Disappoemment
Poetry challenges can be daunting
Here’s A New Word, An Idea, and A Question.
A New Word
This is where I share a word that really should exist, one that should be in the dictionary.
Disappoemment
: when our poetry doesn’t match our expectations.
// When you have a clear idea, but your poem doesn’t express it, you may experience acute disappoemment.
// Every writer will have experienced at least mild disappoemment.
There are times when we think our words are coming out perfectly, but when we read them back the next day, we can't work out what on earth we were trying to say.
This may be more likely to occur if you were intoxicated when writing, but disappoemment is not limited to drunkriting.
Disappoemment is usually applied to poetry. If you prefer a more specific term for your prose failings, you could try disstoryfaction.
An Idea
I’m a sucker for a poetry challenge. Especially if the prompts are interesting ones.
It can be daunting, though.
Thirty poems can be a lot to manage, and a writer can get bogged down in their own ideas.
Here’s what I do.
My process for writing to a challenge with multiple prompts.
First, I copy all of the prompts into a single file.
Then I add thoughts and words to the ones that inspire me.
Some inspire me right away. Others might take a bit of time.
If I think of something that might relate to the prompt, I quickly jot it down. That way, when I come to do the writing, there are some words to choose from.
Once I find a creative thought or thread that feels right for that prompt, I copy it into a new Medium story and write about it.
Sometimes my first ideas don’t work out at all, and it’s back to the drawing board.
My first ideas often walk me down a road into a completely different world.
When that happens, I’m willing to edit out the initial inspiration and go with the new direction, whatever it is.
Be willing to delete the parts that don’t fit with the whole.
A Question
Have you struggled with disappoemment? How did you work your way out of it?
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