Writing the Life Poetic

Creating Space for Writing: Blending the Elements of Your LIfe

By Toni Partington

In my last column I wrote about the integration of roles. The concepts of integrating your role as a poet with other life roles. I suggested that compartmentalizing your life may keep you from tapping into the poetry juice that’s all around you. The key to integration is to see ourselves as a mix of roles, characteristics, and talents and to allow these to live together instead of segmenting them to proper place and time.  
When I speak about blending the elements of my life I’m literally considering how the various aspects of life, relationships, work, play, and interests inform my writing. The application of blending in the craft of writing starts by manifesting experiences into words, phrases, lines, and ultimately, whole poems.  

A sure way to see this materialize is to do a free writing exercise. Start with blank paper. Describe what you were thinking or doing today, before you started to write. Then, work backwards, what happened before that, where were you, who was there, what did you say? Continue on, be specific and detailed.  

What were your surroundings, how did they look, smell, feel? What about right before that? Write until you feel a natural stopping place. Read it once to yourself and a second time out loud. Now, go back and circle words, lines, phrases, or make notes in the margins. You’ve written about what you know and now have words that can be shaped into something else.

Here’s a short example. Last night rain filled the birdbath out back. It is cold this morning; the robins bathe anyway. Four are in the bath, one on the lilac branch overhead and one among leaves on the ground. They are plump with magnificent orange-red breasts. Their splashing reminds me of joy and a time when my kids were babies. Earlier, after making the bed, sheets cold since you left for work, I moved past our huge front window just in time to see crows on the front lawn. Then, in slow motion I caught sight of one perfect white crow gliding above the others. Can this be real? I’ve never seen a white crow. I must call the Audubon and ask. Head to the phone as it starts ringing; pick up, a recorded political message. I race back to the front window, white crow gone.  

I have several themes in this free writing that can lead to at least one poem. I can expand, embellish, remove, twist, or keep it straightforward. I can play with tenses, create sensory cues, make it about nature, love, or family. I can break a sentence into parts – shape lines, omit extras. This short piece draws from the images of a single morning.  

Imagine yourself blending the elements of everyday life. Don’t be shy about exploring where these elements may take you.

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Toni Partington lives and works in Vancouver, WA. Her poetry has appeared in the NW Women’s Journal, the Anthology of the River Poets’ Society, VoiceCatcher 3, the Cascade Journal, and others. Toni’s other work includes career/life coaching, editing services for new and emerging writers, and grant writing. This winter she joined the editorial collective for VoiceCatcher 4. She holds a BA in Social Work and an MA focused on Literature and Literary Editing.  Before that, Toni was a high-school drop out, pregnant and then married at age 16 whose life came faster than it should have and toughened her into a self-described survivor. Today, her circle includes family, friends, dogs and poets, not in any particular order.

Blog: www.poettone.blogspot.com
Email: tpartington@earthlink.net

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Creating Space for Writing: Integrating Poetry Into the Everyday

By Toni Partington

In my last two columns, you’ve defined your internal and external writing spaces. Now let’s talk about the realities of everyday life.  

Think about how you move from one role (employee, parent, student, partner) to another. How you juggle these many identities and seem to make things work on the busiest days. Now, think about yourself as the poet-writer. Where does it fit in? If you answered, “Everywhere,” there’s probably no need to read further. If you said, “There’s never enough time,” or “It’s on my list but doesn’t seem to get done,” or “I save it up for the weekend,” then read on, my friend.  

Imagine how it would feel if writing became an everyday practice of living. Look around, there’s plenty to write about: overheard tidbits that catch your ear, the interesting profile of the person in the car ahead of you, pink tree blossoms in the wind. What if you made notes throughout the day about what you saw, heard, imagined, experienced, felt? What if you looked that list over and turned it into a line or two? What if?  

Frequently, I pull to the side of the road to make notes, stop my shopping cart mid-aisle to write, ask the person on the other end of the phone to hold for a minute. I’m not being rude, I’m integrating the writer in me into all I do. Sure, I have a wide variety of roles – (grant writer, life-career coach, mom, partner, friend) but in each role I am still a poet. In fact, I am a poet first; and just saying this influences how I view my life. It doesn’t diminish the importance of my other roles. It enhances them.  

Some of us like structure while others like flow. You can do it either way. For example, if you prefer structure, you could decide to be in the observer’s role at a specific time. You may select an outing or even a mundane activity and let the poet-observer take the lead. At first it will feel more like segmenting than integration, but it will give you the opportunity to let the poet be in charge so that you can feel what that’s like.  

