Tag: writing

Prompts

I.)

If you could live in any place or time (or both) where/when would it be?

II.)

You stumbled and fell into a hole in the ground. You find yourself in a new time /place(the one from the question above). You are alone with nothing more than what is usually in your pockets /purse. What are you going to do? Where will you go?

III. )

Would you seek to return home? And why? Is it something or someone you want to return to?

IV. )

Lastly, what sort of adventure will it take to return home? What adventure if you stay? What changes will your presence cause in the timeline?

Good writing! 😍

Thursday Tea Party

Well hello lovelies! Pull up a seat! Pick a tea! I have a variety!

So, announcements.

Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control… Creative Risings summer edition was cancelled this year. The good news is I will be in the fall edition. Which is due in September.

Serena has decided to step back from Life, guilt, and undeath for a bit. Though it has been worked on, she is struggling with it. Her thought is to work on something else until it flows easier. She is working on The Kingdoms of Sin, a book based upon a game world of my creation. I am hoping that she does it justice.

Been fighting my back all week. So it means that I have been falling behind in my own writing. Pain makes writing difficult proposition. So I have been a less vocal blogger this week. I apologize. I am hoping to fix it in time to post for Monday. Normally I have Thursday and Friday posts written ahead of time. This week I am behind.

I have been following the prompts given by Christine over on the brave and reckless blog. So my blog has been seeing more activity on the weekend lately. I don’t know how long that will continue. I do know that I am going to be doing Sketchtember and inktober over on my Patreon this year. You can see those pieces for as little as $1 a month.

Well that’s the announcements for this week. So, now I have a question… What song would you like to see my thoughts on Tuesday tunes?

Try This Thursday

Ok I really have been trying not to resort to this sort of thing. But I am stumped for what to post. So I am open to your questions. I will answer any questions except for the nasty stuff. Keep out of my pants and I will answer you. (Though the less than specific I may still answer). C’mon hit me with those questions you have.

Friday writing day

There is an abundance of writing tips on the net nowadays. It sometimes seems like everyone is a writer anymore. So many are offering the same advice over and over. I have been wracking my brain to make my writing posts more unique. (After all I want to give you a reason why my blog is worth your read.) I decided that writing advice should be in answer to questions asked. Prompts, while useful are often boring for me to write.

So I thought about how to fill this space. Yeah, I have topics that can be put on Friday. That is not the hard part. I think that I want to keep writing a Friday topic so to remind myself that I am more than just a poet or artist. Poetry, while a type of writing, has Monday.

My Tuesday post is now a set thing. I will be doing the Tuesday tunes thing from now on. Wednesday is for art. Thursday will be my random day. Friday is the hard one. I want to keep it mostly writing related. I will be doing prompts still. I will be doing reviews. I will be posting some stories and story ideas to see if they are worth doing. I may make posts about the technical snarls of writing, editing, and publishing. It should all fit nicely under the umbrella of Writing Day. I can add subtitles to clarify what each post is dealing with.

If any of you have questions about the writing process, indie publishing, editing, or anything else… Send me the question. I will do my best to see your questions answered. If I cannot personally answer it, I will try to find a guest blogger who can.

I am also thinking about adding to Monday. Doing something similar to what I did in April. Picking a favorite poet and talking about them and their poetry. Though I enjoy sharing my own poetry with you… Sometimes it feels like I am only feeding my own ego with this blog. I want to also teach, inform, and entertain.

Story Ideas….


*image obtained from Google for inspiration only.

From Serena-

So I was reading various things on tumblr… Just for fun. And the suggestion was made that perhaps Medusa always had the snake hair and scales. This got me thinking of her as a possible antihero… So I did a start. Just a teaser if you will. Let me know what you think. If it is well received I will have to try and finish it.

