Joseph Hunt's Blog, page 25
October 25, 2011
7 Days until NaNoWriMo!
[image error]
Only 7 days now! Well, it's more like 6 because I'm going to be starting at midnight on the dot...or perhaps if Halloween takes a turn for the greater I'll be partying in something with lots of fake blood hehe.
As I cannot contain my excitement, I'll blog through it! And today's post is on getting those 1,667 words a day, or if you're like me, you'll have a great start and then slump in the middle when you've hit 25,000 and wonder to yourself how you're going to continue. So I've got a few tips which I use when I hit the slump in the middle of the month.
I say this to everyone, so take this as a precaution and some of you may already be weary of it, but if you're not then I've just saved you a good couple of months...although learning this the hard way is so much easier for it to stay perfectly etched in your brain. NEVER EDIT! NEVER READ OVER WHAT YOU'VE JUST WRITTEN (unless completely necessary, and that necessity being inspiration for writing the rest of your novel) so NEVER EDIT!
I am going to take a huge guess here but everyone here has other commitments, writing isn't the primary thing on any of your lives, but if it is, then you're probably either successful or you're spouse is the one who brings in the bacon or something like that. However, if you have children, a job, school etc. then you're going to be thinking of ways to get around that to do some writing.
So, having a planner of your activity of what you're doing...this can be done this week as you're not going to be stressed out until next week when November starts. Just list all your commitments that CANNOT or WILL NOT be moved and then work around them! I suppose this isn't a tip but more of something that needs to be done and we might all do them in our own way i.e. mentally, but if you have it down on a piece of a paper, then you're more likely to stick to it…well I am. If you only have your children to cater for then when they're at school or when you put them to bed I suppose is the only time you're going to get really (I'm not a parent, there might be other times when you can write, but when I've talked with my writer friends who are parents they always say that they can only write when their children are in bed).
Get to know how many words you can type in 15 minutes, half an hour, and an hour because you might wish to write more than 1,667 words a day because you've planned to write a 60,000 word novel instead of 50,000. I can write 100 – 300 words in 15 minutes depending on the planning that I've done for the chapter etc.
So for me, I need to write for 3 – 4 hours a day and that has to go around university work, blogging, and I'm writing two other novels and still editing Lumen, but in terms of writing I'll be focuses on hitting the 1,667 on Ice Cream Sundae.
Don't let your well of inspiration dry up and don't write a huge chunk of your novel right at the beginning. I do this and I would strongly recommend it if you've planned your novel. Write exactly 1,667 words and then STOP! Or however many words you're planning to do daily (maybe you're taking a day off one day a week etc.) And for you Americans I hear Thanksgiving is in November! So Good Luck!
I want you to be a winner! And all that merits is being able to hit 50,000 words in a month. I can do it! You can do it! And all it takes is a little preparation. Also, keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow's post which is going to be on motivation and getting through those 30 days and 30 nights!
Happy WriMoing!
-Joseph
[image error]
As I cannot contain my excitement, I'll blog through it! And today's post is on getting those 1,667 words a day, or if you're like me, you'll have a great start and then slump in the middle when you've hit 25,000 and wonder to yourself how you're going to continue. So I've got a few tips which I use when I hit the slump in the middle of the month.
I say this to everyone, so take this as a precaution and some of you may already be weary of it, but if you're not then I've just saved you a good couple of months...although learning this the hard way is so much easier for it to stay perfectly etched in your brain. NEVER EDIT! NEVER READ OVER WHAT YOU'VE JUST WRITTEN (unless completely necessary, and that necessity being inspiration for writing the rest of your novel) so NEVER EDIT!
I am going to take a huge guess here but everyone here has other commitments, writing isn't the primary thing on any of your lives, but if it is, then you're probably either successful or you're spouse is the one who brings in the bacon or something like that. However, if you have children, a job, school etc. then you're going to be thinking of ways to get around that to do some writing.
