Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A Poem about Not Writing Poetry


A  Poem about Not Writing Poems

Coaxing a poem down from a tree,
out of the dog house.
Luring a poem into a car
out from behind its mother’s skirt.
Pushing a poem onto a stage
into the pool.
Hunting a poem nestled beneath the chemise
curled on a rock.
Gunning down a desperate poem trapped in a canyon,
sandstone cliffs rising a thousand feet.
A rock slide blocks the getaway.
The poem cries out, “They’re coming to get me!
I hear the thunder of hooves.
The ground shakes.
They ride closer and closer.
My palms sweat.
My heart pounds."

The leader of the poem posse says,
“Well, Tom, put away your pistol.
that one died of fright.”

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

I will be Finally Writing When...



I will be Finally Writing when I have the externals right.  The pen must be a Precise V5 extra fine and I need a box of them available before I can begin.   The desk must be the correct height and the chair comfortable but not too comfortable.  There has to be a window and the window has to have a view of nature, but it can’t be a view of things I need to do.  I need coffee.  I need to weigh the right amount. I may need a facelift.  I need to have everyone in my life busy and happy, not too close but not too far away.  I need to know what I’m going to write before I begin writing  and to know that it will be not just good but great.  I concede it may take several drafts to get there.  I am realistic, you know.
I need to be free of any anxiety about how to get this great piece published.  I just need to be assured that it will happen without my having to do anything.  I need to know that what I say will be original and  profound.  I won’t need a facelift before I’m Finally Writing.  That’s ridiculous.



Friday, June 10, 2011

On Writing: Tough Love from Stephen King

"You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair--the sense that you can never completely put on the page what's in your mind and heart.  You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names.  You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world.  Come to it any way but lightly.  Let me say it again:  you must not come lightly to the blank page.


I'm not asking you to come reverently or unquestioningly; I'm not asking you to be politically correct or cast aside your sense of humor (please God you have one).  This isn't a popularity contest; it's not the moral Olympics, and it's not church.  But it's writing, damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner.  If you can take it seriously, we can do business.  If you can't or won't, it's time for you to close the book and do something else.

Wash the car, maybe."

      from On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

I want a writing group and I want it bad-ly

Thought du jour.  How do I turn this blog into a writing group?  I want support.  I want commiseration.  I'll figure it out.  Quid pro quo.  I'll support you, too.  I'll cheer you on.  I know there are online writing groups, just like there are online AA groups and online Weight Watchers.

So, dear imaginary friends, I have to say that I have been staying at it.