Steps In Between

Celaine Charles ~ My journey as a writer ~ Author site: celainecharlesauthor.com

Tag Archive for ‘#Poetryfriends’

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National Poetry Month PREP ~ Gather the Family!

In honor of National Poetry Month, happening in April, I am reposting a mighty blog to help set the mood. Make a Poem at Home, from author, Pamela Hobart Carter, shares eleven lessons on writing poetry with children and families…or anyone of any age. She’s added several new lessons since my original post, so it’s a must read. Gather your family, some pencils and paper, and click this link: https://playwrightpam.wordpress.com/make-a-poem-at-home-poetry-lessons-for-covid-times/#like-841 […]

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Halloween Poetry 1-2-3 (and a chance to win a book)

With Halloween on the rise, and three SPOOKtacular reasons listed below, I am reglogging my post from last year: https://stepsinbetween.com/2019/10/27/writing-in-the-almost-utter-darkness/ Three reasons and a book-drawing: This blog post from last year holds a few of my darker poems…how much fun is that in this chilling season? Only SIX days until Halloween! I have an upcoming virtual poetry reading TOMORROW night – October 26, 2020, at 5:00 PM (PDT). (https://www.facebook.com/events/511556159662316). I […]

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Mesmerizing Fuchsia

Mesmerizing Fuchsia * Petal-pink ballgowns drape. They dance in cool winds, <p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">stamen toes twirl magicstamen toes twirl magic for the spellbound onlooker. * Bough bound performers leap, plié amid the garden, provide bewilderment for evil ones, enchanted guardians of home. * It is said the fuchsia protects, first springing from the blood at the base of the cross, offering blessings to each new bride. * […]

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Happy Anniversary Colors Collected

Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Happy Happy to my debut poetry book, Colors Collected, Poetry Inspired by the Hues of Life! One year ago, today, my chapbook of color poems released into the world. It was exciting to create a culminating take-away from the award-winning poetry series, Colors, where the book idea originally began. Colors was born after the amazing Channillo.com invited me to join their online series publication and within […]

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Sunday Celebration for Wednesday Poetry (and a YOUR TURN PROMPT)

Somehow August has arrived, with sunshine and summer in tow. It felt so far away, back in March, when isolation started. But here we are. And after a long lull in my poetry inspiration, I’m back to writing more fluently again! Last month I wrote three poems for my Wednesday Whims page, plus a couple online workshop pieces, and a few others to hopefully send out for submissions (so I […]

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CC’s Interview Series: Author, Dr. Tamara Miles

The world may seem to be spiraling, as of late, out of the grasp of creativity. But writers persevere. It’s been a while since my last interview, yet today, I have someone special to share. As unconventional and encouraging as ever, CC’s Interview Series is happy to welcome author of Earth Gospel, college professor, and one of my poetry mentors, Dr. Tamara Miles! I say unconventional interview because typically I […]

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Poetry Play, with Pamela Hobart Carter

This morning arrived with joyful poetry play! Thank You to poet, author, and playwright, Pamela Hobart Carter for her most recent blog post, Make a Poem at Home: Poetry Lessons for Covid Times. (https://playwrightpam.wordpress.com/make-a-poem-at-home-poetry-lessons-for-covid-times/#like-841) As a fellow teacher of young children and a writer myself, I found encouragement and fun following her three creative ideas for writing poetry with young ones. I find these lessons appropriate for all ages! As […]

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Poetry Explosion ~ Not Quite 4th of July

Happy July (even amongst the tattered reality of our season this year). It didn’t quite feel like Independence Day this time around, but I am hopeful to press on and not stop pressing until we can overcome and once again, gather together as family and friends, as humankind. I’m speaking out of isolation, out of racism, out of knee-deep misinterpretations and misunderstandings and misgivings and all kinds of hate…because underneath […]

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Reader Advice: Same Walk, New Step (Squash the Creative Crunch)

Last week I shared real-life distractions blocking my creative pathway, even amid true inspiration. My readers delivered with caring advice, either through comments or private messages, and I am grateful. A few small suggestions helped me to make some slight alterations to my writing routine, which made all the difference. As a reference, please take a peek back at last week’s post: https://stepsinbetween.com/2020/06/21/creatively-crunched/ For starters, I took some time off […]

