Creative People Thread

[Savas]

Those who didn't catch it, I put the link to the first two chapters of a piece I wrote during a dark period of my life in my journal.

All comments and thoughts are welcome, it's experimental and a departure for me, so I won't be offended. :-)

BUT, it got me wondering if there are any others out there who write or create in some way on this forum.

So I'm asking all of you who feel brave enough to post your work either here (in journal), or a link to it if offsite, and perhaps we could get some helpful criticism going, as well as the pleasure of enjoying what each other of us do.

This isn't limited to writing, mind you. If it's hand craft, post a few pics!

Music? A link to..well, wherever you put music up nowadays on the internet.

[heatherlynn22]

i'm actually an aspiring writer. if i completed all the novels i've started i'd have about 6 or 7 books out now. lol. as soon as dh gets me my new lap top i'm finishing the book i'm working on now (based on my uncles murder but fictional) and another idea i got yesterday when we were out shopping. i LOVE writing.

[Savas]

Heh heh, I used to work with pen and paper. computers have spoiled me.

If you have anything available and ready, I'm sure some of us would love checking it out.

[margypops]

I read you 2 pieces this morning I think you use words very well and whilst it was a little dark for me it held me and I wanted to read more, I know thats a good thing and any publisher is looking for just that, I am going to read it again ,see now I want to read chapter 3 and find out what happened...thats a good thing .

[Savas]

Well, I put the last chapter up, and it is thankfully shorter. I'm glad you liked it, as I was worried it was to grim to be interesting.

[heatherlynn22]

i do have a few chapters done of the book i'm working on now (my others are packed away somewhere....) i wish i could work on it more than what i do but the kids are sucking out all my creative brain juices lately....

[Piparskeggr]

Always good to talk creativity, it's one of my soapbox issues with my kin, kith, friends and acquaintances.  I harp on them all to write their own stories, draw something, carve a piece of wood, sew a family quilt...anything to tell about themselves and their lives, because, unless you get famous or infamous, no one else will do it for you.

Your opinion of how good you are doesn't matter, get the story down in some form.  Your family will appreciate it, maybe not now, but they will.  I'd give my other three wisdom teeth if I could lay my hands on letters from my ancestors to each other.

That being said, three of my journal entries here have been poems, the cooking one seems most popular, though ,-)

Most of my poetry is written from the perspective of my worldview, which is based in pre-Christian northern European beliefs and ethics.

A few are written from whimsy, like this, inspired by just having read "Wind in the Willows" to my wife as we drove back from Massachusetts a few years ago.  She'd never read it as a child and I like to share with her the favorite books of my youth as she drives, she prefers her driving to mine ,-)  It was also sparked by the sights in the forest preserve near our home as I was walking there after a rain shower had freshened the air.

Rain Way

Rainfall
Clear water pools
O'er soggy, golden leaves
A gleaming path
Is formed

A road
O'er forest floor
The way of Hidden Folk
Breeze gently blows
Ripples

Footfalls
Lightly treading
Like a water spider
Whirling along
Dancing

Whispers
Gaily laughing
Echoes of childhood
Magical dreams
Fancies

Glimpses
Shadowed figures
At the edge of vision
Glad remembrance
Happy

Fresh scents
Heady and sweet
Reminder of springtime
Stirring the air
Sighing

Sunbeams
Clouds have scattered
Woodland colors glisten
Second sight ends
Waking

Read widely, read wisely, read well, feel joy.

Pip

[FurballsMom]

I make beaded and wire jewelry for my special friends.

[Piparskeggr]

Quick note before work.

I read all three parts of your story; nasty and brutish world there.  Dis seem like a journey of self-discovery and transformation, through a glass darkly, and broken.

best - Pip

[heatherlynn22]

oh that's cool furballs! my uncles ex wife made "beaded lamps". they were really "retro" but they were so cool. if she would've sold em she probably could've made a ton of money off of them.

[Savas]

Huh. You know, I actually think I like this. Perhaps because I tend to strongly dislike "modern poetry" and this has feel to it that reminds me a bit of....shoot, can't recall who I'm thinking of. Frost?

