I know I’ve been remiss in posting on this blog after I said I was going to be better at it! Nevertheless, I’m here now and I have all sorts of news to share a little more than halfway through National Poetry Month. I’m always happy to be busy writing a poem a day, and I’m doing it again this year along with the Indiana Writers Center. I even contributed a few prompts to be used this month as well. I took part in a wonderful Poetry event called Poets and Songwriters on April 5th at the Community Center in Farmland, IN, that was put together and hosted by Jeffrey Pearson. Other poets besides Jeff and me were Michael Brockley, Katy Didden, and James Green. The Songwriters who participated were Jack Burton and Paul Marhoefer aka Long Haul Paul. On April 11th, I got to read at Ball State University’s David Owsley Museum of Art at an event, Harmonic Convergence which paired Baroque music along with our Ekphrastic poems that were written during a special workshop given by Katy Didden. Poets wrote from prompts using the paintings of the Beyond the Medici: the Haukohl Family Collection that is on exhibit until May 19th. Poets reading at that event included me, Jeff, Michael, Katy, and George Wolfe, who proposed the idea of the reading and music event. On Saturday, April 13th, I was in Celina, OH, for the Grand Lake Area Literature Festival. I was on a panel for adult authors, and I also got to read from my poetry chapbook, Staring Dementia in the Face (Finishing Line Press, 2023). It too was a wonderful event where I met a lot of other writers, but alas I was the only poet there. On Sunday, April 14th, my Poetry Sister, Mary Sexson and I were interviewed by Katherine Heiss for the Off The Bricks podcast, about our new collaborative poetry book, Marriage Maps and Driven Destinies (Chatter House Press, 2023). The podcast went live today, and hopefully you will enjoy listening to it here. So, as you can see I’ve been busy and happy with the month so far. I have a few other events lined up for the rest of April, besides writing a lot of poems, and I’ll be back to post about them!
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Catching Up
So, it’s almost embarrassing to realize that I haven’t posted here since early 2021. But in that time a lot of things have happened, as with anyone, the good and the bad. I’ve had some new experiences and discovered what I already knew about myself – I’m a teacher at heart, and if my creativity is stifled in anyway, I’m not me – and I’m not happy. Needless to say, I’ve found my way back to happiness, where I’m teaching again, which I love, and creating again, which has opened up the floodgates for new poems and essays, and new experiences to enjoy. Recently, I was asked to visit a friend’s college classroom via Zoom to talk about poetry and read some of my own. It was energizing. I’ve missed that feeling so much. So, I will be posting here when I have some new poetry readings coming up – most are scheduled after the new year, but there will be quite a few to choose from as I have two new poetry books to share from, my chapbook, Staring Dementia in the Face (Finishing Line Press, 2023), and a co-authored book of poems with my Poetry Sister, Mary Sexson, Marriage Maps and Driven Destinies (Chatter House Press, 2023), where she has written the section on marriage, and my section deals with travels and other destinations.
I also used to use this blog to encourage others to write by posting a prompt that they could use to get into their own writing, whether it be poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction, or even plays. I’ve missed doing that as well – so I will give you a prompt today and I will come back here as I used to, at least monthly, if not more, to post more fresh prompts. It feels good to dive back into writing and everything that comes with it…even those dastardly rejections. But, hey, if you get those – at least you’re writing and sending work out into the world, right? Here’s a prompt to contemplate as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday:
Think back to a Thanksgiving where you were happiest. Who all was there? What was happening around you, do you remember conversations, the smells, the food? Or flip that on its head and write about a Thanksgiving where you were miserable. Give details such as why, who was involved, what was happening around you. Remember, all you have to do is give yourself 10 minutes – set the timer and go. You’ll be surprised at what memories you can conjure up – for better or worse.
Happy writing and “see” you soon!
Lylanne
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Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself!
