Moving Forward
27 Feb 2008 1 Comment
in poetry
I am making a list, and checking it twice, my friends. I sent out those two poems, started another one, which is on its second draft, and am working on grander plans for this website. I have a book review assigned, due mid-March, and I still have one poem that I desperately need to revise at least once, but I’m starting to get into a calmer place about it all.
Things are humming along quite nicely!
Resourceful
22 Feb 2008 2 Comments
in media mentions, personal goals
Poets & Writers is my favorite magazine, and I am always so happy to see it arrive every three months or so. There are always great interviews, first-person pieces by writers on some aspect of writing, and lots of news and updates on the world of lit magazines, writing programs, and retreats or conferences. It’s been invaluable to me, a writer who did not major in writing in college (though I did minor) and who does not have an MFA in the field.
Recently, they relaunched their website so that it really fulfills their tagline, “the largest nonprofit organization serving creative writers,” past the magazine itself. We have a snow day today, so while my girls watched a few cartoons, I combed through the incredible database of literary magazines, organized by genre and/or alphabetically. There’s so much information available there, from policies on simultaneous submissions to percentage of new writers published in each issue. I was looking for journals that publish poetry, welcome new authors, and somewhat fit my style as a writer, but it would also be helpful if you were looking for journals from certain regions, with certain themes, or those that publish more established writers. I’ve made myself a six-page document with all the novice-friendly journals I found that I think also fit my style, complete with guidelines and addresses. There’s also top ten topics for writers, which is also useful for writers on every part of the spectrum. I haven’t fully explored all the community aspects of the site yet, so if you do, let me know what you think.
One of my friends commenting on a previous entry recommended that this site have a subtitle which hints at the site’s purpose, which has made me think seriously about what exactly that purpose is. My initial purpose was to have a nice online place to collect all my clips for easy reference, but it has grown past that now. I want it to be useful to me as a writer, to help me keep track of what I’m reading and my goals as a writer, but I’d also like it to make the writing process and business more transparent. I have been lucky enough to have some great mentors along the way, and some great friends who help me revise my work, but I know not every new writer has those resources. So for that respect, I’d like this blog to keep readers updated on me as a writer if they enjoy my work, but also to be useful for those just starting out, to see how a working writer (but not a big-shot name) makes her way through the writing world.
Any ideas on summing that up as a catchy subtitle?
Changes and Progress
20 Feb 2008 2 Comments
I changed the template on this blog– like it? I made the change after using my Facebook class blog for awhile. I like the color palette, the rounded edges, and the text font.
Today I received word that a query of mine has made it past the first line of review and is going on to the next editorial board meeting. This is very exciting for me, as it fulfills several of my writing goals for the year at once: it’s for a nonfiction feature, it’s for one of my target markets, and while corresponding with the editor, I was able to send her several links to my own work because I already had it all collected on this blog/site. Keep your fingers crossed for me until the first week in March, okay?
Next on my to-do list: sending out a few poems that just boomeranged back to me, otherwise known as “not getting discouraged” or remembering “not to take rejection personally.”
Balancing Balance
17 Feb 2008 1 Comment
Teaching has definitely been on the front burner for me these days, which I think is part of the classic conundrum for writer-teachers, or teacher-writers. In some ways, teaching seems like the perfect day job for a writer because you are still spending a lot of your time immersed in literature and the construction of literature, but that’s misleading. Teaching can be such a time-consuming job, particularly when you’re teaching new material as I am this entire year. I certainly don’t have writer’s block, but I am finding myself dealing with the juggling act of balance.
However, I have been trying to maintain this balance for enough years now that I know how to handle these periods in my life! I think the first step is to recognize when the balance seems uneven, and then to identify some concrete steps you can take to adjust it. So I’m following up on a query I sent out recently and sending out some poems that I think are as finished as I can make them.
Another strategy that I have used in the past is to see whether the events that are disturbing your balance can become fodder for your writing, which in turn helps shift that balance. This worked for me with new motherhood, and I think it could easily happen with teaching. My new role model for this shift is Emmet Rosenfeld, an English teacher who has a wonderful piece in The Washington Post Sunday magazine about trying to gain a prestigious national certification and also keeps a blog on teaching and learning for Teacher magazine. I certainly have been thinking a lot about technology and culture while teaching my Facebook class and about the value of literature while teaching English this year for the first time. Who knows what journeys those experiences will take me on as a writer?
Facebook Culture
05 Feb 2008 2 Comments
in teaching
My semester as a university professor has officially started, and I’ve been kept busy learning a new online grading system, prepping for class, and managing all the online supplements I want the class to have. I’ve set up a Facebook group for the class, and I’ve also set up a new blog for me to keep during the class. I’m asking the students to blog as part of the graded work of the class, so I thought I should join them. Also, this gives me a way to direct them towards Internet-only readings that will work well with our chosen texts.
I’m really interested to see my students develop their online voices– I think the majority of them has no experience in blogging, so it will be new territory for them.
Anniversary
02 Feb 2008 Leave a Comment
in personal goals, poetry
Every February for the past few years, I’ve posted a poem for my husband– our anniversary falls near the beginning of the month, and then of course, there’s Valentine’s Day. This year I went traditional with a piece by Anne Bradstreet. In previous years, I’ve chosen pieces by Neruda and e e cummings. I like doing this as a tribute to us but recently I thought of a new resolution:
next year’s anniversary poem will be an original composition!
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