Hey Haiku Lovers,

If you like haiku and being on your phone, you can do both with the Heyku app. With Heyku, you can write each line according to a prompt the app gives or write in your own. Then you get to share it as a lovely little note with the Heyku community and on your social networks. Take a look at some of the screenshots below to get a feel of the app.

You can visit the Heyku website and download the app for free for the iPhone from there.

Sometimes the poem and the brain need assistance in meeting. Something to jog the memory of a line waiting in the bone pile of the tongue.

Cognitive Constructs is an app for the iPhone that does just that. You click on words and form phrases. This app includes the ability to type in your own words so if you are jolted by what you create with what is given, you can add on to it with whatever comes to mind.

I use this app as a tool for creating poetry. Check out these screenshots with an example of what you can create. 

To download the app, you can go here: iTunes.  

I recently made an e-book of the same name of some of my creations. You can download a copy at Payhip or visit The Write Queen Store.

From A Wedding In Hell by Charles Simic.

Sometimes you meet a poem that renders you senseless because that's exactly how you feel. Experienced this in Barnes and Noble the other night. This poem is by Louise Labe.

This is to someone who just doesn't know...

He begged her 
to 
keep it 
on 
paper 
because
cuts heal.

The memory
of 
the spine 
of 
her hands 
won't.

Her shaky hands

handcuffed in ransom notes

holds on to bridges.

I look at pretty girls
and torture myself
with thoughts
of your lips
on theirs.

I find my stomach
wrapping tightly
around the eyes
of your future
muses, seeing you
love the red
of another's mouth.

I see a future
of trembling
hands, clutching
another wrinkled
love letter,
not knowing when
to let go

even when you
push me into moving
cars and tell me to
get home safe.

Hello Write Queeners,

For some reason, others trust me with their work and ideas (what do they think I am, a real writer?). What comes along with this privilege is listening to the stories of doubt and fear. They are writing things that are close to their hearts and they want to convey emotion and craftsmanship, but are scared of the can of worms that will open and if they will fall flat of their expectations.

As a writer, whether I am writing a poem, a blog, or other, these feelings are all the time. As writers we choose to lay ourselves open. We are books in constant creation, edit, and rewrite mode. We are in competition with others (in friendly and not so friendly ways), but more importantly with ourselves. It's easy to get caught up in the politics of writing and the writing life.

But I am here to tell you a lesson that I've learned, but need to reenforce often. The number one rule to writing anything is one simple thing:

GET IT OUT

Forget about editing. Forget about censoring. It's great to have concepts/ideas for some of your work, but if you are getting caught up in that more than actually writing, then you are losing raw material. All you have to do is:

GET IT OUT

Fine-tuning comes later. Just continue with what you have and worry about the details after. If you get it right on the first draft, bless you. You are amazing. Share it with the world. But remember it is okay to take your time with a piece, then share. Hey, you don't have to share it at all if you don't want to. Writing is ours to do what we want with it. You are not going to share everything you write. So remember that no matter that doubts and fears you have, don't let it stop you. All you have to do is:

GET IT OUT

Seems easy right? It's not. It never will be. BUT you will save yourself some grief if you try to remember this one rule.

Till next time, all you have to do is: GET IT OUT!

Hello Poets and Readers!

In my last post, I talked about a couple of reminders you should repeat to yourself while doing the 30/30 challenge. Now that you have that down pact, you might be wondering how you can keep up the momentum. Well don't worry because I have a few tips!

1. Keep it short! - I know that after writing a few longer pieces, the thought of writing another one tires my soul. That's when I switch gears and look into short forms such as haiku, tanka, lunes, the six-word poem, writing a poem via Twitter and more. Keep it simple, make it fun, or use this opportunity to play around with language under limited constraints. Remember that you don't have to stick to the topics that traditionally go with these forms. Be daring and write about what's true to you.

2. Prompt It! - There are so many prompts out there for poets. I love when I find one that immediately starts a fire in me. Here are a few places that I go to for prompts and some new discoveries:

3. It's All About Form! - Trying different poetry forms are a challenge and is extremely fun (if you are into certain forms of mental torture...I kid, kind of). Some of us are creatures of habit and write about the same themes over and over again, so using different forms of poetry can either force us into another topic (some forms are known for certain themes) or makes it seem like we are changing things up.  Here's a couple of starting points for looking into forms: Poets.org and PoetryFoundation.org

4. There's an App for that! - Not the most popular, but poetry apps for your phone or tablet do exist. You won't be creating your most epic poems through apps, but they are fun and can jump start some ideas for more poems. Check out a post from a couple of years ago about a few recommended apps. Look out for a more recent list of poetry apps later on in the month.

5. Reading is Fundamental! - Pick up a poetry book and read! Sometimes the words of others will spark ideas of your own. Take it a step further. Take a random line from a poem in the book and use it as your first line, building from there.

Bonus: Here's a post I wrote last year about Mondegreen, when you misinterpret a phrase as a result of near-homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning - using it as a tool to write a poem.

Hope these tips help you lovely poets out there. Share some results with me in the comments!

Till next time, 

The Write Queen

Hello my fellow poets!

Many of you are participating in the classic 30/30 challenge. Some of you may be attempting it for the first time. From experience, I know how the first timers are feeling right about now. 

If you don't have a lot of time on your hands, you have probably fallen behind already...maybe around Day 3. Am I correct? Maybe it was Day 4 or 5, but you have fallen behind at least once.

Now you are worried about your ability to do this. You may already feel like well I am behind, I won't be able to catch up. 

Guess what? You are getting along just fine. 

It's normal to fall behind. It's normal to have days where you can't write. You may freeze up for the rest of the month. It's okay!

The point of this challenge is to write. That's all. Forget about impressing other poets. Forget about editing a piece to perfection. Forget about missing days and falling behind. Don't be afraid to admit that you are only up to your third poem. Pick up from there, whether you start back up from 3/30 or 7/30. Don't worry if it's not your best. No poet is perfect (okay maybe there might be a few...). Share or don't share. DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST DON'T GIVE UP.

Though if you have to stop the challenge, tell yourself it's okay. There's always next year. AND the beauty of being a writer is that you can do a 30/30 anytime. We have other months of the year.

I have been doing the 30/30 challenge since 2009. One year, I didn't even finished and I was ashamed of myself. All the things I have told you not to do, well I have done it to myself and let me tell you: It doesn't feel good and will do nothing for your writing.

All of this is probably the reason why this year, I decided to do it a little differently. I know my poor overworked brain is not into poetry at the moment(writing it that is). I don't want to pressure of 30 poems. Been there, done that, rewrote and revised the script. 

This year I am challenge my literary journalism and marketing skills by blogging about poetry related things. I always wanted to write about my experiences in the literary arts, but I am not consistent. Maybe this will help me with consistency. Hopefully something I write will inspire and encourage others on the 30/30 and literary journey. Poetry is life and we have to write about the lives we live. And poetry of course (I will write a couple of poems!)

Hope this post was able to lift your spirits (just a little? please?) and move on past some of your doubts. If you need an ear or some help with writing, feel free to send a message my way!

Till next time, write on!