Live Your Poem...

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

WHAT'S WRITING REALLY ABOUT?

Ted Hughes' answered the question this way: "It's about trying to take fuller possession of the reality of your life." Hm...

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

MY NEXT VICTIM

Now that I've got the first draft of ESCAPE FROM FIRE MOUNTAIN set aside to simmer, I am tackling some poetry projects that have been w...

Monday, January 28, 2008

ADVICE FROM THE U.S. POET LAUREATE

Charles Simic is the poet who currently holds the post as U.S. Poet Laureate. It's a one year appointment that begins in October and ca...

NOVEL IN VERSE

Let me take a moment to give a little shout-out to Lisa Schroeder whose lovely novel in verse was just released by Simon Pulse. One of the g...

Sunday, January 27, 2008

LIONS AND TIGERS OH MY

So today we are going to the circus with a van-load of boys (our three and two extra). I haven't been to the circus in a few years, so ...

Friday, January 25, 2008

ONE WISE MAN

Okay, you don't have to be a writer to appreciate Ray Bradbury's advice on life. Sure he's a bit cocky, but maybe he has a righ...

Thursday, January 24, 2008

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

This one was taken June, 2006, on the long walk down to Point Reyes National Seashore in California. "Life shrinks and expands in propo...

7 comments:

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

NOT THE END

Good news: today I finished the first draft of ESCAPE FROM FIRE MOUNTAIN! And ahead of schedule too!! (My goal was to write 1,000 words a...

6 comments:

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

PASS IT ON

I am so thrilled Alison saw fit to give me this award! Alison has a wonderful writing voice and an important story to tell, so it means a ...

Monday, January 21, 2008

WHEN IT SNOWS IN ALABAMA

Okay, so I've got the awful cold, the trip planned to go help out Grandma who just got back home after being hospitalized for three week...

Friday, January 18, 2008

QUICK UPDATE

1. No snow yet. (For Eric's sake, I am praying!) 2. Have acquired a nasty cold (and lost my voice in the process). 3. Will head to Port...

WINTER STORM WARNING

Everyone is all a-buzz this morning about the possibility of snow... maybe 2 inches by tomorrow morning! It has been 8 years since we'v...

Thursday, January 17, 2008

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

I was born the middle of five children, and it seems the creative genes settled pretty heavily in the last three kids. We have both our par...

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

GIVEAWAY FOR HAPPY PEOPLE ONLY

Don't you just love being around people who are generally happy about themselves and their lives? Doesn't it make you feel even bet...

7 comments:

Monday, January 14, 2008

AND THE WINNER IS

The 2008 Newbery Medal winner is Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz , published by Candlewick....

YOUNG EINSTEIN

Remember how I was saying my one little word for 2008 is JOY? Well, one of the things in my life that brings me the most joy is being a mom...

Sunday, January 13, 2008

ATONEMENT

Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere, you've heard of the movie Atonement and the novel by Ian McEwan upon which it is b...

Saturday, January 12, 2008

WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE

Ever since reading Debbie's post I have been thinking about what love looks like. So many images jump to mind, but I find it's real...

Friday, January 11, 2008

HOW TO TRAIN FOR A MARATHON

I read recently Clarence Thomas' authobiography MY GRANDFATHER'S SON: A MEMOIR . It's a great book on many levels -- one of the...

Thursday, January 10, 2008

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

One of the things I love about living in Alabama is you can find red dirt roads just like this one within just a few miles of any metropolit...

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

GOALS AND WHATNOT

Do you set daily writing goals for yourself? Advice on this subject runs rampant and varies widely. I think probably it's a matter of ...

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

SUCK SQUEEZE DO

My dear friend Pam chose her one little word -- squeeze. As in squeeze every little drop of goodness out of every little experience. It...

Monday, January 7, 2008

NOT SHAKESPEARE

If you were guessing, who would you say is the THIRD bestselling poet of all time? Not Shakespeare, because he is number one. Robert Frost...

Sunday, January 6, 2008

HOW COOL IS THIS?

