Adding On

I'm adding on!

Adding on what? you might ask. Adding on to our house? (Oh, don't I wish!) Adding on pounds? (Could be but I hope not.) A new addition to the family? (Oh, gosh, no. We're getting close to end of the child-rearing years. I'd hate to start all over again.) So what am I adding on? I am adding another challenge to my November list.

Remember on Sunday's post where I mentioned I am participating in a poem-a-day challenge (November Chapbook Challenge at Poetic Asides)? What? You didn't read that. Are you serious???? Get to it!

In that post I mentioned that I would participate in NaNoWriMo if I had just a bit more time. I have a great idea for a middle reader chapter book that I am eager to start, but I just don't think I could complete the challenge. I also have a few other children's writing projects in mind (non-fiction articles, picture books, etc.)

Anyway, at the end of Sunday's post I asked my readers what challenges they might be taken part in this month. One person responded with PiBoIdMo. I had no idea what it was. I could figure out PiBo...picture books...and thought it might be something of interest. So I googled it and WHAM! Right away I decided to do this at the same time as the PAD challenge. PiBoIdMo stands for Picture Book Idea Month. I am so excited. By the end of this month I will have 30 good ideas worked out and ready to start writing. Woohoo! AND after completing the challenge I will be eligible to win some really cool prizes.

And look! I've even got the cool badge to prove it.

If you think this is something you might be interested in doing, CLICK HERE for more information.

Now matter what writing challenges you are taking part in this month (and even if you aren't doing any at all) I wish you fun and success in November.

Sunday Link

Hi everyone.

To hear about my Sunday, join me at my other blog, Linda's Life on the Other Side. To do so, PRESS HERE.

For all my friends doing writing challenges, happy writing. I am doing Robert Lee Brewer's November chapbook challenge over at Poetic Asides and instead of participating in NaNoWriMo, which would be too much with my schedule, I have created my own writing challenge. It is the NaChiWriMo challenge. There are a few children's literature projects (certain submission and story ideas I have) that I will be working on this month.

Care to share what you are doing thsi month?

Clay & Poetry

Today I am participating for the first time at dVerse Poets. Basically, this is how it works. The dVerse team offers a poetry prompt. You write a poem and post it on your blog and link to them (with the Mr. Linky button). Then you can visit other participants blogs and see what ideas they came up with, and they in turn can read what you created.

This week's prompt is to write a poem based on one (or more) of the several painting shown by Judith Clay. Let me say, I love art. I love collage. I love original styles. A bit of funk and fantasy. Judith's work is all of these things. That caused a bit of a problem. I was taken in by all the paintings and, therefore, couldn't decide which one to choose for my poem. Eventually, I got overwhelmed with reasoning and just did "eeny-meeny, miney, mo". Seriously. I did. And I ended up with the very first picture--Henry and Adele. Isn't it beautiful?                                   

Henry & Adele, by Judith Clay

Here's  what I came up with (while half asleep...next time I'll need to do the eeny-meeny-method right away).

Henry's Lullaby

Sitting on the hilltop,a boy with ringlets of hair

darker than the night curls fingers around a flute,

his breath transforming to notes of nightingale.

A nearby mourning dove spreads his feathers,

whistles wings and coos to the tranquil tunes.

Up above, waning Luna, a silver-slivered jewel

in the sapphire sky, listens. Somniferous songs

bring visions of a river that gently rolls along

to the melody. Tiny black boats transport fruit

and letters as moon surrenders to the surrealism
of sleep shortly before the sun's reappearance.

You would think that since I am writing a poem everyday this month for the August Postcard Poetry Fest that this would be an easy task. It wasn't. Unfortunately, I find ekphrastic poetry difficult sometimes, especially if I like the work. I get so caught up in the art that I forgot to produce words. So don't ever expect genius from me with ekphrastic. It is usually just a description of what I see.  Not much thinking outside the box on this one. But I did it and I wrote my postcard poem for today as well. I hope the practice I am getting each day this month helps me get the creative juices flowing again.

If you would like to see more of Judith's amazing art, CLICK HERE to go to her Society6 Shop. I also found more of here work shown at Blue Canvas.  Oh, and did I mention that she is German? How cool is that! And I think she lives in Baden Württemberg, too. Maybe one day I'll walk into an art exhibit somewhere and see her work displayed. And if I am not mistake, she has a children's book coming out soon. At least I think I read that somewhere. If I find the information I will add a link.

To take part in this week's poetry prompt at dVerse, CLICK HERE. Or to learn more about dVerse visit their This is Us page.

As always, thanks for stopping by Lind-guistics. If you want me to know you've been here, leave a comment. 

Empty...ten reasons why...

Patience. It is something many children don't have. Waiting to go on an amusement park ride seems like an eternity to them (well, ok. The sad reality is that waiting for a ride can be an eternity. Bad example). How about travelling...when on a long trip they might ask every 15 minutes "Are we there yet?" When they come home from school the question is "When will dinner be ready?" Five minutes later they moan and groan about being hungry and ask, "Is is ready yet? I'm starving!"

