Emotional Invitation

I've been reading a lot of poetry lately. And one thing that I really appreciate about that genre is that, as the reader, we are invited into the poets' experience which can provoke deep and lasting emotion. Poetry is a collection of words, chosen carefully and placed intentionally - it's concise and image rich. Not a lot of additional words to clutter the scene built in my mind by the poet.

I like to write about my childhood memories or recent personal reflections. I can get caught up in telling what I saw or felt. This can be detrimental - what I mean is, I don't want to write as if I'm a reporter for a local newspaper providing the facts and emotionless details.

My desire is to invite the reader into my experience and help them walk in my shoes, feel what I felt, smell what I smelled, see what I saw. This is tangible writing and it goes directly to the heart. This isn't always easy to do. It means rethinking what I was actually feeling and then put the correct words down in a way that will provoke an image in the reader's mind and heart.

In my opinion, writing that evokes emotion - of any kind - draws me to a journey in my imagination where every twist and turn offers a new scene.

The next time you approach a writing prompt or project, ask yourself, "Do I want to tell the reader what to see OR do I want to invite the reader into the experience?" Either is fine, depending on the style of writing you have in mind. If you choose to intentionally invite the reader into the experience, know that this can take some work, rewriting and reorganizing sentences. Ask yourself does this sentence add value to the piece? One thing I do (which may seem odd) is to read my work out loud. This helps me to "see" the image/scene or not "see" it due to word clutter. Maybe that will be of use for you too. I love challenges in writing, I want to learn and be stretched beyond my current writing abilities - but it takes large amounts of effort. But I believe that it's effort well worth the, well...effort! :0)

Happy Creating ~ deAnn

Thursday's Writing Gathering

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, 5/8 is our writing group. We will meet in the Sonshine Kids room in the Treasure Park area of LWCC instead of the Common Grounds Coffee Bar.

Bring a pen or pencil, a notebook and your desire to write!
grace & peace ~ deAnn

Lucinda Williams' WORDS

I have this song by Lucinda Williams on my iPod. It's has a soulful sound and the lyrics always speak to me. I thought maybe you'd like the lyrics too...hope you enjoy.
~ deAnn

Words by Lucinda Williams

I would rather suffer in sweet silent solitude
deathly defiant from drowning out
filthy sounds stumbling ugly and crude
between the lips of your beautiful mouth

deep down within me words move in phrases
frozen and still ‘til they decide
to melt and drip over the pages
until that moment they live inside

my words enjoy the feel of the paper
better than mingling with your consonants
once they get going they never waver
and they slip in between your if, ands, and buts

when my words are hiding between the lines
then i’m afraid they won’t hear me call
what if they fail me without a sign
what if they hardly surface at all

screaming and throwing your weight around
my words choose knowledge over politics
you can’t kill my words, they know no bounds
my words are strong and they don’t make me sick

they still remain my only companion
loyal and true to the very end
they’ll never ever completely abandon
never give up the paper and the pen

May Gathering Location!

Hello there ~ Spring has finally sprung then the weather tricks us so it feels like fall! Crazy!

Anyhow, the May Gathering will not be in the coffee bar of LWCC due to a scheduling conflict. SO, we'll meet at LW ~ in Room C102 (the Sonshine Kids room) in the Children's Ministry area.

We look forward to seeing everyone and meeting new people on Thursday, 5/8 at 6:30. Enjoy your week and see you soon,

grace & peace, deAnn