Strong Facade
You kept telling yourself you're a fighter
a warrior
a soldier
gladiator
But all you have is glass as an armor
Easily broken
Cracked
Fractured
You say you don't really care
Passive
Apathetic
Emotionless
But just one word you stumble
Totter
Crumble
and Fall
You kept on ironing out
things for them
But you always just
end up
With black
burnt holes
A Piece of Peace
Peace is one of those weird things that doesn’t ever happen, an impossible reverie to revel in until you learn to open your eyes and grow up.
In a world with the glass empty because while we were busy debating over which half matters, all the water evaporated, peace is a joke.
If you decide something is impractical, but your definition of that something is so impractical that even the most impractical person wouldn’t find it practical, you read it wrong.
For the only thing peace and perfection have in common is at the beginning, “p”.
Peace isn’t serenity: The riverbank bearing flowers with shimmering waters and whipped cream clouds is simply part of your inner calm when you meditate and it’s only after you come out of the trance that you see the small reed which bows and bends under the torrent of the thunderstorm, surrounded by a screeching gale, enduring a bombardment of aqueous cannonballs while watching the stronger surrender their dignity, but somehow manages not
to break.
What is peace but to wage war upon war? We are armed with our voices and sheer determination, power that can withstand fire from any military. We will die today to live tomorrow, and until there aren’t any sunrises left, hope will endure.
A bespectacled barrister could’ve told you the same: the country which he fought for with feet and tongue is now free, a democracy with corrupt politicians and incessant arguing but they created their flawed system all by themselves, and that is a beautiful thought, how we can make a piece of peace and peace by piece we’ll piece the peace together, pieces of a whole, until we are a ragtag quilt. We’ll be ripped, stained, torn, patched, slightly mauled, crooked stitches that might come undone so a piece will fly off, but
Peace will be stitched again.
Best Friend.
My fingers grip it with ease
Greeting it like a fond acquaintance
My chaotic mind is at peace
It rips open the twisted barbed fence
That traps the creativity in my head.
Send it over to the other
It turns into an alien
Fumbling fingers falter
And switch it back again.
I run it over a page, ever so slow
The sharp tip glides like a sled
In a white blanket of soft snow
Leaving behind cool trails
Quickly drying in seconds
Stubborn marks, one fails
To rub away the elegance
Recorded for all of posterity
To cherish and relish
Or deem it a victim of mockery
Only hope, the pages don't perish.
Legal Notice: Terms of Use Now in Effect Prose-wide.
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Why write? Because Prose.
The Truth About Getting Published
We now return to our regularly scheduled blog (read: "word porn") program. Stick around. There's much more to come.
Greetings and welcome once again to Prose, the "top shelf" for readers and writers. Today, for your reading pleasure, we are pleased to introduce renowned writer and prolific blogger, Jill Jepson.
Jill is the author of Writing as a Sacred Path and the Writing a Sacred Path Blog. She offers free weekly strategies for writers and has agreed to be this week's featured guest.
What follows is an article she wrote exclusively for you, dear Prosers, to help us all distinguish fact from fiction in the publishing world...
"Four False Beliefs about Getting Published that May Be Holding You Back"
The publishing industry is a mystery to most writers. Sometimes, it’s a mystery to people who work in it. It has changed so much in recent years that it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen next.
Unfortunately, this has led to a lot of confusion among writers. Rumors circulate and ideas take root that have little basis in fact. In my coaching practice, I often come across writers who have been held back by their false ideas about publishing. Clearing through these mistaken notions can be one of the best steps you take to achieve success as an author.
Here are the 4 most common misconceptions I hear from writers about publishing.
1.) It’s impossible for new authors to get published by traditional publishers.
You can hardly have a conversation with a writer without hearing how difficult it is for first-time authors to break in. This is not new. I was discouraged from going into writing as a child because “very few people make it”—and that was decades ago.
The truth is, it’s always been tough to get published—and it’s gotten tougher over the past few years. But there is a long way between tough and impossible.
First-time writers break through all the time. Every year, new voices are added to the list. In 2014, Katy Simpson Smith, Phil Clay, Lindsay Hunter, Celeste Ng, Matthew Thomas, Molly Antopol, Yannick Grannec, Edan Lepucki, and Michael Pitre all had successful debut novels—and they are just a handful of the many who saw their first novels published last year.
Getting derailed because you believe you don’t stand a chance is one of the great mistakes a lot of writers make. Don’t be one of them.
2.) You need connections to get published.
Not a single one of the successful writers I know got published because they knew someone in the publishing community.
