Mid-month NaNoWriMo report

So, we’re just over half way through NaNoWriMo, and I thought I would give a sort of report of how it’s gone so far. Up to this point, I have written only poetry; I’m not counting the blog post that went up on Rememberance Day, because it was written a while ago and scheduled. But I think writing poetry has been a good “soft” start, as it were. I’m thinking I’ll try for more short story work over the next few weeks.

As predicted, I have not been writing 500 words of poetry per day. And also as I might have guessed, I have not been finishing the poems I begin on each day, at least not always. However, I think this is probably a good thing, as I am inclined to believe that a poem needs time to “sit,” and that the writer needs time to gain a fresh perspective and judge it properly, or at least differently. More angles only seem a good thing to me. The glamour of first impressions has time to mellow, and fresh creative energy may yield insight into problems and how to fix rough spots.

I thought it would be good to share some of my work so far, but looking back, I’m not sure how many of these poems I would consider truly “done.” Nevertheless, I’ll share a few here, with the caveat that some slight edits might yet happen.

Here’s one, as of yet untitled:

Before today
I somehow
never noticed
when the sun
sets
how the light
it casts across
the sky
dyes the clouds
in the east
indescribable shades
which slowly slide
upwards
like a prayer
for its soul

And here’s another, tentatively titled “If”:

If you would learn to paint,
Go watch a sunset
And weep.

If you would learn to sculpt,
Observe a woman
Sit,
And despair.

Now you are ready.
Take up your brush, take up your chisel,
Take up your pen—
Begin.

*

I have many other drafts and half-to-almost finished poems. I’ll try to finalize some more and share them here before the end of the month.