Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing? I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what to blog about, but absolutely nothing is coming to me. I doubt you want another post about Mardi so soon. She’s doing good. Things are quiet. Dad’s redoing some stuff in the kitchen (pics when he’s done). It’s gloomy and there are some storms supposedly heading this way. And I’m super tired for no reason. Even my Pepsi isn’t helping. Anyway, I realized it’s April, which means it’s poetry month. Instead of rambling about nothing, I thought I would share one of my favorite Poe poems.
The Sleeper
By: Edgar Allan Poe
At midnight, in the month of June, I stand beneath the mystic moon. An opiate vapor, dewy, dim, Exhales from out her golden rim, And softly dripping, drop by drop, Upon the quiet mountain top, Steals drowsily and musically Into the universal valley. The rosemary nods upon the grave; The lily lolls upon the wave; Wrapping the fog about its breast, The ruin moulders into rest; Looking like Lethe, see! the lake A conscious slumber seems to take, And would not, for the world, awake. All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies Irene, with her Destinies!
Oh, lady bright! can it be right— This window open to the night? The wanton airs, from the tree-top, Laughingly through the lattice drop— The bodiless airs, a wizard rout, Flit through thy chamber in and out, And wave the curtain canopy So fitfully—so fearfully— Above the closed and fringéd lid ’Neath which thy slumb’ring soul lies hid, That, o’er the floor and down the wall, Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall! Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear? Why and what art thou dreaming here? Sure thou art come o’er far-off seas, A wonder to these garden trees! Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress! Strange, above all, thy length of tress, And this all solemn silentness!
The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep, Which is enduring, so be deep! Heaven have her in its sacred keep! This chamber changed for one more holy, This bed for one more melancholy, I pray to God that she may lie Forever with unopened eye, While the pale sheeted ghosts go by!
My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep, As it is lasting, so be deep! Soft may the worms about her creep! Far in the forest, dim and old, For her may some tall vault unfold— Some vault that oft hath flung its black And wingéd pannels fluttering back, Triumphant, o’er the crested palls Of her grand family funerals—
Some sepulchre, remote, alone, Against whose portals she hath thrown, In childhood, many an idle stone— Some tomb from out whose sounding door She ne’er shall force an echo more, Thrilling to think, poor child of sin! It was the dead who groaned within.
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this bright and beautiful day? Things here are pretty annoying. WordPress seems to have tinkered with its editor, so now the text appears super tiny unless I zoom my screen in, but the preview for the final post looks perfectly normal. We’ll see. It also froze and lost the entire paragraph I just wrote despite supposedly autosaving it. It’s nowhere to be found. That’s always fun. Otherwise, things are good. Dad, the neighbor, and I are scheduled for our Covid boosters tomorrow. We got appointments at our preferred pharmacy, so we don’t have to run all over town. It’s been a pretty painless process so far. Hopefully the actual appointments will be just as easy. But that’s not what I want to talk about. Today, I’m here to ramble about standalone books versus series and which I prefer as a reader versus as a writer.
Me when I lost my supposedly saved work.
As a reader, I’m not usually picky about whether something is a series or a standalone. Series tend to offer better chances for character development and a deeper plot, but they also run the risk of dragging things out. I love getting to know the characters over multiple books and seeing how they grow, who gets redemption arcs and who doesn’t, etc. Series also provide a chance for world building that you don’t get so much of in standalones. They’re more immersive a lot of the time. Not always, but often. The biggest drawback of reading a series (for me) is that I feel compelled to finish them even if I don’t particularly like them. It’s like I haven’t given them a fair chance if I haven’t read everything. I know that’s ridiculous. And I have plenty of series that I gave up on, but it still feels awkward to me. Now, if I love a series, the hardest part is the wait between books. I try to find series that are completed or close to it, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. The waiting is the worst.
Standalones also have a lot to offer. They can be quick, fun reads, but they can also be in-depth and wonderful. On the other hand, a lot of them feel thin to me, lacking in the plot or the character development or both. It just depends on the book. I also think some genres lend themselves better to standalones than others. Horror, yes. Epic fantasy, not so much (but there are some gems). And some genres dance around the line between standalones and series like it doesn’t exist. Cozy mysteries. Most of those series are written as multiple standalone books, so even new readers can pick up any book in the series and not be lost. But from a reader’s perspective, as long as I like the story and the characters, I’ll read anything. Series or standalone.
Reading-wise. Get your mind out of the gutter.
