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Blog on writing; Poetry and short stories - comments, critiques et al. |
| Writing and Creative Blog |
| We are just getting into the second week of the "battles" in the poetry league here at WDC. For those who are not familiar with it, at present we have twelve members (and we are looking for newcomers) and we are matched with one other poet each week (by overall rankings/standings) and assigned random topics on which to construct a poem. Topics and opponents are assigned on Thursday evenings, poems are due back on Sunday evenings, and the "battles" are posted Monday mornings. Voting takes place bewteen Monday morning and Thursday evening. The poet receiving the most votes wins for the week. It is a lot of fun...hope you will take the time to check it out... Rick |
| I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years eve, and enjoying the first day of 2007...It's cold, rainy, and crappy here in Massachusetts...the bright side is that there's only a short few months before we'll be back on the golf course (Man, I hate this winter weather...the older I get, the more I hate it...Oh well, retirement is coming and all of this will just be a bad dream...lol) I joined WDC in August 2006 (found the site by mistake) and been having a ball here ever since...I've concentrated mostly on poetry, as that's what seems to come the easiest for me...it is something I enjoy writing. I've recently joined the "poetry league" and look forward to the weekly "battles" where we are paired up every Thurdsday with an "opponent" and assigned a random topic...we each then have to write an original poem about the topic...the poems are posted and everyone here at WDC has the opportunity to vote on the poems and indicate which one they think is best...we are all then ranked and placed in the standings on a weekly basis...should be a lot of fun...hope everyone will join it for the fun (join as members or cast a weekly vote) in 2007. One of my New Years resolutions is to write at least 100 new poems (short stories, etc...) in 2007. I would eventually like to have enough material to self-publish my own book (probably poetry, at least #1..) 100 new pieces of writing probably doesn't seem like a lot to some of you authors here...some of you are like "machines" and seem like you are able to put out dozens of new pieces of writing per week...I seem like I have spurts...my "creative" juices seem to come and go....I'll have a "spurt" and write 4 or 5 new pieces, and then seem like I go dry for a while. I do keep a journal where I "write" daily, however, some of the stuff (to be honest) is crap...and although I could simply put stuff in my portfolio just for the sake of doing it, I will only put that which I feel is "good" (relative term, I know...lol) out for public viewing. Also, I hope to continue to meet new people here at WDC in 2007...It is a great site, and everyone I've met here is so nice...Seems like, as writers, we all understand each other, and all have similar goals... I hope to keep meeting new friends here as the year goes on. I was just "promoted" to a preferred author in December...I really didn't know how this worked and certainly wasn't expecting it, but it was an incredible "rush" and honor to be singled out (along with quite a number of other writers) for recognition...I'm now a "yellow brief case"...lol. Also in 2007, I want to learn a lot more about the mechanics of this site. I am a bit "technologically challenged" and I'm sure I'm only using a small fraction of the "tools" and resources available on this site....I would like to organize my portfolio and utilize some "topic" folders so that navigation (for me and others) will be easier... I also like to reach 1,000,000 GP's in 2007...not for any particular reason, just so I can say I did it....kind of like being a millionaire here at WDC...LOL....Yeah, I know, a bit anal....lol. Well gotta run for now...hope everyone had a safe and happy new year...here's to wishing everyone here at WDC a good year for "creating" art and achieving their personal goals....Hopefully, I'll have the honor of chatting with many more of you in the coming year...I think we can all learn from each other and certainly support each other's "addictions".... Happy New Year!! Rick |
| Wasn't having too much luck with getting replies to my blog, so I thougt I'd try this "scam"....lol. Now that I've got your attention...lol... (see if this experiment works..?) Anyway hope you all had a great Christmas and wishing all a Happy New Year!! Rick |
