First Blog

Ahh, my first blog. A lot of mental hoop-la went into thinking about doing this, and now posting, it’s much more akin to a whimper than a bang. I’m getting started here, so bear with me as I manage and mangle my way through all this.

This summer, I’m writing as I travel throughout Malaysia. Sometimes traveling can result in zilch for writing. So far, this hasn’t been the case. As my boyfriend and I find a spot where we’d like to stay, we do, and just take a week or two to focus on work before heading out for a new town. We’re in week three of this trip and have now been beached ourselves almost this whole time on Kecil Island in Pulau Perentians. Small island, no roads, electricity only at night, internet scanty at best, I’m finding this place ideal to write. Other travelers here have asked if I travel to get inspired, thinking it’s the beauty of this place that gets me going. In all honesty, if I needed this much beauty to get inspired I’d be a pretty sorry writer. And what would I write anyway? “Oh lovely palm, oh white damsel fishy….”  I travel because it’s fun. And staying away this long removes so much that chews away at time. No news, no television, no internet surfing, no hot water, no laundry, no cooking, no dishes, no cleaning, no house, no dog, no friends, no family, etc. So, I’ve been writing a poem a day and finishing up some older poems. Marilyn Kallet and Art Smith first got me hooked on writing a poem a day. I do this for about two weeks, and then spend the next few months revising the ones that interest me the most. When the stash gets low, I start the process again. So far, I think I have some potential pieces. We’ll see. And not a fish in the bunch.