As a writer, standalone novels are hard. I don’t think I’ve ever finished one. Short stories and stuff like that, I can do. The last standalone novel I tried to write decided it wanted to be a trilogy. I haven’t finished it (book one still needs major edits before I can even vaguely plot out book two), but the plot is too much for one book. I can’t find a middle ground between short story and multiple books. It’s really weird. I’d love to be able to write standalones, but for now, my brain is stuck in series mode. Maybe I’ll find a way one day, but today is not that day.
Ah well.
What about you? What do you prefer to read, standalones or series? Why? If you write, which do you gravitate towards? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or comments or questions here or on my social media pages! See you next week for my monthly book review.
Hello, hello! How is everyone today? I’m a little annoyed because WordPress has forced an upgrade to the block editor and I have no idea what I’m doing, so if my posts look wonky for a while, that’s why. I don’t like change, in case you haven’t noticed. Anyway, I don’t want to rant about that. I want to talk about those magical creatures known as writers. While I’m convinced some of us just naturally spring from the sea or earth or a river of lava, most of us are created. It’s a long, drawn out process. And there’s no one right way to make a writer. But I thought I’d share a few starting points in case you want to try making one of your own.
Mostly, except I know what I really do. I think nothing else.
In no particular order:
1. Introduce your writer-in-progress to reading early. Let them explore different genres and styles until they discover what they have an affinity for by themselves. I admit that I came to like reading later than most of my writer friends, but when I finally found my way to it, I glommed on obsessively. So, even if your writer is resistant early on, don’t give up. They might just be a late bloomer. However, avoid pushing too much in genres they’ve already expressed a dislike of or they may become resentful toward reading in general.
2. Teach your writer-in-progress the art of productive procrastination. What is productive procrastination? It’s when you avoid doing the thing you’re supposed to be doing by doing something else you’re supposed to do at some point. For instance, answering important emails instead of calling someone back or cleaning the kitchen instead of writing or things like that. It’s really the only way writers get anything done.
Yup.
3. Instill in your writer-in-progress the idea that the worst someone can do is say no, so there’s no real harm in asking. It makes the whole submission and querying processes that much easier. Not to mention asking for beta readers. Sure, all of these people might say no, but you won’t get a yes if you don’t put yourself out there. It’s a crucial skill for writers to master.
4. Expose your writer-in-progress to rejection and teach them that it isn’t the end of the world. This one goes hand-in-hand with number 3. It’s not enough to warn your writer that they’re going to get told no. A lot. You also need to teach them that while it’s okay to be sad, it’s not okay to argue with the no or have a temper tantrum over it. No means no. Accept it and move on to the next person. If they’re lucky, your writer might even get some helpful feedback with the no. Teach them to appreciate it when it happens and to consider using it if it helps improve their work.
Be okay with no.
5. Let your writer-in-progress hoard things like books and journals and pens even if they don’t use them. Writers are like little dragons. We each have things we hoard. Some of it isn’t even related to writing. That’s okay. It’s a source of joy. They’ll need something like that when all the rejections start rolling in.
I could go on with this list, but I need to go get some reading done. As always, feel free to share your own tips for creating a writer or your comments and thoughts about my list here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! Welcome to 2020! I hope you all have a wonderful year and even better decade! The 2010s were a weird decade for me. My mother passed away (don’t be sorry, I’m not), I finished my BA at SMU, got my MFA from Stonecoast, got published a couple of times, earned a LOT of rejections, lost some pups, got a new one, and the list goes on. Ultimately, it seems like there were more ups than downs, and that’s all one can really hope for. It’s all I want out of 2020 as well, both the year and the decade. Anyway, since it’s the 1st, I’m just going to list my goals for the year. I suppose I should have some kind of 10 year plan, but I don’t. I never think that far ahead, at least not seriously. So, you’re stuck with my plan for the year like usual.
My 2020 goals in no particular order:
1. Finish revising DS1. I plan on getting back to this today. The only major change I’m looking at making is changing the tense of the story from past to present because it just reads better that way. This goal is my priority for this year. Hopefully, it will only take me a few months. After I look at it, I’ll set a realistic deadline and share it with people who can hold me accountable.
2. Read 30 books. I’ll definitely read 12 new/recently released books for the monthly book reviews (yeah, that’s still going to be a thing). That leaves 18 books. I’m planning on 8-10 of those being books from my “to re-read” list and the rest being books that are new to me, but not necessarily new. At least that’s the plan. We’ll see how it goes.
