inspiration

On Arousal, Dominance, & Playing It Right

/ Sasha A. Palmer / Leave a comment

In Vaudeville: Woman and Man on Stage

  • Want your post to go viral?

Remember two factors: arousal and dominance. Put them to good use. “Both anger and excitement are high-arousal emotions. Dominance…is the feeling of being in control. When you’re inspired or joyful, you’re experiencing high dominance…

Articles that perform the best on social use a high-arousal, high-dominance combo.”

  • Want to do better on social media?

Do not confuse your personality with your persona. When on social media, stay true to your author brand, be in charge, and share information wisely.

  • Are you an emerging playwright?

Try your luck at Yale Drama Series: David Charles Horn Prize. Submit an original, unpublished full-length play in English for your chance to win $10K. Note: no translations, musicals, adaptations, or children’s plays. Deadline: 15 August 2018

Image: Charles Demuth. In Vaudeville: Woman and Man on Stage, 1917. Watercolor and graphite on wove paper, Overall: 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm). BF601. Public Domain.

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August Submission Alerts, Don’t Miss

/ Sasha A. Palmer / Leave a comment

Lemons and Orange (Citrons et orange)

Happy August!

  • If you don’t mind $20-25 submission fees, here’s something to consider:

If you have an unpublished poetry or short story collection, and you haven’t published a full-length collection yet — submit to Black Lawrence Press for THE ST. LAWRENCE BOOK AWARD. The winner receives book publication, $1000, and 10 copies of the book. Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: August 31

Are you a writer, and a parent? The Sustainable Arts Foundation is awarding $5000 each to twenty writers and artists, who combine creative work with raising a family. It’s an opportunity for writers of creative nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels, poetry, and more. Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: August 31

  • And if you aren’t a fan of paying-to-play, here’s a free opportunity for you:

Have you published (or considered publishing) your book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk? Submit to Kindle Storyteller Award (UK). No entry fee. Prize: £20,000. Deadline: August 31, 2018.

Enjoyed the post? Like it, share it — thank you.

Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Lemons and Orange (Citrons et orange), c. 1913. Oil on canvas (later mounted to fiberboard), Overall: 9 1/4

 

Do You Like Beer? Start Writing Poetry

/ Sasha A. Palmer / Leave a comment

The Bathing Hour, Chester, Nova ScotiaHappy July to you!

  • Got a poetry chapbook, or a book-length poetry manuscript?

Consider entering these free contests:

Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, an annual (16th) prize awarded to the author of the winning book-length manuscript. Participating poets must reside in the Mid-Atlantic states (DE, MD, VA, PA, NJ, NY, WVA, NC and District of Columbia). The winner receives $500, two cases of Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Beer, manuscript publication by Broadkill River Press, and 10 copies of the book (in lieu of royalties). Deadline: August 15, 2018.

The Broken River Prize, an annual poetry chapbook (20–40 pages) contest from Platypus Press. Open internationally. The winner receives $250/£200 and publication. Submit your manuscripts by August 31, 2018.

  • Need inspiration?

Try writing to weekly prompts from The Sunday Whirl. Play with words. It’s fun.

Share the post, like it — thank you.

Image: William James Glackens. The Bathing Hour, Chester, Nova Scotia, 1910. Oil on canvas, Overall: 26 x 32 in. (66 x 81.3 cm). BF149. Public Domain.

On Wealth, Poverty, & Vermeer’s Light

/ Sasha A. Palmer / Leave a comment

Все картины Яна Вермеера 3

  • Is fifteen a big number? How about forty three? Or thirty six? How does one measure wealth? Or success?

Johannes Vermeer had fifteen children. He was forty three years old when he died. He produced relatively few paintings: some sources say thirty four, some — thirty six.

One of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age passed away in poverty leaving his family to deal with debts. In his work he frequently used very expensive pigments.

No one paints light like Johannes Vermeer.

If you want more, Essential Vermeer has pretty much got it all.

And if you’re still looking for poetic inspiration, here’s a magic word for you: grisaille. Isn’t it lovely?

Enjoyed the post? Share it, like it — thank you.

Image: The Milkmaid, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1660, Public Domain

 

 

 

 

 

National Poetry Month: Stay Inspired

/ Sasha A. Palmer / Leave a comment

 

margaretcook_leavesofgrass22

“The yellow half-moon enlarged, sagging down, drooping, the face of the sea almost touching,
The boy ecstatic” — Walt Whitman, “Leaves of Grass”

“2018 National Poetry Month poster, designed by AIGA Medal and National Design Award-winning designer Paula Scher, celebrates typography and is suggestive of concrete poetry and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.”

How’s your poetry month going?

  • The Poem-A-Day challenge is in full swing over at Poetic Asides. Never too late to join the fun. Write to all the prompts or choose the ones that speak to you most, share your work with others or pigeonhole it for now. Up to you. Just write.

Need more inspiration?

How about even more inspiration?

How are you celebrating National Poetry Month? Share in the comments.

Enjoyed the post? Press “like” and share the post on social media — thank you.

Image: Margaret C. Cook via http://www.brainpickings.org

 

On the Birth of a Song, Originality, & Authority

/ Sasha A. Palmer

Houses and Figure

  • “…the song — it’s not important that anybody knows the genesis of it, because if the language comes from that passionate resource, it will be able to embrace all passionate activity.” — Leonard Cohen, CBC Radio Interview (August 26, 1995).

If you do want to know the genesis of “Dance Me To The End Of Love” — here it is.

  • “Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” 

 — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

  • Does your website have DA (domain authority)? Find out using this free tool. Don’t get discouraged if your DA is low, or even absent — the new year has just begun! Among the factors that increase DA (and chances of Google finding you) is your site’s age. Keep at it.

Image credit: Vincent van Gogh. Houses and Figure, 1890. Oil on canvas, Overall: 20 1/2 x 15 15/16 in. (52 x 40.5 cm). BF136. Public Domain.