I'm sensing a deliberate structure here but I'm not catching what it is. It flows well too. I was going to say I'm not sure about the last line, but I may have just gotten it. or not. But that's the idea, is to make you contemplate, eh?

Reading as a past time when raining, eh? So do it well.

I think poets must find that the most amusing aspect of their work, when the readers find meaning in it that even THEY didn't consider as being there.  

I'll have to go look at your others. (Ah, just caught the Emerson reference you made).

Oh, and yes, that's an apt description. I had just read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" and reread Erickson's "Malazan book of the Fallen" series, and decided to experiment with the darkness of those worlds. Which is why the dialogue is scant and has a rough, American Western feel to it (at least, tha was the idea).

I've decided to include SOME elements of humour should I continue it, least the reader expire from despair.

[Savas]

Kids drain away a huge chunk of creativity if you aren't careful to set time aside away from them. Of course, they can be great sources of creativity of well. trying to get time to yourself to write can be difficult, with them running about underfoot.

[Savas]

My wife started out with beads and wire and got very into jewelry making. She said the big difference for her was when she began working with the jeweler's torch and drill she picked up. It gives you options for working with the stuff you don't have with just pliers, wire and beads.
Do you get supplies locally or on-line?

[Piparskeggr]

Good evening and thank you for your observations.  I have long written that a poet is little without an audience.  Writing for oneself is mainly just an exercise in mental "self-abuse." ;-)  It might feel good momentarily, but it is ultimately sterile and lonely.

"Rainway" is written as a variation of the structure called diamante, aka diamond; 2 syllables, 4, 6, 4 then 2 again.  In my understanding of the form, each stanza has an opening idea and flows to a conclusion, so a 5 line diamante could, like a haiku, be a perfectly complete poem.

Most of the other works I have (about 15,000 lines over the past decade) are written in blank verse using long meter as the gauge of each stanza: 4 lines of 8 syllables with a slight pause in the center.  Many hymns are written in this meter.

The recitation cadence I use is quite like that of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha," that choppy beat, like waves slapping the hull of a canoe.

I rarely write anything with end rhymes and do make some use of alliteration and kennings (word pictures or allegories, ie: sea steed for ship, cloud gift - rain, whale way - sea, battle rain - blood...)

Your story, as I read it, I found I could picture both the characters and the terrain, almost hear them...

You write well - Pip

[Savas]

I love it! I was thinking of"the Raven" for cadence but I just do that. That is much more appropriate.

Thanks. I've been busy "Universe Creating" and haven't gotten back on here for a bit. I hate having to do that. I hate outlining as well. frankly, it's been pointed out I seem to hate writing period. But... it's what I know, so...eh. :-)

I'm curious, did the main character have any appeal to him at all? I was hoping that despite making him such a terrible person he'd still invoke sympathy. Don't know if that worked, though.

I've never been crazy about rhyming poetry, btw, but I think it's because most poets don't do it very well. It always seems forced to me. I have to go over and take a look at some of your other stuff.

You should consider trying to get it published. although from what I've seen, being a published poet is no great shakes. The whole "circuit" thing they have to do of travelling about and doing readings always struck me as a trial.

[margypops]

You know I have noticed before how many members are really talented especially in  poetry and writing ,we have one member published with a childs story and working on another,your poetry is a delight Pip, and I like Savas's talent and use of words even if his story was a bit dark for me ,guess thats cos Im a Gal ..I think you all should have a go at getting published, tons of writers have to resend their 'tomes 'repeatedly before the right publisher takes it on.,dont ever be put off by rejections.

[Savas]

Yes, someone mentioned that. Hey, I promise to put some sparkling vampires in next time. :->
("Twilight" referewnce)

[Piparskeggr]

The general did seem to have some glimmer of care for the girl, who definitely seems to have latched onto him.

This need not be a form of redemption, but it could lead to a healing of sorts.

I'll give the chapters a rereading and see if I have any useful observations.

----------------

I agree with you on the rhyming poetry, unless very well done, it seems to be more "greeting card" like than not.  Most modern rhyming poets seem to sacrifice the story flow within the poem.

