Our resource for the day is Poets & Writers’ “Craft Capsules” feature. Here, you’ll find essays on craft elements ranging from revision to using narrative to the lyric “I.” While some of the essays are focused on fiction, their lessons are widely applicable across genres and writing styles.
Last but not least, here’s our prompt for the day (optional, as always). Start by taking a look at these three short poems by Bill Knott.
Dear Advice Columnist
I recently killed my father
And will soon marry my mother;
My question is
Should his side of the family be invited to the wedding?To X
You’re like a scissors
popsicle I don’t know
whether to jump back
or lickQuickie
Poetry
is
like
sex
on
quicksand
therefore
foreplay
should
be
kept
at
a
minimum
Now for my poems
I
The heart doctor
He knew the workings of her heart,
any
and all hearts.
He could reach its depths,
fix it
and it’s beat.
But, he didn’t know
how-
to make it
beat for him.
They didn’t teach that
in med school.
II
Who knew
Who knew
death’s next meal
was in the kitchen
making tea for me?
(Published in the Thieving Magpies)
III
Friends
Some friends
are best
only
when you cry.
IV
Opinion - Self-love or Narcissm?
I
love
me.
V
Boring
My life lacks drama,
suspense
and the magic
ingredient
to make for juicy gossip
In ordinary parlance
that's what you'd call, 'boring'.
I'm cool with that.
Sorry if it doesn't interest you.
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My debut novel, ‘Coming Home’ was released on 24th March 2023.
For the Kindle edition of the book, please click here. The book is available in most countries.
The paperback edition is currently available only in India. You can get your copy by clicking here. I am working on getting the paperback version in other countries as well.
Blurb: Twenty-six-year-old, Shanaya, finds her idea of home and family ripped apart when she loses her mother. Her effort to drown herself in her job proves to be financially rewarding and her work is recognized by the organisation. But, even this is not enough to fill the vacuum in her heart or answer the questions, her mother’s sudden death had given rise to. In her quest for peace and the need to hold her family together, she leaves her job in the Middle East and moves to India. The story finds Shanaya journeying across geographical planes and inner landscapes to finally reach ‘home’. Coming Home is a heartwarming story about self-discovery, relationships, loss, love, destiny, the choices we make, and how these choices eventually lead to what we are destined for.
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