Puerilely Sentimental

Your teacup rattles as the table wobbles
I quickly lift my cup in response
The steaming charcoal liquid close to my face
Smells of pleasant bergamot
But I remember its mawkish entanglement and
Center it carefully back in its saucer

I wince as the hammer echos beyond the window
A seagull screams. I smell the ocean
And our wobbling table is in a rowboat
I know I had placed matchbooks under the uneven leg
I bend over to find it and see that the ribbons
Of my ballet shoe have bunched to my ankle again
Frustrated, I begin to cross and wrap the pink satin and
Become embarrassed by the spots of blood

You sip your mawkish tea
The seagull lands on your head and
You lift your teacup to its beak
I worry that the blood from my
Ballet shoes will attract the shark
My ribbons tight, too tight, I hear
A clink of the china and two of my teeth
Float in the now cold tea
You bang your hammer on the table
Making it wobble and tell me to
Go to the dentist
I feel trapped in this rowboat
With you and your seagull and
Search the water for the shark

 

#NaNoWriMo Day 8: Crossing The Threshold

Day 8
Word count: 14,783 words
Word count goal: 16,000 words
Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Crossing The Threshold
Save The Cat: Fun & Games

This freezing sensation also rose from within like the realization that she had been formed from an iceberg all along.
Reflecting on Reflection

These images from different excursions I’ve taken, make me think of leaving the ordinary world, having to cross the threshold and embark on a physical and existential adventure. Where will your characters wander today?

#vss very short story

The brisk morning encouraged her to turn back to her comfy bed, but the slanted sunlight beckoned her to adventure. She pulled her scarf up around her nose and ears and trudged on.

Plotting with Tarot

Crossing the Threshold

Crossing the Threshold Card: Four of Swords upside-down –

Introduction: When the 4 of Swords reversed appears in a reading, you or someone very close to you is exhausted, on every level. This is not a time to push yourself beyond your limits, to do so now is to risk all that you have worked so hard for: your health, your work, your relationships. It’s more than okay to take a break. It’s critical now.

General: Generally, the reversed 4 of Swords means that in addition to feeling tired, you may be feeling a bit isolated. Do not look at this as a permanent situation. Allow yourself to rest, and know that the relationships and friendships that you need are coming. Take one step at a time. – from Psychic Revelation

What MC risks losing by Crossing the Threshold: Nine of Pentacles upside-down –

In its reversed position, the Nine of Pentacles suggests that you may be suffering from financial setbacks or you have experienced a loss due to unwise decisions or foolish actions. Your foundations may be about to give way. If they do, learn from your mistakes and build a more solid and secure foundation next time. – from biddytarot.com

Most compelling reason to cross the threshold: Queen of Wands – Desire. If she wants something, she draws it into her life. If she wants information, she’d go out and get it.

My interpretation:

I’m having a little trouble with The Four of Swords reversed for a Crossing The Threshold card. Since it’s reversed, maybe it means this is not a time for rest, that my character needs to take action. When he does take action, he risks losing his foundation. He may experience loss do to unwise decisions and foolish actions. The third card, The Queen of Wands makes total sense for this reading because my character has a mystery on his hands and is driven to find answers.

Ask Your Character

  • What is your worst memory from grade school?
  • Are you still friends with anyone from that time?
  • Was there a teacher or teachers who had a particularly strong influence on your life?

Word Of The Day

sanguine: adj. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident 2. reddish; ruddy (complexion)

8 Action Verbs:

adjusted            caused           convened           effected

helped           managed           protected           simplified

Poem prompt

Run around your house and grab 5 items that all begin with the same letter. Write a poem as an ode to one of these items or that includes these items. – from Kelli Russell Agodon agodon.com
poetry prompt
I found the letter p: purse, pickles, paring knife, pot and pincushion. I think I’ll pair them with some action verbs like protected, produced, processed and play.  I’ll also add some emotions like passion, pride and patience.
Ode to a Pincushion
This is the pincushion that belonged to my mother
Its dangling strawberry escaped long ago
The pins in its flesh protected with pride
A motley collection of proof of trade plied
A hand-me-down tomato filled with love
Memories filled with patient instruction
Needles of creation, processed reflection
Holding textiles in place to be molded perfection
This is my pincushion, I won’t use another
It somehow stayed with me when all was lost
Holding together the edges that fray
I return to it daily, my passion at play

Awesome Sentence Challenge

Free Play with Phrases:

In separate lists, collect some noun phrases,some adjective phrases, some verb phrases and some adverb phrases. From each list, pick a phrase and put them together to make a sentence.

Here are the lists I collected:

Noun phrase Adjective phrase Verb phrase Adverb phrase
The sight of his face Very pricey but really beautiful Crossing boarders With ease
His roiling emotions Quite small but cheap Seducing and performing In a minute
The foolishness of her actions Covered in mud Running yourself ragged After the game
A person of passion Cowering in the corner Take it easy Every day
A pause in the battle Older than dirt Get some rest On the count of three
The agony and the ecstasy Exquisitely graceful Mastering the beast Over the lake
The headline entertainer Heaviest of all Conquering fear Under the sea
The grunting of the engines Neatly pressed Marshalling your forces Through the window
The noises of the tires High overhead Pick up the reins and drive After the sun set/ before sunset
The clock on the mantelpiece So low only she could hear Pulled one way or another Only two days ago
The belt of her robe Rattled like loose teeth Leveled at my temple As if he understood
Her father’s eyes Dotted with strip malls and gas stations Tripping an alarm system Down the road
The back of her neck Open all the way Considering the situation In the forest
The glass creatures Facing the light Developing a rapport Whenever he remembered
Old people Pressed tight Deployed about the room Through the garden
A piece of trash Floating in the air Gone out for a walk With needle and thread
The neighborhood that bordered the park Like kings Wasn’t parked Back and forth
The darkened room Like a motorcade Read the article and cursed Under his breath
The grandmother Ashleigh never knew The color of the margins of the Declaration of Independence Folded her arms Across her chest

