I Don’t Need Prompting to Write (Then Again, Maybe I Do)

April is poetry month!  In celebration, there will be a flurry of poetry events, poems published and of course prompts.  

Do you use prompts to write?  Do you need them?

I’ve noticed a writing publication I read regularly includes prompts in a column.  But it doesn’t stop there, they are everywhere especially if you read non-fiction books on writing.

I use them sometimes, but generally I don’t.  I’m not one to write themed poems, either so I rarely submit anything to a publication that has one.  It’s not how I write.  But how I write and how you write are certainly different!  And for good reason!

What is your favorite prompt to write?  What kind of prompts do you like:  fiction, non-fiction, poetry?

The other way to take prompting in writing is do you need something to get you started or to remind you to take time to do it?  I’ve noticed after a flurry of activity with writing poetry, mostly place or travel poems, I haven’t been writing nearly as much.  I’ve spent more time lately on the sequel to my award nominated mystery series as well as with an idea I’ve been knocking about for several years for a short story - I keep telling myself it’s not something I want to write, but yet there it is.  Some ideas simply won’t leave you alone until you explore them.

Whatever prompting you may need, well it is yours to decide.  It’s your story, in whatever form it may take.

Master Class and Martian Poetry

Have you ever taken a master class?  How about one for writing?  

I took one this morning on the creative process.  I have signed up for another one next week on writing.  Do I think master classes are beneficial?  It depends on the class, of course!

So far they have been for me because they make me think in a new way and also think of things I haven’t ever tried so that’s good for my process.  Part of being a poet and writer is perseverance and if you have these positive experiences with other like minded professionals then it should help.

When I have a chance, I also join in with some virtual poetry workshops and/or open mics.  It is good to hear from other writers and poets and to see their perspectives as well.  

At the same time as I decided to try these master classes, I discovered Craig Raine and his Martian poetry. It’s writing from the point of view of say a Martian who experiences things for the first time.  What an interesting concept!  I like the poem that started it all, “A Martian Writes a Postcard Home” too.  

With the creative writing process, it’s good to try something you have never tried.  Experiences are key for any kind of creativity, imho!  

I wonder if there may be a master class in being a Martian one day?  With all of the new exploration on Mars, maybe so.  One of my favorite poetry books I have out (it was funded on Kickstarter) is “Mars or Bust.”  I would love to see that translated into Martian one day!

How To Buy a Poetry Book as Easy as POETRY!

 If you’re a poet, you read poetry, right?  Of course, no matter where you get your poetry books there are quite a number of them.  

First of all, you should probably know the difference between a Chapbook and a Poetry Book and even a Poem Novel, a Poetry Booklet and a Broadside  A Chapbook is a shorter book of poetry, often produced by the Poet themselves and contains probably around 20 poems or more.  A Booklet of Poems would probably contain around 8 or so poems and be a smaller version of a Chapbook.  A Broadside is a one sheet of one poem and can be artistically presented or simply just have the poem only on it.  A Poetry Book is going to be your longer book of poems with at least 70 or so pages or more.  A Poem Novel is a fiction like tale told via the way of verse.

Does length of the book truly matter?  It depends on what kind of poems you wish to read and how much time you have to spend reading it and also who the author is.  You also won’t find too many Chapbooks for sale in a bookstore.  You will find a number of any of the above for sale online.

Here’s a simple way to pick out your book or chapbook, etc:  P (personal interest), O (originality), E (eagerness to read), T (time you have to read), R (reading preferences such as style, form, author, etc.) and Y (You, why do you want to read it).  Price too might matter!

Have fun selecting your next book of poems.  Happy reading!

Sculptures on Super Bowl Sunday

 I like modern art.  I like sculptures.  I don’t make that kind of art, I sculpt & paint with words!  I live in an area where we have several outdoor sculptures all around plus an outdoor sculpture center.  

To me experiencing other kinds of art is necessary to help foster your own.  Art is a way of life, in my opinion.

The setting for the sculptures I saw on Friday is an old school out in a North Carolina valley near where the real life story of Tom Dooley and Laura Foster took place.  It used to be a private boys school then a private school, a science center and now an Arts Center.  

It was inspiring to me to walk around the setting, to enjoy the great outdoors and to see how each sculpture was enhanced by their surroundings.  I’ve always believed that place does shape how you live, how you see the world and also if you make art it affects that, too.