When I started this blog, way back in June of 2012 (seems like yesterday, doesn’t it?), I began with the intention to write about what a hard time I was having with coming to terms with my visual art. I’d thought of myself as a visual artist since I was a child. I wrote as a child too, poems and plays, but I didn’t put near the pressure on myself as I did with my art. I thought by writing on this blog, trying new things, that I might discover why that was. I’ve often thought that my self-esteem was wrapped up in it, as at one point in life…my much younger self, was pretty shy and pretty unsure. Some would not believe it now, but it’s true. My art was where I found validation back then. When I came into writing poetry and plays later on, I came into it not expecting much since no one else seemed to think I was great at it. So, when I went back to college (after dropping out, thinking I was failing my writing composition class!) I had fun with it…and a lot of success, so much easier than with my art…a talent I knew I possessed…but getting any art rejections was such a heartbreak, a slap in the face. Well, something positive has happened in the last few years. I believe it’s because I’ve lightened up on myself and just paint what I want, the way I want…allow myself to make mistakes, I don’t take those art rejections as personally as I once did, and I’ve had more success. I’ve been juried into so many more shows, I won Best of Show (with the pastel painting “Cat Lover,” above) at the Muncie Artist Guild Exhibit in November 2020, I’ve sold more work than ever before, and my art was featured in Last Stanza Poetry Journal...along with a couple of poems. So, don’t give up on your own dreams, no matter whether it’s painting, writing, music, etc., sometimes the creative path can be hard, disappointing even, but if it’s your passion, lighten up!! It will come if you keep working at it. Many of us creative types just think too much…instead: fear less, do more.
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A New Blog!
I haven’t written a blog post in a while, crazy as this year has been, it will get it’s own nod in a couple of weeks; however, in this first blog back – I want to encourage readers to check out Hope Magazine. I was fortunate to be asked to write a poetry review for the Winter Issue, and I got to ask three other poets to muse about their favorite book of poems. I chose three friends of whom I think highly of their poetry as well: Mary Sexson (also known as my Poetry Sister), Jonie McIntire, and Kerry Trautman, both friends from when I lived in Ohio. Please check out all of their own poetry, as well as who they recommend for you to read. You can find Jonie here, Kerry here, and Mary here. Be sure to get your issue of Hope Magazine here, or do better and order a subscription.
Thank you for checking out my blog again. I will be back soon with more creative content! I promise.
Lylanne
I will be teaching a workshop on Ekphrastic writing at the Indiana Writers Center on Monday, March 9th, from 6:30 – 9:30 PM. If you don’t know what Ekphrastic writing is, this is a chance to find out for yourself, experience some ekphrastic writing during the workshop while learning about it. If you already know ekphrastic writing this will still work for you too. Ideally, everyone will leave with a seed or two for some new poems or flash fiction. If this sounds interesting to you, the link to the workshop is found here.
After March 9th, return here for a prompt or two that you can use to do some ekphrastic writing! I also have some other writing workshops scheduled this year, so stay tuned for one near you!
I don’t know how others feel about it, but writing 2020 is pretty surreal. Of course, I’m old enough that reaching 1984 was stunning (and now we’re living it – with Big Brother everywhere, among other things), and then it was 1999 – the year we were all going to party like, because Prince was so cool (and now, Prince is no longer with us). For me, 2006 was another milestone year. It was the year I graduated with my master’s degree, and turned 50 all at once. Now, the next major year will be 2024 for me (and not because it’s an election year) because it will be 50 years since I graduated high school! 1974, where did you go? Anyway, with each year, if we’re lucky, we all get older. And, as they say, aging is not for sissy’s! However, I do feel lucky as my only complaint is my lower back pain, and it’s not every day, but some days I do feel like I must be 90…as slow as I get up out of a chair. The problem is – I don’t feel my age, and that seems to be something that happens when we all reach a certain age. So, you younguns can say “Ok, Boomer!” all you like – but it is true, and someday you will be talking about your aches and pains with friends and you’ll also begin wondering why the youth think you’re so “far out” there in la la land. LOL! Also, I am a “Boomer” and I’ll admit it. Nevertheless, I also am not as old as, say, a lot of presidential candidates who are not Boomer’s but get called that all the time. I’ll give them the president is a Boomer, but right at the very beginning. Goes to show, labels are not a way to lump everyone together. You’d think with all the technology that people could look up information and find out those facts, but that’s a whole other can of worms.
With that all said, you will notice (if you’ve followed me over the years) that my blog is not just Writing Prompt Pit Stop anymore. I have added other things to this site as my “hub” in 2020, but I will always leave you with at least one or two prompts – just for the fun of it – if that’s what you originally followed me for. I will begin blogging here about things that interest me, and of course, writing is a big interest, but also about art, and theatre. I may share things that are going on in the world, I may choose to write a book review, I may choose to interview somebody in the arts, but the main thing is – I’m changing it up. It’s a new year, it’s a new decade! I’m getting too old not to write and do what I want…which could mean I’ve finally turned into an “old codger” or it could mean that I’m keeping myself young, engaged, and hoping to do the same for others along the way.