So let’s see what kind of amazing sentences come out of this mess:

  1. His roiling emotions, so low only she could hear, picked up the reigns and drove across her chest.
  2. The agony and the ecstasy, rattling like loose teeth, tripped an alarm system under his breath.
  3. The back of her neck, the color of the margins of the Declaration of Independence, pulled one way or another with ease.
  4. The belt of her robe, open all the way, leveled at my temple after the sunset.
  5. The clock on the mantelpiece, quite small but cheap, considered the situation on the count of three.

I can see how this could be a great tool for coming up with some interesting sentences. My collection appears to be leading me toward the naughty. Maybe my character has other plans than the ones I intended.

Today’s Simple Task

Have your MC observe something from a different perspective physically (from above, from below, through a filter) and/or emotionally.

I was inspired to write this prompt by a Wednesdays Visual Writing Prompt on Mundus Media Ink by Michelle Rene Goodhew

Warm-up Exercise

Set your timer for 10 minutes. Write in first person from your MC’s perspective in your MC’s voice. Your character has been grossly betrayed by a close friend or family member.

Recommended Word Crawl

Bookshelf Word Crawl A little extra encouragement to explore your TBR (to be read) pile.

Don’t Forget To Read!

For today’s Awesome Sentence Challenge, I collected phrases from:

Mapping the Hero’s Journey With Tarot: 33 Days To Finish Your Book by Arwen Lynch

Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel. I am loving this novel. It’s a fun read about two people who are thrown into one crazy misunderstanding after another.

The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life by Jessa Crispin

The Hiding Place by David Bell. I found this one when I started research for this year’s NaNoWriMo novel. I’m hoping it will be a good comp (comparison novel) when I finish and start to query.

Extra Challenge

Write a scene that demonstrates a flaw your main character has.

Today’s an exciting day. Today, the adventure begins!

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo Day 6: The Point Of No Return

Day 6
Word count: 11,446 words
Word count goal: 12,000 words
Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Refusal
Save The Cat: Point of No Return

Plotting with Tarot

I did a reading a bit off the book. Today, I focused on The Inciting Incident:

Inciting Incident Day 6

The Inciting Incident: The Empress Upside-down – the emotional world, the sensual world, and the possibility of new life. A tremendous potential to take an idea and turn it into a finished product; in reverse.

What is going on when The Inciting Incident happens: Ten Of Wands – Carrying a burden

How the Inciting Incident forces my MC to act: Four Of Cups Upside-down – ignoring potential, inspiration in the reverse.

My interpretation – My character’s inciting incident is a reversal of his idea that his quest was finished. He feels burdened by the knowledge that he has found. The inciting incident forces him to stop ignoring the information that has dropped in his lap.

Ask Your Character

  • How would you describe a perfect day when you were young?
  • What did you think your life would be like when you were older?
  • Do you have any favorite stories from your childhood?

Word Of The Day

quixotic: adj. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable. 2. impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.

8 Action Verbs:

activated          calculated          contracted          edited

guided               lobbied              promoted            shared

Poem prompt

Theme: The point of no return

The point of not return
Return to my regimen
Regimen of daily responsibilities
Responsibilities give my life meaning
Meaning guided by principals
Principals shared through relationships
Relationships I must protect
Protect from outside forces
Forces that wish us harm
Harm guided by evil intent
Intent calculated by selfish will
Will lobbied to tear me from safety
Safety the promise of my daily prayers
Prayers of thanks with wants folded in
In hopes that I would never reach
Reach the point of no return

Note: I’ve wanted to try one of these poems since I saw one of the other poets in #OctPoWriMo write one. I think it’s a non-rhyming form of Loop poetry. It was fun and flowed well. I think the themes and motives of my MC are becoming very clear and his motives are clear in this poem. Using some of today’s Action Verbs helped guide me along.

Awesome Sentence Challenge

Explore connotations: Choose a word (may I suggest one of the active verbs or the word of the day) and look it up in your thesaurus (thesaurus.com). Pick one synonym that has positive connotations and choose one that has negative connotations and write a sentence for each one. Read the sentences aloud. Do the particular connotations of your chosen word influence how you write the rest of the sentence?

Today’s Simple Task

Show your Main Character’s greatest weakness. Put him or her in a moral dilemma.

Warm-up Exercise

Set your timer for 10 minutes. Write about the last thing your character would ever want to do. Then write a scene forcing your character to do the last thing they would ever want to do. – inspired by prompt from Josie (NaNo poster)

Recommended Word Crawl

The Nightmare Before Christmas Crawl

I tried this crawl last year and enjoyed it. Like they mention in the crawl, the movie Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is great for watching anytime between Halloween and Christmas.

And Don’t Forget To Read!

A great writer reads and reads and reads. It may be harder to feel like you Cover of A Long Walk to Waterhave time to read during NaNoWriMo, but it’s still important. Yesterday, I finished reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, based on the true story of Salva Dut. It is the story of his young life fleeing the war in Sudan and his efforts as an adult to bring water to the people of his home country. The book is well written and a good read. I enjoyed it in little bites during the commercials of the Seahawks game.

Happy Reading and Writing!