authenticity

Feb 212012
 

Trifecta, edited by Lisa Marie Harvey and David Moore, offers up a weekly writing challenge.  The only thing you can rely on is that it will be challenging; and it will somehow involve the number three.

Lisa and David recently asked those who participate in their challenges and contests to answer a handful of questions to share with others and build community. Usually I demure at such requests, but for reasons I cannot fully articulate, I opted to give this a go. So, here you are – my answers to these depth-seeking questions. Kim Revealed…

 

What is your name (real or otherwise)?

My real name is Kim Nelson, although I have also been published under the pseudonym, Kate McLaughlin.

Describe your writing style in three words.

Concise
Observational
Outreaching

How long have you been writing online?

Between my two writing identities, I’ve regularly posted online since early 2007.

Which, if any, other writing challenges do you participate in?

I’m on the editorial board and a regular contributor at Poets United. I also frequent Imaginary Garden with Real Toads and Three Word Wednesday.

Describe one way in which you could improve your writing.

I need to continue to write away from cliche. I want to convey familiar messages and meanings in a completely original way.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Just write. Every single day. Lock away the internal editor and write, write, write.

Who is your favorite author?

I read poetry, non-fiction, novels, spiritual and religious texts, short stories, essays, blogs. I read voraciously and have lots of favorites within each realm and genre.

How do you make time to write?

Writing has always been my most natural form of expression. I write. Simple as that. Now… making time for writing something that’s fit for another’s eyes is a completely different story. I usually plan my day so that I have a chunk of time calendared specifically for writing. Of  course, when I’m on deadline, my Type-A personality takes over; and I can forego nearly everything else to meet my commitment and make my goal.

Give us one word we should consider using as a prompt.

Clarity

Direct us to one blog post of yours that we shouldn’t miss reading.

Get In The Game … and let me know what you think!

Feb 102012
 

I’ll climb up the ladder
Stainless and tall
With a bottle of wine in my hand

Then sit on the roof
In wonder and awe
Gazing out at the stark desert land

I’ll sip and I’ll ponder
The beauty beyond
Watch the deer and the bobcat glide by

I’ll listen intently
To nighthawks and owls
As the bats flit across twilight sky

Here in Sonora
Harsh, exquisite, bold
I’ll take it all in
On this journey towards old

Jan 162012
 
January 10, 2012

at this moment
can I focus on anything else
when towhees and sparrows
dance?

January 11, 2012

Clouded is my morning
Not my vision
Or my mind
Clarity a gift, earned

January 12, 2012

In the calm warmth
of my solitary day
I realize
I like it this way

January 13, 2012

Moods tint all views
Best to understand the mood
Than alter the view

January 14, 2012

Gin and juice
Calming produce
When taken in wee amounts

January 15, 2012

Clouds soften desert sky
Slowing pace of love and I
Offering a reason why
not? lie about and sigh…
It is good.

January 16, 2012

rain washed away dust
prompted fresh rust, corrosion
decay feeds new life

Dec 282011
 

Not one for resolutions

She committed to no change

She lived her life, post January one

As previously arranged

~

Demolish habits long ingrained?

Shun drink? Self prohibition?

Transform image ~ rebellious, bold

Complacency? Contrition?

~

What thrill or fun would that produce?

Experiences deny?

I’m traveling fast and light, she mused

Livin’ hard ’til the day I die

~

*Inspired by Three Word Wednesday ~ Demolish, Resolution, Transform