Poetry Tuesday - A Title Release

The title and theme for my next poetry book has been figured out for quite a while. It came to me in a moment, and I never turned back. When I attempt to find a title and theme for my poetry books, I tend to focus on my own emotions and thoughts. The connection to that theme could be as exact or abstract as I feel in the moment of creation. And you may be wondering why, I am sharing with you the title and theme of my next poetry book.

Well...I finished my first poem for it. I thought it was an appropriate celebration of the next step.

Deep Connections

Deep Connections will visit new mediums, visual poetry, and highly emotional poems. I am constantly in awe at the depth of emotion I can tap into each time I put my fingers to the keyboard. There is no set release date for this next book of poetry, but I may share some topics I have written on in the future.

Please stay tuned for more Poetry Tuesdays.

Summer heat and welcoming Autumn

The long days of summer are still upon us here in Appalachia. August is usually the hottest month in my little area of the Smokies. And unfortunately, it is just beginning. Like still so many parts of the country, we are facing some higher than normal temperatures. Sensitive to heat, I do not venture out much during summer in the afternoons and evenings which means I miss part of the day in experience. What I have found is inspiration and peace underneath a blanket of stars. While living in Virginia Beach, the view of the stars were obscured. Being home...underneath so many brilliant stars is a wonderful experience.

What I have been able to do is stop and take in the sights and sounds of the darkness every single night. It has been amazingly inspiring. It is difficult to explain the action of sitting and absorbing everything around you. Your senses heighten. You hear rustles. Everything is clearer. Perhaps it is the fact that I have returned to my roots. Perhaps it is being surrounded by the country side, but I am constantly in awe with what I can experience even after all these years.

Given that the year is already half over, I am excited. My absolute favorite time of year is autumn. Not only does my birthday fall in line with my favorite time of year, but the temperature cools down, the air feels wonderful, and the brilliant colors that showcase around me are out of this world.

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to the chilly weather of October and November. It is the down cycle of life. Everything is preparing for the arrival of Old Man Winter. Plants begin to wither away. The ground becomes barren. And the rush of life seems to slow down.

Today, I am sharing with you an exercise. As a writer (or even a reader), step outside and absorb the environment around you. What it feels like. What you hear. What you smell. What you can taste. What you see. Capture it. Don't try to describe it. Just feel it.

It makes all the difference!

Sarah

New Website

One of the most important tools an author can have these days is a website. Not only is this the best way for any readers to view important information like upcoming appearances or new releases, but it is all information compiled into one place. My Twitter feed. My blog posts. It will all be available for you to view in one place.

You can click the picture or this link here to be taken to my new website.

I am looking forward to the feedback to my website, and to a future that is easier to maintain!

Poetry Tuesday - Struggling with Writer's Block

There comes a point in every artist's life where he or she is lacking the inspiration to accomplish the goals of art. For me, I gain the peace and inspiration to write from the environment around me. I could see something interesting, or hear a conversation, and be sparked into a fury of writing. At other times, I sit poised with my hands above the keyboard wondering why I am not doing something else. It is a little harder to fake it until you make it with poetry. I tend to want to seek that perfect inspiration...that one moment that becomes brilliantly clear and beautiful...before writing poetry.

But that's not realistic. It sounds wonderful. And what artist wouldn't want to have that type of inspiration every time they sat down with a writing utensil? Everyone of them would! That doesn't make an artist. What makes an artist is the ability to work through life's torments and trials to create something beautiful. To work through writer's block. To work without inspiration. It makes that "Ah-Ha" moment all the better.

I recently struggled with this mentality. The one where I wait for inspiration. It never works. I always sit and wait. If I held my breath, I would have died many, many times over. Life sometimes takes center stage. And it's okay! I do not have to be creating all the time, even if my brain goes a mile a minute. What I have to do is keep taking the steps toward accomplishing my goals through whatever obstacle that gets put in the way.

Including writer's block.

Perhaps writer's block is just an excuse that we use to take a break, but I am sure glad that, as a poet and a writer, I am working on evolving past inspiration based writing and focusing on being better. That is my advice to you. Do not seek inspiration. Seek clarity of life, and use how you feel, what you think, and what you experience as your guide to writing. It will never steer you wrong.

Poetry Tuesday - Unexpected Source

Have you ever had a moment of clarity? A moment with a feeling or a thought that comes to your mind so vividly and full of potency that you cannot ignore it? Well, I have to say that I have. And it is surprising in a good way, because it provides me with a chance to be more mindful and grow as a person. Growth and maturing happens to every human being (for the most part). One would think that it is less likely to be as potent and vivid at middle age. Yet, here I was...smacking the pavement pretty hard. With my face.

I wish I could say that, at 31 years old, I would have already learned the lessons that I needed to be taught; however, that isn't the case. Anyone who has read my poetry would know that I do not shy away from deep emotions. In fact, I tend to explore them. So when I found myself in a bout of PTSD from childhood abuses, I struggled against the knowledge and need to change my mentality.

Let me try to paint the picture:

You lose yourself. It is like floating over your body and viewing the world around you. You are unable to act. You are unable to speak. You can only feel, but it never helps. If you are lucky, it won't take time to return to your normal life.

I wasn't so lucky this time, but what it did was create a chance for growth. As person. As poet. As a writer. It gives me experience to write about. It gives me knowledge to create realism and emotion. And in the midst of that growth experience, I found myself at a blog post by a therapist who had experienced some negative issues as a child too. Something she said resonated with me so deeply that I still am unable to shake what she said. It made me focus on me and who I was as a person.

And that is the start of reflective writing...or in my case, reflective poetry. It's that raw emotion that creates amazing works! So ask yourself if you have some soul searching to do. If the answer is yes, perhaps you have the next unexpected source of material.