I know. I’ve been there as well, flipping the pages of the old-dusty books and going through grey webpages of the internet to find a write-up that can match my poetry aesthetic. All I was seeking for basic guidance to aid me getting started to write a poem that I always wanted to write. Despite spending golden sands of hours from dusk to dawn I return empty handed and ended up banging my head on the laptop screen. Suddenly the world seems dull and unpleasant and there’s a halt to exert and push my imagination. Drowsiness and fatigue prevail and eventually I ended up scrolling reels on the social media.
Poetry is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires limitless imagination, plethora of creativity, superfluity of sentiments flowing in your veins, dedication to cultivate discipline towards daily practice, constant motivation, and consistency to refine your poetic skills. Always remember, we write poems to feel our magical existence in this world. That’s why you are in this profession in the first place. We know the taste of art of writing.
There were times when I felt my love for poetry is gone. The days when I didn’t win a contest or when I received a dozen of rejected emails floating in my Inbox. It was difficult for me to grasp that my heart poured poems doesn’t have the potential to get published in journals. I wonder, does that make me a loser? This further resulted in shaking my confidence, unstoppable overthinking, and unnecessarily self-doubts on my capabilities. Guess how I found my lost inspiration?
One evening while I was dusting off my old school stuffs, I stumbled across my mathematics notebook. I remember how much I hated Math in the school back then. A wave of nostalgia swept over me when I curled a few pages of the notebook and I found my first poem, “Wingless Dreamer.” A smile spread across my face. The poem was full of grammatical errors and irregular rhyming schemes. It made me giggle to see such an imperfect poem. Still, it remains my favorite write-up since it was about my first love who passed away few days before I wrote it. This is where my love towards poetry grew fonder and deeper. Poetry has the power to support people when there is no one with them.
Later that evening, I walked to the beach and sat on the sandy seashore watching the pink sunset. With ebb and flow between the golden shore and moon, I was a numskull who didn’t realize it sooner. Poetry is not about perfection but an art of channelizing your inner emotions in words. In order to sustain in this commercialised world, I forgot that poetry comes from within. How foolish I was to chase contest deadlines and rage to finish off writing my poems. Always remember writing can’t be forced. That’s when I bridge hope in my mind and went back to my study to begin working on my poem once again. The rest is history.
Well, there are few things I learnt before I embarked on a journey of transforming myself from an amateur poet to the founder and chief-editor of the Wingless Dreamer Publisher. Through this article I would like to share my knowledge with you. I hope it will prove fruitful to you.
LESSON ONE: CONTROL YOUR MIND
The first step to eliminate the inner voice that says, “I am not a good poet,” is to indulge control over every thought occurring in your subconscious mind. As a writer, naturally you have an incredible energy reserve in your heart that is simple waiting to be tapped. You don’t need a college degree to become a poet laureate. Your self-doubts on your writing skills are your biggest enemy. Unknowingly to sustain in this commercialized world writers are chasing after deadlines and cash prizes forgetting the true essence of poetry. By being hard on yourself and self-criticizing your work negatively is responsible for disempowering your pursuit towards excellence. To become an extra-ordinary poet, you need to learn to become a “hopefulist” first. Control your thoughts and learn to channel your emotions such as grief, anger, frustration, happiness, love, kindness, and helplessness. The day when you’ll learn to run your thoughts like an almighty poet is the day when you’ll achieve personal mastery in art of poetry.
LESSON TWO: SET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT
Our mind and body need a constant reminder to prioritize our dreams above all. When you intensify your energy toward a single purpose, a dormant force you were never aware of kicks in. That’s what is going to make you genius in the field of creative writing. Stop wasting your precious time on mobile phones or indicting ‘It-feels-good’ principle.
It-feels-good principle is basically the process of becoming a sloth by enjoying sleeping or eating too much, among other useless activities. Making a plethora of excuses and deviating yourself by prioritizing things that won’t add toward achieving your goals is a complete waste of time. There’s nobody to blame. It’s all on you. You’ll end up becoming super unproductive for the whole day and ultimately losing motivation. Henceforth, it is vital to keep your motivational spirit on check. You can visit historical places or listen to other people’s stories to gain inspiration. Personally, I love it. Often spend time in nature away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Always set gentle reminders for yourself from time to time. Why do you love writing poems? What poetry means in your life? You can visit to places where you’ve harvested the best of your poems or read your old works from time to time and see how gradually you’ve improved. Be proud of yourself that you’re among those responsible writers who have the tendencies to change the world. A writer is a character rich with self-integrity, a brave-hearted soul, and an avid curator.
LESSON THREE: CORRECT USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES
Think about how to use technology and resources to advance your poetry skill set instead of deescalating your progress. To become a proficient poet, you need to sacrifice the superficial world we live in today and forge granularity in your work. You need to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to update your portfolio with time. Watch interviews of beloved authors and learn the ways how they established a concrete plan to become a profound writer. You’re lucky that you can find answers to all your questions by pressing few buttons on your laptop. Place your mind on a regime that writing poems is your top-most priority and you’re going to create history by making the most use of technology. You’re privileged that you can gain access to read any book by sitting in a coffee shop from any corner of the world. Additionally, you can enroll yourselves in online courses such as creative writing or poetry. You can practice writing daily prompts or listen to your favorite author’s podcast, watch movies, or practice online tests to improve your vocabulary or grammar among other services the internet has to offer.
LESSON FOUR: FINDING TRUE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION
Another piece of advice is join a writing group or an online community. Trust me, it helps. You learn a lot by participating in a writing group. Different mindsets yield vivid perspectives that astoundingly will help you to produce results which you truly are capable of achieving. Listen to your peers and respect their perspectives. This will teach you to see things from different angles and based on your viewpoints you can develop your characters and shape your stories accordingly, just the way you want it to be.
Second piece of advice would be to read books. Read about characters that you can relate to, twisted and mind-boggling plots, and heart-warming poems to intrigue your hidden talent and generate ideas for your write ups. Try to read books in different genres. Do not stick to the ones that you find yourself comfortable in. Welcome all the new possibilities by keeping an open mindset. You may never know what’s waiting ahead for you. Personally, I find reading to be like a meditation where you can let yourself go and liberate your mind limitlessly.
Third piece of advice would be to listen to the soft music and light a candle while writing. I know it sounds irrelevant but trust me, the environment you surround yourself in subconsciously plays an integral role. To access your higher self, you need to build a peaceful atmosphere away from the worldly disturbances. Surround yourself with positive thought-awakening posters. Please welcome people who can give you constructive criticism on your literary works. Utilize technology to answer your doubts. Place your phone in the ‘Do not Disturb’ mode while writing. We cannot afford any distractions. With a healthy reservoir of a better body and mind you can achieve incredible momentum of self-mastery which will eventually lead you to become a successful writer.
Chop-chop. What are you waiting for? You better start working. Remember, tomorrow never comes.
COUP OF LOVE by Ruchi Acharya
The moon grows half-naked tonight
The colour of the rain is turning black
and lilies in the pond are all dying
while I am talking to your ghost
by staying up in the shadows of moonlight.
I was drowning in my dark crimson blood
beyond the universe reach
waiting for you to come and lift me up
to keep me afloat,
teach me how to breathe
in the buoyant force.
Little owlets are sombering deep
Poets are using golden threads
to weave their dreams.
I am burning my poison ivy
not my desires till morning comes.
I’d love you more and outgrown you
Reverse the clock to go
where we’re originally from.
I wonder,
How do I love again?
When will my life begin?
This blog was first published by Parison Review. You can read the full article here.