“Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” Robert Frost
Poems on Scraps of Paper
Wrote a poem, lost the scrap of paper I wrote it on. Recalled the beginning, wrote more, it’s better.
Quote about Prose and Poetry
Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, “Prose = words in their best order; – poetry = the best words in their best order.”
What’s in the Background of your Scenes?
Jordan E. Rosenfeld’s book, MAKE A SCENE, offers many writing tips. I particularly liked her paragraphs about Foreground and Background. She says that like paintings, scenes can have backgrounds, but she meant more than setting. Plant “subtle messages and emotional layers in the background through actions” while the reader’s attention is on what’s happening in […]
Gruelling Exercise for Writing Fitness
In my writing class, I presented an exercise to analyze a story that had won third prize in a university contest. The author had an unusual writing style that the students found confusing, as did I in the first read. It took me three reads to understand the possible goals the author had for the […]
Contest Entries for Poem Title Review in Process
Entries to the poem title contest are being reviewed by a group of writers. Results should be in by the end of next week. Go to my Contest page if you’d like to see which one you would choose.
Sun Dog, our Sun’s Loyal Companion
This sun dog was seen over the S.F. East Bay on June 18, 2013. It is the result of sunlight refracting through tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere usually when cirrus clouds are present. The nickname “sun dog” comes from the halos next to the sun being like loyal dogs keeping pace with their master. […]