Here is a picture of my friend Tom on vacation. And what is he doing? Reading my book of poems WHAT CAME BEFORE ! This picture fills me w...

Saturday, January 5, 2008

HOW TO BE THAT GUY

Okay, so you've probably heard of Scott, That Guy With the Nametag . Yep, he wears it everyday, even in the shower! His book is all ab...

Friday, January 4, 2008

MEET THE CLASS OF 2K8

Who will be the next J.K. Rowling? It could be one of these 28 debut mid-grade/YA authors. Best of luck to all of them! "Anything...

Thursday, January 3, 2008

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

Meet my youngest nephew Levi in a rare unhappy moment. Even when crying he's adorable. He's also in love with trains, especially a...

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

SOMETHING TO SAY

Thanks to The Writer Mama , I have been thinking about my one little word for 2008. The word I've chosen in JOY. As in joyful, joyful...

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

I BELIEVE

Welcome, 2008! It's going to be a very good year - I can just feel it. I want to write more, love more, live more. I want to be brave...

Monday, December 31, 2007

OUT WITH THE OLD

So it's New Year's Eve, and I keep thinking about what Pa used to say in the Little House books: "All's well that ends wel...

Thursday, December 27, 2007

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

"Love actually is all around." - from the movie LOVE ACTUALLY (pic taken June 2007 on a trail in the Smokies)

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

HOW TO PLEASE AN AUTHOR

It really doesn't take much: "There are three infallible ways of pleasing an author... 1, to tell him you have read one of his book...

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

WE ARE CUPS

Merry Christmas! May your cup runneth over with beautiful words. "We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, know...

Monday, December 24, 2007

DEAR SANTA

Finally it is Christmas Eve. The little people at my house are bright-eyed this morning, already counting down the hours AND keeping track ...

Saturday, December 22, 2007

I WONDER

There is so much to discover in this world, so much to marvel. How miraculous is a spiderweb or shooting star? Writing, for me, is about a...

Friday, December 21, 2007

It's A Wonderful Life

"What do you want, Mary?" This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies. I want the moon and the moonbeams an...

Thursday, December 20, 2007

WORD LOVERS UNITE!

My new blog is for word lovers just like you. Come visit!

THOUSAND WORD THURSDAY

It has been said that "a picture is worth a thousand words." It's true! So I will devote Thursdays to sharing a picture. Thi...

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

'TIS THE SEASON

It really is a wonderful time of the year, filled with love and giving and holiday cheer. But it's also a stressful, frustrating time r...

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

TAKING OUT THE TRASH

Ever since I sold THE WITCHES OF GEE'S BEND, people have been asking, "How long did it take to write?" Well, I'll tell you...

Monday, December 17, 2007

NO TURNING BACK

Life, it seems, it full of roadblocks. The same is true of writing. One day I can be cruising along, going above and beyond my word count,...

Sunday, December 16, 2007

A WINTRY SUNDAY

After a few flip-flop days in a row, today it finally looks and feels like winter. It is a day to read and write and be quiet with yourself...

Friday, December 14, 2007

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF MOTHERS

My sister's kids are now ages 7, almost 5, and 15 months. When we spoke yesterday she was waiting with the two younger ones in the scho...

Thursday, December 13, 2007

I THINK I CAN I THINK I CAN

I have often said to groups that being a writer is a lot like being The Little Engine That Could : you spend most of your time trying to ge...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

TEN ANGELS SWEARING

My parents have been popping up quite a lot in my writing lately. Maybe it is a stage-of-life thing. Here is a quote my father knows by he...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

IN TIMES OF SORROW

A poet-friend of mine is going through a really tough time right now. There is nothing I can say to help or to change things or to make eve...

FIRST THINGS FIRST

This blog is a Christmas gift to a much loved fellow word lover. You know who you are. So I'll start with my most favorite quote on wr...

Monday, February 20, 2006

100 WORDS

Today marks the hundredth and final post for Daytips for Writers. Thanks to all of you who have visited here -- it has been my pleasure shar...