I just try to write as the idea behind the poem fleshes itself out in the words.

Sometimes the process of completion takes a long time, sometimes not.  it depends on the strength of the idea and the connection I feel to the story.  One 36 line poem I wrote, which is about Thor, took over 3 years to complete from the initial idea.  Another, which is a mythic retelling of a boar hunt some friends of mine undertook, about 120 lines in under an hour.

I have tried my hand at fictional prose in the past, but it just doesn't flow for me.  I am writing an "epic" poem based upon characters from some novels I've been working on since junior high.   I know the characters, and their stories, but they just do not want to be tied to sentences and paragraphs.  I started putting one of the stories into poetic form, and it is flowing.

[Savas]

A poem about Thor? that I'd like to see. I have something of an affinity for the Norse Mythos.

I love the dark inevitability of Ragnorok, and how there is naught but doom and failure for the Gods in the end.

All they can do is hope to stave off the inevitable.

In the end, there is only Ragnorok.

The eternal winter begins.

It appeals to the cynic in me.

You summed up my problem with rythming poetry effectively and simply. Often I read it and feel that a sacrifice has been made to the quality of the piece for the sake of a rythme.

I have tried poetry. But I lack the true soul of a poet. I find that the technical framework of the stanza overrules my desire to achieve the emotional impact of words, and leaves anything I write devoid of impact.


Tell me, when you write poetry, do you find that you have to hunt to find specific words to create the effect you want, or does it just flow naturally?

here's an interesting question; do you find you think in poetic verse? I find I tend to think in story prose it's the reason my wife despairs of getting my attention half the time. It's hard to be aware of others around you when you've got an inner dialogue/ story playing out most of the time. :->.

[FurballsMom]

Usually, I buy my things locally at a place that I've been finding good deals.  But, I'm thinking I should try buying some of the essentials online, since I've been told that these things are usually much less expensive online.  Once I start doing that, I'll probably do a little bit of shopping locally and a little bit online.  The one place I go to locally really is a good place to go to.

[Savas]

You could try Metaliforous (sp?). I beleive they have an online store. They're situated in NYC, so I can't speak for their prices.

I do know my wife was looking on e-bay recently and found what she said were some awesome prices on things she thought would cost her twice as much, easily. She even found a jeweler's drill for about 20$ that normally goes for about 80$!

[FurballsMom]

Thanks, I'll look into that one.  

[Piparskeggr]

Hail;

I've always had a hard time getting a handle on Thor, but wanted to write a song as the centerpiece of a worship service to him.  I think the problem lay in that Thor is looked upon as a god of action: a traveler, a slayer of giants, one who does rather than deeply thinks...  He is looked as a protector of the Innanard, the community of Kin, Kith and Friends, and a god looked to more by the common folk, rather than the warriors and nobles.  We modern folk even have him (and other Norse gods) embedded in our calendar: Thursday = Thor's Day, part of the lasting effect that our ancestors had upon us to this very day.

After several weeks of thinking, scratching out a few phrases, having "vapor lock" over the subject, and then putting the work aside for a couple of years, the phrase "Son of Deed" popped into my mind.

The poem flowed out in less than an hour after that.

1st stanza is repeated as the chorus of the song.  When reading this, think of the rhythm of the wheels of a 2-wheeled cart rattling over a country road while the animals are pulling at a canter.  Many of my poems "demand" a tune as I write them.  This is one such.  I am musically illiterate, so I have a pocket recorder into which I sing as I write.