So, having a planner of your activity of what you're doing...this can be done this week as you're not going to be stressed out until next week when November starts. Just list all your commitments that CANNOT or WILL NOT be moved and then work around them! I suppose this isn't a tip but more of something that needs to be done and we might all do them in our own way i.e. mentally, but if you have it down on a piece of a paper, then you're more likely to stick to it…well I am. If you only have your children to cater for then when they're at school or when you put them to bed I suppose is the only time you're going to get really (I'm not a parent, there might be other times when you can write, but when I've talked with my writer friends who are parents they always say that they can only write when their children are in bed).
Get to know how many words you can type in 15 minutes, half an hour, and an hour because you might wish to write more than 1,667 words a day because you've planned to write a 60,000 word novel instead of 50,000. I can write 100 – 300 words in 15 minutes depending on the planning that I've done for the chapter etc.
So for me, I need to write for 3 – 4 hours a day and that has to go around university work, blogging, and I'm writing two other novels and still editing Lumen, but in terms of writing I'll be focuses on hitting the 1,667 on Ice Cream Sundae.
Don't let your well of inspiration dry up and don't write a huge chunk of your novel right at the beginning. I do this and I would strongly recommend it if you've planned your novel. Write exactly 1,667 words and then STOP! Or however many words you're planning to do daily (maybe you're taking a day off one day a week etc.) And for you Americans I hear Thanksgiving is in November! So Good Luck!
I want you to be a winner! And all that merits is being able to hit 50,000 words in a month. I can do it! You can do it! And all it takes is a little preparation. Also, keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow's post which is going to be on motivation and getting through those 30 days and 30 nights!
Happy WriMoing!
-Joseph
[image error]
October 24, 2011
NaNoWriMo: To-Do List
[image error]
It's now only 8 Days until NaNoWriMo! 8 days now until the big day! And because I like to do my lists, I'm going to compile one for you guys!
I feel like there's a little bit of a nagging: "why should we listen to this guy, he's never done NaNoWriMo before!" But quell those calls and I'll tell you why you should listen to me. Because I like to make lists…and also because I usually do all my writing within the space of a month, so although it's my first time doing NaNo, I've wrote three novels so far, each within the space of a month.
Now that I've bought your trust…I did buy it right? If not, then why are you still here? Hehe, just listen to the list! And I made a poster to refer to if you get stuck on what to do this week.
First of all, go on that all importing STATIONARY HUNT! I love pens, pencils, paper, erasers, sharpeners, highlighters, anything that you can buy in a stationary shop, I'll want! I have a weird stationary hoarding drawer where things go to die…but everyone needs one! Oh, almost missed it out on the list, but notepads, you can never have too many notepads!
Now, now we can Pop that Seed of Inspiration! When I say this, I do not condone drug use, unless that's your muse in which case, drug yourself responsibly, don't OD because the world is a great place with you in it! Hehe. So once we've got ourselves some inspiration…it's time for the next step.
Sating your Caffeine bug! Well, this isn't really a step; I think this is a necessary precaution for everyone, unless you're going caffeine free this NaNoWriMo, in which case, good luck. Whether it's coffee, tea, Red Bull, Pro Plus…be sensible! Ah, who am I trying to kid, but make sure you got at least 6 hours sleep a day, the rest of the time you can be caffeine coaxed and reliant.
These next two steps aren't in any real order, but you need to have some plan of what you're going to be doing and who you're going to be doing it with before you do it!
Climbing Inside Some People! You need people, and these people might shape your setting, or you might have a setting and that will shape your characters! Either way, you need some characters. I've wrote a blog about characters and characterization, why don't you check it out. [Characters] Also, this will be your only human interaction for the month, so be prepared to quit your social life while you're ahead! This is fair warning!