Sunday, February 19, 2006

TIMING AND HARD WORK

According to a BE&K advertisement in the Alabama Symphony Orchestra's magazine Opus , the two things that make any worthwhile endeav...

Saturday, February 18, 2006

BUILDING A POEM

Check out SouthLit.com , particularly the article entitled "Building a Poem." Remember that every writer's process is differ...

Friday, February 17, 2006

FORCES OF NATURE

It's an inclement weather day here in Shelby County, which means the kids are out of school (but wouldn't have been had winter not b...

Thursday, February 16, 2006

QUOTE FROM MAYA ANGELOU

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." -- Maya Ange...

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

SECRET LIVES OF POETS

No one sees the world the same way you do. While it's not always easy to share personal emotions and observations, that's exactly w...

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

ALL YOU NEED

Writing is, more than anything else, about conveying your passions to the world. Today, give yourself a Valentine and consider my most favo...

Monday, February 13, 2006

BREVITY IS BEAUTIFUL

Today, check out my friend (and publisher) Dale Wisely's online literary mag Right Hand Pointing . And if you've got any short piec...

Sunday, February 12, 2006

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

Raymond Inman said "If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking." Today, brave the elements and find inspiration outdoors.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

THE PROBLEM WITH POETRY

In his poem "Introduction to Poetry," Billy Collins writes "I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem waving at th...

Friday, February 10, 2006

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW?

"The world of reality has limits; the world of imagination is boundless." -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau Today, consider how this quote ...

Thursday, February 9, 2006

WRITING FROM YOUR WHITE-HOT CENTER

Thanks to Wordswimmer , I found out about a book on writing by one of my favorite authors, Robert Olen Butler: From Where You Dream . I am...

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

THIRTEEN WAYS

Wallace Stevens' poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" provides a great framework for other writers to work with. In...

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

WEIRD

I've been tagged by Julia to 'fess up and say five things that are weird about me. It's just a fun little game, so why am I fe...

9 comments:

Monday, February 6, 2006

BIG FISH

Is there a great storyteller in your life? For Gabriel Garcia Marquez it was his grandfather and grandmother who would recount "the wi...

Sunday, February 5, 2006

DEFINITION OF A POEM

Robert Frost said, "Poetry is a fresh look and a fresh listen." Samuel Coleridge said, "Poetry is the best words in the best ...

Friday, February 3, 2006

WORDSWIMMER

Just discovered a wonderful blog on the craft of writing: Wordswimmer . It's a great watering hole for thirsty writers. Check it out!

YEAR OF THE DOG

It's a new Chinese year... today, check the Chinese zodiac and determine which animal hides within you. Then write something about that ...

Thursday, February 2, 2006

THE REAL THING

Today, consider what Czelaw Milosz said when he won the Nobel prize for literature: “In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspirac...

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

FREE LUNCH

One of my favorite literary journals is Free Lunch , edited by Ron Offen. It's a journal that welcomes unpublished poets and publishes t...

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

LO-LEE-TA

I was just thinking about some of my favorite opening lines in novels, and one of the first that comes to mind is Vladimir Nobokov's Lol...

Monday, January 30, 2006

IN MEDIA RES

It means "in the middle of things." If you're looking for a way to engage your reader quickly, it helps to start in the middle...

Sunday, January 29, 2006

KICK IT UP A NOTCH

Readers want to see not just contemplation, but action. This is true even in poems. Readers want to know what did the speaker/narrartor do...

Friday, January 27, 2006

GONE FISHIN'

Be back Sunday!

DEAR MARTIN

They say letter-writing is a lost art. Yet Sue Walker, Poet Laureate of Alabama, has written an entire book-section of poems in the form of ...

Thursday, January 26, 2006

MY POINT OF VIEW

Sometimes you can save a piece of writing just by changing point of view. When you want to build a climax and compress time, use an omniscie...

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

FALSE START

One of my favorite poets, Jerri Beck, has given me permission to share two lines she has never been able to find the poem for: Come and list...

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

NO EXCUSES

I just received my SCBWI Bulletin yesterday, and at the top of the page that lists all the members' recent writing accomplishments, ther...