Maybe I will start with Harry Potter. After I read some books my secret Santa sent me for the Pseudopod book exchange.
3. Keep submitting. This will be my third year of consistent submissions. At least two stories every week (or the equivalent if I get sick and miss some weeks like last year). I’ve gotten about 210 rejections for my short stories since I started keeping track in 2014, plus 101 rejections from agents for G&G, so I’d say I’m doing pretty well. The few acceptances I’ve earned make it not so discouraging. All of my acceptances so far have been for semi-pro level payment and I’ve received positive feedback on rejections from pro level markets, so hopefully 2020 will be the year of my first pro level acceptance. A girl can wish, right?
4. Query 100 agents (or fewer if I find one). Once I finish the revisions to DS1, the plan is to query agents. It’s drastically different from G&G, so I’ll have to go through the process of finding agents with a taste for this particular genre. But at least this time I’ll have had some experience and know where to start my search. I dread writing the query letter, though. It’s harder to write than a novel.
Except I’m not a lady and I have no stash yet, but one day it will be glorious.
5. Crochet. Yes, my new hobby is still a thing. I’m getting pretty far along with my first project (the unfinished hat doesn’t count). And I already have like 10 free patterns saved to try and 20 paid patterns in my favorites on Ravelry to buy when/if I decide to do them. But it’s just a hobby and will have to be done after my writing and revising each day. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. I’ll make it work. Eventually.
Those are my goals for the year. I’ll add new writing goals once I finish my revisions. And I’m not even going to say anything about trying to be more social because we all know it’s not going to happen. What about your goals? Any plans you want to share for your 2020? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! It’s the last month of 2019 and I haven’t really accomplished much the last few months. I’m not really looking to do much this month either. Shame on me, I know. But it’s true. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to be able to shake the writing blahs any time soon. But I still have some goals that I intend to work on. And I haven’t shared a goal post in a while, so that’s what I’m doing now. Sorry that I have nothing better to ramble about.
So, here are those goals in no particular order:
1. Keep submitting to two places each week. I fell behind on this when I was sick earlier this year, but I caught up and have no plans to give up now. I’ve gathered a lot of rejections, mostly form, but with some really nice personal ones sprinkled throughout. You know about the acceptances if you stalk me at all. It’s been a really good year submission-wise.
2. Read 2 more books. I know I originally wanted to read 30 books this year, but I think I’m going to top out around 27. I just finished number 25. If I hadn’t gotten sick, I probably could’ve squeezed in a few extra. But honestly, I’ll be happy if I only get through 26.
Zombies need sweaters too.
3. Crocheting. I was stupid and chose a big ambitious project as a newbie. There’s no way I’m finishing it this year, but I want to get a big chunk of it done, so in January I can switch my main focus back to writing like I should’ve done a long time ago. I have to remind myself that crocheting is just supposed to be a hobby.
4. Being more social. I went to SMU’s Celebration of Lights with Dad and some friends. We even have another holiday thing planned with them. But I also really need to text and Facebook message some people because I have been hermitting really bad. Like worse than usual. I blame the crochet because it doesn’t involve the computer, so I can’t multitask when I’m doing it. But really, I’m just enjoying my own company.
5. Get in a festive mood. It’s hard. I can’t get into Christmas music. I’m not in the mood to look at lights. I thought going to SMU’s thing would help, but it didn’t do much for me. Maybe the holiday party will help. Or maybe I’m just a Grinch. But I have eggnog, so I’m a happy Grinch.
What about you? Do you have any December goals? Are you already filled with the holiday spirit or are you struggling too? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! As I’m writing this on Tuesday, it’s a warm (mid-80s), dreary day in October. Not unusual for north Texas around this time of year. But it has me feeling blah and lazy. It’s no secret that I’ve been struggling to come up with topics for my blog each week, so I thought I would take the chance to let you know what I would rather be doing. Some of which I will probably indulge in after I finish this post. Please forgive me if it’s a little shorter than usual, but I’m really lacking motivation. Without further ado, here are three things I’d rather be doing at this exact moment.
I mean, Christmas is coming up. Or my birthday. Size XL. Just saying.
1. Binge watching anime that I’ve fallen behind on. I was watching a new episode of Fruits Basket as it came out each week and now I’m suddenly nine episodes behind. I don’t even remember what initially interrupted my watching streak. It wasn’t that I got bored with the show, I know that much. Plus I have at least ten shows in my queue that I either want to watch or rewatch. No idea why I haven’t made time for anime, but on days like this, watching it is all I really feel like doing.
