Suspended

So I decided to write another prompt based poem today. I actually wrote another poem but it ended up pretty long and I think I'm going to use it for other things, so it didn't get to go on the blog. And the other poem I've been trying to write just still hasn't quite worked out. So here's a very short poem about a picture I was unable to copy onto the blog...

Suspended 

They did not say
how the boats would freeze into ice
leave us suspended in a world
where sky and earth are equal
and I need only reach
over the edge of the boat
to touch the moon

My Demons Look Like Stars

I found this on Pinterest and traced it back to this place.

Today's poem was inspired by this picture. I have this Pinterest board full of writing prompt pictures, and sometimes I go through the board and write one sentence for each picture. It's  a really good practice for me, because as a novelist I tend to want to say so much more about my topic and have a hard time writing anything short. Sometimes my one sentences don't stay at just a sentence. Sometimes, like today, they turn into poems.

My Demons Look Like Stars

My whole body holds untold stories
like birds afraid to migrate.
They are huddled
inside my head
and their eyes show a thousand stars
glowing in the midnight of my mind.

I am afraid
if I do not walk slowly enough
they will unleash-
pull the blood from my veins
up through strands of the hair
on my head and,
in a flurry of hateful cries,
they will carry me away
until I, too, am only stars.

Writing Prompts

I feel a little bit stuck right now that I'm between stages of my novel. I have the first draft written and I know that starting the second draft right now would be a terrible idea since I'm leaving in 7 days. (Wow, that is so soon!) But I can't just not write!

So I turn to writing prompts, which keep me writing even when I'm not working on a book. I have to admit that this is really frustrating, because I know that I'm not going to do anything with these stories and probably no one is going to read them, and in some ways it feels like a waste of time. You know, life every day like it's your last and enjoy every moment to the fullest. And so I feel like I should be focused on, you know, doing something to change the world or what not.

But I do need to take a break before moving on to Draft Two because I need time to think through what I need to change and add and take out.

I just don't need to take a break from writing, because everyone knows that the only actual good advice for writers is to read a lot and write every single day.

So... writing prompts. I know if I tried to write on my own I would get carried away and want to start another novel, so prompts are a great way for me to just get writing without thinking about it too much. You know, just write with my heart instead of my brain for a little bit.

And I found this fantastic website or tumblr or something and it has tons of writing prompts. Some of them are kind of meh, but a lot of them are really awesome and I've already gotten some pretty interesting stories out of them.

Also, every Wednesday I post a creative writing challenge on the Young Writers Society group blog, Writing Gooder, so that's another way to find challenges and prompts to get creativity flowing and write even when you're not working on a specific project.

I encourage you to find some prompts and write EVERY day!