All posts filed under: Strange Thoughts

What’s Your Writing Addiction?

Published by

One of my favorite prompts from NaPoWriMo this year encouraged participants to write a poem about the moon. Inspired by conversations on Twitter in which poets trying to accept the disproportionate amount of moon poetry they write, the prompt encouraged poets to accept their love of moon poetry as well. “Stop fighting the moon,” the prompt urges. “Lean in. Accept the moon. The moon just wants what’s best for you and your poems.” I can definitely say I have a bit of an addiction to writing about the moon, as evidenced by the list of 30 poems I wrote about the moon below. Do you find a particular subject or theme recurring in your writing? I’d love to know what it is! My Moon Poems: When the Moon is New A Crimson Moon Moon Ritual The Full Moon Will Rise Senryu 61 Moonrise At Night The Beat Grows Loud The Hounds of Diana Senryu 6 Solstice Ritual Haibun 4 Horror Haiku 59 The Color of Ghosts Autumn’s Cold Touch Jewel Tones Off the Coast of …

May Mood Board and Writing Prompts

Published by

When I was college, May was that magical month in Massachusetts where sunny days start to outnumber rainy ones, and the weather is consistently warm enough to spread out blankets and lounge outside. Some overly ambitious students would drag entire couches outside to study on. When rainy days did come, they were warm and gentle, unlike the cold and raw rainy days in March and April. Living in North Carolina now, May is the month when flowers start to bloom in full. It also becomes necessary to keep an eye out for snakes, also emerging with the warmer weather. May Writing Prompts: Moon gardenIvyA rustle of feathersWarm rainSerpentsTell me the wayA longing gazeWild womenDancing at sunrise

April Mood Board and Writing Prompts

Published by

Every April, poets from all over the world participate in National Poetry Writing Month, during which they attempt to write a poem a day. Known as NaPoWriMo, the challenge started on a writer’s blog which over the years has blossomed into an unofficial homepage for the event. Creator Maureen Thorson provides daily prompts and ideas for participating poets. I half participated in a pandemic fog last year, but this April I’m fully committing to the challenge, pausing my normal blog schedule so I can post a poem a day. April Writing Prompts ink smudgesa worn dictionarytyping furiouslyPhotographs tucked between pagesone more coupletyour favorite musetea stained pagescalligraphy and ribbonsstacks of notebooks

Searching for Springtime Scares

Published by

I like to align a lot of my writing with the seasons, since I take a lot of inspiration from nature. Spring is usually a challenge for me, as I prefer darker themes and imagery. How do you make sunshine and budding flowers scary? I might be able to take some tips from a hugely successful horror movie that premiered in March. Jordan Peele’s Us featured warm weather, picturesque settings, and children. Peele contrasts these elements with dark tunnels, and a nighttime confrontation between the protagonist’s family and terrifying, murderous versions of themselves. I can also take  literary inspiration from some classic short stories.  Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is centered around a sunny room. And of course, Shirely Jackson’s famously unsettling The Lottery, detailing the horrifying tradition of a small New England town each June. What’s your favorite springtime scare?

March Mood Board and Writing Prompts

Published by

March is all about watching for spring while it rains, waiting under fresh sheets with a cup of tea and a good book. Every flower bloom, leaf bud, and sunny day is cause for excitement. March Writing Prompts Cold morningsWhisper Shakespeare to mePale sunlightThe meadows bloomPressed flowersThe leaves begin to peekStrolls along the riverPlanting a tea gardenCrisp linenWildflowers return

Childhood Artifacts

Published by

I’ve been sorting through a box of old mementos and photos for a massive scrapbooking project, and along with some old poetry, I’ve also stumbled on some old art projects and other artifacts from my childhood. It’s funny how you can forget about an object until you see it again, and then a whole flood of memories come back. This sketch and painting was a high school art class assignment where we chose a picture from a pile, and sketched it upside down. We then chose one color, and painted the same picture upside down using different shades of that one color. I remember feeling so proud when my art teacher told me I had chosen well when I selected blue.

If you need a laugh today, I’ve got one for you

Published by

If you haven’t seen this video of a lawyer struggling to get rid of a kitten zoom filter yet, you must. I laughed until I cried the first time I watched it, particularly when the hapless lawyer suggests he is will to continue with the filter on, stammering, “I’m here live, I’m just not a cat.” I also wanted to share the presiding judge’s kind words, tweeted after the mishap: “These fun moments are a by-product of the legal profession’s dedication to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these tough times. Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace. True professionalism all around!”

February Writing Prompts and Mood Board

Published by

I’m not a fan of most romance novels and movies. I just don’t tend to gravitate towards the average contemporary love story. Add in some gothic elements though, a creaky haunted mansion, elaborate Victorian costumes, or a moody protagonist, and I’m interested. February Writing Prompts The night beckonsBlack silk skirts sweeping the floorEnshroudedDamask curtains pulled shutMurmurs in the darkCrimson rosesTwin flamesA piercing gazeThe brush of a cold handWaltzing in the moonlight

Change is in the air

Published by

Imbloc is a pagan Celtic holiday that marks the midpoint of winter equinox and spring solstice. Observed from sundown on the first through sundown on the second, it’s considered a time to celebrate the growing warmth of the sun. Ancient pagans would celebrate with festivals featuring large bonfires, special food, and divination. Performing a spring cleaning was also an important tradition. In the US, it feels like we are celebrating a little early. Watching last week’s presidential inauguration, I felt such a warm sense of relief. The pandemic may not be over, and nothing concrete has changed overnight, but I feel as though an era of stress and uncertainty has ended. Since last week, so many harmful policies have been reversed. New plans to fight the pandemic are being put in place. And thanks to Amanda Gorman, poetry is being valued in a way it hasn’t been in a really long time.