We’ve reached the end of this year’s National Poetry Month. If you’ve developed a positive writing routine this time around, try to reflect on ways to keep going. Maybe not with quite the same level of rigorousness but it’s a shame to stray from a good habit you’ve managed to create.
There is mixed data out there about how long it takes to develop a habit. Still, 30 days is an impressive daily or semi-daily writing streak.
If you’ve been doing a lot of writing this month (for NaPoWriMo) or otherwise, I invite you to consider using May as a month for revision.
While some poets have famously put their work in the drawer for a long time after writing initial drafts, I’d encourage braving the recent material and seeing what appears to be working and what can be tweaked.
You don’t have to make any quick big decisions about material that is worth keeping or not. Take the opportunity to play with language.
Don’t feel like you need to immediately begin organizing your work into a book; although, if you’re so inclined—feel free to go for it! If this is your chosen path, start looking at ways that the individual pieces speak to each other and then reflect on how to fill in gaps to create a more intelligible and effective narrative arc. After all, a collection tells a story. Generally, we do not end precisely where we began. Just like you are ending this National Poetry Month in a slightly different place than you began at the outset.
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What are your thoughts on using May as a month for revision?
What habits have you picked up during National Poetry Month that you want to continue?
If this month felt like a bit of a bust, what are ways you plan to make good use the summer months (writing, resting, living your life)?
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One thing I need to do is read my poems aloud, knowing poetry sounds different from prose. I get lazy about doing this, and it’s a thing I hope to change. A few famous last words are “I intend to.” Then “do it,” I tell myself.
It was such an enjoyable month writing with Authors Publish and all my fellow poets, teachers and guest speakers, including you, Mark.
I think the course was invaluable for generating work and not second-guessing oneself and simply going with an idea that feels right. Now the challenge of maintaining the 1st draft poem's energy while tweaking it. Reading aloud is a great place to start. Uneasy transitions or line breaks then become more apparent. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!