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On Using the Pause in Your Writing

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“How much better it seems now, than when it is finally done. How hungrily one waits to feel the bright lure seized, the old hook bitten.“

–Dana Gioia

Writers have been using “the pause” in their writing for a long time. This is a space between writing sessions where the writer breaks off before the piece is finished, and think about the piece in between. Many famous artists used this method from Hemingway to Beethoven. For creatives, it’s a way of keeping going when you know something is unfinished.

This “pause” taps directly into the creative process. Unfinished tasks stay in the psyche and urge the artist to be finished. Hemingway liked to stop in the middle of a sentence. Then he would think about the passage he had left behind until he was able to return to his work.

Artists don’t finish great works in one sitting anyway. Picasso would start multiple paintings at once and pause before each one was finished. Maya Angelou would stop mid-paragraph, if she felt it wasn’t going quite right. Pausing creates a discomfort for the artist. The artist is uncomfortable when the piece is left unfinished and wants to get back to it, maybe after many pauses, and finish it. The pull of the unfinished will bring the artist back to where he/she left off.

The pause is not complicated. It’s not something that requires hours of training or discipline. It’s just the call of the unfinished; the itch that needs to be scratched; the natural calling back to the page.

When I wrote my latest manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, it took me two years. It was my first collaborative effort with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen. We started the project in Costa Rica, where we had casitas close to each other in an artists colony, but later there were many pauses as we communicated across continents. She met me at my house in Massachusetts and I met her several times in New York City. But most of the reconnecting was done via internet or phone.

The manuscript has now been accepted by two publishers and there will be pauses and reconnecting again as we move forward with our new publisher, Shanti Arts. I will blog on Thursdays. Follow me here.

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Creativity Gets Stimulated By Exercise

Many writers, including me, exercise as part of their creative process. The physical state of our bodies, and our willingness to routinely move them through space to the extent we are able, can either serve or subvert the quest to create. I am in the process of preparing my manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, for final submission to my publisher, Shanti Arts. I signed the contract, with the artist Irene Christensen, in October, and now I have to deliver the manuscript.

According to a new study by Scientific Reports* “the pattern of findings argues for shared variance between bodily movements and creativity or fluency and originality.”

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There are studies about how aerobic exercise both increases the size of the prefrontal cortex and facilitates interaction between it and the amygdala. This is important to creators because the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that helps tamp down the amygdala’s fear and anxiety signals.

Dr. Jennifer Heisz, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind, shares deeply compelling insights and research about the connection between movement and anxiety, depression, working memory, mental flexibility and creativity

I swim everyday first thing in the morning, then I write. I have been following this pattern for years and find it works for me. Artists, writers and any other driven creators use movement as a powerful tool in the quest to help transform the persistent uncertainty, fear, and anxiety that accompanies the quest to create,

Anyone involved in a creative endeavor might consider movement, as a potent elixir to help transform the uncomfortable sensation of anxiety from a source of pain and creative stagnation into something not only manageable but usable.

A growing body of research on the therapeutic effect of exercise on anxiety, mood, and fear illustrates the often sustained anxiety that rides organically along with the uncertainty of creation. As artists, we need to cultivate the energetic capacity needed to give our brains what they require to function long enough, and at a high enough level, to have even a shot at closing the gap between idea and performed piece or manuscript. We need to not only train in the craft, but also do what we can to equip ourselves to flourish along the way.the creative process, especially in the context of a larger work, is a survival event.

What form of exercise do you use to feed your creativity? As I prepare the final manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, to my publisher, Shanti Arts, I depend on exercise to help me through. Swimming is one of the things that stimulates my writing each morning.

I will blog on Thursdays about the writing process and the submission of the final manuscript, and publication of my book. Follow me her on Thursdays.

*“Everyday bodily movement is associated with creativity independently from active positive affect” by Rominger, et al. Scientific Reports.

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My Manuscript Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth Has Found a Publisher

The Goddess Speaks. Oil, 12” x 12”

I have been working on this manuscript for some time with the Norwegian Artist, Irene Christensen. The painting seen here, “The Goddess Speaks,” is a candidate for the cover art. There are more than 30 full-color paintings, many oil, that inspired my poems.

It was a challenge finding a publisher who wanted to publish the book because the four-color art is more expensive to produce than the average poetry collection. Not many publishers even publish visuals with poetry. The final cost of the book will be more thatn the average poetry book. We wound up submitting simultaneously to four publishers, and getting offers from two, Finishing Line Press and Shanti Arts. We decided to go with Shanti Arts.

