23. "Haunt" Fun Facts, part 2

National Poetry Month is going strong, and I still see posts about it from certain friends/social media outlets. That's so exciting! It gets me excited to see folks out there talking about poetry. So for my next blog post this month, I thought I'd continue my Haunt fun facts, as I've gotten some more topics and questions to address! 

1. What inspires me to write? What do I do when I'm in a rut? For the most part, absorbing art in different forms inspires me. When I listen to music, watch movies, and read, ideas pop into my head. And sometimes, things just randomly come to me, when I'm working, or doing other things in my everyday routines or activities. When I'm going through a rut, or having some sort of writer's block, I either take a break or I change my writing utensil. Sometimes, just leaving the piece for a bit does the trick. It's best not to force it. But other times, I'll change my mode of writing. If I'm on a computer, I'll change to a pen and paper. Even if I'm writing with a pen, changing to a pencil might be the solution. 
2. What do I think challenges me the most as a writer, and how do I overcome that? Where do I begin!? There are times when the idea of poetry being a tough form of writing to produce can be a heavy weight. I often hear "ah, poetry must be a hard sell." Yeah, no kidding--try genre-focused poetry! But it's the passion in it, and the freedom of self-publishing that I'm really grateful for. But the more poetry I read, the better I feel. There's so much talent out there, and it's so gratifying to see it out in the world. The biggest challenge, or, maybe just the part of the process I hate the most, is the editing stage. Writing poems (or short stories, etc.) is one thing, but editing them is a whole different game. 
3. Which piece in Haunt is my personal favorite? Which piece do most readers tell me is their favorite? I have so many favorites. But I will say that the final poem in the book, "Melt," is definitely up there for me. It blends emotion and genre together in the exact way I'd wanted for this book. Plus, describing a creature like the one in "Melt" was a lot of fun. Some others I love to re-visit, especially when I read them aloud, are "Nothing Peak," "Follow the Goat-Man," and "Hum." I hear a lot of people say they love the interlude pieces, titled "I," "II," through "V," and some are hooked from the first two poems, "Depart," and "Haunt.' 
4. What am I working on right now? Ha, I knew this was coming. I hear this a lot. I am working on my next book! I can't say when it'll be out, but I will say that it won't be horror, and I will say that the title will be Tempest. That's all I can tell you so far! Maybe other than the fact that, if you know me well, you might have already read/heard some of the poems that will be in this upcoming book. Hint: they've been published before! My author bio gives away where. :) 

So there you have it! More fun facts and discussions around my first book, Haunt. Available on Amazon! I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them. Don't hesitate to ask me more questions for me to answer in future blog posts! Enjoy the rest of National Poetry Month. And also enjoy the rest of Earth Week! Plus, we've got National Park Week starting tomorrow. You'll have to check in on my social media to learn more! 

-Ryan

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​