2. Crocheting. Yeah. That hobby I talked about trying months ago is still a thing I’m working on. I don’t have any finished products yet, but I’m really enjoying doing something with my hands. And seeing the progress I’m making is really cool. It’s a creative outlet that’s so different from writing. I’ve always been a super harsh judge of my writing. Mistakes and shitty storylines that I have to keep reworking are annoying as all get out. But with crochet, I see errors and loose stitches and I’m still at a point where I can overlook them and see my improvement. It’s still fun. And if I ever finish anything, I’ll be sure to share it (warts and all) here.
3. Reading. I’m currently trying to finish up a book to review. I have one more chapter left. But I also have a bunch of books I want to start when I’m done, including one to review next month. So many choices, so little time. If I’m honest, I should read the next review book and get ahead a little, but I’ll probably pick something fun that I’ve been wanting to read for a while. Maybe a cozy. Maybe not. If you follow me on GoodReads, you’ll find out when I decide.
That’s enough blogging today. I think I’m going to go finish reading that book real quick, then get in some crocheting before other things distract me. What about you? What would you rather be doing on gloomy work days? Would you like to snuggle up with a good book and a glass of something yummy? Or maybe you’d rather go for a jog? Whatever you decide, tell me about it. Feel free to share your lists or thoughts here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! It’s mid-March, and as many of you know, I’ve been sick most of the year thus far. I don’t want to jinx it, so I won’t say that I’m definitely better, but I think I’m on the right track. Anyway, I thought I would take this week’s post easy and revise my goals for the year since everything is screwed up. I’ll try to post something writerly or personal or worth reading next week. Suggestions for topics or questions are always welcome. For now, let’s get to it.
This has been me for a while now.
So, yeah. Goals: revised.
1. Finish revising LR1. I was hoping to get this done by early April, but that’s not happening. All I’ve managed to do with this story is figure out I forgot to swap some scenes around as I was going through it. So, I’m hoping I can get it done by late June or early July. At least I’ll know where to start when I can dig back into this one!
2. Begin revising DS1. I was hoping to get this novel polished up by the end of the year, but with all the work it needs, that’s a tall order. I’ll be happy if I can get through a second draft and end up with something vaguely readable by the end of the year. There’s always next year if I need more time.
That’s also the secret to finishing second drafts!
3. Submit short stories/flash pieces (at least 2 subs a week). I admit that I fell a few weeks behind on this while I was sick, but I did take a day to send a bunch out in order to catch up. Now, I’m back to doing it regularly, so this is one goal that gets to stay the same.
4. Write 5 short stories/flash pieces. I highly doubt I’ll get the story I wanted to get done by the end of March finished. However, I still believe that five new short pieces is a reasonable goal. It’s less than one per month. Maybe I’ll also add some poetry, but I can decide that later.
5. Shop LR around to agents. Still hoping to meet this goal. If I can get it revised by July, I don’t see why this isn’t something I could accomplish. It’s not like I’m saying I want to get it published or anything. That’s more of a five year plan goal.
6. Read 25 books. This was originally 30 books, but I’ve lost a lot of time and don’t know if I can make it up. I’m a slow reader. But I’ve still got a long list of to-be-read books!
I should also throw it out there that I need to socialize more and write to people and take care of my health. Hopefully, I can do all that plus get to everything on my list. What about you? Do you have any goals you need to rework this year? Feel free to comment here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! It’s December again (didn’t we just do this?). Happy holidays and all that jazz! I don’t really have anything to talk about this week and I’ve been super slacking on the writing front (and at life in general), so I thought I would take a minute to make my goals for the month known. This way, you can heckle me until I succeed. I know these posts are pretty boring, so I try not to do them a lot. Apologies in advance. But here are my goals in no particular order!
Cute pictures are fun.
December Goals:
1. Submit stuff 10 times (2 every Monday). I’ve consistently submitted two stories a week all year long. Granted, it wasn’t always on Mondays, but it got done even when I really didn’t feel like it. I’m super proud of that. Now, I just have to keep it up the rest of this month and do it all over again next year.
2. Revise more of LR. Revising has been beyond slow and I have no one and nothing to blame but myself. I love the story and I’m excited about it, but I can’t get into a good rhythm with the revisions. I get into it a few days then can’t bring myself to open the files for a while. It’s weird.