| I have received some good comments and dialogue on this blog..... As far as "good" poetry, I do agree with a lot of the people who commented here...."good" poetry for me (also) is a poem that is written well and really paints a picture or makes the reader "feel" an emotion, see (be in) a scene, taste a taste or smell a smell, etc....Sometimes "good" poetry for me makes me just say "wow....that was incredible..." or " that's how I feel...I wish I had written that.." I certainly know which or what poetry "I like" but I guess I'm still a bit confused about what or why a "professional" writer, editor (as most of us would like to get published..lol) finds a poem either good or simply throws it in the trash.... I do understand there are "technical" aspects of a poem (i.e. Haiku has a meter of 5 - 7 - 5..but not always..lol a Sonnet is 14 lines, usually with a rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg....but not always..lol. etc...) I guess the "technical" aspect being correct in a poem would be a "starting point" for me...just because a poem is technically correct, doesn't make it a good poem. Sooooo, I guess I would ask again (to all you Pros or editors out there) how do you definatively rate a poem as good or bad (and I do understand that different editors may rate different pieces differently.....however, although a poem may be rated differently....may be liked more or less....most editors would probably agree that it was at least good (pro) quality....not amaturish.....) As far as the poetry league weekly battles....we got an extra week because of Christmas and New Years....all weekly entries must be posted by Sunday evening 12/31/06....then they are open to be voted on by any WDC member. To vote, go to "The Poetry League" and check for the weekly battles....we are looking to get as many writers checking this out as possible to get legitimate ratings. Thanks in advance. Hope everyone had a great Christmas....2007 is approaching fast. Rick |
| I wasn't having too much luck in trying to get anyone to comment on the merrits of "good" poetry...maybe everyone is as confused as me....lol. I did want to put a plug is for the "Poetry League"....right now it is a group of ten people from here on WDC...we have just started poetry "battles" where two members are paired against each other and asked to write a poem base on an assignmed subject. this is a weekly occurance and winners are based on the total number of votes recieved. Anyone here at WDC can vote (and new members are welcome as well) The pairings for battles are based on ranking each week. If you get a chance, check it out.... just search...check under "poetry League" thanks, and hope to see you there. Rick |
| Haven't had much luck with comments for a bit. Still looking for any comments about what you think makes up good poetry. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that it's only in the mind of the reader...I obviously am aware that there is certain "technical" aspects that (sometimes) have to be met with certain types of poetry. I have read some "big name" poets whose work I didn't think was all that good.. Any opinions?? Thanks |
| Just a quick update to see if anyone has some opinions to add as to what really makes good poetry...Even with some of the poetry that the all-time classics wrote, I don't find it all that good (or at least, I don't like it.....maybe poor taste....lol) Anyway...any ideas as to some kind of "standard" to tell if a piece of poetry (my own in particular) is really any good.? There are just too many people who will simply give you lip service that's it good or bad.....and how the hell would they know anyway....lol? Anyone have any thoughts?? |
| I'm just throwing out an update... didn't get any responses to my questions on writing poetry. I've just recently began writing poetry. I've also been doing a lot of reading (poetry), both classic works and more contemporary. I've also been reading a lot of books on poetry appreciation, as well as lessons on how to write better poetry. Although, I am beginning to understand a lot of the types and different structue of poetry, I haven't really "gotten" why one poem is exceptional. I've read a lot of the classics (Emerson, Longfellow, Poe,Thoreau, Whitman...) Some of it I really like, and others, to be honest, seems like it's awful. The same is true for a lot of the more modern poetry...some of the writings that are given the greatest praise, just don't seem that good to me. I'm just looking to see if anyone has any ideas or thoughts on this? Maybe some good books that may give better explanations? I'd like to enter some of my poems in some contests, etc...but would really like to have a criteia as what makes a poem good (or particularlly exceptional)? |
| I am attempting to start a blog for the purpose of enjoying and learning more from others about poetry and writing in general. I've begun studying different types of poetry on my own (and will maybe take some non-credit type classes at the local community college). I'd love to have an ongoing discussion about what is good poetry and why. I have begun reading some "classic" poetry by poetry greats, and to be honest, I don't find some of the stuff all that great. I'd love to hear some opinions (hopefully backed up with facts...evidence, etc...) as to what makes some of work of these famous poets good? Hopefully we can get a good dialog started......all comments welcome! Rick 12/8/06 My 21st wedding anniversary today. |
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