PrazeitPoetry

Fractals and Finding Inspiration in Nature

 

One of the reasons I love to take photographs is because it brings me inside my self, winding down like autumn, or winding out like a seed unfurling. Fractals are produced by mathematics and simulate many of the same shapes and structures of life. This fern was photographed in the Manu National Wildlife Reserve in the Cloud Forest portion in Peru. The shape resembles a fetus developing inside a mother. It also resembles someone bent under weight, and the many women wrapped in their colorful wool blankets used to carry goods to market. Playing with an idea or series of related ideas is a great way to find strong meaning in poetry. What does this photograph mean to you?

Believability & characterization in writing

I guess I read somewhere that if an author makes you cry, you can be sure that they have cried ten times or more while they've written it. People don't cry unless they've felt the pain and anguish involved. So in order to write it convincingly, an author has to have been there. If you read something and it is awful and yet it doesn't feel that awful--either the writer hasn't had the experience or they haven't allowed themselves into that pain.

It's not enough to have the flexibility of brain that allows you to see inside other human beings, but you have to have had the experience, at least a similarity of experience that allows you to write it. It seems that when you create a character that everyone wants to defend, they go to the nearest source--the one that looks similar to how I wrote it without every understanding that I would never write it that way. No character of mine resembles any of the people I have met in my life. I take one person's hair, another  person's problems, another persons way of walking, and make someone else that exists in my writing and no where else.

But every one of them was me first. That's why authors are told to write what they know.

And what is the biggest reason that someone will deny their feelings and the evidence before their eyes and reject a truth? It's because the evidence violates some deep seated-belief about the way that society operates. Like drug problems are a minority issue. Like behavior outside the norm causes ostracism rather than the opposite--the people doing the ostracism can't bend far enough to allow an outsider inside. Like a woman could know science and math.

Someday when you face death in the face, repeatedly, you too will know fear and when deaths calls for you wearing the face of someone you love you will know anguish.

Kaleidotrope and How to Start a Webzine

The editor, Fred Coppersmith at Kaleidotrope has a new blog. He's opened submissions to year-round. Kaleidotrope published one of my poems in March and two more are due out in October. This is a fun 'zine--the humor is good. I cracked up reading the "Reader Personality Quiz" and "Wonan the Barbarian and the Sentence of Certain Death". But not all the stories/articles/poems are funny. I really liked "Three Stories--Nothing was Enough, Spider's Landing, and Circle Run" by Beth Landford, possibly because I'm studying short fiction at the moment. Good value all around.

Fred's page points to two good article by John Klima, editor of Electric Velocipede about starting your own e-zine.

Mythology

In "The Writer's Journey" Christopher Vogler explains the importance of myths in our understanding of what makes a good story, see my list of useful writing books. Before I travel to any new country, I want to know the history and the mythology for that country. On one hand, the mythology tells the stories told by the common people and handed down through time. See my list of favorite mythology books. History, on the other hand, is told more from the point of view of the society and related events. In addition, I also want to know about the natural world environment that I will encounter, especially where to find birds and mammals and what some of the native plants look like. Travel guides explain some of the modern amenities like roads, hotels, restaurants and things to do. I like to write stories set in places I've visited because having done the research, I bring a lot of knowledge about the place tied with experiential memories. I believe this adds additional layers to my work.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet.

Review of: Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms, Books

By: Sheri F. on Judy's Book

Rating: 4 stars

Read review on Judy's Book.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet. It contains information about word roots, where they originated and in what language and the common meaning of that root. It does the same for combining forms -- these are the typical endings to words, an example is -merous for instance meaning many. It's organized alphabetically. It can help you identify what a foriegn work might mean without a dictionary for that language. It can also help with old latin forms and unusual names. By knowing the roots, a writer can have fun making sure their writing isn't too esoteric and too down to earth.

My list of Useful References for Writing Poetry

My list of Useful References for Writing Poetry

By: Sheri Fresonke Harper

Category: Opinion > Other

Read the article on Judy's Book.

A rich repetoire of poetry includes unusual topics, different forms, different voices, good music and the like. Anyone thinking of trying should consider these references, easily used by a beginner (click on link to read my review):
- The Making of a Poem by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland
- Creating Poetry by John Drury
- The Art and Craft of Poetry by Michael Bugeja
- The Practice of Poetry edited by Robin Behn & Chase Twichell
- Merriam Webster Rhyming Dictionary

Monk at the Moment of Enlightment and writing prompts

Went to Seattle's Asian Art Museum to do my assignment with the "monk at the moment of enlightenment", a cool wooden sculpture. He looks like someone I know, someone staid, meditative who suddenly had the urge to turn into a dancing girl, one of the other artworks there.

I've heard lots about how to go about writing and making one's own writing prompts, but... it's a lot more fun to write with one, almost like playing a game to trick oneself into a new mind. A bunch of my writing has come from finding a piece of art I relate to, a sudden idea, a mood, or from a variety of writing prompts. See my webpage for an Amazon linked list to my favorite writing prompt sources and Judy's Books for my reviews:

A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves

poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge

Fruitflesh by Gayle Brandeis

The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood

The Writer's Idea Book by Jack Heffron

One thing I can say is that the prompts that work best are open-ended. They don't imply a character, a storyline, or a genre. They imply a mood, provide specificity, tie into imagination with non-concrete space, imply place, style or action. One's that insist on some character spoil my intent, to find some part of the story I'm working on and take me to some other story. Think about it. If you're working a story, how does it help you to go to someone else story and if I were to do that, why wouldn't I just read? One's that insist on some plot point may entirely miss my story by not fitting into my character's growth. Most of all they should be fun, they should send me to another source, provide me new information, give me a new tool for my toolbox of writing tricks.

Book list in Amazon for becoming a writer.

This list is of my favorite guides to the process. Hope you enjoy them.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R3LYYKQTYN6X8I/102-5771080-5887302

Good resources for a believable world

Some of my favorite books for use in writing Earth based setting include:

• Sunset's Western Garden Book, Landscaping Book
• Any of the Tory Peterson Field Guides -- includes mushrooms, mammals, sealife, also any of the Birding Guides out there
• AAA Guides for states
• Ultimate Visual Dictionary
• Art Books
• Maps
• My old college textbook : Human Geography
• web research results and blog photo's
• Herb and herbal medicine books