KISS

As a kid, I used to play word jumbles. I was pretty good at it and still have a keen eye for catching an errand, misplaced word or typographical error. However, at times, like many others, my typoglycemic abilities betray my ability to edit my own work. One explanation is that we don't read words a letter at a time but in units. So, when the passage has contextualised and a predictive succession of where it's going, our brain, in a sense, auto-corrects. Sure, it's handy when you might be reading something for understanding's sake, and indeed, when we read our own work, we have that dis/advantage of predictability since we wrote it. 

About a week and a half ago, I was putting together letter boards to help kids learn to spell and texted my new "editor" an image of what I was doing. I never saw it, but they immediately spotted a random word with the letters I was cutting up. They have been a tremendous help in the past month and a half, reading my work, picking up those typoglycemic oversights, and offering suggestions for improving my stories. When I signed up for the Deadline for Writers, I solely expected to be working in a vacuum, as I usually do, but having someone with a keen eye eagerly looking over my writing has been such a luxury. They even inspired me to take on the Poetry challenge on the platform!

Since my mother introduced me to Sarah Selecky's writing class a few years ago, I have found these online forums to be an excellent source of community. Selecky's, one of my favourites, used to run more than once a year, and I always looked forward to the inspiration they provided me for my writing. It's not just the simple visual prompts or word themes but the opportunity to share and have an outside self-accountability that can be an inspiring driving force. As such, I've sought more opportunities to participate in such classes since my in-person writing group drifted apart a few years ago. Time in the day-to-day quickly evaporates, and having a "class" helps carve out that moment to explore our creativity. And, having a fabulous editor is appreciated more than words can say but certainly reflected in the warmth of my smile their way :)

Happy Writing!

O is for October

I have always struggled with poetry, whether reading it or attempting to write it. Inspiration only comes at certain times, and I am far from being good at it. A love letter infused with my flowery writing, a couple of non-human animal-inspired verses (O is for Orangutan from my Alphabeast series pasted below), or an emulation (Cephalopodan Triad) is about as far as I have gone. I have posted a few of my attempts in the past, but I recently began a writing challenge to keep me on track with working on my second novel. Within this platform, they also had 12 months of poetry as one of their challenges, so I’ve decided to take it on. I seem to have started on a good month, as the prompt was to write an acrostic or ekphrasic poem. 

The acrostic has few rules other than to spell out a word with the first letters in each stanza. So, when I came across an old photo of mine from my last trip to Victoria’s Fan Tan Alley, my preferred genre of writing about relationships and most often with a romantic leaning, the photo’s capture of the words Heart’s Content seemed like the perfect way to start this journey. I tried not to ruminate on my imperfections or insecurities and just wrote from the heart. I was eager to submit my poem and have it off my proverbial desk before I lost the courage to show the vulnerability of my writing in a new form. So, I had not shown it to anyone before submitting it. I simply looked forward to the community of writers participating in the challenge, offering their thoughts on my work. I then shared it with someone close to my heart, and they graciously provided some suggested edits that enhanced this somewhat first try of mine. With their keen eye and care, I integrated the new edits that have improved my piece. And with renewed confidence, I'll resubmit this new collaborative version.

I look forward to continuing this shared writing journey. Who knows, I may fall in love with writing poetry too!  

O is for Orangutan

Over time, they die out while

Rivers outline the paths that once were followed…

Always closely linked, yet

Never to return.

Great elders led the way.

Under the forest canopy and limb over limb from

Treetop to treetop.

Swaying from branch to branch…

Always closely linked yet.

Never to return.