Listen to Me Read a New Poem in the Latest Issue of Golden Walkman Magazine

December 11, 2019December 10, 2019 / saraletourneau / Leave a comment

Oh, are you in store for a treat today! 😀

I’m thrilled to share that my poem “No Darkness Here (An Ode to Metal Music)” is featured in the latest issue of Golden Walkman Magazine. However, you won’t be able to read a printed version of the poem. You see, Golden Walkman is a podcast-style literary journal that, in their own words, “aims at giving the written word a voice.” So all of the work they publish is in audio format only – which means you’ll be able to listen to me read the poem!

(Read more after the jump.)

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New at DIY MFA: Identifying Literary Themes in Our Poems

July 30, 2019July 29, 2019 / saraletourneau / Leave a comment

When my previous DIY MFA post went live, I might have mentioned it was the first of two posts I’d write about literary themes and poetry. 😉 So today’s post is the unofficial part two! It’s about identifying themes in the poetry you write using the original source of the poem’s inspiration (or, rather, what the poem’s about), your reasons for writing it in the first place, and the emotions you were feeling that influenced the poem’s tone. I also share examples from my own poetry to explain this process, then end the post with a thoughtful question: Why is it important for a poet to know the themes they cover in their work?

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Let’s Talk Numbers: Poetry Acceptances and Rejections (Plus, Four Ways to Stay Motivated After Your Writing Is Rejected)

February 27, 2019February 24, 2019 / saraletourneau / 5 Comments

When I was preparing my final poetry submission of 2018 during the last week of December, a surprising question popped into my head: “How many submissions did I send out this year?”

You see, I don’t set goals for a certain number of submissions each month or year, especially since poetry is still a part-time endeavor for me. Instead, I continually write and revise my poems, read various journals, and submit to places that I think would be a good fit for my work. And while I track my submissions, it’s mainly to remind myself of the facts, like which publications I’m waiting to hear from and which poems are currently out on submission.

So, for those reasons, I really had NO idea how many submissions I’d sent out in 2018. (*lol*) And not knowing that number made me curious. So I reviewed my tracking sheet, did some math, and decided to blog about what I found, with some relevant tips to boot.

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Five Ways In Which Writing and Yoga Are Similar

November 21, 2018November 13, 2018 / saraletourneau / 18 Comments

Every Monday evening, instead of writing for 60 to 90 minutes at my laptop, I spend that time on my yoga mat. It’s a habit I’ve consistently maintained for 2 years, though I was first introduced to yoga about 5 years ago. Sometimes it’s with a class, led by a teacher who has become both mentor and cheerleader to me.** Other times it’s at home, thanks to the TV awesomeness known as YouTube OnDemand. Regardless, yoga has become an essential part of my life, much the same way that writing has.

Maybe that explains why I came to this conclusion recently: Yoga and writing sessions have a lot in common.

I’m sure some of you might be thinking, “Um… OK…. But how?” That’s what today’s blog post is all about. 😉 Here are five ways in which yoga and writing are similar, and how I’ve benefited from having both in my life.

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Poetry and Nonfiction Reading Round-Up: October 2018

October 17, 2018October 14, 2018 / saraletourneau / 21 Comments

I had an idea while preparing the Favorite Fiction Reads of Summer 2018 post recently. Even though I read nonfiction (mainly on writing and creativity) and poetry as well as fiction, I only ever blog about fiction. But I’m not just a reader. I’m also a poet, a dabbler in speculative fiction, and a perpetual student of the craft of writing. So why not blog about the other kinds of books I read, since they’re just as important to my literary life?

Hence this week’s experiment. This round-up shares mini-reviews of five poetry books and four “writerly” nonfiction books I’ve read over the past few months. If any of them pique your interest, you can check out more information on Goodreads via the link in each title. Most importantly, if this kind of post is something you’d like to see again (maybe every 3 or 4 months), let me know in your comments. That’s the best way for me to know whether this is worth continuing as a blog series.

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When the Fire Goes Out (and What to Do When This Happens)

September 12, 2018September 10, 2018 / saraletourneau / 27 Comments

I haven’t touched my novel-in-progress since the second week of July.

Yeah. There’s no way of sugarcoating the truth. The good news is, I haven’t stopped writing altogether. But the first draft of the manuscript I’ve been working on for the past year? The desire to open the Word file isn’t there right now. In fact, I think it had been gone for a while, but it took me several weeks to realize it.

Maybe this has happened to you. At some point during a writing project, despite the passion you felt early on, the fire goes out. You might not know the reason why right away. You might not even recognize what the feeling is at first, so you keep pushing on. But once you do… well, depending on your personality, you might have a hard time accepting it.

Today, I’m here to tell you something important: It’s OK. You’re not alone in this, and maybe something in this post might help you get through it and figure out what to do next.

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New Interview at The Articles of Antiquity

August 15, 2018August 14, 2018 / saraletourneau / Leave a comment

Recently I was interviewed by Jennifer Sparkman for her online magazine The Articles of Antiquity. And what did we talk about? Writing, of course! 😉 Poetry, DIY MFA, all-time favorite writers, sources of inspiration, and a few other topics. I had fun answering Jen’s questions, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading the end result.

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New Post at DIY MFA: Recognizing Themes at Each Stage of the Writing Process

July 18, 2018July 16, 2018 / saraletourneau / Leave a comment

Here’s a question for any writers who are reading this: At what point in the writing process do you start paying attention to your story’s themes? Does theme even cross your mind as you’re brainstorming, drafting, or revising a story? If you answered “no” – don’t worry, your story probably still contains themes . However, it always helps to have a strong awareness of themes. So in my latest DIY MFA article, we explore ways in which you can develop that awareness at each stage of the process, and how that awareness can improve more than just the story.

Also, a fun fact for you: The conversation I mention during the article’s introduction eventually inspired me to pitch the Theme: A Story’s Soul column to DIY MFA. 😉

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The 2018 Blogoversary: Nine Favorite Writing Tips of All Time

July 11, 2018July 7, 2018 / saraletourneau / 27 Comments

First things first: I miscalculated how old the blog is. We’re celebrating its ninth birthday today, not its tenth. (*face turns red*) Sorry about that!

Regardless, a ninth blogoversary is impressive. I launched this site in 2009 mostly because blogging seemed like fun. (Not to mention I was always happy to find a new outlet for writing.) Since then, I’ve grown so much as a writer and as a person, and the blog has evolved as well. So, from a perspective of reflection, it’s appropriate that this year’s blogoversary post centers on all-time favorite writing advice. (Thank you for the suggestion, Zezee!)

It was challenging, but I narrowed it down to nine favorites to coincide with nine years of blogging. I hope you find these tips as motivating and inspiring as I did when I first came upon them.

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Some of My Favorite Things: A Blog Hop

June 20, 2018June 16, 2018 / saraletourneau / 27 Comments

Guess what, everyone? I created a blog hop! 🙂

The truth is, I’ve had a hard time thinking of topics to blog about now that I’m back from my (unexpected) hiatus. It’s as if my brain is a car engine that’s having trouble starting… and it’s a strange feeling, to not know what to write about. So I figured, maybe the best way to get those creative juices flowing again is to do something easy and fun. And that’s how the Some of My Favorite Things was born.

I also had a goal for this post: to choose “favorites” I haven’t blogged about before. In other words, you won’t find anything bookish, writerly, or tea-related (well, at least not tea recommendations *lol*) here. So I think you’ll discover a few new things about me today – and maybe we’ll find we had more in common than we did before. 🙂

So, what did I choose as some of my favorite things? You’ll have to read on to find out. 😉
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