Feste's Lute

"Here are the two states in which you may exist: person who writes, or person who does not. If you..."

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:40:00 -0600

“Here are the two states in which you may exist: person who writes, or person who does not. If you write: you are a writer. If you do not write: you are not. Aspiring is a meaningless null state that romanticizes Not Writing. It’s as ludicrous as saying, “I aspire to pick up that piece of paper that fell on the floor.” Either pick it up or don’t. I don’t want to hear about how your diaper’s full. Take it off or stop talking about it.”

- 25 Things I Want To Say To So-Called “Aspiring” Writers

Mardi Gras Prep (Taken with Instagram at Gracious Promise)

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:57:15 -0600

Mardi Gras Prep (Taken with Instagram at Gracious Promise)

Nib

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:32:03 -0600

You confer far too much
in the ends of lines,
through pens that bloody pages.
By design, some rhyme must be internal
just like this hemorrhage.

Or, Rather,

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:59:41 -0600

The shimmers hand-play cardamom.
Felt Father flooded France. Go page!
The whoas censure blood working (for free rage).
Cocoa warmer 3, same page.
The play, she her Co-worker,
all her searching - franchise, go.
The shimmers hand the same.

Understanding

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:02:50 -0600

We were particles
entrenched,
swiftly-shattered spires
of meaning,
a trough and crest
that swept to shore
long latitudes below
the rest.

Our encounters — just
unlikely metaphors.

blazing skin

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:12:00 -0600

Audacious rays heat sand.
Polar-carbon rage
drawn phage ablaze.
She wielded phages
in salacious skins.
Beneath the roans feet;
broken polar screams…

Molten Corps

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:14:48 -0600

The work of the cuckoo was to find the scent absent their knees. It went with bars horizontal like ladders, but lacking portability.

Like bars, but lacking drink.

Like lacking, but imbued.

Amplified, the rungs slung closer to the center, melting successful polarized attractants. Rust began to formal, bow and tied to otter slides. It waited like Paris’s quiver, bowing for mortal weakness.

Considered

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:17:28 -0600

It’s murder in the end.
All related plates
are stained
and, given that
the helix
is our fate,
grasping grates
and crescent wax,
traits pertaining
to a glacial pace
should be portrayed.

Finally… Winter.

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:03:23 -0600

Finally… Winter.

Mercury Elixir

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:06:26 -0600

He’s more than sane.
He brought sustain,
He bought clay clocks
to watch them wane.

As the prophets set
an armistice ablaze,
He stalks their daughters.

He’s more than sane.
He drowns their fathers.
He scries the pitch
for blackened waters.

His daughters flee
the madness at His gates.
He’s more than sane.

To the Hilt

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:35:01 -0600

Bureau crazy measures doled
in spoonfuls
by convincing slick —
surfaces so soundly underway
(our first foray).

Restless at
their measures,
the back room sort
of jester gestures,
cross word indications
now in play.

How to Survive the Tumblr Writing Community

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:28:00 -0600

The only way to play is not to win.

Seriously, diversify. Find the best - people who inspire you. Find the prodigies - people you want to see grow and succeed. Find friends.

Don’t follow someone back if they make you hate your dash. Don’t think that selling books to each other is a reasonable business model. Don’t pretend that following people who write what you like to read will be sufficient to provide fertile fields of inspiration.

Diversify. Delve into many communities (inside and outside of Tumblr) and make lots of friends along the way.

Mind's Eye Doctor

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:57:00 -0600

As a child, I remember reading that cellophane could be made to sound like a fire…

Having never seen cellophane, I imagined some sort of almost magical liquid with bizarre sound properties…

Space Cats (by andyfreeberg) Who knew?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:53:54 -0600

Space Cats (by andyfreeberg)

Who knew?

onnothingandeverything replied to your post: On Cut-ups (Or Why Jist is My Favorite Piece in...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:14:00 -0600

onnothingandeverything replied to your post: On Cut-ups (Or Why *Jist* is My Favorite Piece in Months)

thank you for breaking down your writing process! i’m going to have a play with the DPG :)

You’re welcome.

If you’re like me, you have fragments sitting around that you love, but that won’t proceed to completion. Sometimes injecting a bit of chaos can deliver a single line or phrase that provides great inspiration.