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Mother’s Day MasterClass

Flowers are a lovely gift for many celebratory occasions. But for me, I also like blooms of another kind. This year for Mother’s Day, my daughter gifted me a membership to MasterClass, and I am in love with this bouquet of possibility and growth. I cannot rate this program because I’ve only just begun, but after choosing my classes this morning, I have chills in anticipation. The reviews are quite […]

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Poem In Your Pocket Day

Poem in your Pocket Day is April 30th this year, and the perfect send off to an unforgettable National Poetry Month. In some ways, perhaps more poetry was shared due to our isolation with Corona Virus. My hope, with all the sadness and anxiety, with the unfortunate souls lost to this pandemic, is that some how we manage to find reason and comfort within a string of words. This is […]

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Fill Your Writer’s Well ~ STILL Delighting in National Poetry Month, April 2020

With April abloom, we are more than midway through National Poetry Month. If you have been following along with Steps In Between, you know we are reveling in this event by sharing poetry from writers all over the world. Their names are listed below, but read on for a quick bit of well-filling inspiration… POETS below in alphabetical order, their poems can be found at this link: https://stepsinbetween.com/2020/04/05/let-the-words-roam-national-poetry-month-april-2020/&nbsp; Yvonne Brewer (Spring Sends […]

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Let the Words Roam…National Poetry Month, April 2020

This year, our entire world is isolated and locked down during National Poetry Month. But I say, let the words roam! Let them “beat upon your head like silver liquid drops” (Langston Hughes, April Rain Song, 2)! Let them singe from your fingertips as you write and embrace your heart as you read. I say, fill this time of fear and instability from an enemy-virus with grace and hope and […]

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Join our “Community Garden” of Poetry

Happy earliest Spring since 1896! In celebration, come join our “Community Garden” of Poetry! This year March 19th marked the Spring Equinox, and with world-wide isolation and the stuffiness of staying home, I am ready to burst into something beautiful and colorful and flowerful! In less than two weeks April arrives signaling…National Poetry Month! So, let’s celebrate with a garden of poetry from everyone in my writing community! It’s “Community […]

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My unPoetry Post ~ Still a Celebration

My unPoetry Post ~ Still a Celebration Happy first of March! Outside my window there’s sunshine, stripes of blue sky, and the trill of birds. While I’m breathing in the fresh breath of a new season, it’s unfortunately amidst a cloudiness of pressure still heaped on my back. The first Sunday of every month I always invite readers to visit my Wednesday Whims of Poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/. This monthly sharing […]

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Writers Need Writers!

Writers Need Writers! Lunch with friends is always a joyful experience. When written on my calendar, it becomes a beacon of light to look forward to. And now I have a new “lunch with friends 2.0” to share: lunch with writer friends! Writers typically work alone. Isolation is required in the realms of creation, but sometimes we need to poke our heads out and interact with others. Yesterday, I had […]

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You’re Invited: Elfchen Poetry Potluck

One + two + three + four + one = eleven A little challenge, a little math, and a lot of poetry! I love my writing community, for a multitude of reasons, but today I am thankful for Charles Lindholm’s poetry challenge: to write an Elfchen. After I bit into one, I couldn’t help tasting a few more. Suddenly, I’m throwing a party and WOW, what an event it has […]

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Marketing-Shmarketing (A Writer’s Request)

Just because I’m a writer…author of my first poetry book…revising-expert of my fiction manuscript…and mostly nice human, doesn’t mean I have the business knowledge or wherewithal to market myself. This is the hardest part for me. More difficult than the writing itself; and writing is challenging. ***Side Note: At the bottom of this post you will find some links to marketing advice as well as a REQUEST for more resources. […]

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December’s Look back ~ Poetry Reflections

I am thankful for a December look-back. The first Sunday of a new month is an invitation to visit my poetry page, Wednesday Whims of Poetry. It’s that beginning of a new month where I encourage reflection from the month before…before it’s gone. Time moves like a sleepless night. It flows whether we’re caught up or ready, and tirelessly we move forward because it’s the only direction to go. But […]

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Season Nuptials…November Poetry, of Course!

