It’s never easy to leave your comfort zone If you’re wondering, this hand was created as part of an exercise in Puño’s Domestika drawing class. I’m seeking help wherever I can find it… Just Because it’s Hard, Doesn’t Mean You Shouldn’t Do It Which is why I’ve decided to go public with my progress on this project. For years (decades, ever since I first read Persepolis and gave…

Stop talking and start writing — More than anything else, I wanted to be a writer. Back in the early 90s, I had a full-time government job (crunching numbers), I was a single mom, I sat on volunteer boards, I was involved with community theatre, but when all was said and done, I wanted to be…

Two-line poem prompt — Inspired by this post by Christina Ward: A Poem and a 2-Line Poetry Prompt #2 Where will this prompt take your writing voice?medium.com I took up the challenge to write a poem bookended by these two lines of prose: Even though we’re walking down the same road and it comes out the same place, we’ll never walk….the same road. and And when I came home physically…

Finding hidden meaning in draft poems — In April, I took part in the Writer’s Digest PAD (Poem a Day) challenge, diligently finding inspiration in each day’s prompts. Towards the end of the challenge, we were asked to do a remix poem, one that drew from earlier poems written over the course of the month. I approached…

An Abecedarius Poem — Looking for a fun poetry form with a simple structure? How about an abecedarius poem? There are several variations, but this one is straightforward. Each line of the poem starts with a letter of the alphabet, in order. Couldn’t be easier, right? Here’s my attempt: The Virgins Anna was the one…

If I don’t believe in muses, then why write? — You’ve gotta’ love it when writer uses a word like whence. [Christina M. Ward uses it in her story about muses… ] Yesterday, in response to that post, I wrote about why I don’t really have a singular muse and don’t believe in writer’s block. No Muse is Good Muse medium.com Why Write? For the Cash, Right? Which begs the question, why…

Why waiting around for inspiration is not my style — The idea of a creative muse has been around for a long time. But in the home where I grew up, having the luxury of waiting for divine inspiration was out of the question. [Check out Christina M. Ward’s post about muses — plenty of food for thought there… and…

Voice, Point of View, and Character in Poems — Poetry is often deeply personal writing inspired by the thoughts that torment us, the emotions that turn us inside out, and the moments in life that make us sit up and take notice. If you love slam poetry and spoken word performances you’ll know that many of the poets draw…