I recently found myself commenting on the use of prompts for writing poetry as a I reviewed a poem that had been based on four specific words that were required to be a part of the finished twenty-line poem. When I first read it, I thought it was missing some information and that there wasn't a continuity in thought throughout the poem. It also lacked vital information that made the poem complete. I then saw, at the bottom, that the writer had used specific prompts. It made me not want to review the poem because obviously the writer had taken up the challenge of meeting the requirements and that is laudable but how to critique it was my dilemma. I decided to critique it. As an aside here

It's that time of year when we review the year in all of its glory or infamy. Some years pass quietly and others leave their mark. This year will have to be a banner year for infamy. There was the usual work stress, getting investigated and having it turn out to be a lot of stress for naught but entertainment to the powers that be, moving job locations which required speedy packing and finishing loose ends, took on two different grade levels to teach, underwent a plethora of tests for a suspicious medical concern that made me walk around like a stunned deer until the negative confirmation was given and I could breathe once again, throw in a leaky roof that has yet to be addressed, and let

If you're anything like me, you work full time and squeeze in the writing whenever you can. For me that means, sometimes weekends but mostly holidays. Fortunately school is out for the Christmas holiday and I've located and dusted off my most recent but neglected project. I noticed that when I found it, the saved date was somewhere back in August. That's not great for completing it in the near future. Thankfully, I've got about two weeks to accomplish my goal of about 30000 words. I've made sure I mentioned my goal to several people so that I've created pressure and motivation to achieve my goal. Pressure is a good motivator.

When you write a novel, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel particularly when you are slogging through, seemingly endless, revisions. It can get to the point that the mere thought of working on your draft makes you think of a white elephant hovering in the background regardless of where you may be and you swear you'll never read the novel once it's published because you still see piles of paper with red revision marks all-over them when you close your eyes at night. It is a joyous occasion when you finally finish your novel and are holding your first published copy because you know that your white elephant has disappeared and won't reappear until your next manuscript.