Might connections help? Perhaps to some degree. Your book is more likely to be read by an agent or editor if they know you personally. But that’s not going to take you very far. Even your best friend isn’t likely to put her whole career on the line by supporting your work if it isn’t marketable.
Conversely, if you have something that publishing professionals think is going to sell, they don’t care if they know you personally or not.
3.) Your first book is going to be a bestseller.
I’ve worked with dozens of authors who truly believe their first novel or memoir is going to find a major publisher, land them a lucrative contract, and make them famous over night. We hear so much about going for the gold and thinking positively that I’m reluctant to rain on the parade.
I’m not saying your book isn’t going to be a bestseller. I’m just saying it might not be. And that’s perfectly all right! Very, very few writers land major contracts for their first book and only a tiny percentage of those make large sums of money. That’s true even if your book is powerful, unique, and brilliantly written.
The problem with oversized expectations is that they can lead to some pretty bitter disappointment. They can even make writers give up when they don’t get the spectacular success they were imagining. I’ve known far too many talented writers who abandoned their books—and their writing careers—after five or six rejections.
A much better approach is to realize that a well-written, marketable book could lead to any one of a range of outcomes—from publication by a small publisher to a major contract complete with a movie deal. Most of the time, the outcome is not huge overnight success.
4.) The key to success is writing like [insert famous author of your choice here].
After the Harry Potter series soared into the stratosphere, editors were deluged with stories of children going to wizard school. With the success of Dan Brown’s work, aspiring writers started churning out Da Vinci Code-type novels. Later, many tried to imitate Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.
It’s very tempting to get drawn into the idea that what worked for one author is going to work for you. The problem is that you aren’t that author. You’re you. Developing your own style, writing in a genre that you love and that feels natural for you, and being authentic on the page will take you a lot further than trying to be an author you’re not.
A good practice is to be skeptical of any rumors you hear about publishing. They are usually discouraging—and almost always false. Don’t let misconceptions about the industry keep you from getting your work out there and giving it your all.
- Jill Jepson, May 2015
For more information about Jill and her work please visit www.writingasacredpath.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @Jill_Jepson.
__________________________
This #MondayBlogs series seeks to educate readers and writers from the inside out. Have an idea for an article? Want to know more about a specific topic? Humor us! Submit your suggestions via private message here or visit the contact page: www.theprose.com/p/contact.
Friday Feature: @Prose.
In keeping with the many recent changes around here, we’re taking a slightly different approach to this week’s "Proser Showcase."
It is imperative that you all remember that each and every one of you is an asset to this community. As we stated in a comment earlier, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for your words.
The vision behind Prose was born out of love for language and the power that words grant us both as individuals and collectively.
Writing is not a game. It's not about winning or losing. And while it may be a fleeting compulsion or fair-weather hobby for some, this community is built upon writing as a lifestyle. A means of breaking through any barriers presented by convention and the "noise" associated with the contemporary social sphere.
If we consider the word "challenge" by definition, we can all agree that the implication is one of exercise, provocation, and thoughtfulness.
As administrators, we discovered that the functionality and intended purpose of the original Challenge feature was compromised.
Since we launched last year, we have been observing all features here. We also have been impressed by the creativity and organic zeal that radiates from this place. That passion and profundity is credited to you as Prosers.
Know that there are countless unspoken and unreleased initiatives being explored. Our goal is and has always been to ensure that the Prose mission remains intact.
What is that mission?
We will stop at nothing to provide a uniquely challenging experience for you. That begins with raising the bar, setting higher literary standards for the entire community. We provide the vehicle here but you are the engine that propels it.
By offering the opportunity for outstanding Prosers to play a more active role in executing the mission, as in the Partner Program, we are striving to strengthen the community and the relationships within it.
If we remain united, nothing can break us apart.
Newcomers need as much support, if not more, than the most "popular" writers here. We aim to give proper recognition to those that put forth the hard work that it takes to produce high-quality literature in any form. Hence the new Spotlighting feature, a privilege granted to those that have been selected as Partners.
Get to know your Prose Partners. (They have been tagged in the comments below.) Reach out to them with your ideas. They have been chosen, as one Proser stated earlier, to share in the responsibility of helping to grow our literary community.
With regard to the age limitation, we must have this specification in place for professional and legal reasons. Be advised, however, that consideration for the best interests of all Prosers are at the forefront of every decision made here.
There will be ample opportunities for both Partners and non-Partners to contribute to the evolution of Prose.
At our core, we are all Prosers. As such, our identities are shaped by a respect and admiration for literature. We're here to express that to the best of our abilities.
Why write? Because Prose.