His hand raised, ready to strike, caused her to look away. After a few moments of no pain, Diana dared to look up at him. He was still in the same place, oddly it looked as though he had not moved at all. The light was poor in their home, still Diana could have sworn he was grey instead of his natural tan skin. After a moment more she dared to reach out to touch him.
Shocked at how cold and solid he was, Diana quickly pulled her hand back. Diana turned to see if she could determine the reason for this change. Standing in the doorway was the most beautiful person she had ever laid eyes upon. Long legs covered by an iridescent sheen. A leather skirt that barely covered to her knees. The stranger had a sword, and a dagger hanging from her waist, giving an even more aggressive feel to the lean, muscular frame. The stranger had all the curves that men seemed to want, and none of the modesty that ladies are expected to have. Her large bust was loosely covered by a leather wrap that quite matched the skirt she was wearing. The doorway was too dark to make out the features of the face, but Diana was easily able to see the hair.
At Diana’s startled gasp, Medusa softly whispered. “ Do not fear. I will not harm you. I only am here to rescue you. Gather your things! I will take you somewhere that is safe so you can live freely.” Her snakes were slithering around her face and head slowly as she spoke.

Writing Friday

Writing. Crap. What do I say? Do I sit here and try to explain that, at least for me, writing is something akin to breathing? That there’s never been a time when I didn’t need to put words together? And then I would have to tell you just how it feels to read what I wrote and think that I am not cut out for this. How many people who I know personally who are brilliant at this whole writing gig. Still… I would have to mention that the idea of stopping is actually painful. It has been how I was able to see the answers to life, since before I ever realized that there was a question.

Usually, I try to use the Friday post to give tips, and help with the whole writing and publishing thing. And I think that is great to keep the blog going… But today I was thinking about the reason why I write. Yeah… I could probably claim that I was trying to add beauty. But I don’t generally lie. My art is more how I do beauty. Abstract and pencil drawings to encourage happiness in the eye of the beholder. My children’s books are a way of connecting with my daughter, as they have thus far been stories I told her, or wrote for her. Serena’s stuff is stories that I want to read. But if I am honest with myself… My main writing is my poetry.

My poetry will never be hallmark stuff. My poetry is raw emotion and survival. I have lived a survivors life. My poetry is how I have been able to express myself even when my voice was stolen. I could write my story… Even though I was being told I lied. I could write it and it was accepted because it was poetry. It was written in a way that meant I was non-threatening to those who were part of hurting me. And it was written off as just an angsty teen writing depressing poetry… For don’t we all have that stage?

After I was free, and I was no longer needing verse to speak my truth, well it was still the easiest way to speak my pain. To spread my views. It was habit. I may never be able to sit along with the likes of Poe or Dickenson… But my words will remain. I will be there when another lost soul seeks to know that they are not alone.

Thursday Tea party

So, here we are again… Sugar? Cream? Oh my… Is there enough room for all of you to squeeze in?

Serena tells me that she has broken the block and is writing again on Life, guilt, and undeath. She apparently now knows how it will end. Here’s hoping that she finishes soon, as I can’t wait to read it.

My sister and I have started a publishing company. fae corps publishing will be releasing our first anthology in July. Under the mists will feature stories about the dark fae by some truly amazing authors. This has been an amazing journey. Serena has a story in there, along with five others. We are going to be spotlighting authors and artists on our blog. If we get enough submissions we will also do a quarterly Ezine.

I know that Dream Drips is still relatively new… But I am over halfway through the writing for Ink Splashes. I think that I will be releasing it in July. I might be mistaken… But it is something to keep an eye out for.

I have been accepted in the summer edition of Creatives Rising. My poem Serendipity will be included in there. The other creatives who are involved are so wonderful. I really am excited about this edition. I will be posting the subscribe link when they give it to me.. Watch for it.

If you are an indie artist or artist and want to be seen somewhere new go over to the Fae Corps blog and submit your work. We will be doing spotlights and posting poetry, short stories, art, and photgraphy that we feel shows the quality of indie work.

All in all it looks like the next couple of months are going to be fun. What do you have coming up? Anything fun?

