The wind chimes
on my back deck
honour the day
intoning like sonorous church bells
calling for celebratory worship.
poem- one word April 19, 2014
My mentor says
there’s only one way to write:
one word at a time.
She’s right.
There’s only one way to finish
a project though,
and that’s to keep putting
one word at a time onto the page
until the page is full
and to keep doing that
day after day.
If you want to finish a
100,000 word novel
You can do it
in a year writing
just 274 words day,
that’s not even 2000 words a week.
It’s about daily diligence.
You eat a banquet
one bite at a time.
Develop a habit,
commit a little each day.
30 minutes will do it
so long as you keep doing it,
writing one word
at a time.
.
.
.
(113 words)
(Or you can join NaNoWriMo next November 1st, write 1668 words every day, and have the 100,000 words done by the new year. That’s a whole lot more stress, though!) 🙂
PS.
Writers Digest is on my wavelength today. Here’s an article on Writing Routines. #1 is ‘Write 500 words a day.’ How’s that for a coincidence? http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/7-writing-routines-that-work
poem- dreaming in the tub April 18, 2014
In drenched sleep
dreaming
computer rests across my knees
I’m writing
with neck crooked awkwardly
of you
and what happens next
in my favourite novel
and pondering the universe
until wisdom unfolds.
I type it all down,
in my dream
take dictation
from the subconscious
but when I awaken
there are neither words
nor keyboard
and all wisdom has evaporated
in the steam,
or drizzled down the drain.
poem- Misty’s shoes April 17, 2014
I’m wearing Misty’s shoes;
her ghost clings to them
billowing behind the clicking heels
in the hallway.
Misty set these shoes
on the foot rest of her
wheelchair, but I’m dancing
to her memory down corridors,
blowing kisses to the sky
through windows
wide with wishes.
.
.
.
A few years ago on eBay I bought a pair of black and white Fluevog Harlows: T-straps on towering spool heels . Misty’s sister told me about how they were selling her shoes after her untimely death from cystic-fibrosis. I was so impressed with what she told me about her feisty sister over a brief correspondance, that I created a shoe-oholic character called Misty in the Grace books 3 & 4. The manuscript is sitting on a shelf, waiting for polishing. Someday you’ll get to meet her fictional namesake. In the meantime, you can admire her excellent taste in shoes:
poem- talking April 16, 2014
Number one
occupational
health hazard for
flight attendants
is falling
during turbulance,
for hair stylists:
hair slivers,
for teachers
it’s vocal damage.
Today,
my throat concurs
and longs for Ricola
and honeyed tea.
Today,
teaching hurts.
poem- quilted drive April 15, 2014
I drive a lime aphid
along a grey ribbon,
through rippling hills
and valleys of
green velvet
along teal satin waters
beneath a blue silk sky
dusted with tufts of batting fluff.
.
.
(The aphid is actually a Beetle, but the colour is right). 😉
poem- story girl April 14, 2014
The narration of your life
reads like a psychological thriller:
danger around every corner,
tension ramped to pain,
each character a potential villain
set to betray you,
and you’ve been betrayed, I know.
You’ve built your fortress
high and wide
and peek over cautiously
in your dark camouflage,
searching for the enemy
ready to defend
the small safety zone
you’ve carved for yourself.
You will survive,
because the protagonist
must overcome.
On the power of your words,
your resilience will rise
above the tormented tragedy
of your history
and you will embrace the destiny
that awaits your discovery.
I believe in your joyfully
mundane denouement.
poem- day off April 13, 2014
Reclining, sipping tea,
computer on the knees
Lounging in my jammies,
needing nothing more than
catching up on reading
and my writing chores,
whiling the day away
seems really swell
until someone rings
the damn door bell.
poem- beginning April 12, 2014
When we’re beginning
we celebrate the possibility
embrace the new
dream of what’s ahead.
Now we’re beginning
new challenges enfold
new priorities take precedence
new adventures await.
We’re beginning a new journey
into the unknown
with new travelling companions
and a goal on the horizon.
We’re beginning
alone and together
good shoes for the soles,
ready for whatever comes,
one step at a time,
onward.
Shawn L. Bird 