Don’t forget to check out Anne’s and my new Five Buck Forum, the most affordable members-only sharing, caring, and business-building site to date. We’re so happy with all the features of the forum, the Webinars, the courses, and of course, the cameraderie and networking. For the price of a Happy Meal, you can be part of it.
One thing we’re not so happy about are the technical issues we had yesterday. My theory is this – the amount of time spent testing links and connections is directly proportional to the amount of time spent fixing them after the launch. We had a few glitches – more than a few – but we’ve either fixed them or found work-arounds for them. If you’re trying to access the forum and can’t, send either Anne or me an email and we’ll get you in.
Today I intend to finish the large project, spend time in the forum, and get some marketing done. October is coming into view and I want at least two projects in line before that happens. I have a lot of money coming in the pipeline, but nothing here yet, so the goal is to really increase the revenue so that the holidays will be smooth sailing.
It’s a late start for me today. I was at my writers’ group meeting last night, which when we get together, runs late into the night. We discussed a lot of things, such as writing from the past (not in the past) and keeping it relevant to today. It’s a problem a lot of us have, especially when we’re fictionalizing something from our memories. We also talked about my problem, which was how to build the right tense into a poem. I tend to write things literally, which is a bad habit in poetry if I’m getting too caught up in the facts. One poem in particular had these lines:
“I’d driven those three hundred miles, each one bringing me closer to
Dread, to the reality of a world that didn’t have
You in it…”
What the other writers didn’t like was the past perfect, which added entirely too much switching of this moment in my poem that was now in a different moment. I was going literal, they were wanting more immediate emotion. They’re right – it was too much and unnecessary. That’s why I love hanging out with these people. They help me develop into a better writer.
One poem none of us touched was one I wrote in my usual fashion – last minute. Because I’m about to dig out from under a large pile of work, I’ll leave you with it in hopes it inspires you to create something of your own, even if it’s the last minute:
The five pm artist
Writes poems frantically
Hoping to make sense, seeking out
Coherence and cohesion amid
Ihavetogetdresseds and shitit’salmosttimes
So much pressure to create when
the job is to create but when it’s
Lefttothelastminute and the words just
Spilllikewateron a pieceofpaper,
Saturating, threatening to tear the center
Outandthewordstumbledownontothefloorand
Fall between the cracks.
How have you introduced time into your writing? Do you translate your tense literally, or are you able to shift gears? When was the last time you wrote something for you?
The last time I wrote something for me was on the flight back home after attending my sister-in-law's funeral.
It honors my brother (her husband) and the power of the human spirit. Like you, Lori, I feel my best come when I just pour it out-from the heart.
Here's a link to my personal blog where I posted it. Have a good weekend, everyone.
http://millercathy.com/2011/08/a-brothers-strength/
That's absolutely gorgeous, Cathy. I felt them. It's as though I know them.
Thanks, Lori. I am thankful we can find comfort in words that also challenge us every day.
Like your poem. I don't know how you can do that.
I'm not into poetry much. I like reading it, but not too interested in writing it. I wrote quite a few in school, though. The first poem I ever wrote was in 2nd or 3rd grade. It went:
It doesn't make much sense
To give a horse a penny
When candy costs 5 cents.
I didn't win any awards and I think I had some spelling errors, but I believe I got a sticker for it on my paper. (Of course, back then, you could get some candy for 5 cents, try doing that today)I guess I'm more the greeting card poet.
Wendy, it's great! I'm sure if I thought about it a few minutes, I'd find some symbolism. 🙂
Hey, a sticker is better than an award. 🙂
I wrote poetry in high school & college, but I always felt kind of pretentious about it since it didn't flow naturally from my pen. That said, I won a couple of minor awards and got more than one A+ in Creative Writing classes for poems I wrote on the way to class.
For example – there was a short poem inspired by a spider on the ceiling. Somehow I worked it into the spider spying on society. Still not sure why that got an A. Or when I saw a worm struggling to cross the busy sidewalk in front of my high school before students' feet or the sun got to him – that was in my dramatic poetry phase. Can't recall what the worm symbolized – probably me struggling through high school. Yeah, I was just soooo original – and apparently most of my imagery centered on bugs.
Cathy – your poem about your brother showcases his strength. His sense of calm and reason in extreme and unreasonable situations reminds me a bit of my dad.
Thanks, Paula. That does describe my brother to a tee. I was so concerned with what I would find and what I found was strength.
I'm glad it brought you the happy reminder of your dad.
Congrats on launching the forum. I've been working on a novel for a while and it's something that I do for me, as my fiction does not sell yet.
Love the poem. Congrats on the forum.
My first 1K of the day on the Primary Project is always for me. Just because it's often contracted doesn't mean it's not my passion!
My own writing has the priority. ALWAYS. That's why I freelance. The other stuff is worked around it.