Tag: writing

“Grievous, Sour Teeth” a Poem by Matt ‘Loveit or’ Leavitt

I couldn’t tell you who’s screaming from the apartment next door. A woman lives there.

These are the screams of a man.

Mom said I should be more quiet when I come home late at night. She hears me make my way upstairs or to the kitchen. Fumbling like rats. There’s venom in her voice. I see the body sit up from the sheets in the dark. It’s absurd, its mother, but im afraid.

Young and in the way. Like a butterfly frozen to the 3rd rail. All lit up. Somewhere miles down those rails is the leviathan. God of the tracks, indiscriminate and certain. Metal ghoul, bigger than death. It’s coming now. And all the beauty in those iridescent wings couldn’t possess the small creature to just fly away. All the color in this colorless world could not move her from harms way.

Can you fill in the blanks? Accept the ______. Release _______. Never once did I get the chance to _______ you. These ______ don’t leave me alone. I saw it again last night. I came to tell you because I’m certain I saw it. It was ____________________. Loss Loss Loss Loss.

Entombed chicken, inside you is all I need to know. Your being is worthless. Your cadaver is so delicious, so much more interesting than you.

There is a fog here. It smells like pines and dirt. I shouldn’t be here. I feel the dirt on my feet. Wait I shouldn’t be here right now. It’s cold and I can’t see. Trapped under ice. This isn’t a dream, I’m really awake I’m not in my bed. There’s fog everywhere and suffocation. I want to close my eyes but I cant. I cant move. Dirt beneath my feet. Dirt and wood. Wood and metal. Bright lights in the mist. Its coming.

Oceans deep in memories. I can never touch you again, so leave my fucking bed.  Leave this fucking place. Leave my fucking head.

In Salem they took mothers and made them chickens.

In Salem they put women to fire.

In Salem all the mothers were dragged into sunlight. Man has been on a power trip ever since.

Devastation and mayhem. It’s what all the kids are into nowadays. It’s in the milk. It’s in the cans. You can never get far enough away.

In Sodom, they wandered the streets like ______.

In Sodom they saw a little light in that small window.

In Sodom, man found angels. 

And integrity became king.

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This poem was written by Matt Leavitt. He holds all copyright to this work, nothing may be borrowed or manipulated without his full consent.

If you have any questions, email our Publisher, Willy Martinez at martinez@mindonfirebooks.com

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Happy Birthday to Me and These Famous Birthdays

Happy Birthday to me and my shared famous birthdays with Robert Penn Warren and Anthony Trollop – Two Monster writers!. I first read Robert Penn Warren in a community college class and fell in love with his drama, charm, and lively Southern characters. Anthony Trollop is simply a wordsmith. He used to wake up and write for two hours each morning before working at the post office. Maybe that’s the ritual that I need to develop to be able to punch out more dark fiction. He’s not for everyone (me included) but we share a birthday so he’s cool with me 🙌.

  • Cover for Barchester Towers
  • Cover for All the Kings Men

Happy Birthday to all you lovely Taurus people born on this day!

The Philosophy of Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski is an iconic writer from the 20th century known for producing some of the rawest and most honest stories and poems of recent history. His own story included.

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Happy Freelance Writers Week: 5 Ways To Say Thank You!

Do you work as a freelance writer? Celebrate, my colleagues, for this is our week–National Freelance Writers Appreciation Week. The second week of February is National Freelance Writer Appreciation Week. While it’s always a good idea to show gratitude to anyone who contributes to the success of your organization, this week is a great time to reach out to the writers who drive your content marketing or other projects.

#1 – Write a Blog Post Highlighting Freelancer Efforts

Consider highlighting the role of freelancers in your organization if it’s appropriate for your brand. Write a blog post or create a video thanking your writers or sharing some fun behind-the-scenes information about how writers help you achieve your goals.

#2 – Share the Details of Success with Writers and Editors

Freelancers often work with little feedback or understanding of how their work contributes to your organization. Many of the best writers take ownership of their work, though, and when you let them know how they can help you succeed – or share what’s already working – you might be surprised at the response you get.

Take time this month to share feedback, statistics, and goals with your freelancers. Let a writer know the landing page they wrote helped you earn 10 percent more revenue last quarter, or tell your SEO writing team that their efforts resulted in an increase in page traffic. These little details make freelancers feel like part of something bigger, and it often spurs them to continue creating excellent content for you.

#3 – Send a Physical Thank You Card

With so much information exchanged in digital format, a physical mailing catches the attention. A hand-written thank you card shows that you cared enough to make a special effort. If you work with a crowd of freelancers, a preprinted thank you card in the mailbox can also make a writer smile.

#4 – Run a Giveaway to Celebrate the Week

If your budget won’t cover individual gifts or you work with a large freelance group, consider running a giveaway. When running a giveaway, keep things as simple and transparent as possible, and have fun with the entire premise.

#5 – Shout out on Social Media

Don’t be afraid to tag all of your writing friends and let them know how important you are to them. Writers love recognition, it’s how we make a living, so please share our work.

#6 – Hold a Digital Party for Freelancers

Invite freelancers to join you in a forum, Facebook group, or on Skype at a certain time, but avoid making video streaming a requirement since many writers choose to freelance because they value their privacy. Play some fun online party games, introduce various members of your in-house team, or present information about how your freelance team made an impact to your organization recently. Incorporate giveaways or awards to get freelancers excited and involved.

Thanking your freelancers doesn’t take a huge effort, but the impact of showing your gratitude can be enormous.

Writer Wednesday : The Four Types of Writers

For this writer Wednesday, I would like to share with you all a video produced by professional fiction editor, Ellen Brock. In this video she breaks down the four types of writers that she has experienced in her career:

The Plotter: A writer who plans their story before writing the first draft.

The Pantser: A writer who “flies by the seat of their pants” when writing the first draft (doesn’t plan).

The Intuitive: A writer who bases their story and edits on their gut feelings and instincts.

The Methodological: A writer who bases their story and/or edits on techniques, methods, and theories.

Personally, I think I am more of an Intuitive when I’m writing fiction. But when I write copy or non-fiction, I am definitely Methodological. Which are you, and what do you think of this quadra break-down of the writer archetypes?

Spanish Playwright Produces Over 1,400 Works of Drama

Think you can write over 1,400 works of #drama in your lifetime? This guy Lope De Vega managed to during the 1,500’s. Born #OTD in 1562 he was an outstanding dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age, author of as many as 1,800 plays and several hundred shorter dramatic pieces, of which 431 plays and 50 shorter pieces are extant.
Vega became identified as a playwright with the comedia, a comprehensive term for the new drama of Spain’s Golden Age. Vega’s productivity for the stage, however exaggerated by report, remains phenomenal. He claimed to have written an average of 20 sheets a day throughout his life and left untouched scarcely a vein of writing then current. Cervantes called him “the prodigy of nature.”