Posts Tagged ‘Muse’

Writing Humor Isn’t Funny

Monday, March 14th, 2011

We Write Poems has an against the grain prompt which asks how (or if) we manage to write when we just aren’t feeling creative. My three-verse limerick explains all … sort of:

To write humor when not in the mood
Takes a major adjustment of ‘tude.
If I’m still uninspired,
I tell me, “You’re fired,”
Or pretend I’m about to be sued.

Okay, none of this stuff’s really true.
When I’m blocked, I don’t know what to do.
So I shower or walk,
Read the news, turn on talk,
Absorb info, inviting a cue.

At long last something starts to take hold,
And a concept begins to unfold,
As I play with the news
Which teases my muse
In my quest for some comedy gold.

(You can find more of my writers block humor here.)

Writerly Verse (Limerick-Off Monday)

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Once again, it’s Limerick-Off time. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

So I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A woman was trying to write. …

or

A fellow was trying to write. …

Here’s mine. (It’s a three-verse limerick, but a standard one-verse limerick is fine, of course.)

Writerly Verse
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A woman was trying to write.
Ev’ry sentence and phrase was a fight.
She hated each line.
Too much whine. (Too much wine?)
And decided to call it a night.

She started again the next day.
But her muse seemed to be on delay.
So she showered and walked.
Inspiration still balked.
Though agnostic, she started to pray.

She returned to her screen with a curse.
Started typing for better or worse.
Tried to block her left brain,
Or her right, or the twain.
Then punched keys till at last she found verse.

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity in my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please send me an email requesting the alerts. You’ll find my email address on the upper right sidebar, in the “Author” section just below my Limerick-Offs button. Thanks!

Epiphany (Tanka)

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

Epiphany (Tanka)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

My muse teases me,
Awaiting epiphanies
That never arrive.
So I must go it alone,
Writing until I’m amused.

(Note: Tanka is five line Japanese poetry which pre-dates haiku and whose syllabic form is 5-7-5-7-7. I usually think of it as haiku plus two more 7 syllable lines. My Epiphany Tanka was inspired by the Writers Island epiphany prompt.)