Category: Writing Inspiration

Creative Writing, Writing, Writing Inspiration, Writing Process

A Writer’s Life

Mona Alvarado Frazier

So, that’s me up there in the center circle!

For years, I’ve written flash fiction, short stories and novels. Sometimes they are published and most times they are not.

But, I celebrate the wins along the writing way. I’m a finalist for SheWrites Press and SparkPress fourth annual contest. There will be two winners: One for the Adult category and one for the Young Adult (YA) category. My submission is for the YA. We’ll find out soon and I’ll post something either way.

Any writer who seeks publication knows how difficult the road to birthing an article, essay, short story or a novel can be. But like the ant going uphill, we persevere.

After twelve years of writing, shelving, and revising stories plus collecting books on the craft of writing, and participating in critique groups and writing organizations, I ask myself:

Just why do I write?

Many of my stories have an element of my life experiences and talking about them on paper is like a release. I have a need to write, to find out and process what I’m feeling or thinking. Sharing struggles is my means of supporting others by letting the reader know that they are not alone. Others have faced similar challenges and made it out alive.

I’m usually thinking and writing about what girls and women go through. Events from my past bounce around in my head and want out. More than a few times, I have a voice talking to me: “Remember when … ?” And then I remember and process the incident on paper.

The act of sharing my writing is scary sometimes. I wonder will I be judged, will someone think I’m writing about them, will someone get angry? But most of the time, I don’t care, because the act of writing is a release that I need. And for an introvert like me this sharing is a relationship with one reader.

Writing is an intimate act. It’s risky. But there’s something about the flow on words onto a white slate that invigorates a writer. Each page is a new creation.

I like the way I get lost in writing, how I go into a deep hole or a far away tangent and then reread my stuff and laugh. Or cry. Or erase.

Mostly, I write to highlight the experiences of love, loss, and other challenges of women and girls. I write to amplify their strength and resilience in the face of obstacles and dire circumstances.

I know I’ll keep writing whether I publish a novel or not. Because that is not the end game, but I can’t lie, it sure would be nice!

“It is the deepest desire of every writer, the one we never admit or even dare to speak of: to write a book we can leave as a legacy. . . . If you do it right, and if they publish it, you may actually leave something behind that can last forever.”

Alice Hoffman

Art, Creativity, Inspiration, poetry, Poetry Month, Stories, Writing Inspiration

What the Heck is Ekphrastic #Poetry?

Mona Alvarado Frazier

 

paper cutout of a couple on a book
Story. Photo by Rossyyme, flickr.com creative commons

 

In the spirit of poetry month, I thought I’d make a poem for this week’s post. Last year, I celebrated the month with the post Late To The Poetry Party, offering a poem and several links to other poets (who actually submit poems and win honors).

Have you ever heard a term that sounded so odd you wanted to blurt, “Say what?”

That’s how I felt when I first heard of Ekphrastic poetry but I didn’t ask the question out loud. First, my mind and tongue tried to wrap itself around the weird word. Second, maybe I didn’t want to hear the definition; sounded like a cutting word.

I heard the word from my writing mentor, Fred Arroyo, who participated in this interesting workshop:

“PINTURA : PALABRA, a project in ekphrasis” is a multi-year initiative that encourages new Latino writing inspired by art, above all a Smithsonian American Art Museum traveling exhibit titled Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art. Aspects of this initiative include ekphrastic writing workshops; inviting writers to engage with the exhibit; and partnering with literary journals to publish portfolios of ekphrastic writing. The exhibit debuted in Washington, D.C. in 2013 and concludes its tour in Sioux City, Iowa in 2017.

You can read how he uses ekphrastic poetry here.

This is from the Poetry Foundation:

An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.

Now, whenever I go to a museum or see a lovely piece of photography, my creative juices begin squirting and sometimes land on something I like.

This is a photo which mesmerized me for a few minutes. A story followed.

 

inside of monastery, sunlight, photo by Helmut Tobies
Photo of Monastery by Helmut Tobies, unsplash.com/creative commons

 

In another time,

another place

sunlight danced on the shoulders

of forbidden lovers

pressed against columns

moist with passion

beneath arches,

                                                          a canopy to cover scandal,

the joyful

sighs of love.

Her velvet gown

crushed by nubby wool

of a friar’s frock,

surrounded by scents of jasmine

and aromatic oils.

More than one great romance

glowed in the shadows

of the setting sun

in another century, in another monastery.

The photo connected with me, perhaps because I love architecture, medieval times, and television shows like “Reign.”

I find that Ekphrastic poetry is a good way to stimulate creativity and can serve as a writing prompt. Many times I need something to propel me to start writing, especially if I’m revising (which is most of the time).

So tell me, what do you see?