Destroy and Rebuild.

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“404 – Page Not Found”

“This page can’t be displayed”

While clicking some links on my oft-neglected Published Works and Links pages, the above messages were frequently encountered. I was saddened to discover my modest writing career has outlived several awesome journals, both online and print, and some contests that I once participated in.

I had many dead links, which isn’t effective in increasing the visibility of my writing. Therefore, I took some time to clean up the mess on these two pages and add some new links that connect to my recent work. Not a lot of glamor in that task, but it was necessary labor.

Flame: “How We Write About Love”

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Happy Corporate Sponsored Synthetic Romance for Profit Day. Believe me…I'm not anti-love, but I am against the systematic pimping of love to spike revenues for no truly logical reason during mid-February.

On this Valentine’s Day, here are some keen observations on how we write about love, from Daniel Jones, who edits the “Modern Love” column for The New York Times. Enjoy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/style/how-we-write-about-love.html?_r=1

Secondhand Inspiration: About Talent…

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"Talent is a wonderful thing, but it won't carry a quitter." - Stephen King, from Duma Key

I’m not one to normally quote Stephen King, but he’s spot on with this statement – both in writing and everyday life.

Think about how many people you’ve known with immense talent or a knack for success. Then think about how many of those folks sustained that success. Proves one thing – there’s just no substitute for hard work.

Secondhand Inspiration: Insights from a Contest Judge

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I present to other aspiring fiction authors this revealing article from Nina Badzin: “Your Cover Letter Does Not Matter, and Other Insights from a Contest Judge.”

Read it with an open mind and you’ll get something out of this piece. The keen thoughts Ms. Badzin has on carefully using the f-bomb in flash fiction is well worth the read.

burntdistrict - Volume 3, Issue 2

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burntdistrict is a journal of contemporary poetry published by the editors of Spark Wheel Press.

Volume 3, Issue 2 features work from Julie Brooks Barbour, Jackson Burgess, Adriana Cloud, Rebecca Connors, Thomas Cook, Tim Craven, Sage Curtis, Nandini Dhar, Katherine Frain, Natalie Giarratano, Charles Harper Webb, Lydia Havens, Matthew Huff, Cindy Hunter Morgan, Lillian Kwok, Diane Lockward, Adam Love, Greg Mahrer, Bill Neumire, Angelina Oberdan, Simon Perchik, Amy Plettner, Adrian Potter, Richard Prins, Kim Roberts, Todd Robinson, Steven D. Schroeder, Leah Sewell, Molly Sutton Kiefer, and William Trowbridge.

I’m blessed to have two prose poems in this issue, both pieces from The Alter Ego Handbook chapbook manuscript that I’ve been tinkering with incessantly. This is my third time appearing in burntdistrict and I appreciate the support and exposure this publication has provided. I’m only partway through reading this issue, but so far it has been an enjoyable read.

Spark: Find a Balance Between the Internet and Life

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Bloggers get a plate as Jane Friedman provides some food for thought: “10 Resolutions for a Saner Internet—and Life.”

This piece vividly describes the balance many people seek between the lure of the internet and the pull of our creative endeavors. It is easy to struggle with determining how much time and energy to dedicate to social media, blogs, web surfing, et al. Maybe this article could provide a kickstart for finding your own personal blueprint to an equilibrium between the net and the real world.

Brief Update.

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My life has gotten too busy, how about yours? And money’s tight, of course, so I can’t turn down overtime and opportunities at the day job. Writing endeavors have to move over for a little while during weeks like these. So here I sit, constantly seeing things I’d love to spend more time doing and unable to make it happen.

Now I understand why poets and writers are always talking about retreats and colonies and such. One of these days I’m going to apply for one of those things. I’ll put that on my to-do list. Oh look, that makes it number 1,482...

Submission Addiction.

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The only news is that I fear I have become addicted to sending poems and stories out. I've been doing it almost every day. I took special joy in sending out a number of print submissions. The downside to all this is that I haven't been writing as much as I probably should.

As in the past, I have rediscovered a bunch of poems and stories that I forgot about after writing. Some of those are getting slapped around a bit and then put into envelopes or emails and shipped away. Hopefully this all results in a lot of future posts about my work being published in journals. A man can dream…

 

Remember.

