The Most Interesting Thing: Reading Poetry

"Always be a poet, even in prose."--Charles Baudelaire

While eating my way through Ray Bradbury's thought-provoking Essays on Creativity from Zen and the Art of Writing, I took to heart a suggestion about reading poetry every day. Not a difficult task for my poetry loving soul. So I've been reading two poems aloud every morning and loving it. The only challenge I face is the odd behavior my poetry reading elicits in my Persian. Something about the rhythm of the words provokes him to jump on my chest and place his furry face inches away, giving me the creepy stare. Despite my annoying cat, I feel encouraged and invigorated by my new poetry habit.

Any of you like to suggest a favorite poem or poet? Do you think reading poetry feeds the creative spirit?

The Tree Fell. Was Heard. Now What?

First 

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS

Second
THE WINNER OF BOOKS

Mieke!
(email me: yascribe(dot)angelina(at)gmail.com)

We all agree that our time is precious, right? And reading blogs takes time. Commenting takes even more. Curious as to how many of the pretty faces on my sidebar used their precious time on my blatherings and would confess to it, I asked you. My unscientific experiment showed about 10%.  Thank you all for helping.

Sophie Chang left an interesting comment and gave a link to three brief, but thought-provoking tips for bloggers. 

I've often pondered whether blog readers return to posts to see if the author replied to their comments. Sometimes I respond to your comments, but do you ever return to read them?

In her post, Sophie discussed the concept of blogger reciprocity. Rather than responding to your comments, I would leave a comment on yours. She also raised the issue of word verification. When I removed it, I received LOADS of spam. So I put it back on. I don't like word verification. It annoys me. But it never stops me from commenting.

So what are your thoughts? Should a blogger reply to your comments on their own blog, or would you rather have them hop over to yours? Do you ever subscribe to comments or revisit blogs to read them? What about word verification? Friend or foe? What makes you stop reading a blog? Anything else you'd like to say on this subject? Now's your chance. ^_^

If A Tree Falls In A Forest. . .Will You Win Books?

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Attention All Followers of This Blog!!!

I need your help

Pretend this blog post is a tree falling in the forest 

Does it make a sound?

I'd like to know how many of you are reading this

Please leave a comment by December 22nd

As an incentive

I'll send a random commenter three great books

Hint: S. W. Kehoe, L.S. Park, A.Vernick

If you're wondering why I'm doing this

Come back next week

I will announce the winner

And explain

The Most Intersting Thing: Changing POV

Every time I begin a new novel, I write in third person POV. Sometimes I reach the end and realize the story should have been written in first. One would think that after the third time this happened, I'd learn my lesson. But no.

Why do I keep doing this? Because I don't outline. My first draft is an exploration of both story and character. By the time I finish a draft, I have a solid grip on who the MC is and what the story is about. I start hearing the voice. And sometimes that voice is screaming to be written in first person.

And honestly, I love rewriting a story from third to first, getting deep inside the MC's head and discovering what she's really thinking and how she feels about everything that's happening. What fun! Anyone else ever do this?

Have you ever revised a story from a different POV? Have you ever rewritten the story from a different character's POV?  Which do you prefer writing, first or third? Past tense or present?

The Most Interesting Thing: Coping with Blog Fatigue

This week I read an interesting article on blog fatigue over at Shrinking Violets Promotions which coincided with my own feelings of blog fatigue. When I checked to see how long I've been posting here, I was surprised to see that it's been 2 1/2 years already. At the same time, the list of blogs I follow has also grown tremendously. Thankfully I got dialed into Google Reader a while back which helps. But lately my enthusiasm for blog reading has waned. I've become overwhelmed with trying to keep up with all the posts on my blogroll. And so I've been leaving fewer comments.

As for this blog, I finished the "Partners on the Path" series (love you all dearly!) and have been posting fewer author interviews. Which leaves me with this one feature, "The Most Interesting Thing". Posting once a week feels good for me.

What about you? What are your thoughts on blog fatigue? How do you manage? Any tips or suggestions? I'd love to hear from you.