Get Your Ground! You can't just have bobbling heads on a white canvas now. You need a setting, a place for the people to walk around and interact with things. I always think of it a little bit like The Sims! But I've also wrote a blog about setting, so you can check that out as well if you like. [Setting]
Now that you have some characters and you've got some people. You need to ask yourself, what their story is and how you're going to write it. So perhaps you have this in the first place and built your characters and setting in and around it. Good for you. But if not, then you need to set The Flagpoles and jot down some plot points that you'll need to reach for the story to go on. Check my blog post on planning here [Planning]
It's best to Find Your Ambience now! How to change your mood at will to make writing come most naturally! You might like to sit in a dark room with a single candle flickering over your hands with no music at all. Or you might be into rock music and that's how you get your muse out of its shell. Whatever it is, do it, buy it, use it, listen to it! Enough to get 1,667 words down each day!
Unplug Yourself! Take out the Ethernet cable, disconnect yourself from the wireless! Don't be tempted to turn it back on because you need to use the online thesaurus or because you're wanting to check on NaNoWriMo, if you've decided that you're going to be writing, or fall into a vat of inspiration, you are not to touch the internet icon on your computer!
Save It! Save It! And then Save It again! Don't let your hard work go to waste! Not now, not ever! Buy a pen drive, USB, external hard drive etc. and save your writing in several places, don't let anything corrupt your files so make sure that your anti-virus is OKAY!
So that's my brutally forced to-do list! If you have any additions just write them in the comments box below and share them with us all!
Enjoy, NaNoWriMo-ers!
-Joseph
It's now only 8 Days until NaNoWriMo! 8 days now until the big day! And because I like to do my lists, I'm going to compile one for you guys!
I feel like there's a little bit of a nagging: "why should we listen to this guy, he's never done NaNoWriMo before!" But quell those calls and I'll tell you why you should listen to me. Because I like to make lists…and also because I usually do all my writing within the space of a month, so although it's my first time doing NaNo, I've wrote three novels so far, each within the space of a month.
Now that I've bought your trust…I did buy it right? If not, then why are you still here? Hehe, just listen to the list! And I made a poster to refer to if you get stuck on what to do this week.
First of all, go on that all importing STATIONARY HUNT! I love pens, pencils, paper, erasers, sharpeners, highlighters, anything that you can buy in a stationary shop, I'll want! I have a weird stationary hoarding drawer where things go to die…but everyone needs one! Oh, almost missed it out on the list, but notepads, you can never have too many notepads!
Now, now we can Pop that Seed of Inspiration! When I say this, I do not condone drug use, unless that's your muse in which case, drug yourself responsibly, don't OD because the world is a great place with you in it! Hehe. So once we've got ourselves some inspiration…it's time for the next step.
Sating your Caffeine bug! Well, this isn't really a step; I think this is a necessary precaution for everyone, unless you're going caffeine free this NaNoWriMo, in which case, good luck. Whether it's coffee, tea, Red Bull, Pro Plus…be sensible! Ah, who am I trying to kid, but make sure you got at least 6 hours sleep a day, the rest of the time you can be caffeine coaxed and reliant.
These next two steps aren't in any real order, but you need to have some plan of what you're going to be doing and who you're going to be doing it with before you do it!
Climbing Inside Some People! You need people, and these people might shape your setting, or you might have a setting and that will shape your characters! Either way, you need some characters. I've wrote a blog about characters and characterization, why don't you check it out. [Characters] Also, this will be your only human interaction for the month, so be prepared to quit your social life while you're ahead! This is fair warning!
Get Your Ground! You can't just have bobbling heads on a white canvas now. You need a setting, a place for the people to walk around and interact with things. I always think of it a little bit like The Sims! But I've also wrote a blog about setting, so you can check that out as well if you like. [Setting]
Now that you have some characters and you've got some people. You need to ask yourself, what their story is and how you're going to write it. So perhaps you have this in the first place and built your characters and setting in and around it. Good for you. But if not, then you need to set The Flagpoles and jot down some plot points that you'll need to reach for the story to go on. Check my blog post on planning here [Planning]
It's best to Find Your Ambience now! How to change your mood at will to make writing come most naturally! You might like to sit in a dark room with a single candle flickering over your hands with no music at all. Or you might be into rock music and that's how you get your muse out of its shell. Whatever it is, do it, buy it, use it, listen to it! Enough to get 1,667 words down each day!
