Nov
04

Maybe I Can

So many voices
I hear
when it’s time to write.
I sit staring at my monitor
listening to them.
They sound
like people I respect,
telling me
there’s no point
in trying.
Just stop
quit while you’ve
not embarrassed yourself.
Put your writing books
back on the shelf.
There’s other stuff
you need to be doing
that might be
worth something.

As the nay-sayers reach
near thunderous crescendo
I stop staring at my monitor,
close my eyes
to expel my
hissing internal audience,
take a deep breath
and start writing.

My resolve
to quiet the antagonists
to continue writing
is shored up by a simple
note to self
Maybe I Can
attached to my monitor.

©2009 by Shari Lynne Smothers

Write a title starting Maybe ___; then write a poem for that title. I chose to cover both. This is my poem for Day 4 of the 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge.

Nov
04

Listen to The Rhythm

Poets know that poems are songs, but few of us realize that novels are too.

~ from Walter Mosely’s book, This Year You Write Your Novel

Although I don’t hear it quite clearly, I’m definitely going with the flow of something. There are rhythms to the actions of the characters. Even as I try to steer them, they move those individual cadences. So, I have to let them go in hopes of keeping them believable.

Otherwise they are contrived and unbelievable. Contrived characters in stories can be painful to read. Characters that are made to do things contrary to their nature, just to make something else fit, are really annoying. As my story works itself out, I’m on guard to respect the rhythms.

What do you look for as you write a novel? Are there sticking things in books that put you off?

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