Well, I feel like a child today. I feel impatient and hungry. When I heard the mailbox shut today I was like one of Pavlov's dogs. (Uh, no, I wasn't salivating...just anticipating.) After receiving only three postcard poems in the mail, I've been conditioned to rush to the mailbox and see what goodies are waiting for me. Well, today I checked my mail and you know what I got? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I wanted to chase after the mail carrier and say, "Hey, Mr.! Aren't my postcards here yet?" I was the hungry child. I wanted to wrapped my fingers around his arm and ask, "Are they ready yet? I'm starving? Give me some poetry to chew on." But I didn't. Not only because I am usually quite patient but also because he would probably think I was nuts. (Tami Miller! I know you just read that last sentence and replied, "Oh, but you are nuts.")

Yea, I am nuts. Nuts about art and poetry, and this project is fun. However, international mail is so unpredictable; who knows when they will arrive. Sometimes in only takes two day. Other times two weeks are needed. The weird thing is I haven't received a postcard yet from the person who had to send one to me on day one (August 1). I received from my day 5 person already and my day 11 person (who obviously sent it early). So, where is day 1? Here are my ideas.

Ten Reason I Haven't Received My Postcard*

1) She waited to first receive a postcard to respond to and sent it late.

2) She wrote it and sent it on August 1 but one of the postal workers liked it so much he/she kept it. Probably took the damn thing home and framed it. The nerve!

3) The dog ate it. (Hey, the dog always eats the homework so why not poetry postcards. Maybe it is a very intelligent, literary-incline canine who thinks adjectives and verbs are delectable.)

4) The mail truck was hijacked by a clan of bored people who need reading material.

5) When the postal worker opened the mail box to empty the contents, the wind carried it away and it got stuck on a unicorn's horn. It probably rolled on its back and used all four hooves to remove it. Probably tore the thing to shreds in the process. Yep, just great. Thanks a lot.

6) Customs is holding it. They figured if I was getting great stuff like that in the mail, I should need to pay tax on it. After all, one must declare valuable items. They'll probably call me about it tomorrow. What price can I put on creativity and snail mail happiness?

7) The secret service is holding it. They thought it was some sort of secret poetic code. They're trying to decipher it. It is taking it a while because each agent interpretes it differently.

8) The poem is alive and walked off. It might never be found.

9)  The postcard is taking the road less travelled, the one that starts in the boondocks, then on to East Jeblip, the land of make-believe and Oz before stopping here.

And the tenth possible reason that it isn't here yet is:

Ahhh! This is where you, my lovely readers, come into play. YOU give me the reason. Make it as silly or serious as you want. There is no right or wrong answer. Just write it in the comments section. Otherwise, my list of ten won't be complete and we don't want that do we? Perhaps with a combined effort we can reach 20 reasons.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...write!

____________________________________________________________________________
*Please note, this is in no way an attack on the person. I also haven't received from the third and fourth day poets and well as those for day 6, 7, 8... It is most likely the same as last year...the curse of overseas mailing. The postcards will get here eventually. I just wanted to post about running to the mailbox and being bummed and decided to have a little fun with it.

Postcard Potpourri

Hurray! I have postcards in my mailbox!

Remember that project I told you about? The August postcard poetry project.What? Is your memory that bad? If you don't recall or missed that post, CLICK HERE to read about it.

After (im)patiently waiting, this week I received my first three postcards. I would post pics here but with only mailing addresses, I am unable to contact the artists quickly to acquire permission to do so. However, I can describe them to you.

Like last year year, the first one I received was handmade. It is almost like a haiga in the sense that it combines the poem and picture in one. The image appears to be a painting which she printed onto the postcard, deep red strokes, perhaps flowers or fields or even wild waves of auburn hair underneath a glazed full moon. In the center, in white type, is the poem which has an ending line "axis of desire". Stunning and creative. Thank you so much, Anita E.!

The second I received is a purchased card, lime green, with a quote from Jean Cocteau on it. It reads, "What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you." I agree with that to some extent. However, considering how I criticized my husband's loud snoring the other evening I definitely do not wish for him to cultivate that!

But back to the postcard. The first thing I noticed when I flipped it over to read the poem was the fine-point, red marker ink, handwritten with artistic perfection. Then I began reading the poem which describes a morning in the garden. I liked the alliteration in this line: "did not portend the improbable perfection". Thanks to Cathleen M. for this postcard. I often spend time in the garden, so I could relate to this one.

The third postcard arrived today. It has a wonderful collage with a lady's head, animals, clouds. Actually, that description does is no justice. It is super cool. I like how the rabbit is positioned so that it is kissing the lady's cheek. On the back is the poem entitled Dappled by Joanne C. Thank you, Joanne.

