Sometimes we use Sundays to do a bulk cook, as we have time and space to do so. Today the sun is shining and I have been awake since 6 a.m. I am writing (not continually), I am writing the gaps of prompts I skipped and days I missed due to writing off prompt.
I have so far written every day but not all poems follow the prompts, they don’t have to.
A lingering prompt – and by that, I mean a prompt I have not been able to get my teeth into came on Day 6 – a poem that looks at the same thing from various points of view. I think my main issue is finding the pinnacle event to hang the poem on. I tried watching a video of a Barrista at work (inspired by my 2nd coffee of the day). I made notes for 15 minutes and then wrote the poem. There are 5 different points of view but I am still not convinced it works. I will crack this prompt but I think I will surrender and let it come to me.
I played with Carrie Etter’s 6th prompt – choosing 5 out of 6 words. I started by listing synonyms and then during a search engine enquiry copied some bad rap lyrics and created a found poem. It is a thin poem, the longest line is 3 words and most lines are just a word. I am delighted with the result. I feel it is a full, proper poem and is unlike any of my writing. It has rhythm and packs a lot of story into very few words. I can imagine it would be fun to perform.
Once I wrote this, I went back to my word list and wrote 2 incredibly short poems and a haiku.
I missed number 7 on Carrie’s list too – which was a 20 line (or fewer) poem on ‘Flights of Fancy’, this is the theme for Bradford on Avon’s poetry competition which Carrie Etter is judging this year. My poem ran to 16 lines and was a cathartic experience. Post break-up travel plans, a trip taken 15 years ago to heal a broken heart.
I revisited napowrimo.net prompt for Day 8 – using repetition, again a prompt that carried a struggle in the ideas department. On Elizabeth Bouquet’s blog she wrote about her students – and I thought that could be a way in but only got as far as ‘She had some pupils…’ before I started thinking about eyes and the entire thing collapsed!
Then I finally cracked it and wrote my 2nd ever poem about shoes. I have a great love for shoes and handbags.
She had some shoes once, bought in Paris, never worn.
I feel chuffed that I managed to crack this poem. I am finally on track for Day 9.
Today I have time to browse and read other blogs, other NaPo poetry now I have written mine up to date and finally I think I may need to type up the work so far, 28 poems. Some are just 3 lines, haikus, freewrites and splurges, a few are fully formed and ready to serve. I like a couple. ALL are poems I would never have written without NaPoWriMo!
Today I revisited Elizabeth Boquets ‘Oaks to Acorns’ blog, to read her Napo poem for Day 6, what I found was a body of work, beautiful poems (that I now give myself permission to read) from the first week of prompts.
It is a good job I am not currently working on submissions, my festival event organising needs to step up a gear and I need to work on that and I have taken most of the past week off from performing, in fact I took the whole week off, went to readings instead.
Here I am in Day 9 and ready to face the prompts – emerging from a morning write that yielded 6 poems!
awritersfountain 