As you may remember, I decided to make February a poetry writing month to get myself writing more consistently and thinking on a deeper level once again. SO, how’s it going so far?
Well, I’d say it’s been going pretty well! I’ve written a wide array of tiny poems, ranging from character development for my new character Nyx, to a poem about my hometown team winning the big game on February 2 (I can’t use certain words due to copyright concerns, but I think you know what big game I’m talking about), to a poem about my grandfather. I’ve dropped a few of these tiny poems below in the slider for you. I hope you like them!
It’s really hard to sit and stare at a blank screen or a blank sheet of paper. So, using my very new character, Nyx, as inspiration and subject matter was really helpful. It allowed me to drift and get to know her and her past and that came together in a few neat little poems. From there, I’ve typically been able to start playing around with any random image or idea that comes to mind and turn it into something, with varying degrees of success 🙂 I’m sure Nyx will continue to pop up though as the month continues.
I got a bit of a friendly lecture last weekend from one of my favorite writing friends. She told me not to call my writing ‘bad poetry’ because it’s not and because that’s what people say to put other people down. She’s right. I put the label of ‘bad poetry’ on my writing because I was apprehensive and afraid. I received a fair amount of critique and very little encouragement when it came to my poetry writing in college, so I felt apprehensive about telling anyone I was writing poetry. Ever since, I’ve just considered myself to not be a good poet. Encapsulating my project as ‘bad poetry’ allowed me to share about it in a way that suggested that I wasn’t serious and could theoretically let me skate by without judgement. According to my friend, anything can be poetry. I don’t have to be a master at a certain form to be a poet. I really appreciated this perspective and now that I am writing some poetry again and sharing it, and with some positive feedback, I’m feeling more confident about continuing to share my work.
So, no more hiding behind the idea of ‘bad poetry!’ And I’ll keep sharing pieces with you as I put them together. I’ve been thinking of making a separate, public Instagram account (I have a personal one that I only use with friends and family) where I share my tiny poems with whoever wants to follow along. I’m still deciding if I want to do this. But, I’ll let you know if I do! And, perhaps this poetry thing will continue beyond February. We’ll see!
How is your writing going? Has anyone else out there taken up the challenge and been writing along with me? I’d love to see what you’re writing if you’re willing to share! Cheers, writer friends!
Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels
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