So how am I progressing with this postcard poem-a-day challenge? Well, I had been three days ahead of schedule, then got a bit lazy. Okay. Maybe not lazy. After a week with no postcards to respond to I felt a bit unmotivated and am now two days behind. These postcards have stimulated my wayward brain cells and the creative juices are flowing again. I just jotted down a few idea and hope to write two poems today, write them on the postcards and go to the post office tomorrow morning. Maybe this weekend I create a few postcards. As of now I have only made one, a collage made from magazine clippings. However, I might change direction. Since I love photography, I might print a few of my favorite shots and craft them into postcards.

My friend Linda Hatton, editor of Mouse Tales Press, is also participating in the challenge. To read about her experience with the project, go to her blog post HERE (and then return to it often for updates). One thing she discusses is the need for brevity when writing a poem on a postcard. That certainly is a challenge. How do you capture the glory of a sunrise over the lake with such limited space? How do you express an emotion clearly? How do you detail a moment in only a few lines?

Let's work on that together. In 25 words or less I want you to describe something you saw or felt today and post it in the comments section. Go ahead. Make my day.




 

It's Almost that Time Again

While most of my blog readers are busy enjoying their summer break, we here in southern Germany are still counting the days. Only eight more school days to go. July 24th can't come soon enough. No more having to deal with a teenager who asks at 6:30 in the morning, "Mom, did you see my English book?" No more having to bug said teenager about practicing math, asking about progress on upcoming projects, or signing tests. No more school stress.

Ah, what joy! So what will I be doing while in the "no school stress zone"? A lot of the same routine, but also (hopefully) spending more time with my husband and daughter, perhaps swimming at the pond, going to Fests, or  just relaxing at home in the backyard. And writing.

I'd like to finish a little book project I started a while ago but am not sure if I will be able to complete it. One thing I do know for sure if that I'll be writing 31 poems in August.

Why? Remember this old post?  August Postcards

That's right. The August Postcard project is back. With everything going on in July, I'd almost forgotten about it. Luckily, my friend Ina (who has a great little blog called In Our Books with another mutual friend, Andrea) posted about it and I immediately signed up for this year.

So, I know you are asking "what is the postcard project?" HEY! Don't be a lazy bum. Go read that old post (link above).

Okay, I know how a few of you are. Alright, alright. If you aren't going to read the old blog post (insert frown here), then I will give you the extremely shortened version. 31 days, 31 people, a new poem written each day (in response to the last one you receive). Put poem on a postcard, sent to the next person on your list. It's as easy as that. (okay, sometimes it wasn't easy for me but I did manage to complete the task anyway)

Sound like something you are interested in? Then hop on over to this blog post for details on how to sign up this year:  August Postcard Poem Fest Returns

Becca and Siv, both of you commented last year that you would have signed up had you known about it earlier. I promised to remind both of you. So...get to it, girls. It will be fun. Maybe we'll even end up on the same list. Not only is it a good writing challenge but you never know what else you'll get out of it. Last year I  discovered a writer whose work I really love.

For all of you who decide to join in, I hope you enjoy it. For those who don't join in, I hope you enjoy your August by doing something fun and special. After all, the school year always returns before we expect it.

Forget the Yuck-Phooey and Laugh

I am not sure how the weather is where you are, but in my part of Germany today, it is a yuck-phooey-rainy day. In fact, I am not sure where the summer weather and sunshine has been hiding.

What's one to do when the day is so bleak? Brighten it up, of course! Luckily, I stumbled across the perfect blog post to put a smile on my face. It isn't even a blog I follow (though I might start to), so I guess it was a bit of fate that I found it.

The blog is Pleated Jeans (no filler, just funny!) and the blog post is about deleting or changing one letter in the title of a popular book to make a new (and funny) title, complete with new book jacket. For instance, Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaiden's Tale suddenly becomes The Handmaiden's Ale and Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven now becomes The Rave.

I just love silly things like that. If you do, too, you can go to the blog post by CLICKING HERE.

Can you think of any other title changes? If so, post them here in the comments section.

Here are a few I came up with:
(sorry I can't make my own graphics to accompany these)

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill now becomes.... Think and Grow Rice
(hey, who knows...maybe growing your own rice would be great)

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is now... Gone with the Wine
(I know a few people who have been "gone with the wine")

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien now becomes... Lard of the Rings (story of that spare tire?)
or perhaps... Lord of the Rinks (story of a rollerskating champion)
or even... Lord of the Rigs (history of an oil rig monopoly)


The Call of the Wild by Jack London is now... The Calm of the Wild
(tale of how a crazy man learns to be still by taking of downers)

and last but not least...

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare becomes... A Midsummer Night's Cream
(well, I think you can figure that one out...)

Now it's YOUR turn. C'mon. I know there are some creative people out there reading this. Give it to me. Make me smile on this dreary day.





Whatcha' waiting for? 1, 2, 3....post!