Unplug Yourself! Take out the Ethernet cable, disconnect yourself from the wireless! Don't be tempted to turn it back on because you need to use the online thesaurus or because you're wanting to check on NaNoWriMo, if you've decided that you're going to be writing, or fall into a vat of inspiration, you are not to touch the internet icon on your computer!
Save It! Save It! And then Save It again! Don't let your hard work go to waste! Not now, not ever! Buy a pen drive, USB, external hard drive etc. and save your writing in several places, don't let anything corrupt your files so make sure that your anti-virus is OKAY!
So that's my brutally forced to-do list! If you have any additions just write them in the comments box below and share them with us all!
Enjoy, NaNoWriMo-ers!
-Joseph
October 23, 2011
9 Days unitl NaNoWriMo!
As of today, we have 9 days to get ready for NaNoWriMo! I'm so excited and in the next week until November: National Novel Writing Month, I will start the party, or pre-party of sorts.
9 days! I hope you have your idea ready, and if you don't, then there's no need to worry, or maybe you're just finding out about NaNoWriMo, then I reckon that 9 days is a perfect amount of time to get started, or even to find an idea worth planning, plotting and ultimately writing.
What I find so great about NaNoWriMo and what interested me in the first place was that no matter what, I would write a novel in a month, which is usually the amount of time it takes already, but by having the website we can talk to people and share stories of how our writing is coming along, and although I do that through my Facebook pages, I bet that being a part of this community will be so much greater!
This is my first year, first of many years! And I'm using it to write a novel that I've been dying to write, but it's always been too risqué for something that I would normally write. In case you didn't know, I write dark fantasy novels, and so I'm genre jumping into gay fiction where I will go by both Joseph Eastwood but by a pen name as well, Thomas Jay as I do want people to know me for my writing but not to think that all I write is fantasy and the pseudonyms give clarity to readers.
If you want to read more about My NaNoWriMo: Ice Cream Sundae just click the link.
So I'm using NaNoWriMo to write a novel that's not in my typical genre, so that's one reason to do it! But there are so many more! Like the events places are organising so that you can get to know other WriMo's, and they might live down the road from you, or become a critique partner in a couple of months when and if you think you're ready for people to look at your writing.
So 8 more days until the fun begins? The only question is, have you set the foundations for your novel?
Happy Planning and Plotting Guys & Gals!
-Joseph
8 Days unitl NaNoWriMo!
As of today, we have 8 days to get ready for NaNoWriMo! I'm so excited and in the next week until November: National Novel Writing Month, I will start the party, or pre-party of sorts.
8 days! I hope you have your idea ready, and if you don't, then there's no need to worry, or maybe you're just finding out about NaNoWriMo, then I reckon that 8 days is a perfect amount of time to get started, or even to find an idea worth planning, plotting and ultimately writing.
What I find so great about NaNoWriMo and what interested me in the first place was that no matter what, I would write a novel in a month, which is usually the amount of time it takes already, but by having the website we can talk to people and share stories of how our writing is coming along, and although I do that through my Facebook pages, I bet that being a part of this community will be so much greater!
This is my first year, first of many years! And I'm using it to write a novel that I've been dying to write, but it's always been too risqué for something that I would normally write. In case you didn't know, I write dark fantasy novels, and so I'm genre jumping into gay fiction where I will go by both Joseph Eastwood but by a pen name as well, Thomas Jay as I do want people to know me for my writing but not to think that all I write is fantasy and the pseudonyms give clarity to readers.
If you want to read more about My NaNoWriMo: Ice Cream Sundae just click the link.
So I'm using NaNoWriMo to write a novel that's not in my typical genre, so that's one reason to do it! But there are so many more! Like the events places are organising so that you can get to know other WriMo's, and they might live down the road from you, or become a critique partner in a couple of months when and if you think you're ready for people to look at your writing.
