NEW WORD

APIARY  n.

A place where bees are kept; a collective of beehives

WORDS OF WISDOM

The act of writing requires a constant plunging back into the shadow of the past where time hovers ghostlike.

~ Ralph Ellison, Author (1914-1994)

HOW MUCH?

I am going over some works that need some editing. The thought came to me 'how much is too much ?' Overdoing editing can ruin a good story.

I have two stories and a poem that need work. One story needs a few more sentences. The other needs more. The poem, however, needs another line and maybe different words. I have written stories which needed to be shorter. Had too much jabbering. 

Leaving a good story alone is something I have learned over the years. When I feel satisfied with the piece, there's no more to be done. Editing is challenging but, then again, I like to be challenged.

MOTHER'S DAY GREETINGS

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing is not a matter of choice. Writers have to write. It is somehow in their temperament, in the blood, in tradition.

~N. Scott Momaday 

A PLACE TO GO

 

FAME vs OBSCURITY

I believe both fame and obscurity can be double edged swords. With the former the author can be acknowledged by admirers, publisher, and society. The drawback is the expectations people have about the author's work. He/she is expected to churn out a best seller all the time. That task can be daunting and unreasonable.

There are many fine authors who works, for different reasons, do not get the notoriety that they could and should. Conventions of the times, the writing style of the author, gender, and lack of resources are some things that may play a role in an author's lack of fame. Some chose to write in obscurity so not to get caught up in the glitz and glamor of a literary star.

I am working on a chapbook of poetry that I want to have published. If notoriety comes, fine. If not, I'm fine with that also. To me if one person is affected by my work, I'm pleased. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Of all those arts in which the wise excel, Nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.

~Andre Breton, Poet (1896-1966)

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN MAY

Dante Alighieri

Mary Biddinger

Sterling A. Brown

G. K. Chesterton 

Robert Creeley

Countee Cullen

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Joy Harjo

Joseph Heller

Randall Jarrell

Adrienne Rich

Theodore Roethke

Charles Simic

Gary Snyder

Walt Whitman

WRITER'S JOURNEY

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

OBSCURE POET-WILFRED OWEN

 

WILFRED OWEN

Born March 18, 1893

One of the leading poets of the First World War

Influences- the bible, the Romantic poets, particularly William Wordsworth and John Yeats.

Verse was about the horrors of trench and gas warfare.

Killed in action  November 4, 1918 at age 25.

Regarded my many as the greatest poet of WWI. 

Anthem for Doomed Youth

BY WILFRED OWEN

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

      — Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

      Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; 

      Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

      And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

      Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.

      The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

EARTH DAY

 

TO MY JEWISH FRIENDS

 

PATHS UNTRAVELED

 

PROMPT

 

WORDS WITH 'USH'

Blush

Brush

Bush

Crush

Cush

Flush

Gush

Hush

Lush

Mush

Plush

Push

Rush

Slush

Smush

Tush

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing only leads to more writing. 

~Sidonie Gabrielle Collette, Novelist (1873-1954)

KEEP WRITING

 

VEHICLE FOR CHANGE

Writing allows me a vehicle to express myself. I can create characters to my own liking. Our experiences shape our writing. 

It can guide us in directions that we may need to go. I imagine myself doing some things my characters do. I have on a few occasions been able to do things one of my characters have done. It has pushed me to tackle new challenges, something that I need once in a while. 

WORDS WITH 'ORN'

Acorn

Adorn

Born

Corn

Forlorn

Morn

Porn

Torn

WORDS OF WISDOM

Learn as much by reading as by writing.

~John Dalberg-Acton, Historian (1834-1902)

WHITE HORSE TAVERN

 

This tavern first opened in 1880. It was a place where longshoreman came to to eat and drink. In the 1950s and 1960s it was a hangout for writers and artists. 

Some notable patrons were poet Dylan Thomas, James Baldwin, Norman Mailer, Delmore Schwartz, and beat writer Jack Kerouac.

Famous musicians who came here were Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, and Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul, and Mary folk trio). Other patrons were activist Jane Jacobs

White Horse is the second oldest bar in New York City. 

NEW WORD

NUBILLOUS  adj.

Cloudy, Misty

(Figurative) unclear

WORDS OF WISDOM

The most real dialogue is when I am alone, writing.

~Peter Handke, Novelist (b.1942)

IDEAS ARE FLOWING

I have been writing poetry, story outlines, commentaries, and prose. Just today, I began writing a play. All of this has been spontaneous. 

My best time with story ideas is when I wake up. The mind is clear from the cares of the previous day. Thus far, I have been busy putting these ideas into tangible writings.

NEW WORD

OENOPHILE  n.

A connoisseur of wines

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN APRIL

Hans Christian Andersen

Maya Angelou

Samuel Beckett

Charlotte Bronte

Tom Clancy

Annie Dillard

Louise Gluck-poet

Sue Grafton

Seamus Heaney-poet

Washington Irving

Henry James

Charles Johnson

Yusef Komunyakaa-poet

Harper Lee

Terry Pratchett

William Shakespeare

Booker T. Washington

William Wordsworth

HAPPY EASTER

 

WORDS WITH 'IRE'

Dire

Ears

Fire

Hire

Mire

Sire

Tire

Wire

WRITING CHANGES US; OUR WRITING CHANGES

Writing changes us. likewise it changes others. It's like life; it changes and our writing may reflect that. My writing has changed. I'm sharing more about things that I never would have five years ago. 

