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Saturday, January 24, 2009

A phrase or image inspires


Where do I get my ideas? From anything and everything. A phrase here, a mentioned incident there, or a memory blast from the past. I read the paper thoroughly and the teensiest news items can trigger a flash fiction. People watching can inspire the creation of a character for a book. Or sitting in line at a Taco Bell and watching a piece of scrap paper cling to a chain link fence gave me a poem.



No Escape


Scrap paper whooshes past me
clings to chain link fence
splatted flat, it wavers


frays

disintegrates


And there's the deck chair in the backyard (see picture)
Ancient deck chair

leans closer to earth
attracts bird splatter

sticky spider web slats
creak, groan
screws rattle

age spots
slurp spray paint
gasps for more

seat wiggles
another season

It's all word play. Some folks play computer games. Others niggle at words. I've re-read the first chapter of my book a zillion times and probably change a word, a comma, or delete a paragraph every single time. Depends on the mood of the day. That's the challenge and the journey.

Then there's the day when the sky is gray, the page is blank, and I've got nothing........until something triggers a fresh bout of word splash.

Joanne

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