In a more fluid or “flow” mode, you are integrating the poet at all (or most) times. You are tuned in to let your encounters, experiences, and situations lead the writing. In other words, you are present as life unfolds and you are determined to capture what you can in writing.  

To do either, carry a small, pocket size notebook everywhere. When you have a thought, observation or idea,  take the time to write it down. Don’t wait; I promise it won’t be there later. Hard as you try, you won’t be able to capture that thought in just that way.  

Once you have a few notes it’s like having a poetry savings account. You can add to it or draw from it. It’s there and it’s yours.  

Try this!  

Evaluate your writing mindset. Does it feel selfish or self-indulgent to spend time writing? Would your life be enriched by the time you set aside to write? Take one thing at a time – start by imagining what life will be like if you integrate the parts of you that have been disconnected from each other. Imagine writing as a priority that gets your time and attention on a regular basis.   

Decide on a time of day to review what you’ve written (with morning coffee, before bed, ten minutes in the car after work – whatever feels right to you). Ponder the words, sketches, phrases, quotes – what do they bring to mind? Do you want to build on any part of it, link things together, use something as a prompt for more writing?  

Next, the major challenge: choose your designated time to write – to expand your notes into poems. Specifically, when in your day or week is your sacred writing time? We all know that it’s good to be flexible – but not so good to give away this precious time when you have deemed it important.  

Claim your writing self. To set aside the time as a regular practice is to make a statement to yourself and others that you value writing and have chosen to integrate it fully into your lifestyle. If you use a calendar, blackberry or some form of time organization, add in this designated time and activity. If you make it a priority and say it out loud, it is likely that you will follow through.

* * * * *

Toni Partington lives and works in Vancouver, WA. Her poetry has appeared in the NW Women’s Journal, the Anthology of the River Poets’ Society, VoiceCatcher 3, the Cascade Journal, and others. Toni’s other work includes career/life coaching, editing services for new and emerging writers, and grant writing. This winter she joined the editorial collective for VoiceCatcher 4. She holds a BA in Social Work and an MA focused on Literature and Literary Editing.  Before that, Toni was a high-school drop out, pregnant and then married at age 16 whose life came faster than it should have and toughened her into a self-described survivor. Today, her circle includes family, friends, dogs and poets, not in any particular order.

Blog: www.poettone.blogspot.com
Email: tpartington@earthlink.net

* * * * *

View all "Creating Space for Writing" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

By Toni Partington

In my last two columns, you’ve defined your internal and external writing spaces. Now let’s talk about the realities of everyday life.  

Think about how you move from one role (employee, parent, student, partner) to another. How you juggle these many identities and seem to make things work on the busiest days. Now, think about yourself as the poet-writer. Where does it fit in? If you answered, “Everywhere,” there’s probably no need to read further. If you said, “There’s never enough time,” or “It’s on my list but doesn’t seem to get done,” or “I save it up for the weekend,” then read on, my friend.  

Imagine how it would feel if writing became an everyday practice of living. Look around, there’s plenty to write about: overheard tidbits that catch your ear, the interesting profile of the person in the car ahead of you, pink tree blossoms in the wind. What if you made notes throughout the day about what you saw, heard, imagined, experienced, felt? What if you looked that list over and turned it into a line or two? What if?  

Frequently, I pull to the side of the road to make notes, stop my shopping cart mid-aisle to write, ask the person on the other end of the phone to hold for a minute. I’m not being rude, I’m integrating the writer in me into all I do. Sure, I have a wide variety of roles – (grant writer, life-career coach, mom, partner, friend) but in each role I am still a poet. In fact, I am a poet first; and just saying this influences how I view my life. It doesn’t diminish the importance of my other roles. It enhances them.  

Some of us like structure while others like flow. You can do it either way. For example, if you prefer structure, you could decide to be in the observer’s role at a specific time. You may select an outing or even a mundane activity and let the poet-observer take the lead. At first it will feel more like segmenting than integration, but it will give you the opportunity to let the poet be in charge so that you can feel what that’s like.  

In a more fluid or “flow” mode, you are integrating the poet at all (or most) times. You are tuned in to let your encounters, experiences, and situations lead the writing. In other words, you are present as life unfolds and you are determined to capture what you can in writing.  

To do either, carry a small, pocket size notebook everywhere. When you have a thought, observation or idea,  take the time to write it down. Don’t wait; I promise it won’t be there later. Hard as you try, you won’t be able to capture that thought in just that way.  

