Villanelle: Broken Record

Continuing the theme of Rhythm, to a more traditional sense, I bring you this sonnet. Its style is the embodiment of what I'm trying to capture this month, and is also my preferred style of poetry perhaps because , I am a broken record.

Broken Record

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I am a record, broken of course

Never changing my tone, same note

By that needle, always so coarse.

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I play Jazz, though nothing morose

I survived the jukebox but-

I am a record, broken of course

-

I’m even a grandparent, loose

Are my CD children, unhurt

By that needle, always so coarse.

-

Though the dust settled only once

Will Rap or the robot end my lot?

I am a record, broken of course

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They still listen, smiles toothless

Partying no more in the night light

By that needle, always so coarse.

-

I repeat lines like a river’s course,

I will always proudly put-

I am a record, broken of course

By that needle, always so coarse.

Sarah, a loose sonnet

Sometimes we all look back at our experiences and ask, what if? Well earlier this week, I stumbled upon that question when thinking about a girl, as most men do. I looked at where I am today, and wondered if I'd ever really gotten over that old heartache, the conclusion: probably not.

The first piece I produced to get my back into my old writing habits is titled and written about someone who was always out of my league, and probably always will be.

Sarah

I surround myself with all pretty things,

I enjoy each time your face hides within,

Recovering from a torment, akin

To teenage crushes, naive youth pleases

Itself calling the abstract: real. Pitiless

Sorrows still haunt memory of her; trim,

Slim, of face and mind always maturing

Clearly left me behind, I am waiting.

-

I surround myself with baubles that shine,

In ever imagined rapport with you

Devout of course, how else should I pass time?

You bauble, your face shines that bright blue hue.

You don’t see me of course, I'm the lowly dew

What did I expect? Never, rests my moon.

Writing season has arrived

It has been far too long, months and months in fact. The last time I attempted poetry was back in November, as I’m sure anyone who’s kept track here will notice. This month I hope to bring my reader(s) at least five brand new and very different poems.

So, why has it been so long I hear at least one whisper out there ask, in short, finishing college and a lack of self esteem, rejections obviously hit harder than a curve ball in the chest. This week I’ve tried new themes of poetry, and some old, all in the sole aim of bringing my skills forward and thrilling anyone who comes across the name Realmskipper on the internet, which I’ve noticed has generated quite the buzz.

What have I found to inspire this month’s theme of poetry? I admitted that there was a new theme this month, or at least an attempted one. I can say that as I’ve been teaching myself piano with all my free time, it is actually all things that give us Rhythm, as just rhythm is too narrow. This includes; love, life and of course, our passions.

I look forward to taking all my readers on a journey, and as always thanks for finishing this article. Leave your thoughts and maybe suggestions for what you’d like to see more of in the future!

How to Beat 'The Chopping Block'

Once or twice, you will put your head on the block, so to speak, and when you do you will either be short back and sides, or a little too much off the top. This interlude is really to talk about how I prepare for ‘the block’.

We all tumble upon writer’s block, more often than we’d like to admit sometimes, this phenomenon exists to separate the wheat from the chaff. Personally I have never encountered ‘the block’ for more than an hour, not due to my well of imagination, or because of the endless bollocks I can spout, (though they’re both invaluable tools). I’m talking here of course, how to knock out writer’s block, with a single blow!

I can already hear the crowd divided, ‘has he the miracle cure’, ‘he’s just another blow hart’ but NO, I kid you not people. There are two similar things you need for writing poetry and literature, firstly, and foremost, is silence! No talking children in your ear, no partner demanding a romantic candle lit dinner. The experience you’ve sat down to create for your audience will be a private and intimate date between you and your paper, whether virtual or tangible.

From this point on, simply stick on your favourite, blood pumping music, whether it be to move your soul or quicken your pulse: it’s just trial and error.

For poets

• They say you must suffer to write, the truth is you certainly have been truly touched to find the beauty in what you convey
• If you’re stuck, find the original source of inspiration, feel free to day dream at this juncture
• You’re never wrong when it comes to this field, but yes there is good poetry and likewise!

For writers

· The novel is putting a bit of yourself into the world, show you through your characters, and be unashamedly judged

· This, I admit, could take years; have an unshakable dedication to what you start.

· Daydreams are your friends!

· If you know any artists, or you are a dab hand at the pencil, or modern day software, then draw, paint doodle!

· Disney has probably inspired most of our ‘modern day’ writers to some point, don’t be at a disadvantage!

This of course brings into perspective, that I myself am always inspired by many things at one time to write, whether from stress of examinations, the having a good old skive with my sister to Beauty and the Beast, if you can only take one inspiration at a time, you’ll be at your first masterpiece for a long, long time.

Life on the Line

I thought seeing as I haven’t posted in a long time It was about time I let my readers discover the dirty secrets of what I’ve been up to.

But where do I start? I can never call my life quiet, despite having no social life, at least in person.

