Lara D. Elliott - Inspirations

There was a lot of negativity in the world in the past week. Made me sick to think about how much hate there is out there. When my online writing group posted the picture prompt for this week (below), my first instinct was to write about fighting and destruction. But something stuck out in the photo that really spoke to me. The word "hope." Despite the decay and crumbling of the building, there is still hope. I hope for a world without hate. And so I wrote this poem. (For Heather) When walls crumble and roofs collapse, Hope. Despite the hatred and the hurt, Hope. Amidst the dead and dying, Hope. When a battle is lost but not yet the war, Hope. Resisters rise up and fight for what’s right and Hope. Love will overcome with Hope. Like my poetry? Check out more  here !

I'm still relatively young in my writing life. Just under two years now of serious writing. I've written several novel drafts, but nothing is quite right yet. There is an online contest where mentor writers accept submissions and choose one they would like to work with before submitting to agents. So many of the mentors mentioned a strong voice as a necessary element. I didn't really understand what they meant. I did some searching about voice. The Seekerville blog has a good list of posts addressing voice ( http://seekerville.blogspot.com/search/label/Voice ). Several of the posts related writing voice to singing voice. Voice is personal. Billie Holliday sounds different than Etta James. Writers write with different vocabulary and rhythm. Their style is personal. So what does this mean for me? Looking at my writing, it was too generic, too robotic. No life. No personality. I had a brainstorm. I needed to write like I was writing in my diary. Unfiltered and honest. B...

Okay, I needed something upbeat in my feed, so I thought I should share the rough cover I came up with this week for my "Uncrushed" novel-in-progress. The novel is mostly written, but I got stuck around the end and I just wanted another set of eyes to give me some feedback. So, I created an ebook for my beta reader. However, I like having something other than the generic placeholder cover that the program provides. Thus, the "Uncrushed" cover was born, and here it is. Please note that this is just a cover concept for a rough draft ebook. In no way do I intend on making this the cover for when it's published for real. It's just something fun to do. I have sketched out some covers before ( see here for the covers of "Eyes on Natalie" and "Eyes for Benny") but this one uses a stock photo that I edited. I love the Pixabay and Pexels websites for free stock photos. Those sites are where I get almost all of my blog photos. Thank you to...

Have you ever been depressed? It's a hard topic. I have been debating writing this post for some time. Today I finally had the courage to write it. I felt compelled to. I will admit I have been depressed at times. I have been struggling with it a lot this year. Depression can come from a lot of places. For me it was feelings of inadequacy. Inadequacy in lots of different ways in lots of different parts of my life. Those feelings also spurred jealousy, anger, sadness, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. For me, depression feels like this weight pressing on my chest. I can’t take a full breath. My heart feels like it’s working extra hard to keep me alive. Depression doesn’t always show. A lot of times, I’m able to smile and act normal, carry on with business as usual. Temporary distractions can make me happy in the moment. The lesson in this is not to judge a book by its cover. You never know what someone is going through. I’ve never been clinically diagnosed with d...

One of the things I love to do is network with other writers online. Writers are a very kind and supportive group of people. I highly suggest (whatever you do, whatever your passion) to find a group of people doing the same thing you do and loving the same thing you love. I have also learned a great deal from reading blog posts and articles they link to. My writing has improved and I've learned of other opportunities out there for writers. Because of my online connections, I have taken on something new. My latest endeavor has been to find a place to publish flash fiction. I've enjoyed writing these short short stories for my online writers group and feel it is something I can do well in the time I have between my full time job and taking care of my family. I have already started submitting to a couple of magazines. It's hard to wait for feedback but even harder not to share my writing here on my blog! Cross your fingers with me that something gets accepted somewhere...

The Mechanic The Mechanic chooses bits and pieces And carefully screws them into place. The machine resembles Him in form, And He has given it His face. The most astonishing of machines, It resembles Him in many ways. It has capability for compassion And a loving interface. The strangest though, it still does seek Its creator’s amazing grace Which already has been given To all the human race. Written in response to a picture prompt for my online writing group. Find the original image here: http://davidnelsonfox.blogspot.com.es/2016/09/masks.html  The original image was creepy. Metal faces over a blood red fabric with gears strewn about. I was tempted to write something gory or gothic but remembered that I don't want to be that kind of writer. The image reminded me of a poem I had written before, so I thought I'd go in the same direction. If you liked this piece, you'll probably also like that other poem: If God Were Steampunk . Wo...

My little brother is…different. Joshie wasn’t always the way he is. His baby pictures are just as chubby and smiley as any of us. It wasn’t until his fourth birthday that he started to wither. His muscles just stopped growing. He just kept getting skinnier and skinnier. By the time he was five, Mom and Dad were sad all the time, but Joshie kept smiling. Even when they got home from one of his doctor appointments and Mom’s eyes were all red and puffy, Joshie was ready to play. He couldn’t run anymore, but he always won Checkers and Go Fish. That summer, Mom and Dad sent me to camp and our baby brother, Sam, went to Grandma’s house. “Give Joshie a big hug because when you get back, he’ll be different.” Dad put a hand on Joshie’s shoulder and waved me over. I was confused, but Joshie gave one of his silly smiles. “It’s going to be all right,” he said. I was so excited to be home from camp that I almost forgot about Mom’s warning. She met me at the front door, an...