Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Monday, November 7, 2011

Trees. Criticism. Lessons learned.

At some point in Mrs. Newton's English Lit class at MHS, she said "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer was the worst poem ever. Trite, cliched, mawkishly sentimental, she said. But at the same time, it was one of the most popular, most loved by the public. "I think that I shall never see / a poem lovely as a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:47 AM | add or view comments (10) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, November 6, 2011

About Poetry and poets from ordinary life

CBS Sunday Morning. (Missed it this morning, darn it!) I should have mentioned to myself that I should watch. I love the moment of nature at the end where we get to watch alligators in a swamp or buffalo roaming Yellowstone or mountain sheep leaping from crag to crag. There are eagles snagging fish,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 9:09 AM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Writer's Digest just announced 4 December writing contests.

I haven't opened that email yet. I'm not quite done pouting and refusing to get my hopes up one more time (4 more times). Rejection: it's not just your mother's Oldsmobile. Not that I've been submitting anything lately. My mind seems to be stuck in perverse. For a while there I was sending stuff on... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 8:14 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, November 4, 2011

Good News / Bad News

My older daughter had breast cancer surgery yesterday. Didn't know what was going on, although she said it was in very early stage and she should be okay. Nobody heard from her, so this a.m. I called. She'd gone home in the afternoon, and according to the one who answered the phone, she was resting.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 12:55 PM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Fear Sells...

When it comes to writing a story, nobody wants nothing but fair winds and sunshine. We want to read about danger, about overcoming adversity, there's got to be murder and a brave detective, or a resourceful kid who figures out whodunit and brings the dastardly villain to justice. The big crime this... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 7:48 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Character development

I'm not talking about parenting -- turning those little ones from tantrum throwing little terrorists into patient, thoughtful adults. What I'm getting at is writing believable characters for a story. It's the characters and how they relate to one another that holds a plot together. You need a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 7:40 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

She's no lady.

Frank Sinatra had a hit with "The Lady is a Tramp," back in another historic era. That song is a well-crafted argument about reality and praises a woman who asserts herself and is secure enough to laugh out loud, wear what she likes, and never feign interest in an issue just to be polite. I have to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 10:38 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Kabu's comment on yesterday's Halloween story is exactly right

I did revise a chapter of my 922 Holyoake Road ghost story. I sharpened the conflict between George and Isabel, deleted some redundancies. Maybe I've found a new way to edit a novel -- one chapter at a time, instead of starting at "Once Upon a Time" and fighting the clock until "The End." It seems... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 10:14 AM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween: 922 Holyoake Road, a "true" ghost story

George sat at the table for a while, trying to decide the next step. He was thinking they seldom had callers. He could go to work the next day like nothing had happened. The best way to dispose of the corpse would be to wrap it in the quilt and find a secluded spot on the farm to bury the body. He’d... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 9:16 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Post Script -- It's a(nother) party!

About the highway closure that was to be re-scheduled so the St. Louis fans could throw a parade for the World Series winners: The organizers set the parade time for Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. -- the road work got done, the marching bands were contacted, floats were restored or built, and those... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:42 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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