I will be posting Edna St Vincent Millay later today. This is the first Friday… So here is my prompts for February.
Friday prompts
Category: Writing Prompts
Monday poetry
Today my newest poem on Coffee house Writers posts. The posting rules for Coffee House are slightly different for the poetry department. In the poetry department there are two types, the type I am is devoted to poetry and rarely post else. Coffee House is devoted to growth of their writers. So, the poetry department that I am a part of does a weekly assignment. A challenge if you will. The weeks that you post you are required to at least attempt the assignment, and to comment on other attempts. This way we grow, we learn.
I have written free verse my whole life. I am I think comfortable, overly so sometimes, with free verse. I love the lack of restrictions on my writing.
The poet ee cummings used a lack of following the syntax rules to separate his poetry from the mainstream. I am in no way comparing my poems to his, but it was an argument that I used in high school when the teachers wanted me to follow all of the poetic rules. I have learned the rules since, because it is easier to break rules if you know them. In high school though, I was not worried about the rules of what I was writing. It was a coping mechanism. I was writing pure emotional purge, without care of what I was truly putting into the world. It wasn’t until later, when I was safer, that I started to consider how to improve my words.
So I am thankful now to attempt the challenges to improve. A good many of them are new forms. As poets, we often stagnate in single forms because they become easy to write. (The reason why I have been taking on Haikus lately.) I hate stagnation. Poetry should be fresh. A new view.
This week the assignment was a Ghazal poem.From the internet search “Ghazal
(Pronounciation: “guzzle”) Originally an Arabic verse form dealing with loss and romantic love, medieval Persian poets embraced the ghazal, eventually making it their own. Consisting of syntactically and grammatically complete couplets, the form also has an intricate rhyme scheme. Each couplet ends on the same word or phrase (the radif), and is preceded by the couplet’s rhyming word (the qafia, which appears twice in the first couplet). The last couplet includes a proper name, often of the poet’s. In the Persian tradition, each couplet was of the same meter and length, and the subject matter included both erotic longing and religious belief or mysticism. ” I did not follow the rules exactly… Wouldn’t be my poetry if I did. I did however try to get the setup right. Tell me what you think, did I get it close enough?
©2020 Patricia Harris
Old stones sitting quietly,
places found most blindly.
Nature reclaiming,
places man lived.
Grasses growing freely,
ivy around everything you see.
Ancient things sleeping,
memories man is keeping.
Is resting continued,
when nature is what is new?
Friday Prompts
Well I had said that I was moving to the first Friday of each month with my prompts. If you want me to feature your response – art /poetry- email it to me patti.mouse@gmail.com
or if you want it featured on the Fae Corps blog send it to faecorpspublishing@gmail.com
Friday Prompt writing
My attempt.
Pick up the pen,
open the vein,
attempt to explain
the image burning
in my brain.
Telling stories in graphite,
characters that only I see.
It seems so real,
these stories I am writing,
my brain is merely telling lies.
Teach the bardic arts
using your weapon,
ink and pen.
Send the dreams out,
letting not the anxiety win.
Friday Prompts FAMILY
Fancy Dinners in quiet spaces
Asking not who attended,
Making no demands
In the stress free zone.
Loving the only requirements
You really need to know.
Thursday Tea Party
Hello my lovelies! Today my tea is a lovely lemon ginger blend. It is good for digestive problems.
Well I think that I have some excitement upcoming! Changes to how I handle my Patreon. Fae Corps also has a few sheduled changes to their blog upcoming. A new children’s book from me… Possibly a series of them.
So let’s talk about patreon. I have been struggling with what to put there. I don’t like duplicate content. I feel like if you are paying for the content then it should be something that is not posted anywhere else. So I have this blog on a schedule with doable content ideas for each day. I am working on getting the fae corps blog set up the same way. And I think that I have some ideas for patreon too. So if you want to help me to keep doing the art and poetry…. And get to see the fun content that is going to be only available on patreon… Go over to patreon and pick a tier. The smallest amount is $1. There are a few posts each month that are free to see.
Or you can send money via PayPal. Ok. On to other topics.
