May 5, 2009

Humdrum Tuesday

Is humdrum supposed to be one word or two? Meh, guess it doesn't really matter.

I’m bored. The lazy-itis of Sunday has settled in for a visit. This is not good. Don’t feel like reading, don’t feel like writing . . . . certainly don’t feel like doing any of the million other constructive things I could be doing. It’s just one of those moods I have to acknowledge and hope it moves on.

Not surprisingly, yesterday was a struggle, as far as writing went. I fell short of my goal by about 300 words. I’d like to think I’ll make it up today, but I’m not making any promises. The weather has turned dismal and we all know what that does to my ambition.

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I had coffee with a friend last week and I was telling her about the PAD Challenge and she asked: “So what do you get if you finish?” The question took me by surprise because she’s a writer too (though not of poetry) and I figured she’d understand.

I found myself on the defensive, pointing out the best poems would be published in an e-book and someone would be chosen Poet Laureate of the Poetic Asides site for a year. She seemed satisfied with my answer but it took the chance of being published to justify it to her.

As much as I whined about some of the prompts, I really enjoyed the challenge. I revitalized myself as a poet and stretched myself as a writer. What did I gain? How about thirty new poems to add to my repertoire and countless new insights to apply to my other writing. It encouraged me to start critiquing poems on the AW poetry forum. It gave me the courage to submit my poem to a contest where I won fifth place.

Of course this is the friend who doesn’t understand why I do the NaNoWriMo challenge every year either. ;-)

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I think if the writing doesn’t go well today I’m going to try cleaning up my office and go back to writing in there. It’s a little too comfortable in the living room, which is where I’ve been writing. Not that I need to be uncomfortable to be able to write, but what’s the point of having a home office if I never use it?

Okay, let’s be honest here. The reason I’ve been avoiding my office is because of all the junk that’s been piling up in it. I’ve got papers and bills and books stacked all over the place, most of them covered with cat hair. Cleaning it up is one of those tasks I always put off and the sad part is it probably isn’t as onerous a task as I think it will be.

3 comments:

Jamie D. said...

My dad doesn't understand NaNoWriMo either - if there's no publishing potential, he doesn't see the point. Silly people - haven't they ever heard of practice? Learning by doing? I'll stop there - I'm in a rant-y mood today, and could go on (and on, and on...).

So *that's* what my home office is for! Here I thought it was just a place to store books (and junk), and house my big desktop so I could connect from the living room! Novel concept, actually using the office to work in... ;-)

C R Ward said...

I think the world is divided into two kinds of people. Those who "get" Nano and those that don't.

Gee, your office sounds like mine. Books, junk, desktop computer . . . the only thing missing from yours is the cats on the bookcases!

Anonymous said...

Hey, at least you worked towards your goal, even if you missed out by a little bit :)

I think poetry is a great exercise towards improving prose writing. It helps with giving natural rhythm to writing, with expression of emotion, and with expressing complex thoughts simply and briefly.

And well done with contest placing too! (and sorry if you announced that earlier and i missed it)