I take mental notes of details and sensory impressions I can use later, creating an initial visual picture or a remembered line. As I go on walks, visit places, or even sit in a coffee shop, I look for poems, more alert to my surroundings. I’ve learned a few things about the world, writing, and myself from the daily poetry challenge. Photo Credit: Chloe Bryan, Mashable SE Asia This “cheating” generated several decent lines or the start of a poem with an idea or image that could be used later. Though it felt repetitive, I explored the topics from several angles and at a deeper level. I wrote a few poems with similar titles and subjects, including waterfowl, seasonal stuff, and lights. She disagreed, congratulating me for still writing-I also gained a better grasp of syllable counts and concise language. I told a fellow poet it was my cheat method. I wrote dozens of haikus (see Haiku | Academy of American Poets) since they’re short, following the 5-7-5 form with any subject, not just nature and seasons. This year I bounded ahead since I have extra time from the lag between quitting my part-time job and revamping my writing and editing business. I could backfill the slots if I skipped, never getting too far behind to avoid playing catchup. I had a plentitude of excuses: too busy, not inspired, not motivated, and I just didn’t want to turn my laptop back on.īut then I learned daily writing doesn’t actually have to be daily. I’ve done the same thing with my daily slots. Thinking each poem had to be good was a block, so she let some go. She saw her poetry as practice, lowering her standards to produce a large volume of work. Her poems didn’t have to be good but had to be true, both to the poem and the writing. To write daily, Wahtola Trommer became available to poems all day long. She began her own challenge 10 years earlier to write and share a poem a day for one month, but she loved it so much she extended it to a lifelong daily practice. I attended one of her poetry workshops in August 2017. I got the idea from Placerville, Colorado, poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer (see Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer – Word Woman – Poet, Teacher, Storyteller). I missed a few days in winter 2020 during surgery recovery and at the end of 2021 when my schedule got overwhelmingly busy. Saying “I will,” I undertook the Poem a Day Challenge in September 2017 and have written nearly 1,600 poems since. Writing a poem a day is like marriage-it’s a commitment that takes loyalty, honesty, and authenticity.
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