Once you have a few notes it’s like having a poetry savings account. You can add to it or draw from it. It’s there and it’s yours.  

Try this!  

Evaluate your writing mindset. Does it feel selfish or self-indulgent to spend time writing? Would your life be enriched by the time you set aside to write? Take one thing at a time – start by imagining what life will be like if you integrate the parts of you that have been disconnected from each other. Imagine writing as a priority that gets your time and attention on a regular basis.   

Decide on a time of day to review what you’ve written (with morning coffee, before bed, ten minutes in the car after work – whatever feels right to you). Ponder the words, sketches, phrases, quotes – what do they bring to mind? Do you want to build on any part of it, link things together, use something as a prompt for more writing?  

Next, the major challenge: choose your designated time to write – to expand your notes into poems. Specifically, when in your day or week is your sacred writing time? We all know that it’s good to be flexible – but not so good to give away this precious time when you have deemed it important.  

Claim your writing self. To set aside the time as a regular practice is to make a statement to yourself and others that you value writing and have chosen to integrate it fully into your lifestyle. If you use a calendar, blackberry or some form of time organization, add in this designated time and activity. If you make it a priority and say it out loud, it is likely that you will follow through.

* * * * *

Toni Partington lives and works in Vancouver, WA. Her poetry has appeared in the NW Women’s Journal, the Anthology of the River Poets’ Society, VoiceCatcher 3, the Cascade Journal, and others. Toni’s other work includes career/life coaching, editing services for new and emerging writers, and grant writing. This winter she joined the editorial collective for VoiceCatcher 4. She holds a BA in Social Work and an MA focused on Literature and Literary Editing.  Before that, Toni was a high-school drop out, pregnant and then married at age 16 whose life came faster than it should have and toughened her into a self-described survivor. Today, her circle includes family, friends, dogs and poets, not in any particular order.

Blog: www.poettone.blogspot.com
Email: tpartington@earthlink.net

* * * * *

View all "Creating Space for Writing" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

Creating Space for Writing: Making Room Internally

By Toni Partington

Last month, you identified the physical space that inspires you to write poetry. This month, it’s time to make space inside yourself. This isn’t a process to stop the noise, eliminate internal conversation, or remove people. It’s a process of reflection and preparation.

Poems happen we’ve allowed our mind and body to access the internal place where imagination is married to creativity and the freedom of expression. How can we get there? I suggest a reflection exercise to start exploring the answer to that question.

Identify your obstacles
Make a list of what’s in the way of your writing. Be honest--are the obstacles in your mind or in the world? Do they carry more weight than necessary? Are they excuses for not writing? When you’ve finished the list, rank them 0–10 (zero for excuses that can be removed by structure or determination, five for things we can change with some effort, and ten for issues or situations requiring serious resolution). Next to each item, write down what you can, or rather what you will do to stop these from preventing you to write.

Identify your strengths
This reflection exercise is in two categories. One is for folks already writing poetry on a regular basis -- let’s call you Active Poets. The other is for beginners, whom we’ll call Emerging Poets. Go to a quiet place, bring pen/paper and allow 60-90 uninterrupted minutes.

Active Poets: Select five poems you’ve written -- ones you feel good about. Start by reading the first poem. Close your eyes and think about what inspired this poem. Write down your responses to the following prompts:

• Where were you when you wrote the poem?
• Was there a specific catalyst?
• What was going on in your life at the time?
• How did you feel when you started the poem? Finished it?
• How do you feel about the poem now?

Emerging Poets: Begin by listing five personal, academic or work-related achievements where you overcame an obstacle or problem. Take the first achievement, close your eyes and think about the moment you knew you had achieved success. Describe the feeling in writing and respond to the following prompts:

• What turned the corner for you -- was there a specific catalyst?
• Describe the difference between how you felt before and after this success.
• How do you feel about the achievement now?

Do this exercise for each poem or achievement on your list. If you need a break, take one. Try not to do this fast or on the fly. When you are finished, read what you’ve written and make notes along the margins of themes that emerge. Are there common elements in the themes or something that is present nearly every time you write a poem or feel accomplished? What is it? Write it down.

Recap what works
You’ve just identified some key themes in your process that would be helpful to repeat. We’re going to help you remember these by listing them on a clean sheet of paper. For example, here are my themes:

Theme one: Nature as muse
I get an overwhelming feeling outside when I notice how small I am compared to the enormity of nature. Sight, sound, smell and temperature are all likely to spark poetry for me.

