I guess there is no half time, no break, just keep going through the whole 30 days without drawing a deep breath. Shallow rapid breathing. I’ve written 15 poems in 15 days (actually in 16 days because I started a day early, but somehow I lost a day–or maybe lost a poem–and am now where I am supposed to be: 15 for 15). Can’t write long here as I have another to write today!
This month has been much sloppier than when I did the Tupelo 30/30. I am happy just to get a crummy rough draft done and move on to the rest of my day. I don’t have time to take a break and revise, not to mention that daily blog posting I did in September 2015!
So I don’t really know what I will end up with. More than zero, I guess. Some days have been awful. I had to travel to California for work last week, so there were 2.5 days of hours and hours of travel (not just the getting there and back, but the travel within California for work). Do you know how hard it is to find that poetry zone in my head when the gardener is playing oldies (loud) and chomping gum (even louder)? He also keeps up a running commentary on every driver, every traffic jam, every building site, in short, whatever passes by on the road. I can only tell him to shut up so much as he is the one who is driving in the hideous traffic. I can no longer tolerate the sound of the traffic whooshing around me either. It’s gotten so bad that it permeates my innards all way to the tips of my soul.
Still, I came up with something. One day I was “blessed” with seeing two different birds of prey at different points in the trip, each carrying its squirming meal. That was a poetic coincidence. One morning I woke up dreaming about poetry.
I’m getting tired pushing myself this hard to crank out the poems, but in two weeks it will end, and I can go back to being regular-tired instead of super-tired.
Thought I’d mention that I’ve mainly been using the NaPoWriMo.net prompts. And that anthology I am creating over at poets.org? I am still working on it, but am pretty frustrated because a lot of my favorite poems are not on their site and you have to use the poems on their site. They don’t have some of the best poems of the poets writing past 1970.
Have you written daily poems? Any poems? Prose? Blog posts? Writing for work?
If you have, go pet a cat or dog as a reward. That’s what I plan to do!
I have not written daily poems. I have not written yearly poems. I have not even written decade-ly poems. So count me impressed. 😄 You got this. Only two weeks to go!
LOL, I am sure you, a novelist, write plenty on most days, Carrie! Thanks for your vote of confidence! I am keeping on keeping on!
Well done – in answer to your question, I will have written a daily post for 6 years on 8th May
A daily post with fabulous photos that are labeled and described. You are amazing!
Thanks a million, Merril. I am, of course, retired 🙂
I think not, Derrick. This is a full-time job. 🙂
True – but whoever really retires 🙂
Exactly. My retired husband now teaches part-time, and works at a golf course.
When I left Social Work employment and went freelance in the same field, there was an assumption that I was to become a photographer – it took a while, and I don’t have to monetise it. 🙂
Derrick is so amazing!
Gobsmacked!!!! to hear you have written a daily post of the quality you do for SIX years, Derrick! Congratulations!!!
Very many thanks, Luanne
I was recently wondering how long you had been posting daily for – that’s impressive!
Thanks very much, Pauline
Dear Luanne-Nice post. Hooray for your poetry progress, and after I write to you, I will go shower Mr. Chapman with love (he especially likes spinal massage – from ears to base of tale. He’d adore it if I extended the “treatment” to 24/7.) I am dealing with a muscle pull related to the formerly-broken back (Sept. 22 was when it happened, and I fully expected to be over it by now). It is a major drag 🙁 I have to be enough better by May 23, as I leave then for two weeks in Ukraine! My writing has been neglected because of all the massage, acupuncture and other modalities I’m using to treat extreme pain. GRRRR
I’m hoping to be approved for a steroid shot (epidural) next week. Hate these physical interruptions. Here’s to a great week for us both. I’m launching yet another Shakespeare contest on Twitter (you were my champion not too long ago!)
Oh, Elaine, I am so sorry to hear about the muscle pull. The length of your recovery is so frustrating and must be so tedious for you. The pain must be awful. Of course, it’s too difficult to write when you are in pain!!!
So tell me about your trip to Ukraine! Will you be going to Odessa and Kiev and Kamanets-Podilskyi by any chance? if so, I would especially love to see some pix as have been doing some historical research in those areas!
Yes, I was champion, wasn’t I :)!!! Tweet to me, so I remember to tweet about the contest!
Nice job, Luanne! I couldn’t write one poem in a year, much less 15 in 15 (really 16) days. Keep going…you can do it!
Hahaha, funny! I couldn’t write one page of a romance novel in a year either, so we’re even! Thank you so much for encouraging (or is it egging on LOL) me, Jill!!!
LOL!
I cannot write any poem or prose but I do love to read them, especially yours 😀
Happy Poetic Monday <3
Sid
That’s so nice of you, Sid! Happy cat week, too! (It’s always cat week!!!!) Right now Perry is in timeout for an hour for being naughty ;).
Sometimes, Perry acts like a brat 😛
=^_^=
Sid
Sometimes having a goal or a deadline is good way to force yourself to get at it. It’s so easy to procrastinate, and once you get writing, it starts to flow. So good for you!