Son of Deed

Thor, Son of Deed, Mighty Do-er
Your name has spread, across Midgard
Thor Odinsson, Will to His Wit
Innangard's Fist, Worlds' Traveler

Black storm clouds rise, thunderclaps roll
Asa Thor rides, Ettins to slay
Mankind's Old Friend, guarding the Weal
Strength in action, as we should be
- Chorus -

Stories in Lore, tell of his deeds
Stout warrior, hearty and hale
Fist to the fore, striking the foes
Of Asgard's tribes, and of all Life
- Chorus -

Hammer and gloves, broad brazen belt
Protecting Folk, from ill intent
Strength upon strength, power for right
Quickly He strikes, always does act
- Chorus -

Thor of the North, common man's friend
Fighting giants, with Mjollnir
Swiftly it strikes, just like a bolt
Out of the blue, brightly, then gone
- Chorus -

Gold lightning flash, crosses blue sky
Nary a cloud, is within sight
What could this be, this spark above
Fault in my eyes, or other thing
- Chorus -

Without a storm, on a cool day
How can this be, lightning bolt thrown
Nature teasing, Godly message
The latter I, do think calmly
- Chorus -

Lesson I think, is to Act Now
Strive always to, do what is right
Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose
But overall, we build the Good
- Chorus -

Black storm clouds rise, thunderclaps roll
Asa Thor rides, Ettins to slay
Mankind' Old Friend, guarding the Weal
Strength in action, as we should be
- Chorus -
- Chorus -

I did stall once while finishing the work.  I was sitting on my back deck looking north over the hayfield behind my house.  The lightning flash in the poem happened as I described: clear blue sky, not even a wisp of clouds, the Sun well on her way west for the day...

Since choosing this worldview as the one I follow, my parents think I have become a better man.  I have certainly received inspiration from it, as I've written several thousand lines in the past 20 years.

be well - Pip

[Savas]

I like it. It's got a bit of a mix/ modern feel with a touch of the style of the old Norse verse.

One problem with Thor is he tends to be a bit of a comic relief character in stories as well. It creates a dichotomy that can be hard to cope with when you're trying to focus on his serious side. I suppose that's part of the comedy; Thor tends to take himself way to seriously.
I could have used a good worship song about Heimdall back when. I always had a particular affinity for him. ;->

Have you ever read Douglas Adams? He does a book called;

"The long, dark, tea time of the soul" that deals with the Norse Gods trying to manage in this modern age that's very funny.

[Piparskeggr]

Wonder and it shall appear ,-)

Again, 1st stanza is repeated as the chorus.  Another one I sing...and if you'd care to hear, I do have podcasts of some of my songs: http://preview.tinyurl.com/lojyby
is the link to this one.  All my songs are acapella, sometimes accompanied by me keeping the beat, thumping the desk top ,-)

Wearer of the Wolfskin - 29 March 2001
(Written in memory of Scotty McMurry)

Heimdall you stand in wolfskin cloak
Auroch's horn close at hand
Guarding the way on Bifrost bright
Everward, Wakeful One

Praises we sing, the Warder Bold!
Heimdall, Garth Guard, Watch over us!
Praises we sing, the Warder Bold!
Your Deeds shine bright, Honor's Beacon!
- Chorus -

Heimdall, Horn Ás, Never Sleeping
Looks oer the Worlds, observing all
Grim of visage, solid of stance
Always ready to sound the Call
- Chorus -

Within your tales, are lessons true
Of watchfulness, against all ill
To be prepared, for Ragnarok
We'll look to Worth, and battle gear
- Chorus -

Ever sharp ears, hear Battle Strife
Farseeing eyes, watch Mannish Deeds
Bell flared nostrils, smell tang of Blood
Inflowing breath, brings taste of Pain
- Chorus -

Midgard is green, Life upon Life
Quickened by Gods, Ordered by Same
Folk have a place within the Clan
Farmer, Craftsman, Hallthane and Lord
- Chorus -

Community ties, of Birth and Word
Bind tight and strong, among the Folk
Rig did walk here, long, long ago
Taught us to know, work we must do
- Chorus -

Mind and Body, Art, Craft and Wit
Skills we should have, as Lord or Man
Helping the Folk, ready to be
In Peace or War, live large and strong
- Chorus -

Praises we sing, the Warder Bold!
Heimdall, Garth Guard, Watch over us!
Praises we sing, the Warder Bold!
Your Deeds shine bright, Honor's Beacon!
- Chorus -
- Chorus -

I have read some Douglas Adams, but not "Long dark..."  I'll have to look for it.

Thanks - Pip