NaPoWriMo Summary and Thoughts--

Holy flash poetry, Batman, we're through.

I feel as if I'm been through a villanelle torture chamber. It was much harder than it looked (if it didn't look hard). It was tiring. It was tedious. It was a date with the page every single night even when I didn't want to write a poem.

BUT...I ended up with many more decent poems than I thought I would have. And I realized, if I push myself, they will come. Sometimes, I'll take the easy route (see poem about bowling ball), but other times (most of the time) I will suck it up and write the poem.

What was hard for me?

Posting drafts. That goes WAY beyond my comfort level. Drafts that were only so-so revised if that. Drafts that were just written then placed on my blog for everyone to see, that was a little strange and uncomfortable, I can even say vulnerable (like the say in that Eddie Murphy movie "I feel so vul-ner-able...") But a good vulnerable. And so many of you were so supportive and left notes and thank you for that.

Was it fun?

Sometimes. Mostly, it started to feel like a task. But a good task. Still though, it took me away from other things I'd rather be doing (or should be doing), but I learned so things about my writing life--like I CAN write in the morning. And how music helps me write. And I can pull a rabbit out of a hat when necessary.

Would I do it again?

Yes. And I wouldn't wait until National Poetry Month either. But it definitely will NOT be over the summer. Maybe in September or October. I did it in August last year, but I didn't push myself as much as I was in school.


I got this summary sheet from January's blog


Number of poems written in April.
30+ At least one day, a couple times I started a draft that didn't work out.

Number of poems you’ll keep and revise.
Maybe 16 - Maybe more, maybe less. ?? At this moment, there are 16 poems I like enough to revise

List the titles of your top three NaPoWriMo poems.
Absentee Landlord
Midnight DiseaseShe Adds a Dash of Cumin to Lucky Pea Soup

List your three least favorite NaPoWriMo poems.
To a Bowling Bowl
Study in Snow
Rituals


Favorite line from one of your NaPoWriMo poems.
Let me remind you, your grin is the only gun
you ever need, my favorite murder with teeth.
**though I stole much of this from a poet friend I email with- which is probably why it's my favorite.


Favorite poem by a NaPoWriMo participant.

January's poem: What My Kids Will Write About Me in Their Future Tell-All Book


What surprised you most about writing a poem a day?
That many more came out better than I thought and that they were stronger than when I did this in August. Also, they became stronger the more I wrote--here's a secret, I actually started writing a poem a day with some poets by email on St. Patty's day. So, that warm up really helped.

Also, it became less painful to post these drafts as I as just THANKFUL to have something done. I definitely lowered my expectations when it was 10 p.m and I hadn't written my poem for the day.

Now that you’ve started the momentum, what’s next?
***I'm going to clean the house! If anything falls to the backburner when I write, this is it.

Also, I'm submitting manuscript #2. And I'm ready for a vacation or some sunshine, or both.

Thanks for reading.

And I owe you a report on my Mary Oliver reading/talk. That will come next week, I promise. I mean, I'll have some time now!