“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
Now that we've shucked off our ugly Christmas sweaters and vacuumed up all the tinsel, it's time to create unattainable goals for ourselves! We do this pretty much every single year, or-- if you're like me-- you've pretended to not come up with resolutions so that you aren't disappointed by your inevitable failure. However, now… Continue reading Books, Writing, and Other Goals for 2020
While poetry isn't my favorite medium, it will always hold a special place in my heart. Edgar Allen Poe's Alone speaks to me in ways few other works ever have. The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe gets my heart pounding with its haunting lyricism and captivating imagery. Poetry in itself is… Continue reading Unpopular Opinion: The Current State of Poetry
After the colossal wash-rag that was season 8, people are growing steadily less patient with George R.R. Martin and his slow output. The newest installment of the series, The Winds of Winter, has been in the works for nearly a decade now and people are chomping at the bit for a return to normalcy. They want to go… Continue reading My Thoughts on the Long Wait for “The Winds of Winter”
Warning: The following contains butt-hurt and the overuse of commas. Viewer discretion is advised. I'm not afraid of putting my nose to the grindstone in the name of telling a good story. I can close my door, cancel plans, wake up early, stay up late, suffer blood-letting editing session after blood-letting editing session. I can be… Continue reading Adventures in Writerland: The Ugly Truth About Success in Publishing
I think it's safe to say this generation of movie-goers and readers are more analytical about their media consumption than ever before. You needn't go far to find blogs, vlogs, reviewing sites and more for detailed critiques of just about any form of story-telling you care to think of. On the one hand, I think… Continue reading No, Your Story Isn’t Original and That’s Okay: A Brief Essay on Originality
Being a writer is- ..spending hours trying to describe how a character walked through a door. ...looking up synonyms for "said" every other sentence. ...typing for 3 hours straight and then deleting everything but one sentence the next day. ...having 10 works in progress you're probably never going to finish. ...imagining yourself discussing your books… Continue reading Being a Writer is…
If anyone were to look up from their dinner plates at me at this moment they would see someone on the verge of taking a plastic spoon from her empty soup bowl and gouging her own eyes out. I'm at a restaurant under the false impression that I am going to be doing some writing… Continue reading That First Damn Line
Okay, so, excuse time. Truth be told, I probably could have updated this blog a long while ago but I didn't want to because I have not been satisfied with the content I'm working on. As of this writing, I currently have five blog posts in my drafts folder and two short stories I want… Continue reading So, I’m Not Dead
Recently I was introduced to a gorgeous poem by the late Charles Bukowski called "so you want to be a writer?" Here's a small exert: if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and… Continue reading The Most Beautifully Awful Writing Advice Ever
I'm not going to lie. I had many, many illusions about blogging when I started The Crooked Pen. I thought that, with enough vigor and talent I would be able to flock hundreds of thousands of people to this site. I had seen other blogs similar to this one and I thought I had them… Continue reading How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Blog
The Crooked Pen 