Monday Musings

As a writer, every piece committed to a document is a work of creation, building a new entity from the re-organization of existing letters, word forms, and ideas. I learn new things about myself, others, and civilization as I write. I do a tremendous amount of research on the topics I chose for description. And amid that study, I see a great deal of the world’s happenings, both good and evil. In the aftermath of the weekend’s events and the potential for worldwide conflict, we can, while not ignoring reality, instead choose to center and thus empower ourselves with the calming effect of art. Red is the color of rage, of war; other shades of the spectrum personify varying feelings. Responses may differ for the individual. Robert Plutchik elucidated the color wheel of emotion in 1958. Regardless of their creative medium, each artist must search out a kernel of individuality, a grain that makes them unique. How do you react to stress? Do you turn to a creative focus to express your feelin...

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...