of Stardust and the Beasts

Poetry, prose, stories, and other creative writing experiments.

 

the Six Sentence Café & Bistro #7 | the Nervous Poet Finds a Room

Jul 16, 2026 | | 16 Comments

For this week’s Six Sentence Story in the SSC&B world, I had way too many thoughts: Is it out of character when the one who’s afraid of the dark suddenly gets overly curious about the only light in the hallway—or is it just that her curiosity wins over her fear… does reality bend in the café when everyone is off on their own adventure and accidentally bump into each other… does the author lead the character or the character lead the author, and why am I so inclined to find boxes… is a change in the narrator’s voice considered poor writing, like the overuse of filler words—or am I simply overthinking it as I sip my pitch-black coffee… the prompt word… it is balloon , I must use it for sure… think I should go downstairs… You can find all the other participants of the…

dVerse OLN #5 | My Ars Poetica

Jul 16, 2026 | | 19 Comments

I originally wanted to submit this for the last dVerse Poetica submission…. But I was late to the link-up because life got in my way… I still wanted to use this prompt, so I linked it up at the OLN. Entries of all the participants can be found here . My Ars Poetica In the earliest of my writing days,Poetry was a mechanism to ease the solitudeof being the odd pencil in the box:it was a canvas for the bubbling rage of a teenage girltrapped in the corners of her psyche,and a self-centered desire for validation,a “look what they have done to me” ode—now buried in the depths of the internetunder a pen name nobody remembers. But I have been growing alongside my creations,with language aimed at my central lobe,manipulating the syntax to control the daggerwhile concealing my own woundswith…

Ten Thing of Thankful #11 | Home, Music & Creative Inspiration

Jul 13, 2026 | | 11 Comments

Hello everyone! First of all… to those who have noticed a type of a self-made and not highly* promoted schedule here… am sorry…. This weeks Ten Thing of Thankful entry made it to the beginning of a new week because I was not alone, had a lot of cleaning-up to do and honestly, I was way too tired and overwhelmed yesterday evening to do anything besides just exist. All the other TToT’s and a way to perhaps participate yourself can be found at the link-up . Ten Thing of Thankful #11 First — the TToT blog hop itself. I feel like a broken record player saying this, but this blog hop has become one of my favorites… There is something healing about showing your gratitude weekly and trying…

Short Story | Goddess in Disguise

Jan 27, 2023 | | 0 Comments

In this short story, “Goddess in Disguise,” Ella loves fiercely and obsessively, pouring herself into every relationship. She worships her lovers, hoping they’ll stay, but learns a new kind of love from a man who doesn’t fall for her usual charms. This story was also written as a journey of discovering another type of writer in me, before this blog and the Six-Sentence Stories I used to write only poetry. I did dabble in horror and romanticism in my teens, but I never really wrote stories. While reading other blog-hoppers’ weekly additions, I felt that my stories didn’t quite fit, because they never had a strong plot and always leaned toward poetry. Now, however, after returning in 2026, I think it’s not a bad thing to be different from other writers. Perhaps that’s why I stopped trying…

Poetry On the margins of the First Draft #18 | Digging her own Grave

Jul 29, 2025 | | 2 Comments

Part of my poetry collection, Margins of the First Draft — this was actually a newer thought or poem that incorporated into this one. I remember the line originated from the Dead Poet thing I had going on and it was supposed to be a part of the Six-Sentence Story but I couldn’t connect the thought well enough. (Authors Note) Digging her own Grave ” Yes, writing poems about him… was a luxury… I couldn’t afford” Poetry on the Margins #18 I wish Sometimes I wish my writing was more of apunch to the gut,because I amviolent like that. Yet, I feel it’s always eithertoo sador too mushy There’s more of my work: All of the six-sentence stories . The Nervous Poet Entries for the SSC&B ….

Poetry On the margins of the Second Draft #1 | Existential Crisis

Mar 14, 2026 | | 2 Comments

I haven’t been actively posting poetry or anything for a while—partly because of time, but mostly because I haven’t been getting along with my imagination lately. Too many of my poems were directed at people in my life, and I felt it was better to stay quiet on the blog, as that kind of writing can be disruptive. I had some past traumas I was healing from, and being a poet can sometimes leave you vulnerable if the work is too honest. I truly felt it was too honest to share—unlike the rest of my blog—and that it could have hurt people in my circle. But I feel like I’ve found that spark again, creating from a place that makes my stories feel as if they are deeply personal while still being…

the Six Sentence Café & Bistro #6 | At the Roof

Jul 9, 2026 | | 16 Comments

Yet another week has passed, and Denise has given us a new prompt word—THUNDER—for the Six Sentence Story. As promised, here is the link to all the SSC&B entries in one place to make it easier for the other participants and the readers to follow the Nervous Poet….

Six Sentence Story #24 | Prompt Word: PLAN

Jul 2, 2026 | | 20 Comments

It’s time for the blog hoppers to join in and share their Six Sentence Stories at the link-up , where you can, by the way, find many awesome authors. The blog hop is hosted by Denise and this time I linked-up two entries: this one here and another for the…