Monday, January 23, 2006

DEFINITION OF A WRITER

This one's for Anna: If you write, you are a writer. It's that simple.

FRONT PORCH

Editors complain that sometimes we writers don't know when to start a story -- we give too much background information. Editors call th...

Sunday, January 22, 2006

FINE LINE

Good stories involve making choices. Sometimes these are clear right/wrong issues, but real life is often more complicated. Rumi wrote ...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

PERSISTENCE THAT PAYS

When I was in high school, I co-wrote an article with the above title for our school newspaper. The article was about all the kids in our gr...

Friday, January 20, 2006

WHO EVER HEARD OF AN ELEPHANT-BIRD?

Like many kids, I was brought up on Dr. Seuss. Horton Hatches the Egg has always been my favorite story. But Dr. Seuss isn't just for k...

Thursday, January 19, 2006

HOLY TRINITY

I read somewhere that the holy trinity for writers is Write, Network, and Promote. Most of us do okay with the Write part but have more diff...

9 comments:

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR

Today, write something that involves an elevator. This could mean anything: ups and downs, feeling stuck, trying to get somewhere, or it cou...

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

SELF-DOUBT

As I have been struggling through a ms revision, I have been reminded of how many of us have this idea that when we become successful writer...

Monday, January 16, 2006

STORY VS. PLOT

Ever heard the difference between story and plot? I heard it explained like this: In a story, you get "The king died. Then the queen...

Sunday, January 15, 2006

LISTEN TO THE KING

A master storyteller, Stephen King has also written a great non-genre-specific book for writers entitled On Writing . One of my favorite qu...

7 comments:

Saturday, January 14, 2006

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES 'TIL GOLDEN BROWN

If only it were as simple as reading a recipe to know when our stories or poems are done! Sometimes we undercook, sometimes we revise so agg...

Friday, January 13, 2006

GETTIN' LUCKY

Friday the 13th seems the appropriate day to address the lottery-like nature of getting published. Published authors will tell you that get...

Thursday, January 12, 2006

ROAD NOT TRAVELED

Think back to a time in your life when you were at a crossroads. (Or think of the last scene in the movie Cast Away when Tom Hanks is looki...

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

COPY CAT

Ever worry that your "style" is merely an imitation of your current favorite writer? Well, don't despair. Reading work that yo...

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

A friend of mine confessed recently that when she is out of town, she sends herself postcards with inspiring photographs on one side and on ...

Monday, January 9, 2006

A FEW WORDS ABOUT CRITIQUE GROUPS

As writers we all need feedback. And not just from our spouses, children, or best friends, who of course love our work simply because they l...

Sunday, January 8, 2006

LIKE KILLING BABIES

That's the way I heard it, but the actual quote from English critic Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch in a 1914 essay On the Art of Writing is ...

Saturday, January 7, 2006

ON ENDINGS

Don't you hate it when you read a book that seems all along to have been one long set-up for the sequel? Or worse, an ending that comes ...

Friday, January 6, 2006

REVISITING THE COW

Remember what Mama told you about men and their "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free"? The same wisdom applies for...

Thursday, January 5, 2006

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO IMAGINATION?

There seems to be a lot of material out there that is a mere re-telling of actual events. There's nothing wrong with that, except, who ...

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

TEACHER MAN

Frank McCourt is one of my favorite storytellers, and he has just written a new book entitled Teacher Man. I haven't read the book yet,...

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

A PRIEST AND A RABBI WALK INTO A BAR

We all love to laugh. And many of us write (or try to write) things that make people laugh. Today, think about your favorite jokes. Figur...

Monday, January 2, 2006

SURVIVING FAILURE

Who would I choose to be stuck on a deserted island with? A writer who has learned how to survive failure. Continuous rejection tends to w...

Sunday, January 1, 2006

RESOLUTIONS

Write more. Write better. Be honest. Take risks. Happy New Year to all my writer-friends!