3. Read 2 books. Actually, I need to finish two books (at least) this month. I started them both last month. When I got the okay on The Razor, I stopped in the middle of European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. There was just no way for me to finish both last month. And I decided to start this month’s review book before I finish European Travel. I somehow clumped too many long books together and it’s thrown my whole reading schedule off, but I’m past my goal for the year, so it’s okay.
The lazy voices in my head often enable me by telling the productive ones to shut up.
4. Make time for people. It’s just really hard to talk to people when I like being a recluse so much. Luckily, around the holidays, I randomly text people to wish them well and usually end up chatting with a few of them. It’s the only time of year I’m not a completely shitty friend!
5. Decide on a couple of days to go through my files and tidy everything up. I seriously need to do this. I used to know exactly where every song, picture, and file was on my computer. Now, I can’t find half the stuff I go looking for. It’s a mess.
6. Start ripping old CDs to my computer. A few months ago, I got a new radio because my 60 disc player stopped working. Do you know how hard it is to find a new 60+ disc player that is it’s own stereo, not a component to a make-your-own stereo system? Impossible. In other words, I have a bunch of CDs that I need to transfer to my computer so I can play my old favorites and annoy the crap out of Dad.
Okay, I have that one on my computer, but this made my smile.
7. Attack the slush pile. I’ve been sporadic with my first reader duties over at Pseudopod. I need to buckle down and help get through this period’s submissions. It’s always a fun experience.
Those are my goals. What about you? Do you have any stuff you want to focus on this month? Feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! Welcome to another guest post. This time, we have my friend and fellow Stonecoast alum, JosephCarro. He’s got some super helpful tips for working around writer’s block, which I struggle with a lot. So, read on!
Joe and I at the HarraseeketInn. Pretty sure that was January ’15.
On Writer’s Block
By Joseph Carro
Writing can be an extremely frustrating and hopelessly solitary artistic endeavor, and as writers we know and understand this when we choose it as our lifestyle. Yet it doesn’t make it any easier when we’re holed up in the basement, writing the next big thing on our minds. Whether you’re trying to write a blog post, a poem, a screenplay, or a novel – Writer’s Block afflicts us all. I know that personally, real life usually gets in the way and saps my creative juices with its constant demands, but to keep writing I have acquired several techniques which I use in order to get my brain jumpstarted again. My hope is to share a couple of my own techniques with you. I know that many of you have your own techniques, but as a writer – I usually appreciate any new ways in which I can defeat this annoying affliction. Feel free to chime in with your own methods below in the comments section.
WALK OR DRIVE: Walking, to me, is a lost pastime. And I’m not the only oneto think so. If you’re stuck on a certain spot in your manuscript or post or what have you, get OUT of that space for a little while. If you don’t like walking, then just sit outside or maybe take a drive. Anything to get yourself out of your stagnant state. Maybe you’ll see or experience something that will ignite that spark. You just have to step outside your comfort zone for a bit. Fresh air does wonders for the mind and the thought process needed for writing.
READ SOMETHING: As Stephen King once said; “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Writing is a skill in which you absorb technique and inspiration from reading other writers. To do so, you need to actually read. Sometimes, reading someone else’s work is the perfect way to jumpstart your own. In my case, I will sometimes put aside my writing for one day and try to finish the book I was already reading or start another one. By the time I’m through a few chapters, I’m usually chomping at the bit to get back into my writing project. Obviously, it’s “dangerous” to put aside the writing to do something else (because you can get too much into the habit of doing that), but in moderation I think it works. Just really pay attention to what the authors are doing; their prose, the construction of the novel or short story or poem or whatever, and the way in which the strongest parts of it make you feel as a reader. Try to infuse your writing with some of that magic, without trying to ape their style. Be you.
LISTEN TO MUSIC: This one is very divisive within the writing community. In one camp, you have people who absolutely cannot listen to music while writing. Or, they at least must listen to very quiet, ambient music rather than anything heady with lyrics. That’s okay, this technique may not be for you either. However – when I’m trying to write a certain scene or a certain tone to my short story or screenplay, I sometimes pick an appropriate piece of music. For a tone, I will generally choose a playlist I’ve created on Spotify or find a playlist on YouTube – for example, if I’m looking for a melancholy tone I will choose a playlist that’s labeled as “sad songs” or “bittersweet songs”. Generally, the mood conveyed through these songs, and the emotions they bring out enhance my writing. It’s all about knowing your tolerance for this kind of distraction while you’re trying to write. This also works if you just need to listen to a song or two BEFORE you write, rather than listening to entire tracks during your actual writing. Just make sure to fire up another song here and there to renew your creative juices and emotions, because sometimes sitting in a chair and writing prose does not automatically generate emotions until you really get into the meat of the story. Writing is both a technical skill and an art, and art comes from emotion. Sometimes, we wade too far into the technical aspects and lose the emotional momentum.
