Story Land Jamboree

Well, hello again, Dear Writer,  We really have to stop meeting like this. People are going to talk. Oh, well, I'll throw caution to the wind ... We need our time together and I really, really like spending time with you. After all, we have a lot in common, don't we? Recently, I had ANOTHER vampire poem accepted for publication. The poem is called, "Lily." It's been so long since I have had so much accepted so close together that I am just about ready to turn cartwheels. (Whoa! THAT would be a sight!) This thought led me to an important question that someone once asked me regarding my writing.  "What is YOUR definition of writing success?"  This is so personal for each writer and it can change from one season of a writer's life to another. I am living proof of that. When I was in my twenties, I completely imagined myself as a female version of Stephen King. Um ... that was until I realized that I do NOT write like he does. I was in my thirtie...

Hello, Dear Reader ... (or Dear Writer -- whichever is the case),  Before I launch into my latest writing sermon, please let me make an announcement! All this preaching I have done about sitting down and WRITING has paid off! It has been YEARS since I finished such a volume of work and recently I have submitted a short story and it was accepted for publication last week!! The story is called, "The Longest Season," and you will find it this summer in Alban Lake Publishing's "Outposts of Beyond 2013." The editor, Mr. Lake, will also be publishing my poem, "Cap'n Jones," as a reprint in that same publication.  Then ... THIS week ... I had another poem accepted for publication! It was a vampire poem called, "Forever" and it will be published in "Moonshadow: A Collection of Vampire Poetry." I also submitted a second poem, but I do not know if he will accept that one yet.  Needless to say, I am more motivated than EVER to get so...

So, I struggle every single day with the strong desire to be lazy. Every. Single. Day. I have all these delusions of grandeur in which I am the star in my own Successful Author Nationally Televised Interview fantasy. (It's one of my favorites.) I am interviewed about where I get my ideas and how did I get so brilliant ... and so on. (**Pauses here to indulge in the fantasy because now it's on my mind.)  Where was I? Oh, yeah. Laziness. Okay, to be fair, I am really quite hard-working BUT my hard work is usually motivated by things such as when someone is paying me, when I am being chased by zombies (or rabid political activists - no matter whether they come running at me from the left or the right), when being forced out of guilt, OR by a deadline.  Passive activities are usually my activities of choice if left to my own devices. There are things in which I love the end results, but do not like the work involved to get there. These "things" include exercising and ...

Good Evening all members of the Tribe (those of us of the Creative Mind), I know I have fallen far short of my goal to use this blog to help document the agonies of producing my literary endeavors. In a way, the long periods of silence have serve to truly illustrate where so many of us fall short -- discipline! I was thinking about this recently. I have written several poems in the past few weeks, but have not produced the short stories or the progress on my novel as I wanted. I know a handful of writers that I KNOW to be brilliant. Why are they not famous? Well, I think determination (combined with luck) is what separates the men from the boys (so to speak). We all get in our own way! I get home from work and my mind and body are drained and it is hard to stay motivated to do much of anything. This has to change. They say that the strong survive. I am not sure who "they" are, but They have a lot to say, apparently. We all get in our own way. How badly do we want to s...

Hello All! I know it has been a very long time! And, to those who have read my past blogs where I posted some of my published fiction, well, let me just say that lately it seems my poetry has trumped everything else. I have been leading poetry workshops over the last few months and I hope to have my new poetry chapbook ready to go to the editor soon. The new poetry book is called Viscera and I have to say I am very excited about it. It has a great combo of my signature fantasy-influenced approach and my new appreciation for mainstream poetry. (Well, the appreciation is not new, but I have definitely been influenced by my journey to a BA degree in English and all of the literature courses I have had and it shows in this collection.) For those who are NOT familiar with my poetry, I am going to post about three pieces from my existing chapbook: Passion Fruit , which was published in 2003. I'd love some feedback ... (or a feedbag ... I'm hungry!) :D I am pasting those poems b...

Hello, Dear Reader, and fellow Tribe members, I am here to say that I actually accomplished my goal for last week and that was to finish an outline that will help me complete my complication novella -- Pioneer . I did it!! I actually managed to finish the outline with special thanks to a brainstorming session with my dear friend, Shanan. (Insert happy dance here.) Goals for this week: 1. Two posts for the week 2. Write through sections one and two on Pioneer . Each goal brings me closer to what I want to accomplish and the little dialog here helps keep me going Dear Reader. I may be back on later to post some more thoughts on the subject of meeting goals, but until then I thought I post another one of my published short stories. The one I chose is called "A Kid Named Larry" and it was published in December, 2003 in EOTU Ezine (Editor Larry Dennis).  This story is a strange and humorous take on the weird kid at school. I hope you like it. Until the next time we me...

Good evening, Dear Reader, and members of the Tribe, Okay. I have said it before and I will say it again: Writing is HARD. This is why good writers may have a love/hate relationship with it. I may not have posted on Tuesday, as was my goal, but I am now posting for a second time this week. So, I say small victories are good, too. I have made a little progress on my outline for Pioneer . I have found that my natural ability to be distracted, combined with the demands of my schedule, is a huge obstacle in meeting my goals. However, I am going to meet those goals. So will You. Recently, I thought of a poem I wrote called "Whispers," and it made me think of all of You out there who want to CREATE. We will all light the way for each other. I'm going to post that poem here and I hope you enjoy it. In the meantime, remember that life happens (as the cliche goes), but we must not let it take control of us to the extent that our creativity is crushed under the weight of days a...