Saturday, December 31, 2005

GOOD POEMS

If I had to choose one poetry anthology to recommend to both poets and non-poets alike, it would be Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor. ...

Friday, December 30, 2005

SHE'LL BE COMIN ROUND THE MOUNTAIN

One of the things I love about being a writer is the excuse it gives me to travel. I mean, writers need material, right? Writers need to res...

Thursday, December 29, 2005

JUDGE ME NOT

I recently had the opportunity to judge a poetry contest for an organization that wanted to make the contest more objective, so they attache...

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

EVOLUTION VS. INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Have you ever had the experience of sitting down to write one thing but then wound up writing something entirely different than you had expe...

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

THE ART OF NAMING THINGS

I've been reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Early on in the book, the entire village falls victim to a...

Monday, December 26, 2005

THE DAY AFTER

The day after a big event, whether it be Christmas, a death, a diagnosis, a birth, the day after you left or he left, the day after you got ...

Sunday, December 25, 2005

YES, VIRGINIA

My favorite part of the New York Sun 's response to Virginia O'Hanlon's question about Santa Claus is this: "Nobody can con...

Saturday, December 24, 2005

A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

Don't feel bad if during this busy season you are not getting words down on paper. The writer's brain is always writing. When you do...

Friday, December 23, 2005

DON'T FORGET TO SKINNY-DIP

Most writers start out writing about their own lives -- straightforward, narrative, autobiographical, "confessional" writing. Thi...

Thursday, December 22, 2005

USE YOUR WORDS

It all comes down to word choice, and as writers we have often been admonished to "Show, Don't Tell." Did you know that in th...

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

PARTY TRICK

If family and friends know you're a writer, chances are that at some point this holiday season someone is going to ask you to share some...

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

BOOK REVIEW

People often ask me what I'm reading. This week I'm finishing up the lovely, sensual Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson and ...

Monday, December 19, 2005

WISE WORDS

"Never start a large writing project on a Monday in December." So says Anne Lamott. 'Tis the season for a thousand things to d...

Sunday, December 18, 2005

FOR ALL THE SHRINKING VIOLETS

There are those writers among us who enjoy an audience, then there are those (like me) whose palms sweat, heart pounds, voice quivers whenev...

Saturday, December 17, 2005

CHARACTER COUNTS

One of my favorite writing organizations is Southern Breeze, my region's branch of SCBWI (Society for Children's Book Writers and Il...

Friday, December 16, 2005

BREAK FREE WITH FORM

Every so often I like to flex my poetry muscles and challenge myself by writing a form poem. (See today's post at Mom and Apple Pie.) I...

Thursday, December 15, 2005

FOR THE LOVE OF LANGUAGE

Perhaps the one thing all writers have in common regardless of genre is a passion for words. Which is why, I suppose, most writers are als...

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

BABY STEPS

My husband is fond of the saying, "99% of success is showing up." And it's true, we as writers have got to show up for our app...

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY

'Tis the season for overeating. So today, think about food and what it means to you -- What is your favorite holiday food? Your least ...

Monday, December 12, 2005

HOW TO BECOME A PAID WRITER

Let's face it: for most of us writing is never going to pay the bills. But there is a way to earn a little money while you wait for yo...

Sunday, December 11, 2005

SAY WHAT?

Okay, I admit it: I am a little afraid of writing dialogue. And not coincidentally, one of the criticisms my fiction manuscripts have receiv...

Saturday, December 10, 2005

HAIKU LESSON

Snow whispering down All day long, earth has vanished Leaving only sky. - Joso I read in the paper about all the snow in the more northern p...

Friday, December 9, 2005

THE DIRT ON WRITING

A very good friend of mine has this plaque hanging on the wall of her laundry room: "A clean house is the sign of a dull woman." ...

Thursday, December 8, 2005

VARIATION ON A THEME

So I am just back from Disney World where I made an attempt at the end of each day to salvage my adult brain cells by reading Anne Lamott...

Saturday, December 3, 2005

WHY I WRITE

Before I pack up the van with kids and husband and other theme park paraphenalia, I wanted to share some of the wisdom of George Orwell. Orw...

