Brought to you in a rush on my lunch break! Got to find the time to write every day even when the routine is disrupted.
A Story is Born
Tag Archives: Storytelling
Day 5: Re-Genesis
Feeling very meta today about the act of creation and the way we play with ideas and stories in our minds. I’ve had one in my head for half a year now, more or less stagnating, watching all my other ideas pass it by. Then a few days ago I had a new idea, one that would be a stretch to make work. It had heart and structure but lacked originality. Then came the old idea, which I think has a great concept but the characters weren’t leaping out at me and the story wasn’t wanting to shape. They came together like they were meant to be. It’s tough letting go of pieces of each of them, but the new thing is far more powerful and I can’t wait to bring it to life.
Re-Genesis
Day 290: Morning Muse
I woke up to the wonderful sight that inspired today’s poem. If ever any evidence was needed that I married well…
Morning Muse
Day 244: Little Things
Today was a day of many small victories coming together for a greater whole.
Little Things
Day 141: Each One A Promise
I’m in a book store this morning!
Each One A Promise
Day 131: Burning Race
Big changes are occurring in my life. A few frustrating ones. Far more good ones. Hitting goals, adjusting goals, and learning the ebb and flow of this new life I have chosen to live. One of the biggest and most difficult of these lessons has been that success can be disorienting and that’s when it’s most important to get your feet under you and push forward.
Burning Race
Day 119: Open
Yesterday when I was writing at one of my favorite coffee shops on the island (and one my my favorite places in general) I noticed an open journal on a coffee table. The journal itself was a work of art, but what truly made it special we’re the contents. I’d never stoop to reading someone else’s personal journal without their blessing, however, with the pages open I caught a glimpse of detailed sketches and painstakingly written notes that were simply breathtaking. I rarely keep nice notebooks because rarely are my own notes and art anywhere near nice. In a way I don’t feel like my chicken scratch is worthy of the journal. This young woman’s was. Beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Open
Day 167: Dragon Treasure
Twice I have been given assigned the exercise of personifying my muse. The purpose of this is not to create another identity within yourself–that’s simply unhealthy–but to give oneself the vision of something that can be trained or overcome. We are creatures of story and when you give a story to your creation process it becomes something more manageable. By training your muse, by overcoming it, you are in effect overcoming your own internal obstacles. It should come as no surprise to any that know me that I envision my own muse as a dragon.
Dragon Treasure
Days 162 & 163: Untitled; Living a Story
Confession. I hate yesterday’s poem. I’m sure I’m not alone as a poet who occasionally produces something he or she is unhappy with. I kept waiting for inspiration to strike me with something better and it never came. Lesson learned: push forward anyway. Momentum is more important than perfection. I’m beginning to suspect that I’m a rather dense student because this lesson seems somewhat familiar by this point.
In that spirit of moving forward, here are the poems for both 162 and 163.
I wanted to write about prosperity and this is what came out…
Untitled
I was contemplating the nature of control this morning and realized that I have several personal hangups surrounding it that I need to work on. One of which is the struggle with the idea that I am not the author of my own life, but rather the protagonist in my own story. It’s an interesting reframing that’s given me much to think on and at the same time is more than a little freeing.
Living a Story
Days 157-159: Enough for the Stories; Free the Fear; Sniping for Success
I’ve got a bit of backlog again. I’ve been writing but not publishing my writing as I should. I’d intended to spread out several of these backed up poems out over the course of the day but the day had other plans. So did the next. And it has been brought to my attention that when a backlog such as this occurs, that those following his blog do not like being suddenly inundated with multiple updates. So, here is my attempt at compromise. One post. Three poems. Today’s own post will follow shortly.
Day 157: Enough for the Stories
This poem was written in an effort to recapture the loss of the poem, Creative’s Career, which I started in a moment of inspiration that was cut short and the scrap of paper I’d written it down on was thought lost. While the opening is very similar, It ultimately became its own thing. Every time I finish a book, my mind is overwhelmed with ideas. Many of them for entirely new projects or for things I’ve set aside to do later when often what I need to do most is push forward onto the next book in whatever series I’ve started. So many ideas. So many stories to tell. It’s a little overwhelming.
Enough for the Stories
Day 158: Free the Fear
I have been my own worst enemy with my writing. I’ve said before that part of the reason I use pennames is because they give me permission to fail. Permission to simply write. In essence, when I go into a piece knowing that I am going to publicly claim it as my own, I am writing from a place of fear and I think it is undermining my efforts. That got me thinking about the nature of fear and courage and what is required of me with regards to both if I am to succeed as a professional creative. Perhaps what is required of many of us going forward.
Free the Fear
Day 159: Sniping for Success
There is a principle in professional investing that is difficult for many to wrap their heads around, let alone embrace, and which I feel applies to many areas of life. Diversify your investments. Bleed money. Aim wide. The idea is that you’re waiting for something called a “black swan,” which is to say the rare and unpredictable success. Something is going to do well eventually and it all boils down to a test of endurance. Waiting for that single critical moment to strike, the build off of. Then repeating the process over again.
Sniping for Success
The Everyday Poet 