Tag: #Poetry

Telling The Tales, One At A Time #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Sept 30, 2024

A suggestion from Kelly:

My daughter asked: How did you decide that you finally wanted to write your stories?

I’ve told this story before.

Let me clarify before I get started. Kelly is one of the founding members of this hop, and it was her daughter who came up with this topic. Now on to the post.

I started writing poetry back in the dark ages, when music filled the air and everyone wanted to learn to play guitar. My voice wasn’t good enough to become a folk singer, but I wanted to make my words tell stories. I had some luck getting my poetry published and won a few local awards for it.

But as I got older and become involved with the computer field, the words got harder and harder to put together. I spent my spare time playing with math, and numbers took over. I was even running subnet equations (getting computers to talk to each other) in my sleep. There wasn’t room for poetry in my head, and I missed it.

Somewhere along the way, I ran into information about National Novel Writing Month.

I didn’t participate the first year after I heard about it, or the second. But one mid-October day, as I was going for my afternoon walk, and despairing for the words in my head that wouldn’t fashion themselves into a poem, it hit me. Why not write them as a story instead?

And that’s what I did. Come November 1, I grabbed a notepad and in between work duties, I started writing. I didn’t ‘win’ that year. Winning means writing 50,000 words by the end of the month, and I only wrote 49,000. I ran out of time and words.

But I didn’t give up. I rewrote that story several times, including  from different points-of-view. And I got hooked. That story will never see publication, but I learned a lot along the way. 

And I decided that maybe – just maybe – someday I would let the world read a what I’d written. 

Here I am, getting ready to release my twelfth book.

Coming soon – I’m shooting for November 2nd – Edwards Investigations, The Rimer File, will be added to my bookshelf. (My editor/formatter was in the path of the hurricane, so things may change.)  Please sign up for my newsletter to get the first peek at it. (See the link on the right.)

By the way, every now and then I will still write a poem. Maybe once a year, when inspiration strikes. I haven’t tried to publish any of the recent ones. They are more for my satisfaction  than anything else.

How about the other authors on this hop? What made them decide to write their stories? Find out by following the links below. 

And as always, until next time, please stay safe.

A suggestion from Kelly: My daughter asked: How did you decide that you finally wanted to write your stories?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

#OpenBook Blog Hop: The Award For The Worst

  By Open Book

May 9, 2022

Do you remember the worst thing you have ever written? Will you share?

The worst thing I’ve ever written? I’ve written some lousy stuff along the way, but I’ve learned from my mistakes, I hope. Narrowing it down to just one piece of work is difficult because I’ve got plenty to choose from!

I won’t inflict the early fantasy on you — I have a copy somewhere, but don’t want to dig it out. So, I’ll settle for one of my bad poems. Incorrect punctuation and all. Now, this isn’t the worst I’ve ever written, it has a good line or two, but a lot could be improved. Like start over from scratch and try again.

Newlywed Blues

Sure, we’re happy together
But this morning
The eggs didn’t turn out right,
The bacon got burnt,
When you go to the table,
You didn’t feel like eating anyway

So when you went to work,
Forgetting to kiss me as you left,
And I was alone
With your dog,
And the dishes to do,
I started crying
I can’t really say why

Because I know you love me
As much as I love you
These days will happen,
We can’t stop them
But tomorrow is another day,
Another beginning
And tomorrow,
We’ll have pancakes

Did you make it all the way thru? Will you ever forgive me for inflicting it on you?

I’ve written worse, but many of those have been (happily) lost to the passage of time. I didn’t realize how badly pencil fades, even when the paper it’s on is stored in a closed box. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I’m looking forward to reading the selections from our other authors. You know the drill, just follow the links below to find their posts. And, until next time, please stay safe!

May 9, 2022

Do you remember the worst thing you have ever written? Will you share?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Writing Craft Book #IWSG

  By IWSG

August 4 question – What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why?

The awesome co-hosts for the August 4 posting of the IWSG are PK Hrezo, Cathrina Constantine, PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, and Sandra Cox!. Thanks to all of you

I’m on the road, but before I took off I pulled a few books from my shelves to note in this post.

I cut my writing teeth on poetry, and my bookshelf reflects it. A lot of what I learned from poetry is useful in my fiction writing, even if I don’t refer to those books on a daily basis. Here are a couple I grabbed from my bookshelf:

Writing Down the Bones: Natalie Goldberg

In Pursuit of Poetry: Robert Hillyer

But the best reference for poetry are the poems from other poets; the famous and the unknown. Here are a few from my collection: Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas, Gary Snyder, Alice Walker, American Indian Poetry

Now that I’m writing fiction, my research takes a different avenue. A lot of it can be done on the internet, but here are two recent purchases that I’ve used for planning future projects: 

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating

Boots in the Ashes (a memoir of Cynthia Beebe, one of the early female ATF agents)

Quite the difference! But I’m happy to expand my writing (and knowledge) horizons.

To find out which books other authors use to refine their craft, check out some of the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

It’s All in the Name

  By Open Book

 

June 29, 2020

Do you write under a pseudonym? If so, why? If not, would you ever consider it?

I decided not to use my legal name for my writing back in the Dark Ages, when my focus was poetry. There were a number of reasons’ the main one being that my name was rather boring. I needed a hippie name. And so, I became Bobbi Jo Aspen, in part a tribute to the trees that give the Rocky Mountains their fall colors. I actually had a few poems published under that name, but I doubt there’s any evidence of that left except for my copies of the magazines that are stored somewhere.

At some point the Bobbi Jo name just didn’t “fit” me anymore, and I needed a new one. For more than one reason. Security had become a concern. I wanted something that sounded more mature. I’d also become aware that writers with male names tended to be taken more seriously than those with female names. So, I became P.J. MacLayne.

Security is still a concern, but in a different way. We all know there’s no hiding from the gigantic database better known as the internet. Still, it doesn’t hurt to throw in a roadblock or two for someone with ill intent trying to find you.

And frankly, it’s a liberating feeling to pick your own name. I wouldn’t ever want to change my legal name, but having a different name for my writing works for me. It allows me to express a different side of my personality while still keeping the one I show in real life.

It’s like Harmony Duprie, my amateur sleuth. She’s been known to change her appearance and go “undercover” to do research. She explained it well.

The Chief and Freddie still looked puzzled, but Drew’s face cleared and he laughed. “That was you? How many personalities do you have?”

“Only one.” I tapped my forehead. “Everything else is just a big kid’s version of dress-up.” Born out of desperation, not fun or playtime.

“Seems like a safe way to do it,” Drew said. “I’m having trouble switching between two.”

“This isn’t a game,” Chief Sorenson snapped. “Let’s get back on track here.”

       From The Samurai’s Inro

That’s how I feel when I’m writing.

Now, I know of people who use a different pseudonym for every different genre they write. I’ve chosen not to do that. My mysteries, urban fantasy, and poetry all under the same name. I could understand it if I were writing erotica, but when I start my gritty female Private Investigator series, it will still be written under the P.J. MacLayne moniker. 

If you’re a writer, I’d like to hear what you think about using a pseudonym. And if you’re a reader, does it make a difference to you if an author writes under a pen name? Tell us about it in the comments.

 

Until next time, stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

June 29, 2020

Do you write under a pseudonym? If so, why? If not, would you ever consider it?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.