I always feel quite impudent and a touch arrogant when offering tips to anyone. However, when it comes to writing I don’t have to be me. A character, narrator or voice can be my cloak of invisibility – it wasn’t me – I didn’t do it!
So,
Without further ado,
Here are my tips for you…
When embarking on a poetic journey, don’t aim for the island of completeness. A poem is a unique creation and cannot always be finished in one session.
Sometimes I begin a poem with a single line or a couplet that has wormed its way into my head before I even start to write.
The first time we meet,
My single line or couplet
Appears to be complete…
That is until I add another word or line and it starts to evolve. At other times, I start with a word or idea and create a spider diagram, which grows into a map of my poem.
There are some places on my map
I have to stop and explore
While other places are ignored…
The islands that remain on my map usually become part of the poem, while the ignored islands remain in reserve; they may find their way into this poem, another poem or they may not appear at all. Whether I have built a ramshackle poem or a drawn a map, the next step is to weave the words and lines together into a beautiful fabric.
The act of creation,
Laborious and sometimes slow
Makes my words and meaning flow…
As the islands come alive, the focus may change. My explorer’s spyglass zooms in on details here and zooms out for a wider angle there; I embroider my fabric until I have anything from a simple cross stitch sampler to a sumptuous tapestry. I may move the words and lines around to achieve a more effective rhythm, image or sound.
Do not worry about mixed metaphors
They expand the mind and open doors…
If you find you have too many images in your poem, you can dismantle it and rearrange it into stanzas, one for each image, or even into individual poems; turn your extravagant coat into a three-piece suit!
I find this method of writing also works for short stories and chapters of a novel.
writing in north norfolk 