just write: because of you.

there's power in believing
the world can change because of you,
but it can be overwhelming
when you're not sure what to do.

and so you sit and talk about
the things that break your heart,
but you never try to change them
because you don't know where to start.

and while the thought of failure
is enough to make us all a little shy,
is there any good in thinking things can change
if you never even try?

just write: life's great secrets.

I think that you might know the answer
to every time I've wondered why,
because you smile like you are holding
life's great secrets deep inside.

I'm desperate for some answers,
grasping at any I can find.
I promise if you tell me how to smile like that,
I'll lock the answer safely up inside.

just write: giving away a broken heart.

she told him life was ugly,
that it was harsh and cold and cruel.
she said to look for beauty in this world
simply meant he was a fool.

she told him nothing really mattered,
that the world had gone to hell.
she said even if she didn't break his heart,
it would be broken by someone else.

she shattered him and walked away,
and he never saw her again.
but he kept close to his broken heart
the lessons she taught him.

and when he met someone new,
he knew exactly what to say.
he told her life was made of magic
and there was beauty in each day.

he decided he would share happiness
with her right from the start,
for he knew that only you can choose
how to give away a broken heart.

Ps: Please understand I may be a bit slow in getting back to you as I'm either about to have a baby//currently having a baby//have just had a baby. I wanted to keep things going on my blog, but it may take a bit to get back into the swing of things since I'm, you know, bringing a human into the world and all. xo

just write: merely skin and bones.

she wasn't just a person,
to him she was much more.
she wasn't merely skin and bones,
but a universe to explore.

and so he put his faith in her,
though somewhat undeserved.
he just knew that she would save him,
for she knew he needed her.

but she couldn't save him,
nor did she even try,
because she wasn't quite aware
of the way he felt inside.

and as his view of her grew dim
and quickly changed back to bones and skin,
he learned a person is merely a person
no matter how much you hope in them.

just write: a helping hand.

he simply handed her his coat, 

and just like that, she was warm again. 

sometimes the answer isn't some grand solution,

but rather, just a helping hand.

just write: too bright to see the stars.

I learned to wish on airplanes

in a city too bright to see the stars. 

if there’s one thing that you’ve taught me,

it’s to look for magic wherever you are. 

so tonight I’ll use this flying wish

and hope that it comes true. 

I’m just asking this airplane

to bring me back to you. 

just write: sweet glances.

I remember when we first met
and the way you'd look at me,
like I was the only one in the room
and the prettiest girl you'd seen.

I keep memories of those sweet glances,
I lock them safely up inside,
because the way you look at me
has slowly changed with time.

but it's nothing to be sad over,
for I can't quite tell you how,
but being seen as pretty is nothing
next to the way you look at me now.

Happy Writing! You Can Do it.

The magical month of October has come to a close, and NaNoWriMo 2015 is officially here. And so I wanted to tell you, blogger, writer, poet, story-teller...you can do it.

Remember, the magic doesn't lie in a month, in a deadline, or in a process. The magic lies in you. And whatever writing you are setting out to achieve, you have enough magic inside of you to reach that goal. Whether you do it in November or December or in one year or in three...you can do it. You will do it, so long as you just keep writing.

Whether you're setting out to write a novel or a song or a poem or a story, you've got this. Whether you're writing for the world to see or just for the pages between your journal, there's a reason you should write. 

So write. Keep writing. Write when the words are overflowing out of you and write when you have to pull them out of yourself. Write to understand things, to stay alive, to ask your questions. You are a writer. So write. 

Happy writing...Through November, through the holidays, through 2016, through always. You are a writer, and you can do it.

PS...if you haven't joined The Novel Blogger yet, do it! Sometimes seeing a bunch of other people strive for the same thing you're working towards can be just the encouragement you need. 

just write: like playing cards.

I can still picture it

after all of this time,

how you’d share with me your secrets

as I would tell you mine.

and we’d lay upon a rooftop

trading secrets like playing cards

as we stared into the sky

hoping to see a shooting star. 

I think of you sometimes,

when a star is on the move.

I’ve heard you’re doing better,

and I hope that’s really true. 

I know that I’m no longer there,

that you’ve found someone new.

I just hope that she is someone

who you can tell your secrets to. 

just write: a treasure trove of wealth.

how silly it is to think
you're made up only of yourself,
when you and I both know
you are a treasure trove of wealth.

you are a priceless french mosaic,
a small piece of every soul you've ever met.
your heart is a vintage roadmap
of every place you've ever left.

your imagination is constructed
of every story you've been told,
the way you feel towards others built by
every hand you've tried to hold.

so when you look at your reflection,
know it's not just made of you...
it's everyone you've ever loved
and the ones who've loved you, too.

just write: the brightest stars.

sometimes when a perfect season

is coming to an end, 

it's hard to feel excited 

when you can't see around the bend. 

and so you try to cling to 

the quickly fading light, 

and hold on tightly to the past,

afraid to see the night. 

but though you feel the sun is setting,

know you've nothing left to fear.

for the sky is always at it's darkest

when the brightest stars appear. 

just write: street by street.

sometimes you long to go back
to the place from which you came,
but once you finally make it there,
you find it isn't quite the same.

and no matter how you try to fit
into old homes with your old friends,
the times of fitting in those places
have clearly come to end.

so street by street you drive the town
until you become much more aware,
it's not the place you miss so much
as who you were when you were there.