Here are a few of the sculptures I saw.  They are located at the WNC Sculpture Center in Patterson, NC.  Some are permanent, some are from an exhibit.  I’ve just included a few of them here.  They are all spectacular because like I said Art = Life.  

The New Book Review: LB Sedlacek Earns Prolific Poet Designation

The New Book Review: LB Sedlacek Earns Prolific Poet Designation: Four New Books: Chuck Town, Suicide Pumpkin,    The Blue Eyed Side, The Poet Protection Plan Author: L. B. Sedlacek Publishers: See author b...

Book Signing of “The Blue Eyed Side” new poem novel

 Book Signing of my newest book “The Blue Eyed Side” on Feb 20th from 11am-2pm at Tybrisa Books. The book is a poem novel murder mystery set in Hatteras and Plumtree, NC.  The book is published by Cyberwit.  

The Magical Realism of Writing and Art

Do you ever come across that moment, you know the one where the flow just overcomes you and you can’t write or type fast enough to get your thoughts and ideas down?  Does that come to you only when you’re writing, or do you find it in another art form and then it inspires your writing?

Ah, inspiration!  Seems we’re fresh out of that these days, or can be if we aren’t watching or looking hard enough.

I’m the visual type so I’m always looking around for something interesting to see.  With smart phones, what do I do but snap a picture or two or three or occasionally a burst.  Usually, though, I take only one shot.  I try to get the focus, the view right the first time.  I’m a no filter needed one photo will do it no editing needed type of picture taker.  

I created a local poetry book and FB page and often times if I take a picture of something local then I might write a poem about it, too.  (See @poetryinla on FB or Insta.). Those picture taking moments are magic to me - a magical realism where real life and art blend together in a fantastic hopeful joyous and yes inspiring way.

Moments of magic infiltrate moments of every day each and every day.  You have to pay attention, though, to the act, to the magician behind whatever it is you’re seeing so you don’t miss it - that sunset, that view, pouring rain, a neon open sign in an otherwise shutdown shopping center, that quote, that book, - whatever crosses your path.  

The magic is real so don’t blink.  Take it, and make it your own.  

Organic Inspiration

I am not one of those people who follow a routine.   Yes, I have them, but I don’t do the same things the same way every single day.  I eat breakfast, but never the same thing and usually not at the same time.  I write almost every day, but some days I focus only on one aspect of my work and sometimes I focus on several.  

I am not afraid to try new things, but if it includes socializing (even online) I am not jumping up and down with glee ready to take take part in said activity.  I truly do not mind and prefer to be by myself most of the time.  (Since nearly everyone in my family including the dog is extroverted they don’t mind this one bit, lol).  

Yesterday was one of those days involving not one but two activities that included other people.  The day before yesterday I ran an errand that involved seeing other people.  This doesn’t mean I’m never around people or talk to anyone - I usually talk to several people each and every week and I luckily have many friends.  

Each time I was rewarded with inspiration with these activities.  I wrote a poem about something I discovered at one of them.  I took pictures I’m going to use for a new book cover at another.  I made an artist connection with another.  I have to go through life like in the book “The Celestine Prophecy” (remember that one?) and be open to the idea of organic discovery which leads to inspiration and creativity.

These days that’s harder than ever to achieve because of the pandemic.  That leads to more online events and so because of that I’ve attended way more poetry readings, workshops and open mics than I ever have in the area where I live.  There are only a few opportunities for these type of live events and activities around here anyway.  

I like getting in that head space of flow from hearing other poets and authors read their works or simply talk about their process.  It’s like being in a room full of knowledge and kinship except you are in your own space sitting at or with your electronic device watching and/or listening in.  

It’s like bringing chaos to its knees.  It’s like shuffling ideas and thoughts into a kaleidoscopic mix of ideas.  

It’s simply creative organic magical realism flow.  

Some guy’s trip to Vegas aka Conversational Poetry

 Sitting in a waiting room, blogging, writing poems, reading poems, etc and this guy (on his laptop) gets a phone call and well talks so loud you can’t help but overhear everything he has said.   He went to Vegas!

The trip was all paid for.  He won $1500 gambling.  He gambled while his wife shopped.  He was there for a wedding.  He gambled with some friends.  He was happy to win because the trip was all paid for and he didn’t have to pay anything for it.  He said he felt like he won 50K instead of 1500 dollars he was so excited!