  November Poetry, of course! If you follow me, you know I am overly inspired by fall. I apologize to my fiction writers out there, story-writing is also a passion of mine. But here we are in the heart of the season (and the first Sunday of a new month), thus I am sharing my poetry page (https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/). I’ve even written a new poem for my readers…it’s at the bottom […]

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Writing Conference Hurrahs!

A few hours ago, with exhaustion pooling at my ankles, I arrived home from the PNWA Writing Conference. My mind is still swimming with information, inspiration, and a little apprehension (although not enough to pull me under). Just last week I posted the good, the bad, and the ugly of this anticipated event, yet happily I can report it was all positive and worthwhile. First of all, I had a […]

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Summer Slows into a Rainbow of Light: September’s Poetry Celebration

Summer Slows into a Rainbow of Light: September’s Poetry Celebration Summer is slowing. I can already feel the heat against my back on this first day of September. But there is much to appreciate in these last rays of light. It’s the first Sunday of a new month, so that means we celebrate poetry here at Steps in Between. Today is even more colorful, though, as I have a rainbow […]

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Friends know I submit a lot because I talk about it a lot. Now maybe five* more friends, (THANKS, READERS!) who live farther away, and don’t talk with me as much, will know too. I’ve mentioned that my rejections have been improving lately. Each nice rejection thrills and disappoints me. Here’s the June-mid-August tally: 30 […]

via FORTUNATELY/UNFORTUNATELY: A Celebration of Submission Responses, June to mid-August 2019 — Pamela Hobart Carter, WRITER

Please read the article above from writer friend and published author, Pamela Hobart Carter. She shares the ups and downs…but ultimately ups in this writing lifestyle we vulnerably wade through. She is an inspiration to me, and I hope she’ll become an inspiration to you.

Happy Sunday and Happy Writing (because at least you’re writing),

Celaine Charles, August 25, 2019

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Peering into Writer Friendships (Celebrating Poetry)

I tend to write alone, as most writers do. But, sometimes we need each other. Artists, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet, were friends. Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso were also friends…encouraging and pushing each other along in their creative paths. Poets, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath were friends. Lord Byron and Mary Shelley were friends. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S.Lewis? Friends. Celebrating friendship in the arts, especially the isolating art of […]

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Writing Streamlined

Time is limiting. Yet, I’m always looking for new ways to organize it, or use it more efficiently. Last week I shared my need to rest. My body demanded a halt in my writing in unflattering, forceful ways. I blame my husband for the virus, but my down time was enlightening. My aging body is changing, and so therefore, my time. Since I can’t sustain the energy to carry out […]

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November Leaves Me ~ A Poetry Celebration

I think November may be the shortest month in the year. I know this isn’t true technically, but for me, it feels that way mentally, emotionally, even physically. I blame the inspiration that sparks with the coming of fall. My day-job as a teacher starts up, and so of course motivation to work on all my other writing endeavors fights for attention. Busy doesn’t begin to describe… November arrives, beckoning […]

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Halloween: A Scare Break from Real Life Writing

Halloween, early 1970’s, I was always a witch. My mask was made of plastic and attached with a long rubber string tied behind my head. Equally shiny with synthetic materials was my dress, not unlike the mask, tied behind my neck. The designs of the fabric simply printed on, to give the illusion of different fabrics and textures. Illusions. I’m wondering now if the illusions of fright during Halloween time […]

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First October Sunday ~ Family & Poetry

The first Sunday of the month is where I highlight my poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/. Although the first Sunday in October fills me with family. I remember when my babies were little. The energy it took bundling them up with mittens and hats that always multiplied in those moments getting out the door. As each young one pulled off a fuzzy garment piece, one after another, I patiently (and sometimes impatiently) […]

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Happy One Year Anniversary WRITERS!

Happy Anniversary! It’s been exactly one year since I began posting about my writing journey in this blog, Steps in Between. I have succeeded in some of my goals, reworked a few others, and still have a handful waiting for retrieval. But what I’m most excited about… YOU! Blessings are overflowing when I think of the writing community I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with. I’ve written before about the […]

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Inspiration in Waves

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 […]

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