I really do work best that way. Well, that and lists. Once it’s on one of my lists (either the permanent or temporary one) I am good. But responding to this goal is good because it’s like being in class–and I was always pretty good at responding to school deadlines.
I’m a great procrastinator but I’m good under pressure, so that would work for me too.
You’re doing great, Luanne. As you said, you will have more than zero, and certainly there must be some valuable scraps and phrases, if nothing else. I have written a daily poem so far, even though I’ve neglected some of my other work (shhhh). There is usually a cat nearby, and sometimes on my lap. This morning while I was trying to post, Ricky sat on the keyboard. . .
You are doing phenomenally well, Merril! Good for you!!! And cats do help with the writing, don’t they? Write a line, pet a cat, write a line, pet a cat ;). Hi, Ricky . . . .
🙂
Something good will come of this effort. Hell, the discipline to do it a good thing!
The discipline is good. I went almost a year without writing poetry. Maybe 3 poems in the year? Not more than that, surely. I am trying to just hope something will come of it, as you say, rather than going back, trying to work on poems right now. I might stillbirth some of them that way.
Wow. Luanne. It is like you are under the gun. Way to go.
I am!
Sounds like it is good for you though. 😀
It is!
I had something profound to offer but got sidetracked in the discussion about Derrick’s daily postings. I last wrote a rhyming ditty back in 1998 I believe. I used to write each child in my class a ‘Birthday Verse’ each year. I did that for twenty five years and eventually some of them became actually quite good, but you couldn’t call them poetry. Now I mostly only do what I want to do when I want to do it just because I believe I’ve earned that after a lifetime of teaching and mentoring and coaching and parenting and doing all the other stuff we do……….. Having said that I do think if I made space for myself to paint every day I might actually get somewhere with that too…… but the discipline is gone. There’s a moral in here somewhere 🙂
What a fabulous gift for the children! I am so impressed. I did a long one of those once for my father for his birthday or father’s day. It was pretty funny. He framed it haha. Yes, you’ve earned the ability to just do what you want now, Pauline!!!
Way to go, Luanne! I love your reward system! 😉 🐶🐱
Hah, thanks, Cheryl! Nothing like fur loves!
Finding your blog for the first time because you left a comment on another blog. Admire all your work and activity. Congratulations! Writing your poetry must bring you deep satisfaction. As a writer, I love the discipline and opportunity to participate in the AtoZ Blog Challenge where we write 26 posts in April. If you have time or interest, my theme this year is BOOKSTORES, their architecture, location, and the good people who sell books. One of my passions. Hope to see you at one of the stores this April.
Stepheny, thank you so much for your enthusiasm and encouragement! 26 posts in April. That is a LOT. OK, I’ll check it out! Thanks for stopping by!
Good work! I’ve only drafted ten poems so far this month, but when I’ve not written new stuff I’ve been revising old stuff and looking for places to send it and READING tons of poetry. I did three 30-day poem-a-day challenges last year, so I decided to take a more holistic approach to NaPoMo this year. Writing is only part of my life as a poet, and I want to establish some good habits in those other areas, which have been sadly neglected. Besides, Lexington Poetry Month is coming up in June, so I’m using April to get warmed up and lay the groundwork for some more serious writing then. 😉
You are tackling the month in a great way, especially since you’re already done 3 of these month-long obstacle courses this past year!!! That is truly remarkable. And to have something solid ahead in June. You are really serious, Jennifer.
Super cute photo. I haven’t written any poetry but I reached over and pet my dog anyway. More than zero is GOOD! 🙂
Keep on petting!!!
I am so impressed by the amount of writing you do during an ordinary week and now to read that you’ve been writing a poem a day, blogging, working, travelling and doing all the other stuff a woman does as well … well! You could knock me over with a feather! It’s a pity you can’t take your furry pets with you wherever you go to keep you calm 🙂
Thanks so much, Clare. I was sick all week, to boot. So I have no idea what these so-called poems are going to look/sound like in a few weeks haha.
Oh, I would love to take them with me!!! I guess, being cats, they might resent that idea ;).
🙂
So excited you’re making this happen, Luanne! In spite of Life and Traffic and Work and personal habits of loved ones. 🙂 Thrilling! You’ve inspired me in my Little Book of Lies project, too – I’m determined to finish the stories in this manuscript, and today I finally got a rewrite of the final story (“Fakery”), so tomorrow I’ll tackle a minor (I hope) revision of the first story (“Mendacity”), and I think it will be done! Meantime I’ve been doing small exercises for a weekly writing challenge course, some of which have added to my next project, “Little Book of Monsters,” yay. Good for you, kudos! 🙂
You are rockin’! So happy to hear how close you are to being done! And re the Life and Traffic and all that, on top of being SICK all this past week. Ick. First the gardener and then me and neither of us back to normal yet. xo
Oh! No! You’ve been sick too? Gosh, it’s almost like the Book of Job. Bummer!! Hope you are better soon. 🙂
Thanks, Theresa. I love sympathy ;)! I hope so, too.
Sending lots of good healing Karma your way!