Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

poem- wall whispers February 2, 2014

Listen

to whispers,

stories in the wall.

Poems found,

Titles titillate,

tease, and

tantalize.

Writing on the wall

whispers

through the room.

.

.

.

Last weekend I started wallpapering my dining room with pages from a book.  I was given a copy of Diana Gabaldon’s Drums of Autumn last fall.  I already have a copy, and the gift had a broken binding, so I pondered ways to use it for practical purpose.  Today I’m putting the finishing touches on.  Most of the wall layout is fairly straight-forward, but I had 9 extra inches that I centred, and there I’ve been playing.  I’ve included copies of autographs we have in other Diana Gabaldon books (copied onto a blank page of the book to match perfectly).  I’ve cut graphic  bits from Part divisions and used them decoratively.  I’ve taken chapter titles and made them into little poems.  I’m really liking my very unique wall!  

 This is a close up on a ‘poem section’ made with section and chapter titles:

Je t’aime

beaucoup

passionnément

pas de tout.

Blame

Forgiveness

The toss of a coin.

wall-jtaimepoemdry

Here are the dedications (John’s is actually in the copy of The Scottish Prisoner and says “For John- No one looks better than a man in a kilt!”  Mine is in The Exile and says, “To Shawn, Wonderful to meet you in person!”):

wall-dedications

Here’s a step back at the wall.  The diamond medallions spaced across the top were from dividing pages:

wall-fullfinished

 

quote- Diana Gabaldon’s advice to aspiring writers January 22, 2014

DianaBallerinaquote

.

On Twitter yesterday, a young fan asked Diana if she had any advice for aspiring writers who felt completely inadequate.  This was Diana’s response.  I plan to frame it and post it all over my class room.  You don’t get better at ANYTHING unless you practise.   Dedication will pay off in the long run, as long as you work at it, and endeavour to keep improving.  Diana was brilliantly concise.  (Being a ballerina drop out, I can vouch for the accuracy, too!  I never got on my toes.) 😉

 

poem-writing is like baking a birthday cake January 18, 2014

Filed under: Poetry,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:43 am
Tags: , , , , , ,

Writing a novel is like baking a birthday cake.

First, you figure out what kind it is

chocolate, vanilla, spice, angel?

historical? horror? teen? romance?

What is your audience?

Three toddlers?  Fifty seniors?

Then you add the ingredients in some order

flour, eggs, milk, sugar

protagonist, conflict, plot, setting

Then you mix them all together and add some heat

from an oven

an editor or first readers

It cooks, changing from ingredients into cake.

It’s edited from a manuscript to a book.

When it tests as being done,

it has to sit a bit to cool

Then it is shared with a small group, or a huge crowd

People celebrate with candles, smiles and songs

A cake lasts a moment, but the memory can linger.

A book lasts longer, but the memory of the first moment  lingers.

 

 

Thought- secret of success January 15, 2014

Filed under: Pondering,Quotations,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:17 pm
Tags: ,

Talking to Oprah Winfrey, David Copperfield says the secret of success has three parts:

Passion

Preparation

Persistance

If you love what you do, you work diligently at your craft, and you stick to it, despite set backs and discouragement, eventually, you will achieve your goal.

It seems to be the case in my experience.  How about you?

 

writing- advice I wish I’d had January 13, 2014

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:14 am
Tags: , , , ,

This is a great series worth reading from C. S. Lakin at  Live Write Thrive who  interviewed authors about what they wish they’d known before they started writing their novel.  This link takes you to the final post in the series, so you may want to poke around her blog a bit and read the rest of the series.  It’s a really good source of information for writers.

 

Quote- Stephen King on hesitation December 22, 2013

Filed under: Quotations,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 7:33 am
Tags: , , , , ,

Quotes from Stephen King 11-22-63

 The scholars’ greatest weakness: calling hesitation research ( 282)

This is true for writers, too.  I have notes from a workshop by C. C. Humphreys about this.  The first book, you want to get everything researched, and you read and read, study and copy notes.  He says, quit researching, and get writing.  Get the first draft, then go back and focus your research to fix and fill.  If you don’t have a purpose to you research, it can go on forever.  If you are researching for something specific, you find and move on.

 

quote- Stephen King December 21, 2013

Filed under: Quotations,Teaching,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 7:25 am
Tags: , ,

Quote from Stephen King is his novel 11-22-63

 In my life as a teacher, I used to hammer away at the idea of simplicity.  In both fiction and nonfiction, there’s only one question and one answer.  What happened? the reader asks.  This is what happened, and writer responds.  This…and this…and this, too.  Keep it simple.  It’s the only sure way home.  (p. 250)

Ah.  So true.  Brevity is an art.

 

quote- Stephen King on books December 17, 2013

Filed under: Quotations,Reading,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 8:27 pm
Tags: , , , ,

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
― Stephen KingOn Writing

 

poem- happy news December 3, 2013

Filed under: Poetry,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:55 pm
Tags: , , , , , ,

Clear out the inbox

An innocuous line

looks like the others

but wait! What’s that name?

The heart starts pounding

air around feels quite thin

A note from an agent

makes me stifle a grin

Is it good news or bad?

I click closing my eyes

Open one cautiously

and to my surprise

She writes that she loves it!

A contract’s attached

I shout to the rafters

New beginnings are hatched!

.

TRUE STORY!  Happened today! About an hour ago, in fact.  Now to read through the fine print of the attached literary contract.  Large prestigious  agency though, and an agent I was very impressed by when I watched her at a conference.

Wait. Time to celebrate with some new Fluevogs? 🙂  The fun and frolicsome  Kitschy kitschy Boom Boom Vivs might be appropriate for this kind of a celebration…

 

Monday Meme-Vancouver Lights November 25, 2013

Filed under: Monday Meme,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:13 am
Tags: , , , , , , ,

After a few weeks of hiatus, the Monday Meme is back!

This week I had the unexpected pleasure of an upgrade to a penthouse suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.  It was stunning.  I thorough enjoyed stretching out in front of the huge picture window, and admiring the glorious view as I worked away on my writing projects.  The poem that this view inspired in me can be read in the link above. How about you?  How does this view inspire you?

Your assignment:

1. create a poem, story, or article based on this photo.

2. Post it on your blog.

3. Cut and paste the photo onto your post (leaving the Monday Meme text).

4. Put a link to your post in the comments to this post below so we can visit your blog.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with!  (I will leave a comment on your blog post itself, rather than posting in response to your link here).

MondayMeme2013-11-25Vancouverlights