It’s certainly not how I write most things or even a lot, but it’s a tool that I love when it works.

Good luck.

On Cut-ups (Or Why Jist is My Favorite Piece in Months)

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:06:00 -0600

Yesterday I started the morning with two fragments rolling around in my text drawer.

Piece 1:

A latent allure,
assured asides
muttered at hats
on brazen brims
a madam’s whim
implied.

And Piece 2:

Beneath the cut
is hoary bone,
swiveling teeth
and vulture beaks

Neither one seemed to want to go anywhere, content to sit and stagnate. When this happens, I start to think about shaking up my familiarity with the words involved. A few of you might have noticed that I occasionally use the cut-up tag. To do that I go to the Dada Poetry Generator and shove everything loose thing I have inside.

So this came out:

allure, whim implied. Beneath is teeth
allure, asides on a whim implied. and beaks
A asides muttered bone, swiveling
muttered on brazen madam’s the is vulture
latent allure, Beneath is vulture
A latent at a Beneath bone, teeth

Which, to me, already seems much more interesting. So I used the first two lines, editing to change it all to dialogue. Changing articles, subject/verb agreement, changing on to of, etc.

“Allure,” 
a whim implied.
“Beneath its teeth, allure,” 
an aside of a whim, 
“and beaks.”

I love this because it reminds me of something a Skeksis might say. The voice becomes dark, especially when it is broken apart and adds “and beaks.”

Then I began chopping and reorganizing the next lines. “Muttering bone, swiveling muttered” is just the sort of repetition I love most (and really why I use the generator, to find what repetition has interesting emphasis). Originally, the bones would have muttered to (not on) brazen madams, but it seemed way too cliché, so boys instead. My favorite aspect of these last lines is the association of the vulture with allure. The smell of death, only attractive to certain types. Latent, like most desire… waiting for the right scent.

A asides muttered bone, swiveling
muttered on brazen madam’s the is vulture
latent allure, Beneath is vulture
A latent at a Beneath bone, teeth

The final product thrilled me, because of the interesting intersections of meaning. A whim is warning me. Why would I trust something so flighty as a whim, especially if it doesn’t come out and say it, but instead implies the danger? Next, why would I fear allure? As I learn that allure lies under teeth and rests with beaks, it makes more sense. Now, muttering bones warn youth of the danger. The allure in the form of a vulture latent beneath bone and teeth… I like the cadence, like the consonants’ compatibility, I like everything about it.

“Allure,”   a whim implied.
“Beneath its teeth, allure,”
 an aside of a whim,
 “and beaks.”
Muttering bone,
swiveling muttered
 to brazen boys,
 “The vulture
 is latent beneath…”
“…beneath the bone
and teeth.”

But I’m weird.

The dark side of the moon…

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:27:00 -0600

The dark side of the moon…

tumblrbot: THIS EMOTION UPGRADE REALLY SUUUCKS Why did I...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:52:46 -0600

tumblrbot:

THIS EMOTION UPGRADE REALLY SUUUCKS

Why did I randomly access this memory? T_T

Delightful…

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:17:00 -0600

Delightful…

On Edge

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:05:22 -0600

The bow he tied
into your lace
can stay.
The sugar in
your hourglass
must wait,
to tempt the fates.

Feste's Lute

"Here are the two states in which you may exist: person who writes, or person who does not. If you..."

Mardi Gras Prep (Taken with Instagram at Gracious Promise)

Nib

Or, Rather,

Understanding

blazing skin

Molten Corps

Considered

Finally… Winter.

Mercury Elixir

To the Hilt

How to Survive the Tumblr Writing Community

Mind's Eye Doctor

Space Cats (by andyfreeberg) Who knew?

onnothingandeverything replied to your post: On Cut-ups (Or Why *Jist* is My Favorite Piece in...

On Cut-ups (Or Why *Jist* is My Favorite Piece in Months)

The dark side of the moon…

tumblrbot: THIS EMOTION UPGRADE REALLY SUUUCKS Why did I...

Delightful…

On Edge

onnothingandeverything replied to your post: On Cut-ups (Or Why Jist is My Favorite Piece in...

On Cut-ups (Or Why Jist is My Favorite Piece in Months)