24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Fantasy Author Sandy Lender is a hybrid author, sea turtle conservationist, and critical thinker. Her first book of poetry, titled "Poems of Trials, Triumphs, and Turtles," won the 2021 IMADJINN Best Poetry Collection Award. In this year's Write-Fighters 3-Day Novella Contest, she has taken second place with her YA Fantasy "Eden and the Most Precious Stone." Her poetry written for the fantasy world of Onweald serves as additional world-building and "beneath the surface" work for her Choices epic fantasy trilogy, which will be re-released by Seventh Star Press this fall in advance of the series sequel "Choices by Attrition."
By Sandy Lender
A colleague used to say
“We do it right because we do it twice.”
Infuriating on the surface
But corporate-America truth
Just follow the steps to limit
self-inflicted damage each time
Step One
Douse hoop in accelerant
Step Two
Strike match in close proximity of hoop
Step Three
Launch self through hoop at high rate of speed
Repeat
No one believed I could write a novel in 72 hours. When I signed up for the International 3-Day Novel Contest in 2009, no one in my circle of author friends had heard of it and no one thought the concept was “possible.” It turned out to be the most exhilarating 72 hours of my life. I pounded the keyboard from midnight Friday of Labor Day Weekend until mid-evening Monday, taking a couple of quick power naps along the way. I used about three hours to lightly edit and add some scenes until 11 p.m. and hit “print” before the midnight deadline. I’d done it. I’d created and completed a novel of over 51,000 words in three days. I was exhausted. I was delirious with joy. I was mentally obliterated. I fell onto my pillow with a smile that I still remember wouldn’t leave my face as I sank into sleep, sleep, sleep.
I repeat the process every year, chasing that high like the proverbial “dragon” that addicts seek to re-reach. And each time I type “the end,” it’s as if I’ve conquered some incredible journey…which…of course…has to be edited like hell.
Now I’m gonna try this with poetry and I’m stoked to dive in! The darling and delightful sun conure you see in the picture posted here is Petri, my muse. He passed away September 2018, leaving a hole in my life that I fall into from time to time. I have a feeling there’ll be more than a few poems about his awesomeness this weekend. I look forward to sharing his greatness with the world.
Thank you for reading and getting to know a little bit about my wacky writing adventures. I hope this poetry weekend is a success for each one of you, whatever “success” means for you in the goals you’re setting!
All my best to you,
SandyLender