Wednesday 4 May 2016

NaPoWriMo – the verdict


Well, April – otherwise known as National Poetry Writing Month
or Global Poetry Writing Month – whizzed by much too fast.
I didn’t manage to create a new poem every day, but I did scribble down 17 very rough first drafts. That’s 17 more than I would have done without the help of the daily prompts and advice from NaPoWriMo.net

I may not have much to show from the month long challenge, but I did enjoy the experience and it has taught me a few things:

  • I don’t know enough about poetry writing to be able to judge my own work. No idea if any of it is any good.
  • My knowledge of modern poetry is very poor. (Must read more!)
  • Calling a poem ‘free’ when you can’t find a suitable rhyme is probably cheating.
  •  I much preferred trying to make poems within strict guidelines on syllable or word counts and rhyme patterns e.g. haiku, tritina, sonnet
  • I don’t think I’ll ever be able to call myself a poet, but I have great respect for those who do.  


I might try NaPoWriMo again next year, but May and June have to be ShoStoWriMos (Short Story Writing Months). I’ve just about reached the halfway point in my story collection for Alfie Dog Fiction and want to finish it asap!

Do you have any plans or goals for May?


4 comments:

Patsy said...

My plan for May is to write LOADS of short stories. I have made a start.

Linda D said...

Good luck, Patsy!

Jan Baynham said...

My plan is to enter a few more short story competitions and start planning novel number two.

Susan A Eames said...

Well done for having a go at poetry writing for a month - some of your observations made me laugh!
Good luck with your collection. My aim this month - and the months to follow - is to stop procrastinating and start writing the first draft of my first book.

Susan A Eames at
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