USE WRITING EXERCISES AND PROMPTS: This method is actually my favorite, and thanks to the internet, there are countless online sources for finding writing ideas. These aren’t necessarily meant to replace the project you’re working on, but are more for trying to write something in general when you’re stuck. However, if you need some distance from your novel, it’s okay to take a brief respite and write something else. A few of my favorite sources for writing prompts are from books I’ve found or have been given. My wife gifted me a sort of “activity book” called 400 Writing Prompts by PiccadillyInc and that one has given me quite a few ideas. A couple of other books I’ve found to be pretty useful are The Writer’s Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts To Ignite Your Fiction from Writer’s Digest Books, What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter, and The Pocket Muse: Ideas & Inspirations for Writing by Monica Wood. There are also lots of online sources out there as I mentioned above, and some of my favorites are Writer’sDigest, Poets & Writers, tumblr, and even reddit. Various bloggers like myself also dedicate entire sections of their blog to writing prompts. My own blog, Away With Words, has just such a section that you can find HERE. I try to do at least one weekly prompt, but sometimes I do more.
These are just some tools for trying to get back into the swing of things, and my hope is that by using these techniques and resources, you can dig yourself out of whatever funk you’re in and get back to writing. Remember – try not to be too hard on yourself. Writing is hard work, it’s thirsty work, and your brain can quickly become parched when it’s dealing with the same tedious task over and over. Give it some variety and keep yourself from getting mired. Good luck!
—
My name is Joseph Carro, and I am a Maine-based freelance writer and editor trying to make it in the big world of letters and semi-colons. I work currently as a barista to (barely) pay the bills, and in the meantime, I’m working on a YA novel, currently untitled, as well as various other works like screenplays, comic scripts, short stories, and flash fiction. Heck, you may as well toss in some comic books with that, too.
I live in Portland, here in Maine – with my beautiful wife and our five-pound chihuahua, Brewtus.
Howdy, howdy! It’s (already) April once again. Can you believe it? A quarter of the year has passed us by. As many of you know, that means it’s National Poetry Month. I admit that I haven’t given poetry much of my time this past year, but I want to change that. At least for a month. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until my Facebook friends started posting daily poems. So, I thought I would devote this post to a few of the ways that I hope to celebrate this month.
1. Write a poem. I honestly can’t remember the last time I wrote one. But I recently had a nostalgia moment where I read through some of the ones I wrote as an undergrad, and that made me really miss the structure that poetry provides. I used to love writing villanelles and haikus and sestinas. Anything with strict constraints. I liked looser forms as well, but they weren’t as challenging. That little trip down memory lane even resulted in me submitting a poem to a contest. Send good vibes!
2. Read a book of poetry. Maybe I’ll read an anthology filled with different authors writing about the same subject. It’s always interesting to see how different people tackle the same basic topic. Then again, maybe I’ll read a collection by one author. I like to see how a collection connects from one poem to the next (or doesn’t connect at all). Hell, maybe I’ll read both kinds. It’s still early in the month after all.
3. Base a story off a poem. I’m almost done with my current novel attempt, so I’m hoping to work on more short stories and flash pieces, that way I have more things to submit. I know I use art a lot for inspiration, but I’ve also been known to use songs and poetry in the past as well. It might be an adaptation, or it could just be loosely connected, but hopefully it’ll be something good.
4. Take the time to listen to some poetry. I don’t know of any upcoming readings around here, but YouTube has plenty. And there are always podcasts. I’m sure if I asked my Facebook friends for recommendations, I’d come away with too many options to check out in a month. Feel free to shoot me some podcast or other ideas for places to listen to poetry here as well!
5. Look back at some of my old favorites. I used to have a few poems memorized, but I can’t get all the way through any of them anymore. From Ai to Donne to Poe, there are a lot of poems I should probably revisit.
That’s my plan for celebrating National Poetry Month. What about you? Are you going to read or reread some of your favorite poems? Maybe you’ll write some of your own poetry. What about my visual art friends? Have you thought about making your art based around a poem? Feel free to share your plans here or on my social media pages!
Shawna's Blog of Doom 