Serene of the Oakland Serenes

In the past week, I:

Wrote 5K+ words (not as much as I wished, but I did a lot of editing)

Finished 3 stories

Submitted 3 stories and 4 poems

Wrote almost every day (not today so far)

Worked on organizing my writing, including putting old on-paper-only writing into my electronic documents

( The numbers )

A ton of my time is being devoted right now to the Resistance Manual. At least a couple of hours a day, and more on the weekends. It is what is keeping me from despair, but I also think it's what's making me feel productive enough to get some writing done and some pieces submitted.

I am trying to be careful not to burn out, but being busy with something that matters is so enriching. I used to pine for something like this when my friends like wild_irises were out meeting and marching and paying off people's home loans and stuff, and I could barely get out of bed. Now I have something I can do that doesn't actually require getting out of bed (or comfy chair), and it's something I really believe in, so I feel so good about it. Plus, working on the disability stuff means I'll be providing resources so that more people with disabilities will be able to resist without feeling like they have to be able to march or get arrested or do things their bodies don't want to do.

One thing I want to make more time for is a big chunk of time per day to really work on improving my writing. I consider myself a writer of medium competency and very little... giftedness? or something? But I know any writer can get better by really working at it, so I want to do that more in the weeks and months to come. I have a lot of writing projects in various stages of completion: my finished but unedited NaNo novel, a few chapters each of two other novels, a first draft of a nonfiction book, and so many early drafts of poetry that I can't even tell you. This is me pep-talking myself into making that stuff more of a priority.

I'm lucky that my bosses give me comp time when I work at home. "Lucky." :-)

Last night, I came home and spent a couple hours catching up on a project that I have a meeting about today, so it'll be nice and clean when I hand it off. Then this morning, I ran a report for my director so he doesn't have to wait for me to get in at 10, and did a little more on the meeting stuff. And I really enjoyed myself. As my mother sometimes says, I'm not wrapped too tight.

After the paid work, I then spent an hour on the Resistance Manual, and now I'm getting some writing in before I go to my actual day job. I wish I were always this energetic and productive, but I'll take it when I can get it.

Yesterday, got my first rejection letter since I started submitting my work again. I genuinely love them (but not as much as acceptances, of course) because (a) I know they are part of the package, so they don't bother me because I know some acceptances will be there, too; and (b) it reminds me I'm putting my work out there, and that's my goal, when I get down to it.

Are you on Wattpad? I'm going to be sharing some of my writing there, and I'd like to follow yours, as well.

Current pub schedule is a poem on Mondays and a chapter of my new novel on Fridays.

https://www.wattpad.com/user/serenevannoy

This interview about writing -- with Stephen King and the "Left Behind" guy, of all people, got me a little choked up. Not at the stuff about writing, but at the respectful, ecumenical (if that can apply to a religious person and a pantheist/atheist/something) tone of these two men who clearly admire each other even though their work is, shall we say, aimed at different people.

I took from this an admonition to find the good in my opponents, and to focus on similarity over difference.

From the Writer's Digest e-newsletter:

April Poem-A-Day Challenge

April is National Poetry Month, and Poetic Asides blogger Robert Lee Brewer is calling all poets (and even non poets) to take part in his annual Poem-A-Day Challenge! Last year, more than 400 poets posted more than 4,000 poems during the month of April and turnout this year is expected to be even greater.

Participants who complete the poem-a-day challenge will receive a certificate, an online badge (for display on your blog or website) and will be considered for publication in a free eBook designed by Writer's Digest's own wonderful designers.

Participation is free. All you have to do is show up to the Poetic Asides blog on April 1, write a poem a day, and have a great time. For more details, visit:
http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides

Who's in?

The ever-thoughtful wild_irises found herself free tonight to go see postmaudlin's reading at City Lights, and invited me along. Now, I had already put all the Fucking Daphne/Kissing Dead Girls events in my calendar, because, hey, Daphne, and who's a bigger Daphne fangirl than I am, but between the expense and the whole new-kid thing, I was letting it slide until wild_irises pointed out, rightly, that I could probably use some time out of the house.

( This got long... )

So anyway, I love the whole world tonight, and it's not just the caffeine in three glasses of iced tea talking.

[posted to my LJ and to kolkhozpoetry]

firecat, stonebender, and I are going to do the exercises from In the Palm of Your Hand (disclosure: the link gives me a cut if you buy the book) on Fridays for the time being. Under the cut is the first exercise. It is the first step toward writing the first poem. I *highly* recommend getting the book and reading the couple of chapters leading up to the first exercise (and the introduction, as well). But anyway, here's the first exercise (firecat, do you want to include the next two steps: "Taking Notes for the First Poem" and "Poem 1: A Childhood Memory" as part of today's exercise, or take it a piece at a time?)

( For now, I'll just type in the first part )

I love deep, quality poetry that astounds with its beauty.

But I also like poetry as a cooperative, political act. Poetry as performative core-dump. Poetry as a shout-down to The Man. Poetry as a way to bind people who have little else in common. Words as confessional and comedy, play and pretext.

Please join me in creating kolkhozpoetry -- The Kolkhoz Poetry Collective. This is about poetry as a means of giving voice. There will be a blog; there will be monthly DIY chapbook-creation gatherings. But mostly there will be gathering together -- online and in person -- to find ways to use poetry as a voice, a way to shout to the world until it listens.

Don't worry if you're "not a poet". This is about finding your voice, whatever that means to you. C'mon.

(Oakland meetings will be the last Sunday of every month, beginning 3/25/07 -- you should feel free to start some up in your town, too.)

(What does Kolkhoz mean?)