I' have been creating characters who are unlike myself. I may have some of their characteristics however I'm not them. I see that I'm capable of being a hero, a villain, a king or queen, or vagabond.  I've never written a historical novel or story but I imagine myself living during that time.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Writing is like traveling. It's wonderful to go somewhere, but you get tired of staying.

~Langston Hughes, Poet (1902-1967)

SPRIÑG'S HERE!

 

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Art can't be taught; passion can't be taught; disciple can't be taught; but craft can be taught. And writing is both an art and a craft.

~Elizabeth George, Author (b.1949)

WORDS WITH 'UCK'

Buck

Chuck 

cluck

duck

huck

luck

muck

pluck

puck

suck

truck

tuck

NEW WORD

KVELL,  v.

Feeling happy and proud

WORDS OF WISDOM

If you are a serious writer or just a normal one, in one way or another, you are writing in the service of freedom. All writers know, understand, or dream that their work will be in the service of freedom.

~Ismail Kadare, Novelist (b.1936)

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN

When I read a story or poem, I understand that the author was the one chosen to write it. When I read the stories by Edgar Allan Poe, only he could have written them. 

Each writer has his/her unique perspective. Life experiences, influences, and desires shape the author's ability to communicate what they wish to convey. 

MORE MARCH BABIES

Douglas Adams

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel)

John Irving

Erica Jong

Jack Kerouac

Louis L'Amour

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Flannery O'Connor

Octavio Paz

Philip Roth

Mickey Spillane

Tennessee Williams

Tom Wolfe

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN MARCH

Gregory Corso

Ralph Ellison

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Robert Frost

Michael S. Harper

A. E. Housman

Robert Lowell

Andrew Marvel

James Merrill

Wilfred Owen

John Palen

Charles P. Ries

John Updike

Cesar Vallejo

Edmund Waller

POEM

MARCH

by Genevieve

Trees awaken from winter's slumber

Silver gray clouds streak across the blue landscape

Warm southern winds loosen the grip of winter's chill

March is winter's last hurrah

Tulips enchanted by the sun's embrace

Escape their dark prison

March blast one last might roar

Then falls silent in spring's serenade

SPRING IS COMING!

 

NEW WORD

FLIVVER   n.

A cheap car or aircraft, especially one in bad condition  

FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN ON FEBRUARY 29TH.

Dinah Shore

Ja Rule

Tony Robbins

Antonio Sabato Jr.

Dennis Farina

Henri Richard

Jimmy Dorsey

Pope Paul III

Jessie Usher

Gioachino Rossini

Tempest Storm 

Cullen Jones

Alex Rocco

James Mitchell

Ken Force

Saul Williams

Al Rosen

Peter Scanavino

Joss Ackland

CURRENT READS

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

WORDS WITH 'OUSE'

Douse

House

Louse

Mouse

Rouse

Spouse

Youse

GOING OUTSIDE MY BOX

I derive much from putting myself as a character who is the antithesis of who I am. In an odd way it has opened doors 🚪  that I once never considered. I cast myself as an outsider, someone who is reviled by others. 

It's strange but when I walked through that door it revealed some idiosyncrasies I possess. I like viewing old pictures of New York City. I imagine being a Louis Armstrong or a Jack Kerouac. I have imagine riding some of the old elevated trains that once were part of the city landscape. I imagined being a hustler, street person, a rebel, a warrior, and an angel.

I believe it's vital read, read and read some more. Study the character. Put yourself in their skin. I don't believe I should limit myself to one kind of character. Going outside my box expands my character development.

NEW WORD

BEDIGHT adv.

Adorned

WORDS OF WISDOM

I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I've learned to trust my own instincts and I've also learned to take risks.

~Sue Grafton, Novelist (1940-2017)

WORDS WITH 'INK'

Blink

Chink     

Clink

Dink

Fink

Gink

Kink

Link

Mink

Pink

Rink

Shrink

Sink

Slink

Think

Tink

Wink

Stink

TRUTH

 

ANIMUS TOWARD POETRY

While genres like sci-fi, mystery, and romance are celebrated, there seems to be an animus toward poetry. It is certainly much a part of the American landscape. Poets such as Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickinson brought the genre to the American conscience. 

One mistaken notion is that poetry has to rhyme. I had that notion until I began writing and reading poetry. The majority of poems do not rhyme. I.ve written only a handful of rhymical poetry. In my case, it just flowed naturally when I put my pen to paper.

I don't believe there's one particular of writing poetry. It is deeply personal as the author shares a part of him/herself to the readers. This has not always been easy for me personally. As I age I found myself sharing feelings I never have previously. It's liberating and revealing.   

OBSCURE AUTHOR- LOUISE BOGAN

 

Louise Bogan (1897-1970)

Lyric poet, critic

Preoccupied with betrayal and mistrust of others in her works

First woman to elected as U.S. Poet Laureate (1945)

NEW WORD

MALIC adj.