Serena is still plucking away at Nanowrimo. She has not been meeting goals but she is writing daily, except for yesterday as sleep deprivation hit. I have been struggling with the poem a day. Too much sick time. However thanks to a very cranky muse, I woke up from my sickbed a couple of days ago and needed to write a children’s book. Dylan and the pet zombie is completely written and in the illustrator’s loving hands. I am working again with the amazing Ms Shannon Alyce Riddle. She is the same artist that did the princess lost. Dylan will be released in January 2020. I have other ideas for the character, so I am thinking about making it a series. Here is a couple of concept drawings she did for the characters. Dylan and his parents. Note that these are not actual illustrations for the book, only concepts of the characters.
Those who follow my activities with Fae corps know that we are working on a anthology Faerie Footprints. It is being put together now. I am hoping that it will be available for purchase in December. Don’t forget the deadline for submissions for Through the Sunshine is January 31.
I finally found an app for recording of audiobooks. So I can set about recording of the princess lost again. I am hoping to be able to get to the recording this weekend.
Beauty’s Tears is still needing to go through layout. I am hoping to publish it in December. Of course I will announce the release when it happens.
As you know I have been working with coffee house writers. I was in their probation period. Where I worked with a training editor who could help me get used to the routine. She was a wonderful person to work with… She has an editing business, here is her Page. Well I graduated out of her care and into the poetry department there. It honestly feels like home as there as many of the writers are similar to myself.
Well… I believe that is all of what I wanted to tell you… Now that I am done rambling…. What is new with you today?
Friday prompts – Excess
Excess
Dreaming about having
enough to be easy
generous.
To not need to fret,
work and sweat,
just to have enough.
Building an excess,
hoarding everything
that I can,
just to get by
is not a good way to survive.
Monday Poetry
Friday Prompts – Thankful
Thankful.
I normally try to do a poem to the prompts… Today I am feeling maudlin. So I am instead going to just ramble a bit. Thankful gets woefully overused… Especially in November. I know of people who post gratitude posts daily in November. For me that always has felt like false bravado. I am grateful for so much all through out the year, limiting it to November would be painful.
I am, however, the sort to point out things that are done that elicit that gratitude. This year has seen a lot of growth in me, and in my blog. I have seen the people who are following me grow. I have people who interact with my blog now. I am thankful for you all.
Thursday Tea Party
Welcome! Pull up a seat, and pour the tea! Today I am having my lovely lavender.
Have you ever felt staggered and humbled by the response to a single statement? That was me a couple of days ago. I posted on my Facebook about how much I enjoy sharing the wonderful things that my artist and author friends are doing. Everyone was so generous in their response. It makes me feel so happy to know such amazing people.
Did you notice the guest blog post a couple of days ago? Well the Blogger who wrote it has two wonderful blogs. Her poetry blog and a really nice homestead blog. I highly recommend that you check both out! She is also a fellow coffee house writer. I am so thankful that she was willing to come visit.
October passed too quickly. I swear I blinked… Tomorrow will see Serena starting Nanowrimo, and me starting the P.A.D. challenge. I have been slacking off due to illness, so I am still a couple of poems needed for Beauty’s Tears. I have no doubt that I will be done in a day or two, but I was wanting to start a clear volume in November. Sigh. It is what it is.
Fae corps blog will be posting a daily prompt for November. I am doing Layout for Faery Footprints. It is planned for publication in December. The deadline for Through the Sunshine submissions is January 31…we hope to see some wonderful light fae stories!
Have you had a chance to get a copy of Inspiration Without a Home? I would love to hear any opinions.
2020 is going to be an interesting year for me. My art studio will be useable. I am planning to be out more. Fae Corps will be releasing a light fae anthology. There is a book that we are publishing for Deedra Nichole. And who knows what else that will be generating for us there. I should be releasing audiobook versions of my books starting in December. The first planned is The Princess Lost.
…I know there is still two months! Why am I talking about 2020? I am seeing November as being so busy that I may not be able to do a lot of planning. December will be recovery and edits. Layout and publishing. So I think that I am going to be busy.
So, tell me… What in the new year would you like to see this blog cover? Do you like the way that I have been handling it? What can I improve? What irritates you that I do?
Pattimouse 