I hope you join me as I make new discoveries this year! Don’t forget to check out the new page headings above which include: Home (where you are now), About, Contact, Plays, Poetry, Poetry Sisters, Visual Arts, and Writing Prompts. I will also add new things there as they come along. For those of you that would like a writing prompt or two (or three!), here you go:
1. No matter your age, you’re older than you were last year. Write what you like about being the age you are now. What would you tell younger people about what it’s like to be your age? What scares you about getting older? Do you fear death? Why or why not?
2. I made reference to 1984, and 1999, which are titles of the novel by Orwell and of the song by Prince. Can you write a poem or story that is devoted to a year in the future? Maybe you want to journal about something that happened to you in one of those years. Something could come of that…you know?
3. Maybe I brought up something you want to challenge or that you made a connection with. Maybe you don’t like the term “OK, Boomer!” Maybe you’re someone who says it all the time. Write your feelings down! Write for 10 minutes on whatever it is…and then see if you want to continue it into a story, a poem, or a short play. Go for it!
I hope you enjoy the new look, I hope you enjoyed the prompts, and I hope you will pay a visit again. If you feel like it, leave a comment or contact me directly.
Keep writing and creating!
Lylanne
Welcome to Writing Prompt Pit Stop! Well, it’s been a while since I posted and I don’t have any super excuses, except being busy: teaching, writing, and drawing. In addition, since my dad died in 2017, I’ve been my mom’s caregiver…which since she has dementia, is time-consuming and oftentimes, frustrating. So, I gave myself permission to miss a few months of posting blogs and now I’m re-surfacing. However, I know that is not a good commitment to this blog spot, so one of my goals this year is to post at least one blog every month, if not more, throughout 2019.
As has been noted, 2017 was an awful year, but 2018 was a bit of a relief. It wasn’t nearly as traumatic, even though I lost an aunt, and several cousins…which is something that some of us of a certain age, unfortunately, have to grow accustom to. Nevertheless, loss is never easy whether expected or not. On the other hand, I have much to be thankful for in 2018. I had my first trip to Arizona, with my friend, Ann. I had never been to New Mexico or Arizona, so by driving out there in January I was able to cross two more states off my “been to” list. Now, California is the lone state out west (and Hawaii and Alaska) that I’ve not ventured to. I’m only missing New Hampshire and Maine out east – so goals! I don’t know whether I’ll make those this year, but I’m always open to travel when it presents itself. In addition, speaking of traveling, I spent a week in Florida and one in Atlantic City with my daughters and grandchildren, so I loved 2018 just for those trips, if nothing else! But there was something else. My creative ventures saw a good year as well. I ended up having my visual art accepted into 11 juried shows, and winning an HM at Art Association of Madison County’s show at the Anderson Museum of Art and a Judge’s Choice at the Northern Indiana Pastel Society’s Annual Exhibit. I also exhibited at other venues throughout the year, was the Muncie Artist’s Guild Artist of the Month in July; I took part in the 31 pastels in 31 day challenge in October (and successfully completed 31), and I had some nice sales of my work throughout the year. In 2019, I’d love to double those juried shows, sales, and maybe shoot for getting some art published in some lit journals. I’ll never know until I try!
I took part in the 365 Women a Year Playwrights Project again – my 3rd time in the 4 years it’s existed. So, by the end of 2018, I wrote three new plays, and two monologues. Also, one of my plays, “Frida Kahlo: Heartbreaker,” from a previous year was produced at NoPlays’ Herstory 3: Journeywomen in New Haven, CT in March (of which I was able to attend!), and that same play was produced at the 365 Women a Year Play Festival at FSU, produced by White Mouse Theatre Productions in November. So, I keep on keeping on with my playwriting goals in 2019. I hope to get more productions, and be even more prolific in writing plays.
Finally, poetry is where a lot of my writing flows and I guess there must be something about the number 11, because I was published 11 times (which for me is not a good average…meaning I didn’t write as much or submit as much to up my odds), but the major news: two books! My full-length collection, It’s Not Love, Unfortunately, was published in July by Chatter House Press, and Red Mare 16, my chapbook collection of Paparazzi for the Birds was published by Red Mare Press in November. I had several opportunities to read poetry this year, twice as a featured reader, once in Fishers and once in Toledo, OH. And, towards the end of 2018, my friend, Mary Sexson and I, formed Poetry Sisters…which you’ll hear more about during 2019. So, my goals for poetry in 2019: write more and submit more. I will also be officially launching It’s Not Love, Unfortunately, at Poetry on Brick Street in February. So, along with my books, and Poetry Sisters, I hope to be reading a lot more across the region in the coming year.