For those of you who follow my blog, you have been with me on my journey to publication of this manuscript. It was important to me to publish this manuscript as it’s a complete collection of eco-poems, inspired by the paintings of women at the heart of the movement to preserve the environment. Like recycling and going with green energy, as an artist, I wanted to contribute to the literature on the environmental crisis.

I didn’t even want to tell people about my upcoming book publication until I had a signed contract. Now I do. The next step is refining the accepted manuscript and making it the best it can be. I rely on my writer friends to read and make suggestions. I don’t always use these suggestions, but it helps to have another pair of eyes looking at my poems and suggesting what’s strong and what’s stopped them as they were reading.

For those of you who followed my blog through the development of this manuscript, my first collaborative effort with an artist, continue to follow me though the final steps before publication and beyond.

I will blog about the publication process each week. Follow me here.

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Publishing In the Best Literary Journals for Poets

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Poets like to be published in literary journals, but there are some journals that are considered at the top and most poets would love to be in. Once they’ve got a few publications under their belt, they might have success with one of the following sites. A publication in any of these poetry journals could catapult your writing toward a larger, more reputable audience.

Best American Poetry is an anthology of the best poetry of the year. Each year, this series presents essential American verse and the poets who create it. Truly the “best” American poetry has appeared in this venerable collection for over thirty-five years. Get a copy of this and look at the journals the poems first appeared in. Robert Pinsky, the famous poet and literature professor, has called this annual anthology “a vivid snapshot of what a distinuished poet finds exciting, fresh and memorable.”

Among the literary journals often found the Best American Poetry anthology is The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, The American Poetry Review, The Southern Review, The New England Review, The Harvard Review, The Cincinnati Review, Prairie Schooner, The Kenyon Review, Southwest Review, The Virginia Review Quarterly, New Ohio Review, the Paris Review, The Nation, The Georgia Review, The American Scholar, AGNI, The Literary Review, The Iowa Review, The Common, The Boston Review, Harper’s, Gulf Coast, Conduit, River Styx, Denver Quarterly, The Atlantic Monthly, Barrow Street, Cave Wall, The Alaska Quarterly Review, The Sun, New York Times Magazine, Black Warrior Review, The Colorado Review, The Carolina Quarterly, The Missouri Review, Pleiades, The New Criterion, The Hopkins Review, Image Magazine, The Southampton Review, The Sewnee Review, Birmingham, Massachusetts Review, The Sycamore Review, Terminus Magazine, Cherry Tree, Ecotone, Crazy Horse, Gulfshore Life, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Hudson Review, The Iron Horse Literary Review, Naugatuck River Review, Maggy, The Manhattan Review, McSweeney’s, Michigan Quarterly Review, New South, New York Quarterly, PEN America, Poetry London, Poetry Northwest, The Rumpus, Southern Indiana Review, Vinyl Poetry, Buzzfeed, Mississippi Review, Cooper Nickel, Crab Apple Review, Copper Nickel and Brilliant Corners.

I have just signed a contract for a new book, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, with my artist colleague, Irene Christensen with Shanti Arts Press. It should be out in 2025. I will chronicle this experience to publication here on Thursdays. Follow me here.




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I’m Grateful to Have Our Painting and Poem, “The Day Wavers Between Going and Staying” in Issue 200 of the Arlington Literary Journal

The painting and poem “The Day Wavers Between Going and Staying” was published in Issue 200 of the Arlington Literary Journal. Take a look:

https://www.arlijo.com/post/issue-200#viewer-huuwn650

This poem and painting is part of the upcoming book Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, to be published by Shanti Arts Press in 2025.

I will be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here.

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Poetry and Online Journals

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There are many reasons to submit poetry to literary journals, and online journals are the fastest growing segment. .Some carry prestige because they are well regarded in the literary world.Some have themed issues that may be just what you’re interested in writing about. Some publications pay. 

Duotrope classifies journals into paying and nonpaying publications.There are a wealth of both online and print literary journals and some that do both. If you want to submit a poetry manuscript for publication as a book, publishers will look for acknowledgements of publications in literary journals to see that your book will thrive in the literary marketplace. Some poetry book publishers have literary journals where you can have your poem noticed by a book editor.

Here are just some of the journals published online:

Rising Phoenix Review https://therisingphoenixreview.com/ loves poetry that is “visceral” with “stunning, concrete imagery.” Their tastes lean toward the contemporary, sponsoring poetry that uplifts diverse voices and imagines a better world. This is an example of a journal that is sponsored by a poetry chapbook publisher, Rising Phoenix Press. If you want to publish a book with this press, starting with a publication in their journal is a good way to get to know the publisher.

