Monthly Archives: February 2010

Stop. Drop. Roll

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I think it is rarely the writer, nay even people in general, despite any level of success who doesn’t feel some degree of doubt about their endeavors.

Alas, I am no different.

I’ve been spreading myself a bit thin, I feel, (wish that would work on my hips!) with my online self so I’m cutting back a bit and focusing on my loves: Facebook and Blogging/Vlogging. These are the places where my friends, family and readers are. Many of you are all three.

See, I was doubting my ability to keep up, especially with Twitter which can be entertaining but if you don’t have mobile well it is quite time consuming. I left my account open instead of deleting it like I did the last time I was involved with, but I won’t be stopping by.

I want to have a successful book launch and to continue pushing forward to connect with other writers and readers. I want to volunteer more in person and perhaps online via classes.  I was starting to doubt my ability to enjoy doing what I love because I was fretting about where I could give readings from the book, whether I could afford or have the time to stay and visit in those places with the people I care about. I was even starting to doubt my ability to write because I couldn’t seem to do it.

Once I streamlined my website and my thoughts, I wrote a few new poems. Granted, they are on some of the tough topics which can be draining, but draining in a good way.

Doubt comes along every step of the journey. When you feel it sneaking in, do what they used to tell you in fire safety: Stop. Drop. Roll.

Stop everything for  while.

Drop what isn’t necessary.

Roll with what is necessary, yet no fun.

The whole goal of Stop, Drop and Roll is that you live. Never forget to do that with a smile.

:)

Link Up

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I’ve been thinking about making my Monday Shout Outs more of a return to book discussions and instead doing other links on another day of the week. Here is my first try with some great online weekend reading!

In her post, A Thought, Emma Bolden (a poet, teacher and writer of many things) discusses some of my concerns with the whole marketing/selling end of writing.

And speaking of writing, what about all the advise we give out? There are quite a few blogs talking about this right now but my favorite list is over at Erin Fitzgerald’s blog Rarely Likable.

Other writers, even outside of our preferred genre, can give us advise. Alexis Grant over at Aspiring Author really puts up some great interviews with other travel/memoir writers. The interview she presented with Mary Morris recently even mentions reading poets for inspiration on how to write about place.

Speaking of looking to other genres for inspiration, what about looking even outside of your own art form for inspiration and/or a new way to look at creating art. I really liked this article about being a comedy writer and a teacher of the process.

And to take this whole idea of looking at things in a new way, what about a way metaphorical leap into Zen Habits where a guest blogger talks about being a rapid learner (hint, it has to do, at least in part, with developing metaphors to assist with memory – see poetry can help you LEARN!)

Writing, comedy, art etc are all about the act of making. Why not a poem about the need for making?

If we are all into art. Can you afford to buy some once in a while? You can inexpensively pick up an issue of Tipton Poetry Journal. I am in two issues, woo hoo!

Friday Wrap-Up

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Seems like this week flew by and I didn’t even have as many engagements outside of the house as I normally do so, weird!

  • Submissions: 5, 2 sets of poems, 1 story and one copy of ZG manuscript
  • Accepted: NADA
  • Rejected: 4, 2 stories with comments and 2 sets of poems

On the weight loss front I can report in again that I am down almost 6 pounds for the year. I haven’t made my desire to get healthy about the specific numbers, although I track them, because I want a healthy lifestyle not another failed diet. I had a few weeks in late January and early February where I wasn’t consistent so hoping that the next month will be an improvement. I wanted 5-10 pounds a month so no 10 or 20 for the end of February but I’ll take the 6.

I’ve had a lot of trouble sleeping this week which surprised me given on the working out I was doing. I think there were two factors 1 – the working out itself was, at times, leaving me hungry at night so I would wake up hungry and then have trouble going back to sleep. I’m working on that 2 – was that I was avoiding working on certain poem topics because I wanted to wait, I was trying to stay organized but the organization was draining me. I am going back to my old themed documents and I’ve already written some new work this week on the “hard” topics.

How did your writing week go? Any work sent out into the great big publishing abyss?

Video Wednesday

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My first video for the week has some really good news in it:

In the vid I mention The Laurel Review and the issue of Poets & Writers in which Shape of a Box gets a shout out.  The final big news was that my book is now available for pre-order direct from the publisher! Pick up a copy of Paper House for only $10! (international rates are also available) For an additional 5% off those who visit my blog get the coupon code of J158IN to use a checkout.  Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me. I didn’t get to mention everyone in the Poet’s Note of the book but you readers here just have to know how much you guys mean to me!