Writing poetry

So, In preparation for this post… I searched Pinterest looking for ideas for what to tell you about writing poetry. I found a lot of technical information. And if you need that sort of thing it is easily found on Google. I didn’t want to be just another person telling you what you can easily find.

Instead, I think that I will talk about the stupid stuff that seems to be overlooked. The stuff that I had to learn. Yes, you don’t have to listen. Can you ignore this? Sure. It is just what I have picked up in a lifetime of poetry.

  1. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to follow rules with poetry! Poetic license is a thing… However, I have found that you should at least know what the rules are. Still, poetry is the truest expression of who you are.
  2. Punctuation. When the reader is reading the poem, punctuation tells them when to pause. This increases the impact of the poem.
  3. Don’t be afraid to try new styles. I write free verse most often. However, that is not all of what I have written. It is good to challenge yourself to do more technical styles so your writing can grow.
  4. Write at least one per day. The more you write, the easier it becomes.
  5. Don’t be afraid of rejection. The other day I recieved one and a friend consoled me. What he said really resonates with me. He said that the lit magazine that I had submitted to was not good enough for my poems. You can have amazing poetry and the places that you submit to will not accept sometimes. It happens to all of us.
  6. You are the best writer that your poetry can have. You will know when it is done and what words to use.
  7. Spelling is important. Misspelled words and a lot of archaic words make the poem look unprofessional. Same thing with a bunch of slang(ie bae, yeet, on fleek) as these words are often not understood by everyone.
  8. Imagery is so important… However it is quite possible to do poetry with out similes or metaphor. It merely requires better imagery in the poem itself.
  9. Not everyone actually likes poetry. Seriously, it is such a wonderful form of expression… But there is people who just dislike it. Some because of how poetry makes them feel. Some because it seems too intellectual to them. That is okay. Your reader is not those people, even if they are people whom you love.
  10. You don’t have to share unless you want to. Poetry is often such a personal thing. Sharing feels vulnerable. So if you just wanna write for you? It is perfectly fine.

If you decide to write, and you decide to share.. Email me. I will be featuring the best on my Monday poetry posts.

Attack of the plot bunnies!

As with most authors… I have more ideas than I will ever be able to write. Sometimes having such a potent imagination is a bit of a curse. So, what is there to do when your mind is overrun with the bunnies?

First, I recommend that you keep your writing projects to no more than two active at a time. I realize that most people recommend that you keep only one active. I think that it is easy to burnout if you push forward with a project that is not flowing. By having a second project, you have a small ability to swap off as the need arises.

Second, keep a note of the ideas as they come. Yes, write them down! You will forget them. Trust me. I have been dumb enough to believe that I didn’t need to do this. Much to my regret.

Visit the ideas list periodically to find the next project. It really is that simple. I also tend to do that with poetry prompts. What will not work one day may work to inspire another day. Inspiration sparks different depending upon the day.

So, where do you hide your ideas? Mine are all on digital notes. 😊

Thursday truths

First thing, I have published Dream Drips. I will be posting a new release link post as soon as it is completely live. (Takes up to 72 hours.)

My poetry has been accepted for the summer edition of Creatives Rising Ezine. I am always honored to be chosen to contribute.

I have been doing a weekly digital abstract piece for my wordless Wednesday blog. So far it seems to be well received. I think that I shall continue with that.

I came to the realization last night. As a publishing company, we have done 23 books. 21 for me, (3 children’s books, and 18 poetry), and Serena has 2(a novel, and a novella). Serenity Studios has only been a thing since 2010. That seems so amazing to me.

Also, a minor note. I noticed that I had neglected to upload the ebook version of Soul Drops to Amazon. There was a good reason for this. I use draft2digital for most of my eBook publishing. However I had decided that I didn’t like how Amazon was set up through them. So I had done soul drops paperback on kdp… And the ebook through d2d. The problem is… Because I did not like the set up… I ended up not complying with the required information on d2d for amazon. Forgetting that I had done soul drops that way. I realized that today. So I fixed it. It will be live in 72 hours.