Why I'm Starting NaNoWriMo in October & I Think You Should, Too.

As if fall wasn't amazing enough, November brings the gift of NaNoWriMo. 

"National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel." 

-via nanowrimo.org

If you've never participated before, that paragraph alone should make you want to. 

Writing 50,000 words in 30 days is fun, exhausting, exhilarating, and totally possible. When aspiring writers all over the world are chasing the same goal you are for thirty days, it makes you feel like anything is possible. And anything is possible. 

I've done NaNoWriMo twice now, and I've loved it both times. It forces you to write, forces you to think quickly, and forces you to abandon the idea of editing until December. It's magical. It's also a month filled with lots of coffee, wine, late nights, and stress, as you can probably imagine. 

This year is a little bit different for me. November will bring me two months away from having a baby--not exactly conducive to staying up all night in an over-caffinated frenzy of writing.

While the obvious solution would be to sit this year out and try to jump back in next year, NaNoWriMo has brought me some of my very favorite ideas and words and stories. So I don't want to sit this one out.

So I'm starting NaNoWriMo in October. Here's why I think you should consider doing the same. 

To write 50,000 words in the month of November, you have to write roughly 1,667 words each day. Again, totally doable! But it is a lot. To write 50,000 words in the months of October and November, you have to write roughly 820 words each day. 

See where I'm going with this? 

My thinking is that 820 words a day for two months is going to be a lot easier for me to do in this season of life. And, when I reach the halfway point and start running out of steam, it'll be just in time for the inspiration of NaNoWriMo!

Of course, it won't technically be NaNoWriMo, because for that, you have to start November 1st with a word count of zero. But, it is a way to participate. Especially since I know that otherwise, it's just not going to happen this year. 

So I'm going to do it. In a few days, much like the past two Novembers, I'm going to curl up with a blank page and a cup of coffee and start to write my little heart out. 

You may not be in a similar situation to me, but if you've already decided your reasons for why you're not going to participate this year, why not jump in and get your feet wet in October?

Because you never know what type of magic might come from simply deciding to start. 

Are you planning on participating in NaNoWriMo this year?

just write: here + now.

don’t worry about tomorrow,
for it may never come.
we can raise our cups to yesterday,
but it’s already gone.
let’s just focus on today,
no matter how hard it may be.
I kind of like the here and now,
because here and now has you and me.

just write: refuse to be defined.

I do not think that words exist
for what you are to me
I’ve read many books front to back
and I have yet to see

a word that fully captures
the way I feel when I’m with you
or the comfort that’s in knowing 
that you feel the same thing, too

just like there’s no word for what you feel
when you’re surrounded by the stars
or for how peaceful it is to fall asleep
to the sounds of passing cars

it’s like the stillness before the thunder
or the way summer slows down time
sometimes the greatest things in life
refuse to be defined.

just write: there's magic, and it's coming.

the morning feels a little cooler,
the smell of pumpkin fills the air
stores fill with sweaters to grace your shoulders,
and hats to cover up your hair.

there’s magic, and it’s coming
you can feel it in the breeze.
as the days in august wind down,
and summer prepares to leave.

no, the leaves aren’t falling down yet,
there’s still an extra sunny hour in the day.
but there’s magic, just there, hovering
and you know: fall is on it’s way.

just write: forgot to say goodbye.

I used to paint you pictures, 
now I just paint them in my head. 
I never knew our memories 
would one day wind up dead.
buried under sand and sea, 
buried in my head. 
because you walked away from me,
I still don’t understand. 
we had forever right in front of us, 
I thought I saw it in your eyes. 
But then you walked away from me

and forgot to say goodbye.

just write: so much more to show you.

sunrises and sunsets,
raindrops cooling down your skin.
the world is full of little magic
if you just stop to take it in.
the stars poke holes in the darkness
just to say hello to you,
but you only see them through a screen,
making sure everyone else will see them, too.
the world fights for your attention
as you just fight for more:
more followers, likes, and comments,
when there's magic at your door.
sometimes, just for you
the world shares a little secret.
but when you try so quick to capture it,
then you completely miss it.
and when picking up your phone
is the first thing that you do,
you can sometimes hear the sky's sad whisper,
"but I had so much more to show you." 

just write: never said hello.

I’m deaf from all the words
that you never even said, 
hoarse from all the screaming 
that only happened in my head. 

my hands ache from all the punches 

from the fights that never were, 
my brain hurts from overthinking
answers to questions I never heard. 

these bruises make it pretty clear
it’s time to let you go. 
but how do you start to say goodbye, 
when you never said hello?

"The "what-if's" and "should-haves" will eat your brain." -John O'Callaghan

just write: like cheap champagne.

I’m feeling young and reckless,
but I’ve still got a nine-to-five.
it’s hard to make sure rent gets paid
and still feel so alive.
so fill my glass with champagne,
the kind from the five dollar aisle,
and top it off with St -Germain 
and we’ll feel expensive for a while.
life can quickly become mundane
and start to feel a little cheap,
but it takes just a bit of magic 
to remind you to still dream.
so let’s take these fancy glasses
and toast under the stars
with both the boring and the whimsical,  
because that’s life-it’s where we are.