Kern Carter's Blog, page 110
August 30, 2021
Call For Submissions — Is It Time To Move On From Writing
Please take notice that I said “move on” and not “give up.” There’s a difference. My WEOC colleague, Cholia "CJ" Johnson, spoke about taking steps to move on to something else after a decade of writing.
It’s a tough thing to come to terms with. I don’t personally see myself ever doing something not tied to writing, but maybe that’s not a good thing. Maybe I’m blinding myself to opportunities that may bring me equal fulfilment.
It’s like an athlete who has to reckon with what to do after they retire. The transition is often too much to handle, but it’s necessary. Is it necessary for you? Have you even thought of what else you would pursue if it’s not writing?
This is an emotional one so I expect some deep responses.
Same rules still apply:You can submit to this or ANY of our past writing prompts. Just scroll through our previous newsletters. They’ll be marked “Call for Submissions.”If you’re already a writer for CRY, go ahead and submit.If you’re not a writer for CRY but would like to submit to this or any other prompt, let us know and we’ll add you ASAP. Include your profile handle in your message or comment.Be as creative as you want in your submissions. As long as you stick to the topic, we’ll consider it.Just because you submit doesn’t mean we’ll post. If you haven’t heard back from us in three days, consider that a pass.Please reach out if you have any questions at all. If you are new to Medium, here’s how you submit a draft to a publication.
Call For Submissions — Is It Time To Move On From Writing was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
The Wheels of Change
Our journey through life is like a bowling ball — we’ve got to keep our path straight even when curveballs change our course
The Blessing
Photograph by Juliet AltmannThe time has come for the darkness to rise
The return is nigh — the dawn has arrived
All cries have been heard, all lessons integrated
This is the time that I awaited.
A breath of fresh air, at long long last
A sip of water, a place to rest
The space to wander, and time to nest
No more rushing, no more hustling
Just ease and trusting the process.
The time comes for the darkness to rise
Every. Single. Day.
I know there is no destination
So I know I’m always on my way and I’m okay with it.
But what that means, is that the blessing I seek
Does not come at long last at all
In fact, it lives within me
I always had it and I always will
I just didn’t remember to use it, until now
The Blessing was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Haiku Writing.
Relax when writing
August 29, 2021
August 28, 2021
Call me Icarus from the future
Illustration by bradleyflora.comI was Icarus from the future, with glass wings and a fragile smile. A friable heart, broken and embrittled. That’s not a request for Michelin stars, it’s an admission of guilt. An admission that I left my wings of wax at home. If you dine at my restaurant, I’ll seat you by the aquarium or the big plate glass window with views of the sea.
Clouds in the sky, pink macaroons smashed flat but still fresh. Slow down, let the jet-stream carry your eye across the cotton candy ripples of divinity where you’ll see me flying, catching cloudfish for your dinner.
I should apologize, too. Someone once taught me the meaning of the comma and I’ve overused it ever since, used it as a rope to lash together ideas, build words into sentences, and then hurtled the whole thing at the castle walls. Who knew a trebuchet could fly?
I did it backward. Left the rock on the ground where it belongs and sent the war machine off to be splintered against someone else’s hubris. Isn’t that what they want?
Let’s not be lazy or pejorative-isn’t that what who wants?
Wood and rope and iron crashing into stone and steel and, look! a sheep, flying below, grazing in the in-between space between armies, between what you want to read and just how much I plan to get paid.
I’m ready to brag. I wrote this sentence in only 15 minutes. I melted down my wings and sold them as candles at the farmer's market. I wish I was as talented as you but I’m stuck in this body and here’s the point: buried in the depths of this non-flagellating prose, non-descriptive hallmark card, sharp-tipped descriptive practice, oscillating backflips, tremendous tremulous words are six secrets.
This isn’t Dan Brown meets Hunter S. Thompson. It's not even truth; it's fiction, wrapped around my heart, healed and healthy, as I burn calories for the future generations.
Call me Icarus from the future was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Writing With a Purpose
My responsibility as a writer
As some of you know I write informal articles for a website called Adoption.com, Adoption.org, and Adopting.org. I do this on a freelance basis, and it’s my responsibility as a storyteller to inform, educate, and persuade people to consider adopting a child. While I do like this job and feel that it’s very important to get accurate information about everything that comes with adoption, it’s no surprise the work can be tedious. After all, I did sign a contract to write these articles to get others to read these sites for all their adoption knowledge. For a while, writing about adoption had me wondering; is this really something I want to do?
Now I’ll get into what I do for myself as a writer. I do like to write how I feel, and I enjoy telling other people’s stories through writing. Writing is therapeutic, and when I write how I feel, I feel like I’m writing with a purpose to let others know that they aren’t alone with feeling depressed, anxious, or moody. I also like to write about happy things; I’m not all melancholy. I like writing about love, peace, nostalgia, and the like. Whatever I write, I personally feel that I’d love for anyone reading my articles to feel connected, inspired, and less lonely.
As a full-fledged introvert, writing allows me to connect with others without making eye contact. This brings me to the mind of this quote by YA author John Green:
“Writing is something you do alone. It’s a profession for introverts who wanna tell you a story but don’t wanna make eye contact while telling it”
Another John Green quote about writing about the human experience and seeing things through someone else’s point of view:
“Writing, or at least good writing, is an outgrowth of that urge to use language to communicate complex ideas and experiences between people. And that’s true whether you’re reading Shakespeare or bad vampire fiction — reading is always an act of empathy. It’s always an imagining of what it’s like to be someone else.”
Writing allows me to tell a story, hoping that the reader can either relate to what I’m saying or at least see things from a new perspective. For example, if a reader comes along to one of my articles where I write about suffering from social anxiety disorder, who themselves have never felt that intense anxiety, they can sort of get a feel of my nervousness by simply struggling to start a conversation with a stranger. Or if a reader has or had a social anxiety disorder, they can absolutely relate to the silly fear that I have. Social anxiety is no laughing matter, and perhaps I’ll write many articles and stories about it.
My overall point is, as writers, I believe we do have a responsibility to inform, educate, entertain, and tell true stories. It’s a big responsibility, and that’s why it’s also healthy to write for yourself as well. When you’re writing for yourself, you’re letting go of the pressure of making an audience happy, and hopefully, you have feelings of relief. Whatever you’re writing about, you’re always writing with a purpose and it’s your responsibility to love what you do.
Writing With a Purpose was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