So 8 more days until the fun begins? The only question is, have you set the foundations for your novel?
Happy Planning and Plotting Guys & Gals!
-Joseph
October 19, 2011
My NaNoWriMo: Ice Cream Sundae
I've told some of you about my NaNoWriMo project already, and some of you might have read about it on my NaNoWriMo Profile [Joseph Eastwood] if you know about it, then yay! That means I'm doing something right.
But if you haven't yet heard of it, here's a little synopsis.
"Sometimes just being who you really are is the greatest risk you will ever take in life.
James is 17 and already he knew this risk too well, he'd been sneaking around it and trying to suppress it. He would try anything once, to see if it would stop. But when he meets Alec, he takes his first real breathe and admits it to himself that he's different, that he's gay.
However, with a patriarchal, middle class family like the Dewhurst's, everything is fine until someone disrupts the balance be it for better or worse, you could still lose it all."
That's something that I created really quick, so I hope it makes you want to read it. I'll be using my pen name, Thomas Jay as I write this novel--you can read more about how I chose this name here: Pseudonym Me and the reason why I'm using a pseudonym.
What's your NaNo idea? Share all you like, I'd love to know what others are doing!
-Joseph
October 15, 2011
I'm doing NaNoWriMo. Are you?
I've never done NaNo before, probably because I hate the whole pressure to write everyday and I don't want to push my writing, but at the same time, it's NaNoWriMo and so many other people will be pushing themselves to hit 2,000 words each day and NaNo is of course the place to be if you just want to write without the pressure of having to write anything GOOD.
18 days to go...you have plenty of time to craft an idea and work an outline so that you don't have to worry about planning and plotting in the 30 days of NaNoWriMo.
Joseph Eastwood - NaNoWriMo Profile
Come by and send me some NaNoMail or add me to your buddy list.
[image error]
Get your NaNoWriMo 2011 Calender, provided by Surly Muse
I've already set this as my desktop background and I know it's early, but it's never to early to plan your NaNo project.
With 16 days to go, you've got enough time to pitch a project idea to yourself, make a NaNoWriMo profile and even get some planning in! Because when the clock strikes 00:01 on November 1st [I'll be out getting really drunk as it's Halloween and it's my first year at university (in the UK if you didn't know) and that constitutes that I ought to get completely hammered on nights like that] we should all set up that blank page on our screens and have that large mug of coffee beside us, and write.
Also keep your eyes peeled for my #NaNoAdventures!
Get Yo NaNoWriMo oooon!
-Joseph
p.s I do not condone underage drinking, as it is legal for an 18 year old to be served with alcohol in the UK.
October 12, 2011
Make It Happen! #BeatTheBlock
[image error]
There is a new show just hit out TV screens, directed by Stephen Spielberg called Terra Nova (not bragging or anything, but I knew that was Latin for New Earth as soon as I saw it) and it's about dinosaurs and going back in time etc.but that isn't the point--I might make that point in a different post, however this post is about setting and the scene.
I originally thought that it was going to be about a bunch of people going back in time and living in huts and as I fondly remember Lenny's voice from Of Mice and Men say "We could live offa the fatta the lan'." and that's what I thought they were going to do. Turns out they're not. And I digress.
So the setting is where it's all at. You can't just have heads bobbing around on a white canvas now. Also, another little tidbit of information about settings is here: Somewhere Only We Know this part of the #Writer's Tool page. I assume some of you have read that already and some of you have just read it....yeah! Now let's get started on kicking the [insert expletive of choice here] out of your writer's block.
I don't always do this exercise out of writer's block, sometimes when I don't have any time to write I do this, or if I'm not feeling in a writerly way I think up places and setting and create around them, just like people create around characters, it's just as plausible to create around a setting.