Rattle ttps://www.rattle.com puts out several popular contests and publication opportunities, including a monthly ekphrastic challenge (a poem in response to a piece of art) , a weekly news-writing challenge, and an annual best poem prize. They are another journal that pays its poem winners, although the payout varies.

Palette Poetry https://www.palettepoetry.com/ publishes new and experienced poets. For experienced poets, they have a previously published poem contest. They are one of the journals that pay for poem winners, and pay well.

Freezeray http://www.freezeraypoetry.com/ specializes in pop culture .publishing. It publishes pieces about social media and is unique in the marketplace.

If you want more suggestions, subscribe to Poets & Writers and use pw.org. They have a listing of most literary journals. Good, publishable poems receive rejections all the time, often because a journal has a finite amount of space to publish each month.

I will be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here.


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Publishing Poetry

Many writers write poetry, even if it’s not their favorite genre.There is not much money in publishing poetry, unless you’re a poet laureate like Billy Collins or famous internationally like Sheamus Heaney.  But there is a market for publishing poetry.

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The best way for a new poet to publish is in a poetry journal or magazine.  Split This Rock offers an online list of literary journals https://www.splitthisrock.org/resources/literary-arts-journals. There are many other websites that show journals looking for poetry. You need to do some homework to figure out with which journals your poetry will resonate.

You may not want to start with well-established journals like The Kenyon Review or The American Poetry Journal, but there are many to choose from.  Starry Starry Kite https://www.lindacastronovo.com/theonlinejournal, a new online journal, is open to submissions from new writers.

Poetry remains a niche market for bookstores.  A good bookstore carries poetry books (and you should buy some.)  They carry classic poets, academic anthologies, and well-known poets. Most poets don’t reach this level.  If you have a relationship with your local bookstore owner (and you should get to know him/her,) this person is likely to carry a few copies of your new book.  I left three copies of my latest book with a local bookstore, and it sold all three copies, but it took about a year.

Book publishers look at the back of your submitted full-length manuscripts for acknowledgements of poetry published in literary journals.  I’ve heard that some publishers look for a 25 percent ratio of published poems to 75 percent nonpublished when looking at a book manuscript.  This percentage will vary publisher to publisher, but the publisher wants to know the poems in the manuscript were considered publishable by the literary journals.

Each journal has its own submission procedures, but as a rule, they don’t want more than five or six poems per submission.  Rejections are more common than not, so be prepared for this.  You should get an idea of what the journal is publishing by looking online at poetry from that journal, going to your local library and looking at old issues, or just buying a sample issue.  A good sponsor for a good journal is a university, so check the journal’s affiliations. If you like the poetry the journal offers, it’s a good sign that the journal might like your poetry.

I published in about 25 literary journals, including Nebo, The California Quarterly, Taproot Literary Quarterly and Crosswinds Literary Journal, before I published my first book of poetry. 


I chose to submit to small, independent publishers who were known to publish new poets.


I have a new manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, out for consideration with a few small independent publishers.  This is my first collaborative manuscript with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen.  She did a series of paintings about women at the heart of the environmental movement for which I wrote poem responses.  This is specialized publishing as the publisher needs to be experienced with four-color visuals as well as poetry. I don’t know if this will get published, but we never know for sure as poets.

I will be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here.

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I’m Delighted The Orange & Bee Is Publishing My Twin Poem “Fairy Tale of Eternal Economic Growth”

I’m delighted to have my poem, “Fairy Tale of Eternal Economic Growth” published in the September 27, 2024 issue of The Orange and Bee. I’ve attached a link to it below if you want to read it.


The submission is a twin poem, which means the two columns can be read down or across.I drew on the Norse Folk Tales of Greta Thunberg’s Scandinavian heritage.  Odin had two wolves, Geri and Freki.  Geri was interpreted as the greedy one and Freki the avaricious one.  I think wolves are a good symbols of the corporate greed that Thunberg argues against. The visual they use with the poem is Greta Thunberg’s photo as a child.

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The Orange & Bee publishes original and contemporary short stories, poems, and essays that explore, expand on, and subvert the rich traditions of international folklore, with a strong focus on fairy tales (though they also sometimes dabble in other forms of folklore, such as fables, myths, and legends). They also publish traditional tales accompanied by annotations, discussion questions, and writing prompts. Their real mission is to build a community—a virtual salon—around shared passion for fairy tales.

