General Updates & A Few Snippets

Hello there! Ay, it's been too long since I've been able to say that!

How are you? How's life treating you? Go on and tell me something exciting that's happened in your life since we last spoke! Or perhaps something not so exciting. The not-so-exciting moments are as much a part of us as the great and the good.

Back in October I posted a small little update to explain my absence and to provide some idea of what to expect in the near future, and I thought I'd put out another one since it's been more than a month now without a new post. This one, however, includes a bit more information that I hope will take the edge off the long wait.. Or maybe I'll just make it worse, who knows.

This new information, however, includes general updates relating to the blog, as well as a few snippets from some of my current works-in-progress. All of which, I should note, are very early in the process and subject to change. Still - you can see what's been going on, what you can likely expect from me, and all that! Who doesn't enjoy a quick peak behind the curtains, hm?

Updates

- Infinite Ideas, Finite Substance

Life is still busy busy (isn't it always?). I'm constantly thinking of possible post topics, and I've got plenty of drafts going, but I'm lacking fully fleshed-out ideas. That means I get started on something, and then I hit a wall four lines in. This is the cause of my slow posting more than anything. Just a few words a day will eventually get you to a finished piece of work, but a blank mind makes for blank pages.

- I haven't forgotten you!

It has been months since I've gone out and perused the blogosphere. It's not because I've forgotten any of my blogging friends and acquaintances; it's just time. That pesky thing. I know those of you who blog understand this problem well, so I'll leave it at that. It's been eons since I've even expanded my reading list. I'll make my way over to you again, someday!

(Feel free to leave your link in the comments to help me out!)

- Have you seen the new Guest Book?

I love interacting with you in various ways, and my recent discovery of Padlet has turned out to be the perfect opportunity for a fun place to do just that. You can find it where my "Button Swap" page used to be on my navigation bar (simply titled, "Guest Book"), and it's there for you to leave anything you like - comments, suggestions, inspiration, random notes, greetings, even photos, videos, links, and documents that you'd like to share.

Go ahead and check it out, let me know you were here, and feel free to come back as often as you'd like!

(Note: To access my button swaps, you will now find a link to it at the end of my "About" page.)

Snippets of a Few Upcoming Pieces

Note: These are all WIPs (works-in-progress) that are in the very early stages and that are likely to change. Any given titles are likewise probably temporary. These are just fun glimpses into what I've been working on.

"The Bells of Erudition" (Working Title)

Several months ago I put out a teaser on Twitter for this poem, one that I have, unfortunately, made little progress on since (though certainly not for lack of trying). Tentatively titled, "The Bells of Erudition," the plan is to write this one in Poe style, which makes it unintentionally reminiscent of his piece called "The Bells." However, these two poems definitely don't share the same topics.

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Untitled Christmas Poem

Another one that I teased on Twitter, to my utter disappointment I hit a snag on the third and fourth beginning lines and have not made much progress since December, when I originally wanted to release it for the holidays. I'm still working on it, though, and I plan to post it whenever it is that I happen to finish it - even if that's in the middle of the blazing summer. But at this rate, it'll still be next Christmas till I have it done anyway.. lol.

This Christmas poem, unlike most of my previous works, attempts to follow a specific rhythm and meter; in fact, it attempts to follow the rhythm and meter of that old traditional English carol, "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen." For the first stanza, then, the goal is to have my lines conform to a pattern of 8-6-7-6-9-6 syllables, in an unstressed/stressed manner, with a rhyme scheme of ABCBCB. There was something about the image above that deviated a bit from these rules (can't remember what), but the last two lines have already changed since I first shared this due to a desired change in meaning.

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"Reliance" (Working Title)

My most recent Twitter share, and the poem that I'm most actively working on at the moment, is one tentatively titled "Reliance." Hopefully I'll come up with a better title than that, 'cause what a boring one it is. But hey.. Sometimes simple and straightforward works best. We'll just have to wait and see.

I almost never have a complete idea of what I want my poems to say when I go to write them, and so right now I have these two separate stanzas, which both fit in theme but are not intended to be placed as they are here. Meaning, there will be something that connects them. What that something is, however, I don't yet know... But I've got a few ideas.

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"Las Estrellas del Alba / The Stars of Dawn" (Working Title)

I've also got another bilingual poem in the works - "The Stars of Dawn," or its Spanish title, "Las Estrellas del Alba." These titles being, once again, subject to change. This will be my third Spanish/English poem, and as the other two did, it serves as a way for me to practice the lovely Spanish language, which I probably butcher to death every time. 

As shown above, I have the first four lines and a general direction I want to go in, but I'm still deciding on a specific plot or theme for this one!

* * *

"Nightwind Lament" (Working Title #1)  / "The Lonely Ruins" (Working Title #2)

And for the last snippet, a poem that doesn't yet have much to it, but that I am very excited to make progress on. This will likely end up being more of an atmospheric poem rather than one with a plot, similar to "Incanter's Library." I may be able to weave a minor theme or two in between its lines, but it certainly won't be anything monumental. The type of atmosphere created by the photo above is one that I really, really enjoy working with, and I expect this poem to be great fun. Hopefully the fun comes out on both sides, too - not just mine! 😉

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I have several other (actually, somewhere around 50 or so) WIPs that are calling to be worked on, but these are the few that I've been most focused on recently. I also have a couple short stories in the early planning and drafting stages, but they've been stuck there for an eternity and I don't see them getting out anytime soon. Because of that, I've not got much to share in that department. I do have one, however.

Due to it being such a small, early, and rather unimportant excerpt, consider the following a way for you to see the general atmosphere and mood that I'll be going for.

"Dead Man's Tale" (Working Title)

"It had been a brutal winter. The snow had begun to fall early in the cold months, with the arresting, almost haunting, crystal flakes continuing to gain momentum throughout the thirty bleak and frigid days of November. It was now approaching the dead of the wintry season, and the region had been affected by the wicked tail end of a strong northeaster. The streets of the small town nestled between city and country were coated with a fresh white blanket several inches thick, and the arctic air of evening was beginning to settle in. Most of the townspeople had returned to their homes long before the day's warmth faded with the sun low on the horizon, leaving only the occasional footprint to be found."

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As I say all too often, thank you for bearing with me. For your patience, your support, your everything. You're fantastic readers to have.

I hope you enjoyed these snippets of upcoming pieces. I feel like I'm probably forgetting something here, so feel free to ask if there's an update, etc., that you'd like and that I haven't provided here.

Have a fantastic week! See you soon.