If that were not enough for 2018. I did become a great-grandma again in May, and I was selected to be on the board of the Midwest Writers Workshop, of which I’m quite honored. So, 2018 was a darn good year for me, personally. You notice I didn’t mention politics…all these good things happened despite what is playing constantly in the background.
So, I call this blog Writing Prompt Pit Stop, so I guess I should post a few prompts!
- In your daybook, write about a time that you’ve given yourself permission to take a break from something important to you, perhaps a blog, writing, painting, family, a person, and then picked up later better (or worse) than before. Take about 10 minutes and see what surfaces.
- Unfortunately, a lot of us don’t get through any year without suffering some loss of some kind. It might be a loss of a loved one, a job, a friendship, a dream… So, make a list of losses – maybe from one year, or maybe a compilation. Then from that list pick the one that is either the hardest, or that comes easiest…and write. Maybe, have one of your characters suffer the loss(es), if that makes it easier.
- Write about traveling someplace that you’ve never been. Maybe you finally got to go, when you never thought you would. Was it as wonderful as you hoped? What was the most surprising thing about the destination? What is something that happened on this trip that you will never forget? Is it memoir worthy?
- Use these words in what you write: Fresh start, trigger warnings, Cactus.
As always, if you get anything that you want to share – post it below or you can always contact me at lylanne@lylanne.com
Bring on 2019, and keep writing!
Lylanne
Categories
Memories: Good for the Soul
Welcome to Writing Stop Pit Stop! Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged and posted some writing prompts, but I’m hoping with the summer months upon me that I can get some more prompts posted and get back into the swing of blogging again. I’ve got a lot of good things going on, with my full-length poetry collection, It’s Not Love, Unfortunately, coming soon from Chatter House Press, and more good poetry publication news coming soon.
Just this past Monday, my prose poem, “Sunday Drive” appeared at Flying Island…and since it’s a poem about a childhood memory, I thought this might be a good time to revisit some memories for writing. No matter how old we are (or young), we have memories of summers past, with the 4th of July fast approaching, of Independence Day’s past, or of how different America is from years past. We also have special memories of family, friends, pets, etc.
So, it’s good to be back…even with a brief intro – but with some new prompts! Let’s get started:
- In your daybook, write a memory from a specific time you, as a child, were in the car with your parents…where were you going? What was on the radio, tape deck, or CD? Who else was with you, or were you by yourself with them. What were the smells, sights, sounds, all around you? Once you have a few things jotted down, formulate your memory into a poem, prose or verse, an essay, or a story.
- Write a memory from a time you were in a classroom. It could be from your elementary years, junior high or high school years, or college. It could be that you were the teacher, or the student. It could even be from Sunday School. Again, think about who was there, what made this time stand out to you? Was it a humorous, sad, or scary time? Once you have exhausted the memory, see if it could make a good story or essay, maybe a 10 minute play or a poem…
- Write about your first kiss. Use all of the senses and just go until you can’t keep writing. When you look at what you’ve written, could you use that incident with a character you’re developing? Can you write a romantic story of some kind, or a poem?
- Use these words in what you write: Sunglasses, bonfire, walking, sour.
As always, if you get anything that you want to share – post it below or you can always contact me at lylanne@lylanne.com
Keep writing!
Lylanne
My play, “Frida Kahlo: Heartbreaker” will be produced this weekend as a part of Herstory 3, in New Haven, CT.
I’m so pleased to be a part of this event. Here is my interview with Natalie Osborn of NoPlays! Enjoy!
Lylanne Musselman discusses her new play Frida Khalo: Heartbreaker, part of the HERSTORY 3: JOURNEY WOMEN. Interview by Natalie Osborne.
Q: Can you tell us more about your experience writing for 365 Women a Year?
A: I’ve been on-board from the beginning. Jess Eisenberg is doing a great thing where women are concerned with this project to get women, well-known and obscure, on stage. I’ve met a few of the other playwrights from the project, and I was even Festival Director for the 365 Women a Year Festival in Detroit in 2016. I can’t say enough good things about 365 Women a Year!
Q: What drew you to Frida Khalo?
A: Well, I’m a visual artist too and I’ve always loved Khalo’s work – she’s so colorful! I especially love her “Self-portrait with Cropped Hair.” I was so happy to write a play featuring her for the 365 Women a Year project…I…
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My Interview With Ramingo’s Blog
My interview below with Ramingo’s Blog. It’s in association with the 2nd issue of Ramingo’s Porch where you can find my poem, “Love, Love, Love.”
Enjoy!
Lylanne
Lylanne Musselman 