Alright, let us start at the beginning, it seems only logical January arrived in the form of exams, which if I haven’t mentioned already, were a nightmare, I doubt I did much in the way of productiveness at that point except work myself to the bone catching up with college work. I may be alone in saying; I don’t enjoy something until I find myself in a steady yet fast paced grind at it, naturally that’s my addictive personality shining through. But as February dawned I achieved that mountain and caught up with my classmates, surprising a few teachers along the way.

February, I briefly mentioned with my visit to Bangor, the ringing of that inspiration carried me through the whole month in my first quarter (as I describe Jan-Mar for obvious reasons).

March has been an incredibly Jam packed month full of highs and lows to suit all varieties; this is where bullet points are invaluable people!

• Exam results- Remember January? I sure do! I improved all my grades, in short, Maths (one module in both years) and Chemistry saw me receive D’s and in French the Holy Grail (to me), a C.
• Second point of interest would be receiving a rejection letter for my poetry book Chon-Ji from Carcanet. It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it’s never a step in the wrong direction, even rejection is a step forwards.

Okay, hopefully someone’s still following, we hit mid march with preparation for my two French orals in April, and at the same time the distractions, yay!

• Learning the finer points of chess, I became tired of being spectacularly beaten every time I play, and so I’ve been practicing so much I’ve found it easier to leave my board out, have I improved?...Have I hell, but I’m enjoying it nevertheless.
• And of course, the unproductive distraction, Pokémon! A little friendly competition against my sister keeps me going back for more when I know it’s naughty.
• We reach the end of march with my reading list, very short, but shall do better once the exam periods are over. 1001 Arabian nights, I thought was amazing, so vibrant and heart touching I could feel the sand and retell the stories to everyone around (which I have done once or twice), Currently I’m reading the complete works of the Brothers Grimm to my sister, who is enjoying then, though not as much as I
• finally I bring you steady reader to March 31^st a Thursday I kid you not, bringing the cloak of death upon my household and taking away my dear dog, He shall be missed

Now looking ahead, I see vain attempts at writing again in the future, but when I know not, for I don’t have a crystal ball but I do know you will all hear from me soon enough, but Until then, thanks for reading!

Juggling Time

Have you ever had so much to do you’ve left the things you love to do for months at a time? Forgotten to stop and smell the roses lately, rather than the coffee beans that is? Ever worried so hard that when you’ve just finished a small piece of that dreaded all consuming thing and you feel you’ve barely scratched the surface? No?

Well I regrettably have. Writing has been put on hold for far too long, and I can not say with good conscience it’ll be regular yet for a while, but until then this is close enough. I’m still in waiting for a publisher to get in touch with me, (who isn’t I know), and with exams imminent in just 8 weeks, I’m buried under all the things I need to do to give myself a running start at life, I’m pleased to say I’m making some progress.

But how does this affect you, you ask? Simply, no one is perfect at managing their time, but as this article should be useful, let’s see if I can give some advice from experience.

· Don’t stay up all night working, the next day it’ll hit you hard.

· An early start energises one for the day ahead.

· Coffee needn’t be your only source of energy!

· Classical music clears the mind.

So OK I cheated in the last two, it’s just my method, for prosperity, who knows, someone in twenty years will ask what kept me going. Just remember a good piece of work doesn’t write itself, though, nor does a bad one, and you can’t produce either if you’re too tired to spell your own name.

Until next time, happy writing!

The writer, The surroundings

It may not be evident to all, hence this latest article, that the writer’s main source of motivation is his/her surroundings. I pose a question to you, if you will indulge me, where was Dracula written? And where were the Bronte sisters said to write? And Charles Dickens, each to their own place, and to their own style and success.

I suppose this has been inspired to my day, and as I write, this is my outlet. Bangor university open day, to the everyday student, not exactly glamorous. Just a backwards little city in North Wales, in fact, I felt as I neared its boundaries, that its tranquillity and serene scenery are something to be admired by anyone with eyes. Two geographical things that motivate me to write, between you and I, The mountains, never a problem to find in Wales I assure you, and bodies of water, preferably salt, not so common here. Each writer will have something different to my own preferences, and I advice you to take full advantage of them, it is one’s natural feng shui.

So what was it about Bangor that inspired me to contribute to this old thing again? Bangor is surrounded by the steepest, mountains I have ever seen, not the biggest mind you, the Maine straight is right on the doorstep to the university. And almost everywhere you go you have open woodland, the college gardens and I could almost feel the happiness resonating from the students, not something I’m accustomed to!

So, writers out there, if you want to be inspired, don’t restrict your feng shui to your house, don’t simply take up an exercise plan or increase your caffeine dosage to stupid extremes: take a day out to visit somewhere truly beautiful and quet. Any writer worth their quill will know that feeling from a place that creates total peace within them.

Look out for me soon, I hope this will be the first in a long line of profound thoughts.

Halloween Poem

What self respecting writer can pass up Halloween as an excuse to write? Not me that's for sure! Written for my sister, Roxanne, I present my own version of Halloween Poetry for 2010:

All comes to life on Halloween night

Vampy ghouls to give a fright

Dracula’s kids all rampant riot

For sweets galore, they all shout it.

