Monday, May 17, 2010

MyPoWriYe #47 - Ideas & Draft Sharing


Sometimes when we sit down to write, it feels as if there is nothing to write about.  All of the good ideas have been used up, life just isn't so interesting at the moment, or maybe we're plain tired.  After 47 days of a poem each day, I can honestly say that through trust and with risk, an idea will always come.


Students - if you find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper for more than five minutes, it may be too long.  Just start writing any old thing...let one thing lead to another...and off you go.  Don't plan to write perfect words.  Just write!

Messy Drafts for "Ideas"

Here you can see the pages that led to the poem "Ideas (like peaches)",  above.  I began by writing about goodbyes, moved to writing about names and maps, wrote almost a whole poem about teatime, and then finally stayed with this idea poem.  

When I write, I feel like a dog getting ready to sleep, circling around herself three times.  Settling, settling, settling, settled.  How is writing for you?  Take some time today to talk with your writing friends about how you get started and what keeps you going.  Half of writing is knowing ourselves and knowing how to keep ourselves working and getting wordswordswords on the page.

(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)

2 comments:

  1. Great poem, Amy! I plan to use this poem when I talk to the students about keeping a writer's notebook.

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  2. I agree with your other follower. This was a great way to talk about "settling" and listening to the thoughts in your head that never end.
    Thanks,
    Kyle

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