Writer – Jennifer's Journal

Throwback Thursday: She Writes

Published on June 7, 2018August 3, 2018 by J. Kelland Perry19 Comments

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Here’s a throwback to July 2013, when I was in the thick of creating the first draft for Calmer Girls. At the time I was also blogging twice a week, but hey, when your muse is whispering in your ear to pen a poem and she won’t shut up, you pen a poem. There’s no getting out of it.

She Writes

She wakes tangled in themes
through a cobweb of dreams
with gossamer remnants
that linger and tease,
pushes back dusty curtains
and on a page blank and white
she writes.

She deletes the clichéd
yesterday she okayed
and contemplates words
like ephemeral and moonglade
they taste like confections
with her tangerine sections
and jolts of black coffee
she writes.

She’s reminded of chores
she keeps trying to ignore
with the scatter of crumbs
that litter the floor,
shrugs her shoulders and thinks
it will be there tomorrow
she writes.

The bills wait, unpaid
And the bed’s still not made
There’s this blog post to write
and it can’t be delayed
her novel must wait
it’s a musing or rhyme that
she writes.

She reaches again
for the manuscript when
her mind can’t break free
from the plot line within
and it makes him uptight
there’s no dinner tonight
but he digests her flaws.
After all, it’s because
she writes.

***

First published here.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Blogger Bouquet #49

Published on November 2, 2017March 1, 2018 by J. Kelland Perry

Annika Perry – no relation to yours truly – is a writer, wife and mother who was born in Sweden and lives in the UK. She is busy finalizing edits on her first short story collection, and is also working on the last edits for her debut novel, Island Girl.

From her About page:

“Writing has been a passion since childhood although it is only in the past year that I have seriously started to write fiction.

In Spring 2014 I won First Prize in the Writing Magazine Short Story Competition which was a joy. Furthermore, I was short-listed for Inktears Short Story Competition in 2014.”

I’ve highlighted the following post of Annika’s where she shares the highs and lows, as well as the distractions, of the editing process. For example, how does a breakfast bowl end up in the bathroom? Check it out:

CHIPPING AWAY!

Comments are closed here but you can leave a comment on the blogger’s page.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

❤

Blogger Bouquet #34

Published on February 4, 2016March 21, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry

bloggerbouquet2 (1600x1226)

Nurse Kelly is a sweetheart of a blogger who is working on her first book.

From her About page:

Nurse Kelly is a registered nurse, health educator, coach, speaker, and writer. She holds a BA in Communications, an AAS in Nursing, and numerous certifications. She resides in northeast Ohio with her husband, daughter, son, and beloved dog, Ruby.
Known for her commitment to functional healthcare, she wished to expand her reach to a larger audience – hence, nursekellyknows.com was born.

In her own words:
This blog is authentically me. I write from my heart in a very personal voice, which I hope you will find engaging, enlightening, and entertaining. I can also cause just enough mischief to keep things interesting… so please be aware, as it is never my intention to offend.”

I have chosen the following post because I love finding a poem that makes me smile the way this one does.

Birthday Suit

Comments are closed here but you can share a comment on the blogger’s page.

Have an inspiring weekend, everyone ❤

Completing My First Draft: Three Things I’ve Learned

Published on September 6, 2013January 17, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry51 Comments

Two weeks ago today, I had a fabulous evening.

Late on that Friday afternoon, I typed the last word of the last sentence of the last chapter of my Work In Progress. It felt wonderful! What a sense of satisfaction filled me as I raised my glass of Cabernet and toasted to my awesomeness. What an accomplishment! I spent the rest of the evening, and well into the night, celebrating, mentally patting myself on the back and grinning like an idiot.

My euphoria lasted about as long as the hangover. Over the next couple of days as planned, I reviewed a few of the writing tips and tricks I had bookmarked for my upcoming revision and editing process, and I crashed back to sober reality. I realized there was still plenty of work ahead, and instinctively I know certain areas have to be improved, rearranged, and completely rewritten, and then there’s my iPad with an app full of collected notes, jockeying to make it into the finished product as well.

But that’s okay. Every writer knows the first rough draft is exactly that: a first run, a rough copy, and yes, some of it is just plain shit. But in among the steaming heaps that stank, I knew there were jewels just waiting to be polished, the little jewels that make it all worthwhile.

Here are three chief concepts I believe every writer, who truly wants to be a writer, needs to remember.

1. No one wants to read about a Goody Two Shoes. If I expect readers to keep turning the pages, my characters have to be flawed. Whether that makes you like them, or love to hate them, depends on the types of flaws they embody – and maybe it depends on the sort of person you are, and what types of characters you are drawn to and like to read about. As important as plot may be, really, it’s all about the characters.

2. If you aren’t having any fun while you write, I don’t know how you will ever make it as a writer. A writer writes because she wants to, she has to, regardless of recognition or book sales. The fulfilment is in the process. And it’s a hard process. The best piece of advice I read about writer’s block was to put the manuscript aside and try penning a poem, or exploring another creative endeavor.

3. You have to want to write another book as soon as you’re finished the one you are now writing, The sweet possibility of a sequel keeps whispering in my ear, and that excites me. If I do write a sequel, however, it doesn’t mean the first one will depend on it. The novel I’m writing now will be able to stand alone in its own right. Then there are the flashes of inspiration for other book ideas that come during my writing, to which I can refer and develop when needed.

I’m waiting another couple of weeks to give myself more objectivity, before I start revisions. In the meantime there are plenty of good books and other reading material that beg for my attention.

Then on to the Second Draft!

Please share your thoughts with me about your Work in Progress. 🙂

The Creation of a Novel: a Progress Report