Creating a setting is as simple as taking in your surrounding and mentally picking up words that would best describe it. I do this all of the time...in fact, I was walking home from the cinema, it's really dark and the only light came from the street lamps and the sky was clouded over but you could see the moon brightly lit from afar. I then notice that I'm treading through a thin layer of foliage, red leaves, brown leaves, wet leaves. I'm kicking them about, the street is quiet, deserted almost, but what do you expect for 2am with a road full of cars; empty glass panes and your reflection is badly lit to mimic a ghostly figure. [I note everything down as I go, and it's become second nature to me now because I've done it for so long.]
You might find that picking a setting from Google images or drawing a blank sheet will help with this exercise. In fact, you might choose to do both [or so I would recommend].
EXERCISE 1
Have a mental image of the place or pull one up on Google and take a minute to absorb the setting, or imagine what the setting holds and then after that minute is up just write on that plain piece of paper everything that you got.
[image error]
So for me it would be things like-- "crystal water", "murky lake", "marsh lands", "tall pine trees", "lone palm tree", "clear sky" and "sandy beach" of course not all of these things at once, but little snippets like that. And you'll soon start to see your setting shape all on its own, because it's all alright having it in your head, you just need to spit the words out for your reader to suck in.
EXERCISE 2
Two exercises for one post...I must be crazy to have thought have two...but I did.
So this might mean you have to do the first exercise because it involves you mixing it up a bit. Why should you live with what's before your eyes...reading is a form of escapism to some, why shouldn't writing be the same, I know it is for me.
In this task you challenge the norms of society and everything else really...people, weather, migration etc. you need to mix it up.
Take some pieces of paper or some index cards, and write down several pieces of setting from EXERCISE 1 and you might wish to section them off into 'Housing', 'Area', 'Nature' --setting related topics like this. I did a quick one before and got "a log cabin", "white beach" and "pine forest" :O all I can say is, whoa! That is a very twisted turn of events, but your task is to work with it and break the build up of stress or whatever it is that's causes your block.
Just relax :)
Now you've got your initial setting, you might want to ask yourself some questions.
-Who lives in that house?
-Why was it built there?
-A white beach? Is it on an island?
etc.
Now you're armed with some more knowledge on breaking down that wall, why don't you give it a kick and see what else comes through the flood gates. All good I hope.
-Joseph
Keep Writing guys!!
There is a new show just hit out TV screens, directed by Stephen Spielberg called Terra Nova (not bragging or anything, but I knew that was Latin for New Earth as soon as I saw it) and it's about dinosaurs and going back in time etc.but that isn't the point--I might make that point in a different post, however this post is about setting and the scene.
I originally thought that it was going to be about a bunch of people going back in time and living in huts and as I fondly remember Lenny's voice from Of Mice and Men say "We could live offa the fatta the lan'." and that's what I thought they were going to do. Turns out they're not. And I digress.
So the setting is where it's all at. You can't just have heads bobbing around on a white canvas now. Also, another little tidbit of information about settings is here: Somewhere Only We Know this part of the #Writer's Tool page. I assume some of you have read that already and some of you have just read it....yeah! Now let's get started on kicking the [insert expletive of choice here] out of your writer's block.
I don't always do this exercise out of writer's block, sometimes when I don't have any time to write I do this, or if I'm not feeling in a writerly way I think up places and setting and create around them, just like people create around characters, it's just as plausible to create around a setting.
Creating a setting is as simple as taking in your surrounding and mentally picking up words that would best describe it. I do this all of the time...in fact, I was walking home from the cinema, it's really dark and the only light came from the street lamps and the sky was clouded over but you could see the moon brightly lit from afar. I then notice that I'm treading through a thin layer of foliage, red leaves, brown leaves, wet leaves. I'm kicking them about, the street is quiet, deserted almost, but what do you expect for 2am with a road full of cars; empty glass panes and your reflection is badly lit to mimic a ghostly figure. [I note everything down as I go, and it's become second nature to me now because I've done it for so long.]
You might find that picking a setting from Google images or drawing a blank sheet will help with this exercise. In fact, you might choose to do both [or so I would recommend].
