Category: Poetry

A big part of my writing process was not just finding rhyme but finding the rhyme that rang true to my experience. My favorite thing to do when writing a rhyming poem is to find one word I know I want in my poem, and then write a list of all the words that rhyme with it. I go through and cross them off as I write so I don’t accidentally reuse them. There was no set meter for this piece, but I wanted it to feel like it was speeding up as it went so if words or phrases were too clunky or awkward; they were cut, rephrased, or condensed.

The feedback I received gave me a lot of insight into how others read and interpreted my words. I was able to see patterns in my poem that I could improve upon. I have been going to Writers Guild for quite a few months and, just based on the feedback that has been given to other people, I’ve learned so much about how I can be a better writer. Getting feedback from a larger group made it helpful to know what things worked for some people and not for others.

[Writing Center tutor] suggested I use a repeating “the” at the beginning of a few lines, which I loved, and asked for clarification about the entrails line, which I now feel is more specific to what I am trying to convey. My word choice was the main thing I looked at for this piece. Honestly, I think it helped me get over my fear of showing others my writing. I rarely share things like this, so it feels vulnerable and real to put these works into publication; to have poetry that details such intimate feelings in a magazine is scary! I am glad I submitted it, this has helped me grow as a writer and reflect on why I write.

The feedback helped me see my work from the perspective of readers and see where some word choices might be less clear or where excessive wordiness might detract from the piece.

I had a lot of positive feedback for my piece with most of the suggestions falling into the category of how to lightly tinker with the piece to bring out the best poem. I think the more general comments that I got helped me know how my poem would generally be received.

I was told it was tight and the rhythm flowed well. There was one stanza where my syllables were inconsistent, and a few places where there was confusion on word choice such as “ones” for money and beginning the poem during a job search not in the scene most discussed. I was told that there was a lot said in a short amount of time and that my puns were effective.

Concision and organization were big in this piece. I knew what idea I wanted to share and the tone I wanted to use, but Angie really helped me with the overall structure and how to cut down in order to make the biggest impact.

I worked with Angie a lot on structure and punctuation. I had never written poetry before so we also worked on genre conventions and general style.

We focused a lot on voice and perspective in the piece. Since it is me talking to myself, we discussed how to make that more clear. I also wanted to play with imagery and physical description which was tough for me but very fun.

For “hands,” I completely reworked the stanzas leading up to the last stanza. I made the purpose of the “September’s moonlight” stanza clearer, capturing the narrator’s initial uncertainty about the connection, which I then made sure to juxtapose with the rest of the poem. I also made the “enchanted” reference clearer by explicitly stating it as a song reference and adding a reason for that song reference as well. Lastly, I made the cold vs. warmth theme throughout the poem much more noticeable at the beginning to keep the poem consistent throughout.