Follow Your Instincts

This was our first real day of cold in New Jersey, with a side of clouds and drizzle since Fall's official date nine days ago. It all makes for a great plate of inspiration. I have been indoors the past three days writing. Hubby came home Friday from work and as I greeted him at the door, dinner ready, the cool change of weather crept into my bones. I had been huddled up on the sofa with my lap top and no idea what what lay just outside my patio door.

Today I decided to take a drive down a long slow road. One I love to visit. Most of it is preserved land. Old farmsteads, battlefields and more line the stretch. Great inspiration for me. I can pull over at most points and think. Imagine what a poem is going to say or what a character might do in certain situations. I call it the hunt. Discovery. I do not care how many times I come this way I see something fascinating. Today was no different.

I have reached my first 100 pages of my latest book. From what I have heard and read it is the point you want to share with editors and peers to see if the story has potential. I am nervous but excited. The pressure is on and I am game. I have already begun to think about the second book and even the third. When the inspiration hits I have often written pieces for all three. Thinking of the past, present and future for each person.

My survival is at stake. Writing is saving my sanity. I have found myself isolated at times due to pressures of work, family, and my own needs. At first it was harder for me to deal with little social engagements. Many people I know here found themselves out of work and have had to take whatever they can get, so their time outside of work and home has no precedence. Money is tight so we stay close to home. In the long run it has been the best thing for me. I have learned to use my time more wisely. Once upon a time, work and family took so much time I found my self tired and unable to think.

Today, I am the hunter, not the hunted. I prowl the landscape and look for inspiration and when the time is right, I strike! Even this corn field made its way into a poem...

Ancient Destiny

There, see them
upright on the horizon
tall leafy stalks, a-maize-ment
swaying in the breeze of October
silk fidgeting back and forth over their ears
marching forward as decay mingling with moisture keeping death at bay
we are children in wonder, drawn to hunger
don't be the armies victim, a second longer you will see
nimble prey rushing advances on soggy ground