Up next is NC’s new Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers. Who, incidentally, read an initial version of Paper House when it was still my thesis called Making a Paper House. Cathy reads a poem from her newest book, The Candle I Hold Up to See You and talks about it  bit. Short vid but she is just so spectacular in the way she can weave the every day with the darkness and the humor. If you click through to watch it on youtube you can watch additional vids for NC Arts:

and the final video is not poetry but is one of my other loves, good stories,

Marianne Villaneuva reads an excerpt of her story that is in Growing up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults. This is another one that if you click through and watch on YouTube you can watch other videos by user geminipoet which include poetry as well as these multi-cultural vids of writers reading from their stories.

That wraps up our Video Wednesday (instead of Tuesday) but if there are vids you want to link to leave them in comments and if there is anything you’d like me to talk about in a vlog let me know!




How Does a Poem Begin

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Andy over at PoetTechie poses another good question – How does a poem begin?  There is a really great blog that goes more into depth about how a poem happens and its progress towards publication at How a Poem Happens.

I’ve been planning on writing a blog about this for a while but it feels even more pertinent for me right now as I can’t seem to come up with anything to write – well at least poetry wise. I’ve been blogging, wrote some short stories (some good some pretty awful) and I’m even in the midst of a draft of a creative non-fiction piece that I really like but where are my poems?

How I come to write poems varies as much as anything else. For a long time, I’d have an image of some sort or a line that would strike me and I’d write it down to work on later. Lately, poems happen because I work for them. I have a list of ideas I keep and sometimes I just have to go to the idea sheet and do a free-write to see if something will come.  I also love using writing prompts. But, probably the biggest drive for me to start a poem is hearing or reading really good poetry. By this I can also mean stimulating poems or fiction and non-fiction that still has that poetic flair.

The fully formed poem happens very rarely for me. When they happen they are a gift. They are like the reward for all the hours you spend reading and making yourself write even when you don’t feel like it. I need to remind myself of this as I have been getting to the end of the day lately and found myself staring at the page without any desire to type a poem at all.

Where do your poems come from? Do you make yourself write or do you only write when you are inspired? Do you need some inspiration?

Monday Shout-Outs

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Lots to try and get to today. First a list of events and/or deadline type items.

  • Open Mike/Poetry Coffee House at Mitchell Community College in Statesville at 6:30 on Thursday. I’m hoping to make this!
  • Friday at 7pm there is a reading at Green Rice Art Gallery in Charlotte. Great line up of featured readers (believe there is an Open Mike)  including John Amen (editor of Pedestal) and Rhett Trull (editor of Cave Wall) I keep meaning to go to one of these but Friday nights are not usually a good night for me and getting out to events. Perhaps someone could bribe me by inviting me to dinner. Hahaha
  • The South Carolina Festival of the Book is this weekend. If you are anywhere near Columbia, SC definitely stop by. I’d love to be able to make it. Could I convince my non-poetry spouse to go? (And not just non-poetry but pretty much doesn’t read a lot)
  • I’m still taking writing for Referential Magazine through Sunday. I will start reading the submissions on Monday and hope to have my decision on the first piece to be published (and any associated pieces) by no later than the end of the month.
  • Next Monday I’ll be speaking to a group of writing students at a community college. If you have any short poems or flash fiction pieces (or non-fiction) that you think I should share drop me an email or leave links in comments. So excited about hanging out with some new writing students!

Next a list of people who need mentioning:

  • My good writing friend Melanie Faith is teaching an online poetry class. Melanie has worked with me on my own poetry, fiction and non-fiction and I can’t say enough about her generous teaching and editing skills. Please share the link to her class and consider signing up yourself. This is her second online class. The first went very well.
  • Susan Meyers is a great South Carolina poet who is also a teacher. You can find out about her books and where she will be teaching on her blog.
  • I’ve mentioned Poems Out Loud before but they have such a great website of poets reading their work and quite a few books coming out from the associated WW Norton.
  • I’m helping out with the Poetry Council of North Carolina’s Contests this year so NC residents or who have an NC connection check it out!
  • Emma Bolden is one of my favorite emerging poets. I have all three of her chapbooks, including the one from Toadlily which is actually three chapbooks from different authors  in one. Toadlily has started a blog and in this entry Emma talks about her book length witch poem project. For those of you looking to structure a book, or wondering if you have a manuscript, give this a read and listen.

Hope everyone is ready for a good week. Let me know if there is anything you’d like me to discuss this week. I think Video Tuesday will be Video Wednesday this week. I have been meaning to do a blog on how a poem begins, but I am also thinking of going back to some old class notes and pulling out some fun discussion material along with Thursday Poem Share and Friday Wrap-Up.

Have a great week everyone!