Friday, December 2, 2005

THIS IS NOT A TEST

Today write something that attempts to answer an unanswerable question on a subject that matters to you. Think of Elizabeth Barrett Brownin...

Thursday, December 1, 2005

LEARNING WHAT TO LEAVE OUT

The same way silence is perhaps the musician's greatest tool, the white space on the page is the writer's. It's why we revise a...

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

ABRACADABRA, ALAKAZAM

Here is a little trick that has helped me when writing longer prose pieces - wish I could remember where I picked it up! You'll like it...

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

THE LATE GREAT KATE

She wasn't talking about writing exactly, but when a girl she knew was considering quitting college, Katharine Hepburn in her growly voi...

Monday, November 28, 2005

ALL IN THE FAMILY

I wish I could remember where I first heard this one so I could give credit, especially as it has become one of my favorite writing challeng...

Sunday, November 27, 2005

THE ACCESSIBILITY FACTOR

Ted Kooser, current US Poet Laureate, has written a helpful book entitled The Poetry Home Repair Manual . Even the title puts me at ease, a...

Saturday, November 26, 2005

IF YOU LOVE THEM, SET THEM FREE

This one is for all you closet-writers out there: Writing just for yourself is wonderful and certainly the heart of it all, but do consider ...

Friday, November 25, 2005

QUANTITY BREEDS QUALITY

First, consider this poem: A Writer and an Octopus A writer and an octopus Share more than you may think Their reach sometimes exceeds their...

Thursday, November 24, 2005

WHAT MATTERS

In her very wise book Writing Alone and With Others, Pat Schneider claims this as one of her favorite writing exercises. Ask yourself the fo...

Monday, November 21, 2005

ONCE UPON A TIME

I read in a newspaper article that writing skills in children improved when they were told lots of stories. Not read to , but told stories,...

Sunday, November 20, 2005

THE END OF THE LINE

One of the most effective tools a poet has is the choice of word at the end of the line. This is the word that reverberates, this is the wo...

Saturday, November 19, 2005

LIKE FEEDING THE DOG

Too often writers allow the act of writing to fall off of the "Necessary" list that includes such things as Eat, Work, Sleep, Pay ...

Friday, November 18, 2005

LET'S GET FIRED UP!

Tonight the local high schools who have qualified will play in the quarter-finals of the state playoffs. What will the coaches say to the p...

Thursday, November 17, 2005

WORK. RELAXATION. DON'T THINK.

So says Ray Bradbury in his book Zen in the Art of Writing . And it's true: writing is a matter of doing, and the thing that clogs the...

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

SMELLS LIKE.....

Studies indicate that the sense most attached to memory recall is the sense of smell. Today, mine your mind for memories associated with sm...

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

WRITING AND DRIVING

Nothing opens my mind so much as the open road. But what's to be done when a great line or character or story premise comes to you when...

Monday, November 14, 2005

TITLE ME THIS

I confess: I love long titles. My current favorite is by the wonderful poet Bonnie Roberts -- "El Rancho Motel Cost us $28 a Night, t...

Sunday, November 13, 2005

CALLING ALL COOKS

Try this for a little variation on a list poem (works for poetry or prose): write a recipe for something today -- Recipe for a Happy Marria...

Saturday, November 12, 2005

LET WORDS GIVE BIRTH TO WORDS

All the experts say it: aside from reading, the best thing you can do to capture the Muse is invest in a nice journal. And use it! The th...

Friday, November 11, 2005

LIFE OF A TOASTER

What must life look like to a toaster, the dishwasher, an iron? Choose an inanimate object you use on a daily basis and see if you can crea...

Thursday, November 10, 2005

TAKE A LOOK AROUND

Poems and stories are everywhere, just waiting to be written. Today, pick up a newspaper or magazine and write about something you see ther...

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

X-Y-V (eXamine Your Verbs)

This is a tip I picked up at the Alabama Writers' Conclave this past July, at a workshop conducted by Sue Walker, current Poet Laureate ...

GETTING STARTED