What keeps a writer going?

That’s an interesting question. On the surface, it’s easy to rattle off a long list. Love of the story, dedication to their craft, or—as we talked about last week—determination.

But I’m inclined to think that at the base of it all, whether we admit it or not, the driving force behind our creativity is expectation. The expectation of a book in our hands, of our reader’s surprise and enjoyment of our book, of typing those exceptionally satisfying words, The End. Without expectation, the frustration and discouragement of writing can become too much.

Expectation

Expectation is so, so important for your writing journey. Goals, dreams, a solid idea of why you’re working as hard as you are is so important. If you don’t have that, you will peter out long before you reach the finish line. Whether you need a mantra, a dream journal, or a…

you sharpen your words
into knives
lovingly caressing blade
with whetting stone
until it can split hairs
your goal
to dismember
into assorted parts
a skilled
and enthusiastic butcher
you long to reduce
women to
arms
legs
feet
hands
breasts
pelvis
head
mouth taped firmly shut
blindfolded
to hide reproach
judgment
in our eyes
to diminish
disempower
silence

how terrified
you must be
of our wombs
our truths
our rage
to think that complete
objectification
nothing short of carving us like a
Thanksgiving turkey
can protect you

© 2017 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All Rights Reserved

Today I want to tell you about this wonderful creator… She works with clay, and paint, and multimedia art. She has a couple of coloring books available on amazon! She has made some incredible handmade journals and dice towers.

We asked her when she stared to create, and her response was exactly what I expected from someone as creative as her! She told us “As long as I can remember, I have needed to MAKE things.”
When asked what or who got her started, her response was “All the women on my mother’s side are amazingly talented and creative.”
We asked why did she choose to be an Indie Artist and her answer was perfect, she said “”I love to create” sounds trite, but it’s just true. There is something deep in my soul that calls to me every moment of every day to make something new in the world…

Often poetry is bright. It’s a warm morning curled up in bed, or a piece of pie shared between two kids who normally fight nonstop. It’s a celebration of our bodies, or a glorification of the fleeting minutes in our lives. Poetry seems dedicated to the greatness of life, the depth of life.

Life’s not always great. Sometimes, life is horrible, dark, unhappy, depressed. That’s where Dark Poetry comes into play.

I love Dark Poetry, because I love honest poetry. I love a real moment, shared with someone else. And when you think about it, a dark poem is a quite intimate thing. It’s one thing to share your great, bright moments with others. That’s something we do all the time. Social media is full of the bright moments. The birthdays and big wins. The bright new lipsticks and after gym pics.

We don’t share the loses. The nights sitting…

Patricia Harris is a dreamer, crafter, gamer and digital artist who loves creativity in life. She is a devoted mom who can be found doing a variety of art when she isn’t penning poetry and writing words. For more from Patricia, check out Facebook or her blog.

We accept multiple types of media. Send it as an attachment in email to faecorpspublishing@gmail.com. Make sure to include a bio in third person, along with a photo of yourself.

For photos or art, you may include a caption of up to 500 words.

For poems, you can send up to five, and max lines of 50.

Short stories up to a max word count of 5000. No erotica and no blatant gore for gore’s sake. We are open to all other genres, but, if it is difficult to read due to gore or cruelty , then we will not be willing to post it.

Previously published work is okay, as long as you still have rights to publish. Please inform us where it was published so we may include the information in the post.

To be in the Author or Artist spotlight, click the appropriate link below!

Author Questionnaire: