Saturday Centus



mist rose to greet her

branches beckoned, an inviting canopy

mood match she thought

vaporous vines, vaporous lives

a New Year of empty promises

as if 60 seconds held wishes

like a bottled genie

no fairy tale, a minute in time

all remains the same, her name

drizzled in the cloud

cold numbing awaits

a release to the pain, a surrender of self

her crumpled up list of resolutions

fluttered on the ground

as she embraced the haze

(Participating in Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus which I have missed for way too long)

Missing the Magic

As I enjoy the spirit of the holidays, I am reminded of the sacred space of my blog and so missing my time here.  There is a small piece of magic that alights around me like pixie dust as I write from an anonymous place; dipping the pen ever so gently with a bit of hesitation yet finding some comfort in the process.  I do hope to get back to posting and reading others & find that source of inspiration that ensured that I would make the time.  And I hope that will help me with my WIP as well...which as a side note - really James Patterson, you had to write about witches and name it "The Gift", like you don't have enough writing material!  Yes, I know my "The Gifted" will be different, I'm not James Patterson nor do I aspire to be; however, I do think my working title will need a serious facelift!:) 

Hope you all have a peaceful holiday filled with magic!

National Adoption Month

LifeLines posted about adoption awareness this month and stated in the U.S. there are over 100,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted.  I'm joining the AlphaHop (& hope to get back to Magpie soon!).

F orever is

O nly this moment

R ounded

E dge, Slipslide

V ague notion of future and home

E ntertain

R eality not Hope



Domestic Violence Awareness Month Alpha Hop

http://lifelinesjournaling.blogspot.com/

An alphabet poem in honor of domestic violence awareness month.

Make believe earth as canvas

And peace a periwinkle ink

Gesso the landscape erasing
Ism’s, aggression and hate
Collage the whole in relationship
Airbrush strokes of harmony and love
Leaving space for diversity and growth

Mag 34

Mag 34


puppet shadows
caress the wall
mock the moment, flickers
of turned backs
whisper a silent story

as snowflakes blanket
naked limbs,
wounded words
twist in the air
the wick burns bare

Character Sketch

I recently came across some blog posts focusing on characters (I think there may have been a blogfest but I missed it).  In my "travels", I also came across this Character Chart.  I thought it was interesting and helpful.  For linear processers it will feel comfortable and for those more right-brained this chart can help organize thoughts.  As for me, to flesh out a character I need to use the senses as I find it much richer.  I'll use Shayla as an example.

Quick-List (these details originally came out as I've written her story):
15 year old female
A bit awkward, clumsy physically & socially
Pale
Colored red hair, black streaks
Long parted bangs covering eye
Enjoys writing and art
Intelligent
Divorced parents
Younger brother
home-schooled
Labeled with mental health diagnoses

OR, the actual character sketch that I wrote, which may look familiar as I included a variation of this in an earlier post:

Shayla felt like an alien transplant in a world filled with coffee shops and malls, tight clothing and short-shorts. Shayla could not stand the concrete crowds. She did not hear their thoughts. She heard their feelings, deep in her veins, pulsing through her heart. Insecurity feels like a flutter of baby bird wings not quite ready to hit the air current. Sadness feels congealed, sluggish;  blood moving through quicksand. Guilt feels like tapioca pudding. Anger matches the cliché of boiling blood combined with a brewing thunderstorm.  And happiness, well happiness tickles its way through my arteries, causing me to laugh out loud.

I used both emotional and physical feeling in this passage.  I will also explore Shalya by answering questions through story such as what color does she see the world, what song does she hum in the shower, what smell triggers a memory and what textures soothe her.  Oftentimes I will collage images for the visual and sometimes I come across an image that begs to be written.  Perhaps this is how others work with their characters as well?  [Although I've written for years, this sharing of thoughts with other writers is new to me:)]

Mag 33

Somewhere along my blog wanderings, I came across Magpie Tales, a blog that hosts writing prompts & links.  This week's prompt is this picture of a popular, upscale Italian fragrance from the 1930's - if Google is correct:)  Gazing at this picture brought to mind the next image (also found in my wanderings from Magic Moonlight) & together they formed:

Drops on pulse points

Hint of cathedrals and wine

A sharpened gaze under a nightsky

If I peel mosaic layers

Will you see

beyond the moonsplash on the arches and stairs

Or will you see crumbled stone

Concrete blocks of bone

Will you see lips, eyes, flesh

An artist's brush and awl

Or will you hear the aria in my spiritsong

Will my banner of shimmery stars

and lightrays fly

or will you raise your own

overshadowing all