"Should" be inspiring? Aren't they trying to teach you the facts?

Edit: Okay, I'm not good with the inspiring either. But you do get it from the most unexpected directions. My own parents, who are perfectly nice people, said okay, you want to be a writer, but have a backup career lined up, okay? Which is not entirely bad advice.

Should may have been a bad word to use. I just couldn't think of another. But if you want people to write, why quash them before they've even got their legs under them? There's plenty of people out there to do that.

Went back to clarify. Me and my itchy trigger finger.

Come to think of it, it must be pretty frustrating trying to teach writing, too.

Barbara Hambly can't write for them! She has to write another Antryg story!

It doesn't say that she is writing for them, does it?

I thought they gave her as an example of who they would like to publish.

Nope, read back, she's in the first four authors listed whom they say they "have under contract."

Ah -- skimming as usual.

Okay, we haven't had anything here in a while, so I'll post two acrostic poems I wrote, inspired by R. Lizard. Bear in mind they're the first acrostics I've ever attempted.

The first one was inspired by (seriously) this dress.

****

Cherry Girl

Cock the hip and toss the
Hair as I stride across the room;
Evoking retro, fever, bad girl.
Rarely does this me get
Revealed; when she does, you say oh
Yes.

*******

This one doesn't have a title yet, although I'm thinking about "After".

Beyond the words, past the syllables’ edges (listen; this
Is for you, you said), murmurs blossom deep inside. Lighting
This fire, warming this ice-white flesh, making it
Tingle as it slowly comes to life: whispers, urgent and low,
Evoke pianissimo, largo, allegro, forte!
Rest.

Since these are memories (ghosts) of something
Which never happened, there is no
Explanation for notes still hanging in the air. No
Excuse makes sense of the repeated sharp
Twinge: phantom limb pain that lingers.

Steph, those are fabulous, and I have a particular ganglia-moving reaction to "SWEET". My father lost a leg to gangrene (diabetes, wrong medicine given) and that last line twisted a bit. Powerful, and wow. Well done.