Smokey Mountain Breakdown

Bonnie over at Frogma awarded me this on February 16th because she really loved Holiness Cake Lady. I’m a bit confused as to whether or not I’m really entitled to the award. It originates from The Shameless Lions Writers Group.

Shameless says: Those people I've given this award to are encouraged to post it on their own blogs; list three things they believe are necessary for good, powerful writing; and then pass the award on to the five blogs they want to honour, who in turn pass it on to five others, etc etc. Let's send a roar through the blogosphere! The image above can be copied and pasted onto other blogs. Also, a small size of the award for sidebars can be found over at the writing circle site.

Shameless is writer, Seamus Kearney, who also publishes stories on his blog.

I’m honored to beg, borrow or steal it—especially since it came from Bonnie.

Three things I believe are necessary for good, powerful writing:

1. The powerful writer exhibits a good grasp of language that surpasses grammar and usage—powerful writing seduces the reader with active verbs, direct nouns and intense, but sparing metaphors and similes.

2. Like Maupassant, I believe powerful stories have a beginning, middle and end—riveting leads, voluptuous middles and satisfying dénouements. They are a richly textured strata of words.

3. Powerful writing is memorable. There is an aftertaste that hangs in the mind like a sip of dark roast Ethiopian coffee lingers on the back of the throat. Such writing follows you around for a while.

Whether or not I achieve any of this is up for discussion, but that is what I aim for, among other things.

I’d like to pass this on to the following writers who blog/bloggers who write:

1. Buffy Holt. Buffy is an Appalachian blogging from the UK. I actually avoid visiting her too much, because her writing is so amazing that it sometimes triggers me.

2. Humorist and columnist, Leeuna Foster, who has followed my tortuous path from refusing to submit my work to finally submitting to the submission process. She’s been a staunch cheerleader and is a damn fine humorist of the Southern school.

3. Erin at Poetic Overthrow/The Root Cellar. She’s my favorite poet/weaver. I’m sort of famous for my lack of interest in poetry, but her work has always blown me away.

4. Elisson at Blog d’Elisson. He could quit his day job.

5. V-Man at Velociworld. He hates these things. If you can wade through all of the mutant and Tuco weirdness and get to his “Senator” stories—WOW. The man writes with a buck knife. Cuts himself up a lot.

There are so many fine writers on my blogroll, but there’s a start.