See the poem and photo of Greta Thunberg here:

https://theorangebee.substack.com/p/4523ca2d-ab6b-4812-b67e-7a157178cdeb

I am writing much eco-poetry these days, about the environmental crisis. I compiled a manuscript of poems and paintings, with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen, called Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth. It’s a book about women at the heart of the environmental movement. I will blog on Thursdays. Follow me here.

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On Blogging

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A blog is a website where you can share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the world.

You canuse a blog to promote your business, connect with like-minded people, and make money. I’m a writer and I use it to promote writing: other writers and my own.A blog is a website where people can post their thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics. A blog is an online journal where you can share your expertise and ideas. 

Blogs started out as diaries, but they have evolved into much as most bloggers are now earning a full-time income from their blogs. I don’t aspire to making money with my blog, but some people do. I like to blog about the writing process and that’s the subject of this blog: the process, publishing, promoting.

I use WordPress here and more than 70 million posts are published each month by WordPress users. That’s a lot of blogs. I focus on the literary ones, but you can look for all kinds of topics and write one yourself if you’re interested. Blogs have been rated as the fifth most trustworthy source for gathering online information. More than 75 percent of internet users read blogs. That’s a lot of blog readers.

If you’re interested, you can start a blog on WordPress for free. When you publish a book, many publishers will want the link to your blog as a writer. Blog posts are written in a more informal way when compared to traditional academic articles. If you’re a writer, it’s easy to blog. Just sign up for a free blog site and start writing about what you’re doing as a writer. Blogs have an informal approach.

Blogs are organized in reverse chronological order, with the newest blog post appearing at the top. Websites can have a variety of structures, depending on their purpose.
A blog often has a conversational tone, whereas most websites use a formal writing tone. They are interactive as they allow reader engagement, such as commenting, social sharing buttons, etc., which websites do not. Also, a blog is updated continuously, a website may or may not be updated.

If you are interested in blogging, and many writers and artists are, by all means get started with a free carrier like WordPress. I will be blogging here on Thursdays. Follow me.

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How to Publish Poetry

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There is a large poetry market for individual poems and whole manuscripts.

Literary journals publish many poems and some publishers publish poetry books. Poetry remains a niche market for bookstores.  A good bookstore carries poetry books (and you should buy some.)  They carry classic poets, academic anthologies, and well-known poets. Most poets don’t reach this level.  If you have a relationship with your local bookstore owner (and you should get to know him/her,) this individual is likely to carry a few copies of your new book.  I left three copies of my latest book with a local bookstore, and it sold all three copies, but it took about a year.

The best way for a new poet to publish is in a poetry journal or magazine.  Split This Rock offers an online list of literary journals https://www.splitthisrock.org/resources/literary-arts-journals.

You need to do some homework to figure out with which journals your poetry will resonate and want whatever poetry you have to offer.

You may not want to start with well-established journals like The Kenyon Review or The American Poetry Journal, but there are many to choose from.  Starry Starry Kite https://www.lindacastronovo.com/theonlinejournal, a new online journal, is open to submissions of poetry.

Publication in literary journals is also important to book publishers.  I’ve heard that some publishers look for a 25 percent ratio of published poems to 75 percent nonpublished when looking at a book manuscript.  This percentage will vary publisher to publisher, but the publisher wants to know the poems in the manuscript were considered publishable by the literary journals.

In nearly all cases, these book publishers will only publish a new poet if they have a track record with the literary journals.

Each journal has its own submission procedures, but as a rule, they don’t want more than five or six poems per submission.  Rejections are more common than not, so be prepared for this.  You should get an idea of what the journal is publishing by looking online at poetry from that journal going to your local library and looking at old issues, or just buying a sample issue.  A good sponsor for a good journal is a university, so check the journal’s affiliations. If you like the poetry the journal offers, it’s a good sign that the journal might like your poetry. Read the journal’s submission guidelines carefully.

I published in about 25 literary journals, including Nebo, The California Quarterly, Taproot Literary Quarterly and Crosswinds Literary Journal, before I published my first book of poetry. 

I chose to submit to small, independent publishers who were known to publish new poets.

I have a new manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, out for consideration with a few small independent publishers.  This is my first collaborative manuscript with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen.  She did a series of paintings about women at the heart of the environmental movement for which I wrote poem responses.  This is specialized publishing as the publisher needs to be experienced with four-color visuals as well as poetry. I don’t know if this will get published, but we never know for sure as poets.

Follow me here on Thursdays where I will blog about writing, the writing process, editing, revising and publishing.