October is almost upon us, bringing with it all sorts of excitement. Autumn is in the air, Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte is back in stores, and my beloved San Francisco Giants have clinched a spot in the playoffs (whoo, Orange October!). On the writing front, all my WriMos know that NaNoWriMo is just around the corner, and are starting to think about the projects that they’ll pursue in November.
I’m giddy about all of the above, but right now, it’s October Poetry Writing Month (#OctPoWriMo on Twitter) that’s tickling my fancy. The challenge, spearheaded by the lovely Morgan Dragonwillow and Julie Jordan Scott, is simple: write 1 poem a day, every day in October (more info, plus tons of poetry-writing tips, here). You can find the list of participants (or sign up yourself!) at the linky.
31 poems in a month is a daunting task, but I can’t wait to start. As much as I love flash fiction, short stories, and novels, there is something about poetry that allows me to give voice to all of the emotions that I bottle up inside. Writing it can sometimes leave me feeling raw and exposed, but at the end of the day the process is intensely therapeutic.
I’ll be posting my entries for #OctPoWriMo over on my tumblr, but I’ll link to my favorites each week in my check-ins for A Round of Words in 80 Days (yet another thing to look forward to in October!). In the meantime, I will leave you with a trio of haikus I wrote this morning in preparation for the challenge. There’s nothing like scribbling a few itty bitty gems of goodness to get the day started right. 😀
-oOo-
“melts”
stone is unyielding
diamond can’t be destroyed, but
my heart melts for you
“san francisco”
gray mists shroud the land
hiding the face of the sun
when will summer come?
“morning benediction”
fill me with fierce strength,
open my eyes, Great Mother,
take my soul and heart
-oOo-
Any other exciting events happening in October? What fun things are y’all gearing up for?
September 27, 2012 at 7:42 am
I can’t write poetry to save myself, so I really admire those who can! As for me, I’m planning to release a holiday short story, and maybe outline something for NaNo. Not sure on that one yet. 🙂 I’ll see you in ROW80!
September 27, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Oooh, a holiday short story? I will definitely be looking forward to that, Jennette.
Can’t wait to start the next round of ROW80!
September 27, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Have fun with poetry writing month Lena. Sounds like a fun challenge!:)
September 27, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Thanks a bunch, Coleen! I’m really excited to get started. 😀
September 28, 2012 at 6:15 am
I LOVE to read poetry, and studied it in university, but I haven’t really devoted any time to writing it. The trio this morning was lovely. I’m looking forward to reading more of your poems as the month goes on 🙂
September 28, 2012 at 10:12 am
Wow, I had no idea that you studied poetry in university! I love learning new things about my writing friends. 😀
I think Mondays in October will be devoted to some of my favorite poets. Narrowing them down to just four is proving to be a huge challenge, though.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Marcy!
September 28, 2012 at 3:45 pm
You have hidden talents Lena! Love your tidbits of poetry. Now about October. What happened to September, is what I want to know. But I love fall. And you must love fall in San Francisco. It sounds like you’ve settled in quite nicely Lena. I’m so happy for you! 🙂
September 28, 2012 at 5:33 pm
Oh gosh, September. I think I spent most of it drowning in rewrites and edits for dissertation things, lol. But I think we’re FINALLY getting our hot autumn days here in SF, thank goodness, because all this fog is getting on my nerves.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Karen!