Self portrait by S. Lindau
The girl on the page was sullen.
She had so much to give
And so much to do.
She followed the whims of the author,
Who took her to task,
Forced her to go through,
The fantasies that surrounded
The world in her head;
The dreams that she knew.
But the girl planned a way to confound her.
She imbedded a thought
That created the truth.
She broke through the chains that confined her.
No longer was held
As the author’s keys fell.
So she took control of the author
And told her that she
Would rather be free.
To live her life out in the open
Where she could be heard.
For those understood
That her life could be what she wanted.
To live life and love
All those she thought of.
Her heart felt the first beat of living
She opened her mind
And let the light blind.
Embracing just what she’d been given.
The author stepped back
To absorb the attack.
She knew that her story was driven
By the girl on the page
And this set the stage
For the author to give her the freedom
From a path giving strife
To one giving life.
Then the girl on the page was so grateful.
And for this she pitched in
Guiding from within.
The author went back to creating.
With the girl on the page
The readers engaged
In a tale rich with love and emotion.
Have you ever had a battle with a character in a story you were writing? Have you ever felt like once you let go of trying to control a certain situation, it would get easier?
© 2011 Susie Lindau
Beautiful post. It’s simply awesome. No words to describe how good is this post of yours.
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Thank you so much Arindam!
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Susie,
I enjoyed your poem much.
Thanks.
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Thanks Anthony!
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Yes, I have had arguments and negotiations. Girl on the page wins, and as you say, everything is better after that!
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So true! Thanks for reading!
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My darling protagonist, Adina, can be a huge pain in the ass. She is such a wuss! Sometimes I just want to smack her. If only she were real, I might. 😉
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Renee you crack me up! Adina must be a fun character to read about since its the ones who do the dumb things are unpredictable!
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Wow, I really love this poem. Nice!
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Thanks Lynn!
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Beautiful, Susie!
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Thanks Catherine!
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Fantastic poem Susie…
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Thanks Ari!
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You are a poet and I didn’t know it! 🙂
Seriously, that was awesome Susie!
I love the phrase, “She knew that her story was driven
By the girl on the page, And this set the stage”.
Yes, characters drive our stories. And when we let go , they take over!
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Thank you so much Karen!
I find it is the same in life. Sometimes the less we try to control the situation, the easier life becomes.
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Wow, such a great poem! I love you blog, keep up the great writing! 🙂
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Thanks Mjray! I hope you will check back for more~
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wonderful picture and poem!!
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Thanks Eva!
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Boy, am I glad I’m The Hook on this page!
I know, I know, but I had to try!
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I wonder what The Hook would do on the page?
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Reblogged this on Susie Lindau's Wild Ride and commented:
It’s World Poetry Day. Enjoy!
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I love this Susie. It is really remarkable writing. Well done my friend!
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Thank you! I just realized it was World Poetry Day and remembered this old post. Great to “see” you!
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Yes come see us some time. You are still one of my hero’s…
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It’s hard to believe that characters have a mind of their own once you create them, but some of them do!
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All of mine do. I think my story is going one way and then they redirect me!
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Usually it’s fun when that happens. I remember writing a conversation between two people and I wanted a certain outcome but the natural flow of the conversation took events in a different direction and I remember laughing and doing the silent hand-clapping and saying, “Oooh! I didn’t know this was going to happen!”
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Tell you what, Molly, it is infinitely better than The Girl on the Train!
Jokes apart, it left me stunned. Thank you for the reminder: I must now wake up my characters from a coma and let them carry me away.
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I need to do the same thing! I’ve been thrown back into editing and can’t wait to create again with the help of their whispery voices.
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