Creative Juices

Recently, I’ve experienced a surge of creative juices, resulting in a high output of written work. The outpouring is fortunate because a writing colleague shared an updated calendar of haiku submission deadlines. I was excited to discover new journal opportunities around the country and the world. The Twitter writing community shares a wealth of experience and resources, and I’m blessed to be a part of them.

The most recent deadline is today, May 15th. The good news is that I write nearly every day, so I have a lot of work products to pull from. I always carry a Moleskin notebook for jotting down spontaneous thoughts, most of which occur while driving (don’t worry, I don’t write until I’ve pulled over into a safe location.) My pocket companion and a mechanical pencil are step one in the writing process.

The next step is to transcribe my notes into Word documents, which may consist of exciting words, snippets of overheard conversation, lines, and phrases of poetry.

I keep a set of files on my laptop specifically for writing. One file is my Haiku Tracker, with subfiles per year. See a screenshot of the beginning of the 2021 list. I may write haiku in response to a publisher’s prompt or as a result of spontaneous inspiration. Note I have them numbered since haiku is traditionally not titled. The bracketed words are general ideas or prompts. Revisions follow the original haiku (I never discard concepts.) Some poems have been written, submitted, rejected, rewritten, and submitted to another site, rinse and repeat until they find a happy resting place. The work that has been published is highlighted in green.

Another general file is an Annual Writing file, with subfiles addressing submission locations, i.e. individual periodicals. These files are also submission trackers, so I avoid sending repeat work to editors (a big NO NO.)

As a result, my rewriting has gone into hyperdrive over the past few days,, with my computer open to multiple screens. One is the new submission opportunity list; two is my haiku tracker page, and three is the above poetry file page. In addition, two other pages are open: Safari browser for research and Visual Thesaurus to aid me in pinpointing the exact word(s) I need.

The key is to fine-tune each poem.

And then sort the poems like a box of puzzle pieces until the right pieces fit together. Correct poem=correct journal.

As a result, over the past week, I submitted 35 poems to 11 different publications. Whew, no wonder my brain is tired. I’ve already had one acceptance, and maybe that will be it, but perhaps, I’ve cross-matched correctly, and more good news will arrive by email over the next few weeks. But maybe, those darn little poems still need additional crafting.

What is your creative outlet? Have you submitted your work to a contest or call for submissions?

You can follow the Author on her Website or on Twitter. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Earth Rotation Day

Image
Today, we think about the Earth’s movement:  rotation  means to turn, and  revolution  to go around. It wasn't always evident that these motions occurred. Ptolemy postulated that the Earth was the center of the Universe and that the Sun revolved around our planet. Copernicus performed experiments that showed the opposite was true and published his results in 1543, months before his death. The printer added disclosures regarding the validity of the statements and suggested the information only aided astronomers. His book was banned by the Catholic church as heresy in 1616. In 1632, Galileo agreed with the Heliocentric Model aided by the use of his telescope. He, too, was accused of heresy and placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. It was not until 1758 that the Catholic Church decided it was not heretical to say the Earth rotates around the Sun. Leon Foucault proved the theory of rotation with his famous pendulum experiment. You can view the Pendulum in the Paris P
Read more

National Puzzle Day

Image
Doing a jigsaw puzzle engages both sides of the brain, which improves cognitive function, problem-solving, number skills, and memory. Puzzles have existed for centuries, beginning with labyrinth drawing puzzles in Ancient Egypt. In 1767, mapmaker John Spilsbury created the first jigsaw puzzle as a tool to teach geography. There was a full-blown puzzle mania in the US in 1908. Later, during the Great Depression, puzzles reached peak popularity, with 10 million sold per week. People made puzzles to sell; libraries and drugstores would rent puzzles by the day. Another entertaining idea was the “Jig of the Week” sold on Wednesdays at newsstands: friends would challenge each other over who could solve the week’s puzzle first. A second jigsaw puzzle boom occurred in 2020 during the COVID-19 epidemic as a solo pastime during long periods of solitude. Do you enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles? Do you assemble the pieces alone or as a group project? You can follow the Author on her  Website
Read more

The Grandest Fir

Image
Following our family tradition, we traveled to a  local Christmas tree farm  the day after Thanksgiving. We arrived shortly after opening time and were able to promptly board the trolley to ride up the hill to the area of the farm being utilized for harvest this season. This particular business is an excellent caretaker of their trees, allowing harvest from only one section at a time and promptly replanting in the spring. Frosty’s system is finely organized: you choose a tree, place your tree pole green end up, and a tree cutter is at your side within minutes. The rest of the process is effortless: a ride back downhill, this time on a tractor-drawn trailer with hay bale seats, to the main building to pay, then well-marked signage to the pickup area. Meanwhile, the tree was bagged up on the hillside, delivered car-side, and secured to the roof. Unfortunately, the tree farm staff did not accompany us home to assist with unloading, carrying up a flight of entry stairs, across the great ro
Read more