Agonies of a Young Author

So I got an email yesterday that said:

Hi there, and thanks for participating in the DWT Poetry Competition.
Your poem went live today. You can see it here: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/dwt-poetry-competition-eleventh-round/

Me: *blink, blink.* OH right!.......


So I entered this poetry contest. I didn't realize that the winner is chosen by popular vote, but as it is, you should go over to DWT and scroll through the poems and vote for your favorite.

Not that I'm hinting at anything. I admit to nothing. But I might have (generously, against my baser nature and first inclination) voted for someone else, which redirected me to the results of the poll, and saw that my own humble work got no votes. At all.

Ah, well. It was not the best fit in the world. poem and contest, and I probably should have sent something else in. Again, my fault for not doing better research beforehand. I might also have been overly wordy. Not exactly lyric. I haven't revised that poem in a while, and it might be due for a little tune up in the Ye Olde Poem Repair Shoppe.

In other news-- I joined Read Write Poem, a sub-group of NaNaWriMo for the National Poem Writing Month (that is, April). I haven't really done anything for April/ NaPoWriMo (argh! too many acronyms) but I'm trying to take advantage of the prompt-a-day so that I can build up my reservoir of poems again. I am depleted, and I am currently just waiting (waiting, waiting, waiting) to get my rejections so I can send them back out again.

Stupid life, that. Therefore, ONWARD! More poems! More writing! More! More! More!

... oh right. Burnout.

Gasp! I said the word. I think I might be suffering from a touch of burnout. So I'm using the prompts and other ways to force myself to write. And I'm trying to focus on fiction, because I have no self-imposed publishing goals, and there is not the same kind of pressure. But I may think seriously about backing off from poetry and switching to fiction (seriously) for a while. We'll see.

I don't know. It's all in a muddle, and my head just hurts, and I'm in the mood where I just want to curl up with a book and do NOTHING.

Oh right. I did that yesterday. And the day before. And likely will do again today. Trips to the library are bad.

Conference Part Two:

It's a special Saturday post, mainly because I dislike the symmetry of posting this on Monday. It ruins my schedule worse than a Saturday post does.

Well, my neck is NOT better. It fact, last night was probably the WORST night sleep I have ever gotten. And that, Gentle Readers, is SAYING SOMETHING.

Therefore, I made the executive decision to miss the meet & greet coffee, mainly because I'm not at the networking stage in my career and somewhat because I am picky about my coffee. I also missed the keynote speaker, because I heard him the night before. But this time, I knew exactly where I was going, so I drove to the parking lot in front of the exact building and went straight to the conference.

Of course, this is me, so the workshop was not in the main building, but in another, and I was graciously escorted to my workshop door. Late.

But someone walked in right before me, so maybe I blended into the "Delinquent Poet" crowd.

In any case, the workshop leader was stellar. I would be them when I grow up, except it was a man, and I heard those are hard to raise.

But Temple Cone... so funny. He teaches poetry at a military base... I have no clue how you manage that one, but I'm thinking about studying abroad in Annapolis now. Heh, heh.

The first session was good, with small nuggets and semi-precious stones, but the second workshop... the second workshop. I have ideas spewing out of my ears right about now.

A bonus! In honor of the special Saturday post. The humble poem that I came up with as a variation poem on W.C. Williams' "This is Just to Say":

"Sisters: Variations on Variations on Williams and Koch"


I took your new black Gucci dress
without asking


Forgive me
but I needed something to wear
on my date 

with your boyfriend.

And with that, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Right now:
What I'm listening to: Beatropolis Radio on Pandora
What I want most: no more neck pain! no more neck pain!

Well, I turned in that application today-- the one to the Writing Resource Center here at campus that I asked for help on the other day. Of course, I didn't turn in the essay that I asked for help on. It pretty much got trashed in its entirity. I think I salvaged about 3 sentences. But that's ok, since what I turned in was so much stronger.

It was interesting, to get back all the reviews that I did, from here and from Fanstory.com, and be able to see what people thought of my essay. The main criticism that I recieved was that I wrote the essay as a personal essay, instead of a formal application to a job. The fact that someone (or several someones) was able to pull that out of the chaos and be able to recognize that as a weakness was not only humbling but helpful. The new approach gained from that mindset enabled me to fly through the second draft, and craft a piece that I can feel proud of. I was really satisfied by the end result, and I think now I have a better chance of being accepted.

Anyways, thanks for all the help, and cross your fingers that I get the job!

Right now:
What I want most: a nap or a snack, I can't decide which...
What I'm listening to: ticking clock, tapping keys, chairs creaking and small slurps of chai-- all the sounds of hard work and studying

Because today has been a rather large work day for me (five poems, and 2 revised chapters!) I'm only posting a link to another old physics poem I found. In my classical Dr. Suess style. Enjoy.

"Physics (Untitled)"

Right Now:
What I'm listening to: "Wish We Were Older" by Metro Station
What I want most: Sleeeeeeeeeeep!