In writing—My What? Where? Who? & How?
Follow up to 'Why Poetry? Why Prose? It's Why I am Here'. Here's an onion peeling answer to the other questions often asked when facing a blank page!
Hello all and sundry,
In my introductory prose piece for this newsletter, I answered the question of why I write. (Why Poetry? Why Prose? It’s Why I am Here) It’s a question that some readers may ask a writer. Even better, though, it’s a question every writer should ask and confirm within themselves. Now, once readers have read my writing, the other questions come flying! What brought you to write that poem? Where did your ideas come from? Who inspired that?! Then…HOW??!!! This one comes with many subtexts as the question of how can be interpreted quite a few ways. Usually, it’s the reader, never having written creatively themselves, who is curious about the ‘how’ of my process. Sometimes the question is attached to my topic choices, or word choices, or style choices, but often more literally— “How do you sit down at a blank page with pen in hand and make words appear?”
Great question! So, I take in the inquisitive nature of folks and try to answer as best I can. Yet, truly, more times than not, I can be at a loss for any answer other than, “Something comes over me and the words spill out.” I don’t know what form these words will take once the ingredients have been gathered and combined, only that I hope my concoction of expression is not only palatable, but is something worthy to serve. That’s the ‘crust’ of my how.
Now, my What? Where? & Who?
Well, for me, the gamut! I may sift the answer down to: nouns. Huh? NOUNS?? Yes, nouns! Mostly, I write about— nouns: person, animal, place, thing, idea, event, or emotion. I’ll whip up something involving any one of these and season them with sentiment. To be honest, the in-the-feelings usually comes first and I find which noun to best pair with the flavor and intensity of the moment.
Still, other times, I have been known to cook up something verb-ish: an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Those are usually the ones that have to be put to the page immediately, are highly perishable, and if I don’t get them on paper the moment they are here, I lose them. Sadly, I have spoiled some potentially great works because I haven’t acted quickly enough at putting them in ink, or because I thought I would remember them when I finally had an opportunity to jot them down. (Hate to admit it, age may be a slight hinderance to the success of remembering!) Thankfully, in this day and age, modern devises make it super easy to capture and save those fleeting moments of inspiration.
I do love poems that arrive and come to fruition like that, prefer it actually. The main reason: I’ve struggled with following a strict recipe; my preference being to use what I have on hand and see what happens. I am a go-with-the-flow kind of person; planning always seems to disappoint.
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Now, I don’t want to dive deep into a lesson on poetic elements like rhythm and meter, or rhyme schemes , or talk about poetic styles. Those specifics can easily be Googled. I DO want to go back to NOUNS, if only to give explanations of how I pull from these when thinking of what my combination of words will create; what dish will be served. I’ll touch on the key ones:
People: For every human I have met and many I only know from afar, each has the potential to be mixed into a piece of poetry or prose of mine. I am certainly a ‘people watcher’ and that may stem from years involved in theater and character study. Don’t we all find people interesting, and some categorically fascinating?! I do! So much so, that often I can sit in a quiet—all other life around me frozen— wonder as I take in a person’s mannerisms, their moods, their appearance, and so on until I am slapped back into reality hearing the internal reprimand of one of my grandmothers or another who has impressed on me how rude it is to STARE! Sometimes, it can’t be helped! Mainly though, people I have relationships with are the choice. If you are family, a friend, a love, maybe have been an inspiration, you have a 90% chance of being a subject on the page. Similarly, if you depict the various antagonistic forms of a person, you’ll have a more than likely place in a rant poem as a result. Many of those pieces I prefer not to share; I chalk them up to cheap therapy!
Animals: As one who has shared life with these precious beings, I do write about them. A few have been more substantial in my living than many humans. They present a subject that takes me on a deeper dive into understanding the truth of unconditional love and a pure and genuine devotion to someone other than ‘self’. They also provide some pretty hilarious comedy while just being the critters they are!
Places: We all have LIFE connections to these. They are structural monuments to our experiences, or landscaped memorials of our memories. We can return to a place we have been, stand in a space we have stood, and everything felt there will uprush like the swash of the sea and we become awash in all of our salty senses. Magical really! Though, what type of magic is relative to what happened there; are there sparkles and light or shadows and darkness? We hope the first, but reality teaches no one lives in an utopia. As I post, you’ll get a good taste of where these places are for me, and what kind of magic they reveal.
Things: Ah, the tangible mementos! Those are memories displayed on a shelf or tucked away in a box to ensure we remember. With some, we set them out for public viewing as they hold proof of our happiness or evidence of people or places we love. The things we tuck away are often too personal, too revealing, too painful or, even, too silly. We closet them because of all that they connect, we can’t bear to look at them regularly. No matter the thing, or where we place it, they are the keepers of the moments we fear could fade or altogether be erased. Whatever their importance, we hang on lest we forget. I’ll be sure to share both, so you’ll see what I mean.
Ideas: The philosophy of our spirit. What perpetual paintings we have in our minds of what we think, know, or imagine! We produce them in a phenomenal capacity. —THOUGHTS! —THOUGHTS! —THOUGHTS! It’s a graceful dance, or could be a clod-hopping jig, of what is twirling in our heads: knowledge, truth, right and wrong, religion, the nature of living, and the meaning of life. What is ANYTHING about??! Right?! As writers, we put to paper these ideas/thoughts/philosophies in detailed observations of life’s outcomes: our experiences, our successes and failures, our behaviors, our connections, our frustrations, our concerns, our celebrations, our dedication to…and so on, and so on. If we are committed to reflecting on the world and ‘self’, we write about ALL of it! We press to the edges, add filling to the within, we choose to cover or leave bare, and we turn on the heat. When all is done, we hope not only will we have tasted in part, but will have discovered all the deliciousness of the whole damn beautiful, miraculous thing! An idea can be far more than an instantaneous light bulb moment; hopefully, it is an extended illumination of being.
Events: The chronicling of the impactful and the mundane. We are tremendously moved by birth and death, making these key subjects for writing. We find inspiration in the celebrations of living and also are impelled to eulogize in reflection of death.
As for the mundane, well, for me, it is the need to touch simplicity. With the torrential complexities of life, we must acknowledge the need to credit the mundane for being a necessity to sanity.
Emotions: We all know these: love, joy, excitement, gratitude, grief, fear, anger, hate…the whole range. They’re our responses to what gets placed on the palate of our lives; the sweet, salty, savory, sour, and bitter that hits our mortal taste buds. They are the essential ‘stuff’ breathing life to words and giving voice to our need to express them.
I do hope this was helpful, insightful, and maybe enlightening? As I reflect, the process of writing and the examination of my writing has always been introspective for me; each product of my commingled words is a unique dish my soul serves.
Thanks for reading!
Many Blessings and MUCH LOVE,
W-Gray
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