Writing the Last Act
The end of the novel
looms like a new house
that felt so bright and cheery
until someone turned the lights off.
Now it is dark.
Unfamiliar.
Threats invisible
in the light
lurk in the dark.
Turn the lights on!
The house is gone.
Now there is a vast desert wasteland.
Between here and
The End
a small percentage
of what’s already done
looms insurmountable.
I shade my eyes
with my hand
squint at the horizon.
Swallow dust.
Type a word.
I
will
get
there
if
I
have
to
c
r
a
w
l
.
03/04/2013 © Nia Simone
In Mountains of Peru, there were some GIMP tips. Turns out the part about exporting it as JPEG is easier than described. There’s a box at the top that gets filled in with what you use most, so if you use JPEG mostly, it fills in the name of the file and defaults to replacing the original with the new, enhanced file. Then you can just click Enter instead of having to scroll down in the Select File Type By Extension menu each time.
Also, in What blooms in March, there’s a tip about using the Select by Color tool. That’s great, but it’s tricky to get GIMP to release that tool, even if you close the image and open a new one. To turn it off, use the Select menu: Select->None.
Also, some of the auto enhancements get too much of a primary color in them. Still figuring that out.
The spooky version of the bleak mountain was done with Colors-Invert. The dark version of the house was made black and white by using Colors->Colorify, checking the preview box, seeing it had defaulted to black and white, and clicking Ok.
A great poem. I love the way you used structure to underpin the words.
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Thank you, John!
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I like your poem Nia, I hate that feeling of loss when you finish a book.
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Thank you, Leanne. I hadn’t realized you were a writer too.
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No I am not a writer, but I do like reading them and that is often how I feel, my daughter wants to be a writer.
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Your daughters are very creative. That’s wonderful.
Well, finishing writing a novel is really hard for me. I guess it’s what you say, or related. I don’t really know. I think it’s complicated but that’s why sometimes I just write a few words a day and eventually get there.
There are creative highs in the process of writing a novel. But there are other times when I just don’t know exactly what to do. And having an “outline” doesn’t help. I have one, but if I write too it too strictly it comes out dead and flat. It just takes patience.I guess it’s kind of like when you re-worked the boardroom and took your time. Or getting up at 3 to back to Lorne for the pictures you missed the first time. It’s not all high! It’s a grind sometimes, too.
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That is so true, and I think we all have to work out what is the best way to work. I know how I work best, and working through the negative stuff and not ignoring it makes it so much easier.
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That’s a good tip, and you set a good example. Thanks for your comments!
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I just finished writing my last novel and can so relate! 🙂 Fantastic poem.
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Thank you, Elle! Congratulations on finishing the novel. The Tithe, right? I can’t wait to read it!
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