EXERCISE 1
Have a mental image of the place or pull one up on Google and take a minute to absorb the setting, or imagine what the setting holds and then after that minute is up just write on that plain piece of paper everything that you got.
[image error]
So for me it would be things like-- "crystal water", "murky lake", "marsh lands", "tall pine trees", "lone palm tree", "clear sky" and "sandy beach" of course not all of these things at once, but little snippets like that. And you'll soon start to see your setting shape all on its own, because it's all alright having it in your head, you just need to spit the words out for your reader to suck in.
EXERCISE 2
Two exercises for one post...I must be crazy to have thought have two...but I did.
So this might mean you have to do the first exercise because it involves you mixing it up a bit. Why should you live with what's before your eyes...reading is a form of escapism to some, why shouldn't writing be the same, I know it is for me.
In this task you challenge the norms of society and everything else really...people, weather, migration etc. you need to mix it up.
Take some pieces of paper or some index cards, and write down several pieces of setting from EXERCISE 1 and you might wish to section them off into 'Housing', 'Area', 'Nature' --setting related topics like this. I did a quick one before and got "a log cabin", "white beach" and "pine forest" :O all I can say is, whoa! That is a very twisted turn of events, but your task is to work with it and break the build up of stress or whatever it is that's causes your block.
Just relax :)
Now you've got your initial setting, you might want to ask yourself some questions.
-Who lives in that house?
-Why was it built there?
-A white beach? Is it on an island?
etc.
Now you're armed with some more knowledge on breaking down that wall, why don't you give it a kick and see what else comes through the flood gates. All good I hope.
-Joseph
Keep Writing guys!!
October 11, 2011
Commonplace [poem]
So a little bit about this poem. I wrote it for my creative writing class at university.
That clock above the door frame,
I'd been watching that
Since I came in. And the hands
Turn on the face like a slow
Suffocating cough,
By that man, rubbing at
His liver spotted skin.
Everyone else seems so content,
Some parent-toddler day
Of immunisations much worse
Than the barks of "get here!"
When the receptionist says that
It is their go,
To get a free lollipop.
Now the clock turns to me,
Watching as I, in turn, watch,
Each tick etched in my
Eardrums and each tock
Inside my chest. Silently,
Waiting to knock me and
Him, and her, and them,
And letting the building blocks
Tumble before that child,
I roll my eyes to black,
Until an incessant sob
Starts the rest, so I hiss
To the distastful tune and
Looks and mutters of
"He's only a child!"
What do you think? It's not my usual style, but I like it.
Joseph Eastwood ©
That clock above the door frame,
I'd been watching that
Since I came in. And the hands
Turn on the face like a slow
Suffocating cough,
By that man, rubbing at
His liver spotted skin.
Everyone else seems so content,
Some parent-toddler day
Of immunisations much worse
Than the barks of "get here!"
When the receptionist says that
It is their go,
To get a free lollipop.
Now the clock turns to me,
Watching as I, in turn, watch,
Each tick etched in my
Eardrums and each tock
Inside my chest. Silently,
Waiting to knock me and
Him, and her, and them,
And letting the building blocks
Tumble before that child,
I roll my eyes to black,
Until an incessant sob
Starts the rest, so I hiss
To the distastful tune and
Looks and mutters of
"He's only a child!"
What do you think? It's not my usual style, but I like it.
Joseph Eastwood ©
October 7, 2011
Format for October!
So I've been neglecting you. I haven't really be caring for you guys here on my main blog. I'm only 18 so I can't say something like "it's like having children, and you will always care more for a newborn than your two year old" but if I had had children, that would totally be the comparison I'd be making.
The purpose of this blog is...to tell you about October. I had planned on doing a blog like this at the start of October but that's when The Supernatural Blog was born and it is only the 7th today so I'd like to think I'd created this in great time.
