Sometimes I feel at the will of my inspiration. Could it be that this abstract part of me is more in control than originally thought? It’s my creative side that links itself to motivation. It’s my motivation that gets things done. But it’s the reality of those finished works (and sometimes unfinished) that seem to define me. Or do they? I think, in all honestly, I allow myself to be […]
I find myself surrounded by inspirational people. Most I have never met. I follow and read the works of poets from past and present (from all over the world) and hope to catch a glimmer of their talent. My goal, to appreciate the beauty from other walks of life, and if I am fortunate enough, to portray their bits of insight within my own pieces. Sometimes I am lucky enough […]
Time – I have written so many posts on time. It must be something I’m dealing with on various levels. According to the Internet a ridiculous number of people are stressed about not having enough time. There are numerous articles about the topic, and a hundred different lists of what to do about it. Just google it. But how do I define time for my writing? We all need to […]
Technically it’s still summer until the middle of the month. But there’s something about September that puts me in the mood for warm cider by the fireplace, football games, and crockpot dinners. The name September comes from the Latin root, septem- meaning seven. I read in Dictionary.com that in the original Roman republican calendar, September was the seventh month of a ten-month year until perhaps 153 BC. Of course, today […]
Time is elusive. It doesn’t matter that there is sixty seconds in every minute, or sixty minutes in every hour, or twenty-four hours in every day… I could go on to weeks and months and years, and so on. Time is measurable until it gets to the value of time, hence how we spend the time we’re gifted. This is how something perfectly calculable becomes ambiguous. And when it comes […]
Summer Saturday mornings are meant for lazing in bed. Perfection would dictate my husband brings me coffee… but life isn’t always perfect. On a recent Saturday morning, I abandoned my usual write-in-bed routine and turned on the television. After Food Network shows repeated every thirty minutes, drawing me in for longer than intended, I started wondering about recipes for writing. Many authors swear by handed-down rules for writing, such as […]
I am proud to introduce my amazing writer-friend, Pamela Hobart Carter, as my guest-blogger today. She has written a witty and thoughtful article about “writing every day.” Please read, like, and share her work. Links to her websites and writing work are at the bottom. As always, I appreciate your follower-support. ~ Celaine 🙂 ***Thank you, Pamela, for your help while I take a much needed vacation. I will see […]
Happy First’s ~ August is Six Months of Wednesday Whims of Poetry! It’s my six-month anniversary of “Poetry-First’s,” meaning six months ago I began dedicating the first Sunday of every month to my poetry page at this same Steps in Between site. The page is entitled, Wednesday Whims of Poetry. Since I don’t post each poem as an official blog-post, then once a month I like to pull your attention […]
I awoke this morning to write when hidden muscle groups protested. It took only a moment to remember the cause of my discomfort. The lingering consequences of good health. My son has set me on a training-regime to sculpt and strengthen by body. And it hit me, not unlike the intensity of reigning ten-pound battle ropes for what felt like a million intervals, writing is a work out. This conclusion […]
Writing can cause mixed emotions. There should really be warnings about mood swings, stomach pains, and anxiety that can occur when writers write. Each day… hour… moment can feel atypical in the practice of writing. The key factor for me is to continue reaching out to other writers. I’ve discovered I thrive on the encouragement. And, it may be that our support of each other holds more power than we […]
This journey of writing has been exactly that for me, a journey. A magical adventure where any map I thought I was following surprises me with detours around every bend. In the beginning I researched suggested excursions to take along the way. Sites like Plot Mountain and Don’t-look-back-to-edit-until-you’ve-finished-Pass were of great interest to me. I preplanned for those. I also anticipated stops by famous landmarks; Characterization, Point of View, and […]
My summer schedule allows for more writing time. I assumed, with all those extra hours, I would make steady progress on my rewrite project. Instead, I experience mind-blowing breakthroughs, while at the same time drag along in the pits of a muddy mess. Some days I’m smiling as I rework sentences and tighten lagged pacing in my manuscript. Other days I feel stressed about the plot taking on bigger changes than […]
It’s the first Sunday in a new month… July 2018! That means I’m highlighting my poetry page, Wednesday Whims of Poetry: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/ What an explosive month of possibility. I always feel free in July. The weather is generally lovely. My mood is typically fair to outright happy. And if anything, I can just be. These are my rules of summer. Rules of Summer There are no rules of summer, […]
First summer post of 2018 feels like a blank canvas. I stand back eyeing it from different angles, adjusting the blinds to allow in the right amount of light, afraid to choose a color, a medium, a subject. Hanging over my mental awareness is the fear that whatever I choose begins the process. The spiraling journey down to Autumn, to the end of this short-tempered season of energy and possibility. […]
Inspiration comes from others. I am often inspired by a tree or a sunset, but I wonder if it’s really just the tree or an experience the tree reminds me of. Sunsets shine in colors representational of past times, events where I’ve felt something. Still these feelings are typically about someone. For me, inspiration must come from the interactions with others in our world. And if I want to […]
A Season of Poetry There are seasons for writers, and although I am still working on rewriting my fiction story, I seem to find myself in a season of poetry. In honor of the first Sunday in June, I invite you to visit my poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/ There are times when the characters in my novel speak to me in my sleep. I awaken with renewed motivation to jump into […]
Building momentum about yourself is not a comfortable experience. But, as a creator, you have to put yourself out there. I have a new series beginning on Channillo, June 1st, and my readers have been hearing about it for the last several weeks. Do I keep talking about it? I must! https://channillo.com/series/colors/ If you are a writer like me, you have a day job that pays the bills. And even […]
Writing for a new project always takes a bit of research, or bounds of it, depending on the content and type of project. Since this blog, “Steps in Between,” is my journey through writing, I wanted to share the research and preparation steps I have taken for my upcoming poetry project, “Colors.” To be honest, I have to start pretty far back… to the backseat of my parent’s suburban. My […]
MOM Mountains of wisdom Offered across time Marginalized until the last light falls Welcome to a little mixed-up mom-time filled with a poem, a memory, and some excerpts from the stack of books on my nightstand. There’s writing advice too. Of course, I wrote an acrostic poem about my mom. It’s Mother’s Day. And the older I grow, the more I hear my mother’s voice in the back of my mind. […]
May Poetry ~ A Masterpiece, A Dance, And A Little Fallen Rain Intrigued? Come visit my poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/ It’s the first Sunday of the month, so time to throw on the stage lights to the poetry side of my life. As you know I write all kinds of things, presently reworking my fiction novel. Though poetry is something I began writing seriously several years ago and once the floodgates […]
Steps In Between 