It seems like the worth of black lives were greatly devalued in the United States during 2014. Therefore, MLK's message is as relevant now as it was back in his time. Please take a moment to remember and reflect on what Dr. King and his efforts meant to America.

Spark: 500 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing

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For those who need a sharp kick to the seat of their pants to write, I present a motherlode of golden prompts to re-up your creative juices.

The list found at the links below touches on categories ranging from sports to travel, education, gender roles, video games, fashion, family, pop culture, social media and more. May you find the right prompt amongst these to spark you towards your next great story or essay.

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/500-prompts-for-narrative-and-personal-writing/?_r=2

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/learning/pdf/2014/500PromptsNarrativeAndPersonalWriting.pdf

Secondhand Inspiration: Could You Be Running on Empty?

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“In fact, it feels strangely simple: I have used up my material, the stuff from which I craft stories. I don’t have anything now. Maybe I will have more soon. Or not soon. Or not.” - from Robin Black’s resonant essay “On Being Empty: When a Writer Isn’t Writing.”

Sometimes you run into an article that describes something you’ve been going through eloquently. See the link below.

Ms. Black’s essay loosely describes some of my writing-related struggles over the past two years. I believe all writers/artists/singers/etc. struggle with these feelings at some point. It is a good read for all you creative types out there. Her words give me some hope of getting over the hump with my writing.

http://beyondthemargins.com/2014/12/on-being-empty-when-a-writer-isnt-writing/

As for resolutions and such nonsense…

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…they feel redundant, superfluous, and somewhat synthetic. Pretty much the same rigamarole every year, and some years I’m a bit more successful with orchestrating the charade than others. Resolutions are for losers, work is for winners.

Nonetheless, I’d like to blog more, read more books, take more pictures, keep up with my ambitious workout plan. Drink more water (in excess). Drink more good wine and beer (in moderation, of course). Write more, as always. Go on more walks. Streamline and organize my life.

I say let’s clear out 2014, and may 2015 be more of the good stuff and far less of the bad. Do you agree?

Spark: Getting Started on Your 2015 Reading List?

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Maybe reading more is one of your new year’s resolutions.

If so, you should check out the link to Book Riot below. Liberty Hardy's "A Great Big Guide To 2014's Must-Read Books from Indie Presses" could jumpstart your personal 2015 reading list with some hidden gems.

Secondhand spark: from a writing standpoint, the article also links to some impressive indie presses, some of which may be open to manuscript submissions.

http://bookriot.com/2014/12/05/large-guide-2014s-must-read-books-indie-presses/

If I blogged more often, then I wouldn't need to do these long catch up posts...

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So long time no update and I’ve been a bad, bad blogger.

But much has been afoot in the sea beneath the blog, the current under the silence. For instance:

  • Several chapbooks are nearly ready for submission. One may have enough momentum to become a full-length manuscript, depending on my attention span.
  • Two prose poems from one of the aforementioned chapbooks (tentatively titled The Alter Ego Handbook) were published in 2014 at burntdistrict. burntdistrict is a journal of contemporary poetry published by the editors of Spark Wheel Press. This is the 3rd time I’ve had work published by the journal, and Volume 3, Issue 2 is awesome – and I’m not saying that because my two trivial poems are in there. It’s truly a great read.
  • Three poems were finalists for 2014 Atlantis Award at the poet’s billow. You can read them here. No money, but it was great to be in the running for the award and to have my writing published on the poet’s billow website. Thanks to all involved with this award.
  • My poem Only the Moon Knows You’re Signing the Blues won first place in the 2014 Lebanon Poets’ Society Free Verse Poetry Contest.
  • I have many short stories in various states of construction. I’ll be finishing and revising them soon to get them ready for submittal. I have caught the fiction bug again. Who knows, maybe a novel is rattling inside of me?
  • I haven’t given up on my poetry manuscript The Blues Almanac. But I’m no longer letting that book not being published (yet) subliminally cause me to be creatively constipated. I’m partway into writing what will be my next poetry book, although the concept hasn’t fully bloomed yet. I’m looking forward to seeing where 2015 takes this potential book and the rest of my writing.

Broken record, but I’m going to be better at blogging and updates in the new year. If anything, it is another extension of my writing…and I definitely need the practice.

Happy New Year!