Archive for April, 2008

Apr 29

poetry on demand

When It Must Be Done

Why not just wait for the muse to to bowl me over? Sometimes, when a poem is requested I have to do a little work, especially when it’s on a topic that requires me to stretch myself. My muse is usually present, but I’ll need to clear the way so I can get to the heart of the project. My process has two steps:

  1. Journaling – I try to write everything; things useful to the project and things that may be obstructing the way.
  2. Scavenge My Writing – After taking a break from it, I return to pull out everything that is useful, either typing it or writing, whichever appeals to me at the time.

It’s How I Got Mine: Whittling While I Work

It was my biggest command performance. My sister-in-law (to be, at the time) asked me for a poem for her wedding. I was humbled and honored and intimidated. When it was time to begin, I went straight to my journal. There was too much stuff in my mind to just relax and let the poem flow.

Journaling

At first I tried to figure out what was expected of me. Having never been married, I thought that perhaps I fell too far short to get to what I needed.

In my journal I wrote out every doubt, hesitation, short-coming, blank space, distraction and limitation that came to mind, pages of thoughts related and not. Every negative reason I could think of for why I couldn’t do this was put in those pages. Then I dismissed them all.

Shaping the Verses

I focused on what I would want for my wedding and let that wish take over, after my crappy first draft failed miserably. It carried in it the vestigial effort of contriving something that was not from me. None of us liked it; and that was my final proof that I needed to trust in what I knew, to trust in me and how I understand things.

When it was time to write this poem, when I was ready to let it out, having cleared the way, it practically came out whole. A few line cuts and word substitutions were all it took—and weeks of journal writing, fretting, talking, and Lego® blocks building.

The Finished Product

When it was right, it resonated in my spirit. I like that feeling. You know, that YES that you feel with your whole self, it lets you know when you’ve got it right. The poem I that came out of this effort is Mine.

I was pleased with it before I gave it to Nicole. And she loved it. They loved it.

Tell me how you write on demand. Do you bother? Let me know why you do or don’t go after the verses.

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Posted in Poetry

Apr 21

chasing the poem

Capturing Ideas to Write By

National Poetry Month is coming to a close. And I was thinking about poetry and finding verses in my head. One thing led to another and I landed on the randomness of thoughts, how it seemed like there was no catching up to them.

You know those ideas that just flit in and out? The ones that stay just long enough for you to notice that they were present before they bug out? Sometimes those ideas come fluttering around the edges of my consciousness and then just float away like butterflies. They may be really good, but rarely can I just know for sure since they glide in when I’m distract.

What Works for Me

I feel like I’m supposed to catch these thoughts; and if I don’t, I have to chase them down. I start where I stopped working to listen.

Meditate – Thoughts fly in from all directions, work, home, family, friends, and more. At times everything comes through at once and they tend to sound like nothing but a hum—like writer’s block.

Meditation practices have in common that they take you out of place with silence as long as you can sustain. It’s a high powered break that when done properly returns you to your tasks, fresh, revitalized and focused.

Ramsey of The Daily Mind gives an excellent overview of meditation techniques. And, as you may know, I have my Morning B.R.E.W. practice. Find what works for you and try it the next time your thoughts overwhelm or abandon you.

Recording Your Ideas

To end the quiet, let the thoughts return slowly. They’ll start to come faster without any insistence usually. Now you have to catch them as you can.

Brainstorm – Everything that pops into your head is important when you’re tracking a random idea. I try to take brief notes enough to know where that thought was headed and short to not neglect the next one. Often, I will use index cards to capture mine. Diagrams and lists work well too.

Write it out – This recording is done in traditional paragraph form. My goal here is to write until I hit upon the idea that brought me up out of whatever I was working on initially. One such poem that I caught is Partly Cloudy. These thoughts go into my writing journal.

Why You Can Catch Them

Many of the writing books, blogs and magazines that I read talk about how you don’t have to wait for inspiration. I think they’re right. We are constantly receiving ideas. The activities that I’ve listed here will help you to process and catch some of the ideas that may become your next great poem.

This is the idea phase. Crafting is another stage.

For my participation in National Poetry Month, I’ve added a few poems at my Telling Stories blog. I hope you’ll check them out.

Related article:

How to Use Your Work as a Meditation

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Posted in Poetry