Besides reading and blogging, I can watch my App and watched a TV show ... I barely had the volume up and read the captions so I wouldn’t disturb the other people in the waiting room.  (Yes, I have ear plugs but I rarely use them because I forget to charge them, lol).  

As I sit here and listen to every detail of his ridiculous trip (Vegas for a wedding during a Pandemic?) I can’t believe I worried about me making too much noise.  But of course observing and listening is how some poets, like me, come up with poems.  

Often if I’m working on a story and get stuck, I may overhear or have a story told to me that helps me to fill in the gaps and/or to help me figure out how to make a bridge of sorts in the plot line to move the story along.

The guy is still talking as  I type completely unaware anyone else is listening to him.  See, there’s another poem/story idea ... how easy is it to “steal” any kind of sensitive information without even trying?  He’s mentioned posts, sources, and names!

Happy listening!

The Creative Process

The creative process.  What’s yours?  

It seems anything different is in this year.  Does that work for creativity?  

I know I need to do different things, visit places, read, etc to spark my creativity.  I haven’t traveled much this year, but I have done many new things like run / walk a 5 k for charity, blaze paths in the woods, hike around a rather muddy lake, take a picture for my new poem novel (“The Blue Eyed Side” published by Cyberwit in Nov 2020 with my cover photo of the Blue Ridge Parkway), learn to cook eggs (I’m a vegetarian, I eat cheese but not eggs), bounce on a trampoline, celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving, put up an artificial Christmas tree, and so on.  

There’s a way to keep new things happening in your life.  I had a couple of book signings this year - first ones ever wearing a mask.  I also did a live online poetry reading and sold more books from that than from anything else like it I’ve ever done.

Usually at Christmas, I don’t work on anything for any reason.  This year, though, Christmas is different.  I will see how creative I can and want to be.

Here’s hoping your Christmas is all you want it to be and that it’s a safe one.  ~Merry Christmas, LB

Living the Poetical Life aka What is Poetical Success

Hi, I’m LB Sedlacek.  I’ve been publishing “The Poetry Market Ezine” for the past 20 years!  I just decided to end it after 20 years because I need to have more time for other things that have come into my life.  “The Poetry Market Ezine” was a monthly online email subscription newsletter just for poets with poetry markets, contests, and news.  Usually, I would review a poetry book or chapbook too.  I always signed off here and there with “Here’s wishing you poetical success.”  

But what does it mean to be poetical?  What does success in poetry really look like?

I have a friend who used to talk about someone she knew who was an artist and who believed in living your life through art to express art.  Okay, what does that mean?  I believe it indicated supporting other artists and also attending arts events of all kinds - theatre, art shows, poetry readings, concerts, etc.

Wouldn’t you as an artist prefer to be surrounding yourself with other art related activities along with your own?  Yep, there she goes talking about inspiration ... again.

But I digress (and this isn’t a post about inspiration).  I believe in experiences.  I studied acting while living in Washington, DC - I went to a theatre school in Georgetown of all places.  Later on I went to graduate school in theatre and communications.  When studying acting, you learn several techniques.  One is method where the actor believes in really experiencing what the character goes through to play the part.

Experiences to me are key to my life as a poet.  I am inspired daily (not just by gazing off into the sunsets which I often do ... one of the benefits of living in the mountains is that you can see distance for miles hence very pretty skies, stars) by life itself from things I observe to conversations I have to things I read and even by some of my dreams (I have had some vivid dreams!).   I also have other interests, responsibilities and jobs so I am doing many other things besides thinking about poetry all day.  It brings me into contact with other  possibilities that I wouldn’t have without them.

Traveling and Swimming, besides reading, are two of my favorite things to do (can’t do much of either right now with the pandemic, but before that I did them both all the time) and from there I wrote many place poems.  Same with my love of taking pictures and then writing about them (see @poetryinla on Facebook or Instagram) which is pretty much my own version of ekphrastic poetry.

I like to listen to music, too.  I like to draw.  I enjoy the theatre.  It’s all a good blend, it really is.

Your success as a Poet is what you make it.  You have to grow, not be afraid, fly, have writing rituals, envision succeeding, say yes to opportunities, get out an experience art and life, and take off on your second, third or fifth act.  

I may not be publishing my poetry ezine any more, but I will continuing to provide Poem Critiques and I will keep writing.  I’m simply ready to take off in a new direction.  I’m simply ready to find success in a different way.