A beautiful Easter Sunday on the water with Mark Helprin my new favorite author. Very exhilarating not only for the fact that it was a blustery day (came about swiftly and heeled to starboard–yikes!) but exhilarating in the passionate writing I found in the author’s stories. Check him out.

QUOTE:  They choose what is interesting over what is profound, the charming over the beautiful, the nimble over the true-Mark Helprin.

Writing tip: beauty is not in perfection, but in the reflection of time and experience. Write your characters from what you know, not what you imagine them to be.

QUOTE: It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

WRITING TIP: keep it simple, keep it true.

It is always good.

quote; My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way-Ernest Hemingway.

writing tip: Oh gee whiz! Another fool asking their family to critique their writing. OMG! please never do this. Your family sees you through a certain lens, one which can always be improved upon. You are cheating yourself by letting your family read your unfinished work.  Hemingway says, write what you see and feel in the simplest way. That is the truest part of you and only you-you don’t need family to validate who you are. The nice thing about it is,once you have completed and published your book your family will be in awe of your accomplishments. If they aren’t tell them to write their own damn book. There will be excuses, believe me.

Now this is perdy! South end of the island and NO people. Loved it. It is a long trek around to the point, however. Reminds me a lot of Ocracoke. Looking forward to the trip up to the Outer Banks next month and hobnobbing with fellow writers. It never ceases to amaze me–the talented people who inhabit our state. Just read a short story western. I was impressed. Not many folks write westerns anymore. But it was interesting and offered a different slant on traditional western literature.  Been reading lots of short stories and am scheduled to do a short story seminar in the fall. I’ll keep y’all posted as to the exact dates.

I’d like to thank those of you who responded to my attempts at poetry. You are kind. I’ll be putting those and a few other poems into PLUM DUFF (my book of short stories and poetry) along with the two short stories I have written in the last month. One is so dark, even gave me the heebie jeebies. And the other I hope keeps you rolling on the floor with laughter. Again, thank you followers, your interest validates and encourages me in my writing.

Where it came from I have no idea (well, yes I do, but…..) the poetry bug has hit me and I haven’t written any of that stuff in ages. But alas (love that word,alas) the bug has bit me and I drift to la la land and listen to the muse. (Hate that word, muse).
As I’ve stated in my writing classes, in poetry every word has a place. Every word is there for a reason. In prose (regular writing) every sentence is there for a reason.
Hope you like this dear readers:

                                                     MODICUM

What a strange word
 modicum is. Just a small
word and not even precise.
Who would think
it could mean so much,
or that it could suffice.

He utilizes a modicum of
 his strength. She possessed
a modicum of sanity.
They lived a modicum of
style and elan. He speaks
a modicum of profanity.

It seems all things come
in modicums. One size
fits all. Albeit a small fitting.
Worth, perhaps dictates
what one selects.What worn
it seems, is not unwitting.

How could one live
without a modicum of joy, of
 peace, of love, of kindness.
Not to mention understanding,
patience, trust, faith, and
oh yes, conscience.

But it is truth and more than
a modicum of it, that once tasted
makes us yearn for more.
It stirs the fire, it calls.
But, if only, just once, say never again.
Why wait behind the door.

Open the damn thing,
If only a crack. Listen if you dare.
Peek inside for simple crumbs.
For hope’s sake, make fear
and doubt and pain, all of those
exist in modicums.

The night is soft,
like salt on my skin
blown there by ocean breezes.

The night is tender,
it caresses me as if
it were a second layer of skin.

The night eases
the descent of
falling petals.

Cradle of darkness,
wrap so kindly, so tightly
and breathe in me

your familiarity.
It is siren kind
and i need the night..

        writing tip–listen for the words.

Around 7:15 this morning, still a tad cool outside. Absolutely lovely. Finishing up the latest in the Topsail mystery series. Some people are just plain bad–ooh. This one is a scorcher. Will try to have the cover photo out in a couple of weeks.

Already starting a new book–different genre. I’ll let my readers know more as it progresses. Thank you readers.

Quote: The word belief is a difficult thing for me. I don’t believe. I must have a reason for a certain hypothesis. Either I know a thing, and then I know it. I don’t need to believe it–Carl Jung.

writing tip: It is very important to trust yourself when you write. As in all things in life, you should trust your gut feelings and that means you should be in touch with yourself. If you’re not sure you’re in touch with yourself, then you aren’t.

T’was a beautiful morning. Always so grateful that God has given me senses to feel, hear, smell, see, taste what is before me.

quote: it is not my senses that I have, but what I do with them that is my kingdom–BenStephan

writing tip: the above is so true. As a writer I count on my senses and the exploration of them to compel me to write. I wallow in them, sometimes to my own detriment. But as the intensity of what I behold grows, I am so grateful that I can move to those depths–makes me wonder what the skiffs are doing.
Don’t be afraid to look within yourself and find the honesty, without it you cannot write–okay, maybe a cookbook.

Lots of people have asked about the big chimney standing just north of HWY 55 (restaurant) and across from the flower shop in Surf City. Well, that chimney was part of an enormous World War II warehouse. (in the background of this photo)
It housed military vehicles that the kids of Surf City used to play on. Finally someone had them removed (drat, they were fun) and the building was cleaned up. Basketball hoops were installed and the warehouse became a make-shift community center for we kids.
That’s Diane Batts in the foreground. She lived directly across from the building.

In front of the warehouse is a little laundry run by a woman named Inez Frye. Later, Inez opened an ice-cream parlor where one could order soft serve ice-cream. Now, that was a big deal.

QUOTE: No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each others worth.-Robert Southey

WRITING TIP;  Leave ego at the door when you write. Be kind, love yourself. The world where you go to write must be a place of honesty and self awareness.

LONG, LONG AGO IN A PLACE FAR, FAR AWAY
THERE LIVED A BUNCH -A SMALL BUNCH- OF
PEOPLE ON A BIG OLD SANDBAR CALLED TOPSAIL ISLAND. BACK THEN THERE WERE LOTS OF SAND DUNES (SEE THEM IN THE BACKGROUND COVERED WITH BEACH GRASS) AND OLD MILITARY BUILDINGS (SEE THEM IN THE BACKGROUND TOO)
THERE WAS LOTS OF COOL STUFF TO DO THERE LIKE PLAY IN THE SAND DUNES, DIG HOLES IN THE SAND DUNES, SWIM IN THE OCEAN, FISH (YOU DIDN’T NEED A FISHING LICENSE THEN) HANG OUT IN THE MARSHES AND CLIMB TREES AND PRETEND YOU WERE PIRATES.  MAN IT WAS A REALLY COOL PLACE. THEN OF COURSE YOU HAD TO GO TO SCHOOL. MY BROTHER AND SISTER LOOK LIKE THEY ARE GETTING READY TO CATCH THE BUS. THAT’S PUNCH (THE DOG) GUESS I PLAYED WITH HIM ALL DAY.

SURE WAS DIFFERENT THEN-WAS COOL, IT’S STILL COOL. THE FOLKS ARE THE BIG THING. THEY’RE THE BEST. THANK YOU JESUS!