.

Galloping snakes, phantoms beware

Tonight you’ll get a really good scare,

You can’t escape by shutting your eyes

Otherwise you’re in for a nasty surprise

.

We the kids of Halloween night,

Have come to get our sweetie delight

Knock on the door and give a big scare

Toffee, jelly, we don’t care

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We hit the streets in the thousands

Hiding within, our sneaky companions.

Dracula’s come out for adults alone,

With we the children, out for more.

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So please don’t- lock up your door

We’d hate to trick you, oh what a bore!

We the kids of Halloween night

Have come to get our sweetie delight.

.

Trick or treat, we knock at your door

Adults beware of our Halloween song

For all comes to life on Halloween night

Dressed up as children to give a big fright.

Structure that Book!

Any work of art is a messy room at one point, but something such as a book needs order; draws for the titles, boxes for chapters, why should poetry be any different?

Taking prime example from Sylvia Plath’s ‘Ariel’, as I do a lot, we see how she opens it with the birth of her son, and ends with ‘edge’, being the final poem dictating death in Its entirety. Perhaps an easier way to depict this hieroglyph would be by taking example from the book I’m currently writing.

Chon-Ji, a narrative poetry book, dictates the creation of two beings, Earth, the mother, and Heaven, the son. I follow them exploring their individuality, and developing their vanity to the point of no return. It ends with the end of one life cycle and the beginning of the next, as the beginning does. By no means is it a feel good read, but it is certainly true on many levels.

So how do we edit such an eyesore to begin with, being the tidy room not the book? You first need to find its, as I call it, ‘grounding point’, what is the basis or reason for Its being? From there it’s simply a chain of events, and side thoughts progressing to the inevitable and all too soon, end. Naturally it is my own opinion, but I can not see how it could lead any writer far wrong.

There is of course, the well loved second method, of slap dash and hope for the best, but I feel, as do many other writers that writing reflects the life of the writer. Just as there is a spring before summer, childhood before old age, the book should have a definite start and beginning. If you intend to make a life of this choice you will look back in years to come and see how each book you wrote was a reflection of that point in your life. You may find you write about every day things, such as walking the dog, buying a newspaper, or philosophising a poetical narrative about the meaning of life, in short your writing reflects your nature.

Naturally this has set cogs turning in your head, as you pause from throwing your ideas, pal-mal into the closet and draws, you wonder, ‘what if there is a my way’.

Of course the answer is, you’re right! It is your miracle, so it reflects you, providing you’re not the lazy type. Starting with the middle and saying, ‘yep, that’ll do’ rather than acknowledging that it is you’re style, and having it in that order that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside.

So for your consideration: a messy room has an order to its habitant, writing should too.

Writing: Dreaming That First Draft

Dreaming up that first draft requires a lot of time, and the patience of a saint. We all have a real life outside of our imagination; if we could combine the two, there wouldn’t be a straight line in sight across the globe. To be a writer, having an over active imagination is an obvious must, but it is only one of the many traits a good scholar needs in his or her arsenal.

It becomes increasingly evident that good parents also make good writers, as long as the first need is met. Parenting is about having the patience of a saint, so is shaping and editing any piece of work, or even waiting for the idea. It’s been known for weeks or even months before that golden idea will hit. So always keep up with your real life because you never know when your fictional one will want to sweep you away.

How to bring your first draft into existence,

Poetry:

• Build up a firm understanding of poetry in general
• Experiment with poetical devices and forms
• Imagery, symbolism and other theories, familiarise yourself with them!
• never forget, the meter is almost more important than the words

Novel writing:

• You can’t fluke it, you need to know what you’re doing
• Set the scene, it must be as vivid for the reader as it is for you
• Live in the world yourself, know about it and make all the notes you can
• Keep your paragraphs in line, let the reader breathe.

I’ll end my little tips with my five writers golden rules (which have never let me down)

1. No research is ever wasted, know your topic
2. No such thing as bad criticism when it’s constructive
3. Not everything has to have a deeper meaning, some like simplicity
4. Patience, it always comes to you when you relax
5. Even writers need down time, it means you can work all that bit harder.

With this very short, but hopefully helpful bundle of words, I hope to have guided or inspired someone out there to succeed at what I’ve devoted most of my life to already. Happy writing!

a swift update

It's been too long since my last update, and honestly I'm only posting from guilt of neglecting my duties. Illness as well as a complete wipe out of energy has left me withering, one would thing me an insect. The good news is that through two weeks of muddle fuddling and general cubuddling (yes my own coinage) I'm over half way through what's kept me away from here, the poetry book, ‘Chon-Ji’ - heaven and earth. It tells the tale of Chon and Ji, created by an unknown old man. Chon, the mother Earth creates Ji, her son.

She unfortunately can not curb her creative urges and this is when her creation fight back, corrupting her son until he leaves in search for immortality. With Greek inspiration I've striven to create a masterpiece, I hope I don't let myself, nor you readers down.