Yes, I'm going to speak some more about my new blog before I talk about what's going to be happening over here. (The purpose for this section is to try and get you to come on over, hehe.) Every Saturday and Sunday I'll be posting about the most recently aired supernatural based TV Shows, so check out my TV List to see what's currently being blogged about. And then every Monday and Friday I'll be blogging about different supernatural beings, check the Beings List to see what's coming up, although I can tell you that from the Oct 7 - Oct 17 will be about witches, and then Oct 21 - Oct 31 will be about vampires.
Now for this blog. I'm going to be continuing with my poetry month, so if you'd like a little re-cap, check the poetry page (Poetry) where I've already posted about the haiku and the cinquain with many more planned every Wednesday and a new poem every Tuesday.
I'm also thinking of doing a flash fiction day--originally it was or would have been a Flash Friday which is typical among many blogs that I follow, but I'm not your average, typical guy, so I'm going to be doing my own version--Fursday Flash...yes, crazy phonetics, plus Thursday is also the day of my creative writing class at university so it'll be a very well-rounded and creative day don't you think.
I also have a few goals for October, and although I hate talking about them or blogging about them because it makes me feel shit if I don't reach them. My main goal of October is to just get through life and sort out my student finance, but there are other goals which I am more inclined to share with you:
I'd like to reach 300 "likes" (or more) on my new Facebook page--Joseph Eastwood
I'd also like to reach 30 followers on my new blog (the one I don't shut up about)
And I'd really like to do some prepping for a novel that I can write during NaNoWriMo
So they're my less serious goals, and they're all about my writing or networking. I'm not going to bore you with my life goals because before we know it, it will spark a mad rant!
Do you have any goals for October?
Keep Reading guys!!
-Joseph
October 6, 2011
Get Your Cinquain!?
Another segment of my poetry month, as I can't wait for April and national poetry month, plus I feel that poetry should be appreciated all year round.And this is just one other poetry type which I'm going to be blogging about. The last post was on haiku poetry, and now today, I'm going to blog about the cinquain.
I love this poetry type as there is so much variation, and in my poems below, you can see what variation I prefer and have learnt to write in--so let's discuss that one first.
Fun Fact!
The cinquain was inspired by the Japanese haiku and tanka poetry types.
There are five lines in a cinquain--that's a basic rule, and I'm not sure what to call the kind of cinquain I do. Maybe it's the basic form or perhaps it's just the English version or the one they teach in schools.
Line 1: is one word (the title)
Line 2: is two words; describes the title
Line 3: is three words; tells the action
Line 4: is four words; express the emotion
Line 5: Line 1 (can be different, something in the lexical field of Line 1: Tree-Oak)
I like the above structure, and it gives off a nice finished poem, at the end of the blog post there will be 3 of my cinquain poems.
Another common cinquain has a syllabic pattern which goes, two, four, six, eight, two, much like the above structure, but counting syllables (because poetry is after all, all about sound).
This is what Wikipedia has to say about the different cinquain variations.
Hyperlink Here!
I hope that you can all see this grid...if not, just click the title box up there and take a read. It's a really good grid and from this you can play around with a cinquain of your own (I make it sound like it's a little pet or something, but it needs to be cared for, just like any other poem or piece of prose) and you might like it!
Some of my cinquain poetry.
Snow,
Crystal flakes,
Fall, fast, slow,
Blanket white electric joy,
Snow.
Flower,
Red, black,
A rooted dancer,
Small pockets of peace,
Poppy.
Bird,
Sky's parcel,
Flying with ease,
Freedom through its wings,
Aviator.
Feel free to post your own cinquain poems in the comments box, I would love to see what you come up with.
-Joseph
![[image error]](http://photos.weddingbycolor.com/p/000/006/106/m/87131/p/photo/250517.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HmllILjSxeQ/TqVVnagXbPI/AAAAAAAAAIg/XjClt8PMDkI/s1600/%2523NaNoAdventures---To-Do-List.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](http://surlymuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/nanowrimo_calendar.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](http://www.zenithproperties.com/images/villa%20brazil.jpg){kind=link}