1. Pertaining to apples.

2. Of or pertaining to malic acid or its derivatives.

WORDS WITH 'ET'

Bet

Fret

Get

Jet

Let

Met

Net

Pet

Set

Vet

Wet

Yet

WORDS OF WISDOM

 There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

~Ernest Hemingway, Novelist (1899-1961)

I wonder what Hemingway's state of mind was when he said this. In his last years, he felt that he was losing it as a writer.

I believe the fear of being irrelevant crosses a writer's mind. It has certainly crossed mine. I began writing poetry when my story-commentary writing became stagnant. Now I've written over three hundred poems.

I view Hemingway's comment 'sitting at the typewriter and bleed' as the author pouring his/ her heart out. Songwriting is an example of this. I want the reader to feel what the protagonist feels. 

VALENTINE WISH

 

NEW WORD

VIATOR 

A traveler or wayfarer

WORDS WITH 'UG'

I just thought of this this morning and I said why not.

Bug.                  Mug.               Tug

Chug.                Plug

Dug.                  Pug

Hug.                  Rug

Jug.                   Shrug

Lug.                   Slug

NEW WORD

RATAPLAN n.

A drumming or beating sound.

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

You don't write a book. You write a sentence and then a paragraph and then and then a page and then a chapter. Looking at writing 400 plus pages or seventy thousand odd words is incredibly daunting, but if you just focus on the immediate picture-say, 500 words-it's not so overwhelming.

~Rebecca Serle

WRITING IS GRATIFYING

Writing is the most challenging profession yet it is the most gratifying when success comes. To me, it's not that I seek fame. If a piece of writing touches one person, I consider it a success. 

Ernest Hemingway quoted: 'There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed.'  There are times when I spill out my guts. There are other times I cannot think of a word to write. It can drive me nuts but I wouldn't have it any other way.

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN FEBRUARY

A. W. Auden

Elizabeth Bishop

James Dickey

Langston Hughes

James Joyce 

Galway Kinnell

Audre Lorde

Christopher Marlowe

Boris Pasternak

Amy Tan

NEW WORD

 DENOUEMENT. n.

The resolution of a pilot's many threads.

WORDS OF WISDOM

 

MORNING IS FILLED WITH IDEAS

Though I am a night owl, many of my story ideas 💡 come when I wake up in the morning. The ideas are in my head though I may not be all there. I grab a pen and pad and write them down. 

This is so important to me. Just recently I have an idea for a poem but I neglected to write ✍ it. Couldn't remember it. Another idea lost. Ever again!

WORDS OF WISDOM

Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind.

~Natalie Goldberg

NEW WORD

OPSIMATH  noun

A person who begins to learn or study only late in life.

ROADS LESS TRAVELED

 A writer has to be willing to go places he//she has never been. When I first wrote poetry, it was a place where I had limited experience. Since then I have written over three hundred poems.

I also enjoy writing horror stories. Edgar Allan Poe was an inspiration, having read his stories. In some of them, I felt myself as one of the protagonists. I have written a few horror stories. Psychological horror is my favorite form.

NEW WORD

ARCHETYPE   noun

1. A very typical example of a certain person or thing.

2. (In Jungian psychology) A primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors, and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious.

SILENCE CAN BE GOLDEN

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well.

~Mark Haddon

SEVEN WRITERS AND ARTISTS WHO DEFIED THE STATUS QUO

Charles Bukowski

George Carlin

Joan Didion

Anais Nin

Sylvia Plath

Richard Pryor

Hunter S. Thompson

I'm sure there are many others.

EXPERIENCE

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

It's good to know how to read, but it 's dangerous to know how to read and not how to interpret what you're reading.

~Mike Tyson

THORNS AND DREAMS

 

HORROR STORIES

 

This the third time I'm reading reading these stories. All forms of writing requires imagination, horror more so, in my view. There is fear, guilt, doubt, mystery, and the element of surprise. 

LEARNING NEW WORDS

I am learning new words as I read. This is one of my writing goals. Besides learning them, I will be using some in my writings. Many of these words  have never seen before. The English language is vast. 

LOST AND FOUND

 

CAN'T LOCK UP THE MIND

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you may gain easily what others have labored hard for.

~Socrates, Philosopher (469 BC-399 BC)

WRITERS/POETS BORN IN JANUARY

Isaac Asimov

Simone de Beauvoir

Anne Bronte

Edmund Burkee

Robert Burns

Anton Chekhov

Mahasweta Devi

Mihal Eminescu

Jack London

A. A. Milne

Haruki Murakami

Edgar Allan Poe

Julia Quinn

J. D. Salinger

J. R. R. Tolkien

Virginia Woolf

WRITING GOALS

I set goals rather than make resolutions. I put them down on paper, them select a time period to complete it. If the goal is unrealistic, I will change it or pick out a new one. 

Two of my writing goals are to publish a chapbook of poetry and learn new words. I will also use some of those words when I write. The latter goal is a continuation of what I have been doing.

NEW YEAR WISH