Last night I went to my local writers group meeting. As I'm not ready yet to continue reading from WTHR (I'm still not looking at it, for fear I'll find problems I can't fix for GH judges), I dug out my high school journal and took it along with me. As a teen I wrote a fair amount of poetry and, as it turns out, some of it wasn't bad!!
I had some fun little observational pieces, which I read out, then we joked about teen angst poetry. THAT I had too - LOL!! And obliged my fellow writers when they asked to hear some of those as well.
The funny thing is, these days I'm not often inspired to write poetry. But I may have to go back to it, as my new hero is also a poet. Last year I wrote a couple for an anthology our group is trying to get published (the ms is actually with a publisher right now), so I know I CAN do it. But I find with poetry, the muse is far more necessary than with prose. I can force myself to write a scene, even though it might not be the best, but with poetry, it's really hard to creative if I'm not feeling inspired.
Do you write poetry? Have you had a similar experience to me vis à vis inspiration?
Re: Comments on my Judging post
Thanks for all the feedback :-)
Rene - I try not to nitpick either. There's no point in that. If there are a lot of grammar problems, I merely comment that they might want to check their use of commas or whatever. I only count down for research errors if the scoresheet specifically asks me about it. And if I make corrections, I include references, after double-checking that I'M not wrong (which has happened from time to time *vbg*).
Lynn - using the full range of scores means not being afraid to score low. There are some people who say that if the scale is 1-5, that a judge should NEVER give a 1 or 2 because it will hurt the writer's feelings. Not only is that not fair to the writer if the entry needs a lot of work, BUT it also means you'll end up inflating the work at the upper end.
Mel - like you, I learn so much from judging. Not only do I work hard to be constructive in my critique, but I also have my eyes opened to problems in my own ms. Analysing what's not working in an entry and framing helpful suggestions is a really good exercise for any writer.
Gabrielle - I agree re NOT trashing writers and their work. I try so hard NOT to do it. There was one entry I sent back I was worried about last year - I asked the coordinator to check it for me, and she said it was fine. I'd been fair. That was a big relief. I'd never want to be responsible for discouraging someone from writing.
On tap for today
I'll try to do some FD work this morning. There's still some business related stuff I have to do (got to do bank reconciliations yesterday - yippee!) and this afternoon we're going to look at a fifth-wheel trailer. Looks like we'll be living in one for a few months while the house is being built. Though part of me is a little nervous about it, the other half thinks it's kinda cool. Especially as a) we'll likely be able to hook it up so I can access the internet and b) we'll be close to my in-laws with laundry facilities and room to stretch when necessary. Now what Chloe and Cleo will think, I'm not so sure. Anyone out there ever confined their cats to a small trailer for a few months? If so, how did it go?
The biggest problem is, they're indoor city cats - if they get out, they'll be in the middle of primeval rain forest. Gulp. Only thing I can hope is that they'd be so shocked, they'd freeze and we could catch them. We've already agreed we'd have to enclose them in the bedroom whenever we left the trailer (assuming there's a door) - that way they couldn't spring out unexpectedly.
And travelling across the country with a fifth-wheel would be way easier than having to find hotels that will take cats, then worrying about them destroying curtains etc.
Teresa
Currently Reading: Research stuff
Link of the Day: Research Links at Let's Talk Writing
I had some fun little observational pieces, which I read out, then we joked about teen angst poetry. THAT I had too - LOL!! And obliged my fellow writers when they asked to hear some of those as well.
The funny thing is, these days I'm not often inspired to write poetry. But I may have to go back to it, as my new hero is also a poet. Last year I wrote a couple for an anthology our group is trying to get published (the ms is actually with a publisher right now), so I know I CAN do it. But I find with poetry, the muse is far more necessary than with prose. I can force myself to write a scene, even though it might not be the best, but with poetry, it's really hard to creative if I'm not feeling inspired.
Do you write poetry? Have you had a similar experience to me vis à vis inspiration?
Re: Comments on my Judging post
Thanks for all the feedback :-)
Rene - I try not to nitpick either. There's no point in that. If there are a lot of grammar problems, I merely comment that they might want to check their use of commas or whatever. I only count down for research errors if the scoresheet specifically asks me about it. And if I make corrections, I include references, after double-checking that I'M not wrong (which has happened from time to time *vbg*).
Lynn - using the full range of scores means not being afraid to score low. There are some people who say that if the scale is 1-5, that a judge should NEVER give a 1 or 2 because it will hurt the writer's feelings. Not only is that not fair to the writer if the entry needs a lot of work, BUT it also means you'll end up inflating the work at the upper end.
Mel - like you, I learn so much from judging. Not only do I work hard to be constructive in my critique, but I also have my eyes opened to problems in my own ms. Analysing what's not working in an entry and framing helpful suggestions is a really good exercise for any writer.
Gabrielle - I agree re NOT trashing writers and their work. I try so hard NOT to do it. There was one entry I sent back I was worried about last year - I asked the coordinator to check it for me, and she said it was fine. I'd been fair. That was a big relief. I'd never want to be responsible for discouraging someone from writing.
On tap for today
I'll try to do some FD work this morning. There's still some business related stuff I have to do (got to do bank reconciliations yesterday - yippee!) and this afternoon we're going to look at a fifth-wheel trailer. Looks like we'll be living in one for a few months while the house is being built. Though part of me is a little nervous about it, the other half thinks it's kinda cool. Especially as a) we'll likely be able to hook it up so I can access the internet and b) we'll be close to my in-laws with laundry facilities and room to stretch when necessary. Now what Chloe and Cleo will think, I'm not so sure. Anyone out there ever confined their cats to a small trailer for a few months? If so, how did it go?
The biggest problem is, they're indoor city cats - if they get out, they'll be in the middle of primeval rain forest. Gulp. Only thing I can hope is that they'd be so shocked, they'd freeze and we could catch them. We've already agreed we'd have to enclose them in the bedroom whenever we left the trailer (assuming there's a door) - that way they couldn't spring out unexpectedly.
And travelling across the country with a fifth-wheel would be way easier than having to find hotels that will take cats, then worrying about them destroying curtains etc.
Teresa
Currently Reading: Research stuff
Link of the Day: Research Links at Let's Talk Writing
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