Form is one of my cherished topics for a couple of reasons. One, I have a visual arts background. Two, I have a poetry background. Three, I have a marketing background. All those things involve “form” in some shape or manner.
art
Write Right and the Entourage
Amber Avines of Words Done Write asked me to consider submitting a drawing to the Locali Comic Contest. I said I would (I did submit an entry.), which led to us joking that I might have to make a trip to Los Angeles if I were to win. Once people heard about a potential – and unlikely – trip to L.A., everyone wanted to go as my event coordinator. I think four event coordinators for one person is a little excessive, but what do I know?
Hurting the Dear Ones
When I started to take my writing and my role as a writer seriously, I neglected one teeny-tiny detail: I inevitably was going to hurt those closest to me. I didn’t realize this truth until I allowed some family members to read a couple of my early poems, and they responded with both hurt feelings and concern. It was at that point I had to make a decision. Would I continue writing and risk hurting my dear ones or would I cease and desist from my writing?
Write Right and the Peeps
Muscle Memory
When I was training in martial arts, we repeated certain techniques – holds, locks, chokes, throws, punches, kicks, et cetera – over and over again. The reasoning was simple: the longer we repeated a motion, the more engrained it became. When we sparred or grappled, those motions became automatic. We suddenly had our opponent in a lock or choke because our muscles remembered what our brains sometimes forgot in the moment of an adrenaline rush.
Jason Konopinski: Chibified
As the winner of the drawing held in honor of the Write Right Launch Party, Jason Konopinski has been chibified. He is pictured with Bailey, his dog, and a novel – or perhaps a collection of poems – by Jack Kerouac. In the story I’ve created, the two are at the dog park. Bailey has fallen asleep after chasing some squirrels, giving Jason some time to read.