Theme two: Social justice as spark
When I feel concern about a social issue and want to learn as much as I can, often I express myself in writing. Empathy, compassion and care generally send me looking for a pen.
Reflection can help us recognize the feelings and circumstances that nudge imaginings, creativity, language, and ideas. Think of the list you’ve just created as a jump-start -- knowledge of what sparks you. Carry it with you and refer to it whenever you feel drab or unmotivated to write. With instant recall of the elements that fuel your desire to write, you can open your poetic world.

* * * * *

Toni Partington lives and works in Vancouver, WA. Her poetry has appeared in the NW Women’s Journal, the Anthology of the River Poets’ Society, VoiceCatcher 3, the Cascade Journal, and others. Toni’s other work includes career/life coaching, editing services for new and emerging writers, and grant writing. This winter she joined the editorial collective for VoiceCatcher 4. She holds a BA in Social Work and an MA focused on Literature and Literary Editing.  Before that, Toni was a high-school drop out, pregnant and then married at age 16 whose life came faster than it should have and toughened her into a self-described survivor. Today, her circle includes family, friends, dogs and poets, not in any particular order.

Blog: www.poettone.blogspot.com
Email: tpartington@earthlink.net

Creating Space for Writing: Claim Your Physical Space

By Toni Partington

How does a poet secure physical space to write when everything else demands attention? It starts when we decide to value the poet in us. Following are a range of suggested strategies for claiming and customizing a physical space. If there's one thing here that resonates with you, give it a try and let it grow.

Inventory today's writing space
Where is your writing stuff right now (books, papers, files, inspiring mementos)? Where do your usually write (office, car, bed, couch, patio, kitchen table)? Where do you feel most creative (home, bookstore, nature, coffeehouse)? Answer these questions in detail.

Imagine what could be possible tomorrow
Imagine a setting that would inspire you to create poems -- to let them flow onto the page. Draw or sketch this setting. Add detail and color, bring it alive and don't worry about artistic quality. Then, set it aside for 24 hours. When you pull it out ask, is it complete? Is this the place where I can and will create? If you have doubts, start over or add to it. If yes, I see myself creating here, study it closely. Where is it (outside/inside, home, elsewhere)? Is it portable/permanent? Is there inspiration (art, photos, books, music, plants)? Is it formal/informal? Do you need order, quiet, privacy? Is it accessible each day?  

Make a plan for getting there
Now that you've imagined the setting, make a list of what's needed to make it a reality. When finished, identify items available right now. Sometimes these things are available if we ask around. Make another list of items not readily available. Begin gathering items you have or can obtain easily. Here's an example. My client Lynn sketched her ideal space as a meadow with a comfortable chair, lap desk for notebook/laptop, cooler for water/snacks, and a wool blanket.

After making the list, the items she lacked were a lap desk and quality folding chair. She solved this by requesting these as presents for her upcoming birthday. Then, she listed places where the natural environment fuels her poetry. Within a few weeks she had the items placed securely in the trunk of her car and a plan to follow. Now, she has her writing space with her every day.

Don't let circumstances limit you
Your setting may take more planning or resources. But don't let that limit you today. Sometimes we think that unless we have it together, perfectly, we can't get started. It's important to pull together what we do have and get going. Experiencing a sense of doing is inspiring in itself. The act of writing a poem, getting lines on paper can be enough to fuel us.

Often writers say they'll begin once the office is clean, organized, or they've found more hours in the day. I say start now by writing a line or two. Afterwards, get started on creating your poetry place and a plan with a timeline to secure the items.  Make a space that will support your daily writing.

Settle in and enjoy!
For me, there are two spaces for my two poetry moods -- one is my cushy red sofa wrapped in a favorite blanket, lap desk, paisley covered notebook and Joni Mitchell's Blue album softly in the background. The other is propped up in bed, pillows all around, the dog curled on my legs, and silence except for my breathing mixed with the dog's snoring. What's yours?

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Toni Partington lives and works in Vancouver, WA. Her poetry has appeared in the NW Women's Journal, the Anthology of the River Poets' Society, VoiceCatcher 3, the Cascade Journal, and others. Toni's other work includes career/life coaching, editing services for new and emerging writers, and grant writing. This winter she joined the editorial collective for VoiceCatcher 4. She holds a BA in Social Work and an MA focused on Literature and Literary Editing.  Before that, Toni was a high-school drop out, pregnant and then married at age 16 whose life came faster than it should have and toughened her into a self-described survivor. Today, her circle includes family, friends, dogs and poets, not in any particular order.
Blog: www.poettone.blogspot.com
Email: tpartington@earthlink.net