A story character entered my brain a few years ago, and then went to the back and took a Rip Van Winkle nap.  He awoke quite unexpectedly last night right as I was beginning to make dinner, demanding that I start writing about him– right now!  But instead of a little story, he is adamant about being featured in a poem.  Ugh!

I began working on it last night until the wee hours, and have been writing on the new project almost non-stop since I woke up this morning, finishing cold oatmeal while continuing to work away at it.  This one may take a while.

I don’t usually talk about my writing process because I am admittedly only an amateur at it and far from qualified to give advice, but in a nutshell here it is.  Given my old woodcarving and sculpture background, I use the same process starting with a new dictionary, like a block of wood, and then hack and carve at it, removing odd words and everything that isn’t a story.  So poems are even harder, finding and saving rhymes amongst the shreds and slivers.  Boy do the bits and pages fly when I get going!  I only imagine that’s how properly trained writers go about it as well.  Do all the bards search thru shards, burning time to find a rhyme?

Searching for a Rhyme

I have to stop now for a while to rest my mallet arm, and then resharpen my tools for more writing work tonight.  I feel like Charles Dickens has taken up residence in my brain along with the story character.  Is there an aspirin for that?

Much too early to go into what it’s about because this is going to take a while and we’re only getting started.  So please be patient as the character, Mr. Dickens and I get things sorted out.  I suppose if Mark Twain pops in for a visit we would have enough folks for a few hands of poker in odd moments.  The next image is a hint.  It involves– a lamp.  Whoa.  Hope I haven’t said too much.

So, trying to be responsible.  Giving advance warning.  Looks like there may be poetry coming down the road.  Might want to take your loved ones to higher ground and seek shelter.

Lamp in the Fog