April Hits & Misses (a recap)

Wow! April flew by in a prolific flash. Between the #AtoZ Challenge and various #NaPoWriMo activities there was no shortage of inspirational prompts and the writing/blogging community was alive. I’ve loved the energy — perhaps too much as I posted over 75 posts this month and broke all my records for readership/likes/comments. Thanks to everyone that had the endurance to keep up with me!

Here is a recap of the top three posts and the worst performer (based on number of views) for April:

No. 1: Turtle Soup: A Flashback

The Stats: 75 views (top post on my blog so far)

The Gist: This was a flashback (re-post) from my old blog and recounts my shared experience with Turtle Soup together with my Shanghainese father-in-law. It’s a wonderful recount of a cross-cultural exchange (if I may say so myself).

The Take-away: I shared the link of this post with my network here in China which is why it blew up, but I do think people genuinely enjoy reading about true life experiences, especially if they are heartwarming and joyful. There were three other flash-back posts this month that are worth a visit if you missed them: 25-Years Ago Today Part I, 25-Years Ago Today Part II, and Boys Gone Wild.

No. 2: Seriously Silly Poetry (#AtoZ)

The Stats: 56 views for top post (~500 views for entire series)

The Gist: An A to Z series of seriously silly poetry as part of the #AtoZChallenge. Each silly and/or sweet poem is illustrated.

The Take-away: This #AtoZ series was certainly the highlight of the month by bringing in the most new readers to my blog. And my theme of Seriously Silly Poetry was seriously fun to do. It took a lot of work but it was worth it and the series has now been compiled into a book: “Apples Eating Zebras and other seriously silly poetry” (available now in both paperback and e-book versions).

No. 3: The Golden Shovel April

The Stats: 52 views for top post

The Gist: This was a reboot of my Golden Shovel collaboration project including three unique golden shovel prompts and submissions from multiple members of the writing community.

The Take-Away: I love when the writing community get together and flexes our creative muscles together. The diversity of each persons approach to the prompt is always compelling. Thanks again to the community members that joined. If you want to give it a try, it’s never too late.

The Flop: none

While I did have some lower performing posts I don’t consider any of the posts this month a flop. Some just got lost in the flurry.

Here are a few little gems that you might have missed:

2020 NaPoWriMo Prompt #03: Zoe

This Glosa poem pulls from Claude McKay’s “Tropics in New York” and is one three different forms that I’ve explored this piece. It’s more of a poetic story then traditional poem and its worth checking out. This is one of a bunch of posts I made in response to NaPoWriMo – 30 Poems in 30 Days prompts (which I’m still working through as I encountered these prompts halfway through the month).

Paint Chip Poetry: Earth Mama

The paint chip poetry series is a wonderful little collaboration project hosted by No Love for Fatties and is always worth a look and try. Earth Mama is one of the weekly posts in this series.

Flex Poetry Challenge: Love Envisioned (Ottava Rima)

Of all the poetry month prompts this month, I fell in love most with this series of prompts hosted by the lovely poet behind A Different Perspective. Each prompt inspired me to learn a new poetic form. Love Envisioned is one of the 11 posts in this series.

Be well,

Monty

• Treochair (Ireland)
  National Poetry Month is back! I’ll be selectively participating in a number of poetry prompts this month. Here is my entry for a prompt fromContinue reading “Treochair (Ireland)”
• The Wayra (Peru)
  National Poetry Month is back! I’ll be selectively participating in a number of poetry prompts this month. Here is my entry for a prompt fromContinue reading “The Wayra (Peru)”
• A Bite to Remember (NaPoWriMo #2)
  National Poetry Month is back! I’ll be selectively participating in a number of poetry prompts this month. Here is my entry for the prompt fromContinue reading “A Bite to Remember (NaPoWriMo #2)”
• The Phantom Tollbooth Misremembered (NaPoWriMo #1)
  National Poetry Month is back! I’ll be selectively participating in a number of poetry prompts this month. Here is my entry for the prompt fromContinue reading “The Phantom Tollbooth Misremembered (NaPoWriMo #1)”
• The Lune (America)
  National Poetry Month is back! I’ll be selectively participating in a number of poetry prompts this month. Here is my entry for the ‘America’ promptContinue reading “The Lune (America)”
• The Cedar (NaPoWriMo #0 – the early bird special)
  National Poetry Month is back! I’ll be selectively participating in a number of poetry prompts this month. Here is my entry for the ‘early bird’Continue reading “The Cedar (NaPoWriMo #0 – the early bird special)”
• “Enlightened”
  Be well, Monty
• Cityscape
  Be well, Monty
• Mountain Lake
  Be well, Monty
• G.O.A.T
  Be well, Monty
• An Extraction of Jack
  Be well, Monty
• Watery Impresssion
  Be well, Monty
• Playing with AI
  So I finally found the time to explore the available AI tools and I have to admit, I’m impressed. I’m pretty favorable towards adopting newContinue reading “Playing with AI”
• Mocha Splash
  Be well, Monty
• Dreaming, I Swim
  Dreaming, I swimAgainst the currents,Crossing the sound,Beneath the stars,Between ships large,Under sharp keels,Miles beyond my abilityTo stony shores;Out of the cold waters,I arise refreshed. IContinue reading “Dreaming, I Swim”
• Branches
  Be well, Monty
• Mountain Landscape
  Be well, Monty
• Lugu Lake, Yunnan
  This is my first trip to western China. We took an early morning flight out of Shanghai when the sky was still dark. A fourContinue reading “Lugu Lake, Yunnan”
• Lake View
  Blue ripples,Ducks dip,Air brisk,Breath in,Sun ripens,Warmth spreads,Exhale. Be well, Monty
• Two Figures
  Be well, Monty
• Here
  Lingering on the horizonBetween where and therePast-tense passingFuture unbecomingGifting presenceHere Be well, Monty
• Four Scripts
  Be well, Monty
• Write Verse
  The instructions are clear,A simple escape clause,An invitation to get figurative,To dip my toes into unclear waters,To wet my pen’s tip with half-formed thoughts. FlurriesContinue reading “Write Verse”
• On Being
  Be well, Monty
• Playing with Colors (Once Again)
  Be well, Monty
• Simply Flowers
  Be well, Monty
• A Few Abstractions
  Be well, Monty
• Butter
  My heart burst,Well, to be honest, that’s quite a bit of hyperbole,It was more of a flip, a blip, or even just a skip,An irregularityContinue reading “Butter”
• On Reading
  I’ve been trying to read a novel these days and I can only get a couple pages in at a time. I’m not sure ifContinue reading “On Reading”
• Cup of Tea
  She held the cup of tea, Sipping gently; a silent and elegant movement that, From beneath her long sleeved blouse, Pale flesh exposed,Crescent scars –Continue reading “Cup of Tea”
• Green Mountain Spring
  Flowing gurgles,Splashing laughter,We deeply drink. Be well, Monty