PART A: You, the Writer
What was your writing identity prior to the course?
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My first year taking creative writing–it would have been semester one during grade ten– I came into the course believing I was primarily a writer of fiction. That is because, in the past, I had never been especially fond of reality, and, due to this aversion, I became a master escapist; as a result, I would immerse myself in a world of tall tales and the make-believe madness of people who did not truly exist. And, for a while, it worked.
But reality can only be ignored for so long before it demands our attention, and there are some things that the figments of our imagination cannot possibly remedy.
This is true of my own experience, and, while it wasn’t all that pleasant, I think it changed my writing for the better. Suddenly, I had no other choice but to acknowledge life and its tumultuous nature because, as I said, writing fiction no longer did anything for me. And, since I couldn’t just sit there on my ass and do nothing, I opted to write about reality instead. I opted to face my greatest fear–the monster that lived under my bed. And I faced this fear through poetry and typically poetry alone, unless a creative writing assignment required me to write using a different genre, of course.
But, why poetry?
Personally, I think it had to do with the fragmentation of it all–how, with the start of every line break and the beginning of every new stanza, my anxieties seemed to dissipate; they became easier to swallow. For this reason, poetry became both my haven and my passion–my fire, unquenchable and eternal. Therefore, it is only natural that, as I progressed through this course–grade ten, grade eleven, and, now, grade twelve–my love for poetry intensified.
And, with that in mind, I fully embrace the title of Poetess.
What is your writing identity now?
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I would argue that I have grown a great deal since first semester last year, specifically in regards to the fact that I have made an effort to try on different poetic styles. Yes, flash poetry and free verse will always be my strengths, but, lately, my poetry has become more lyrical. More importantly, I’ve come to understand that lyricism doesn’t necessarily equate crypticness. In fact, lyricism is defined as follows: “An artist’s expression of emotion in an imaginative and beautiful way.”
Doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Actually, it sounds wonderful.
Last year, I didn’t realize that it was wonderful because I didn’t truly understand what lyricism was. Honestly, I just assumed it was abstract bull shit that no one could possibly understand. I perceived it to be the opposite of what I did best–simplicity. And, yes, now that I think about it, there were some poems I wrote last year that were lyrical, but I was never trying to be lyrical. So when I say I’ve become more lyrical, I mean that I have intentionally integrated aspects of lyricism–imagery and symbolism specifically–into my poetry and that I’ve learned to value it as a writer.
In addition to the progress I have made as a poet, I think I can also confidently call myself a playwright, which I believe to be the happy medium between poetry and story writing; poetry, due to the fact that my plays are often imbued with poeticism and in the sense that plays are often not accompanied by an onslaught of words; story writing in the sense that plays are still fiction, but a genre of fiction that is easy for me to swallow.
So, there you have it–a poetess and a playwright, something that is reflective of my current writing identity.
Reflect on your development as a writer
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Genre: Tell me to write something, and the first thing I will think to write is poetry. And if it’s not poetry, then it’s a play. These two genres are my specialities. Of course, play-writing is my newest endeavour, while poetry is a genre I have catered to during the majority of my high school career.
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Ideas: To this day, I continue to push limits with my writing in the sense that I write about topics that might make people uncomfortable such as sex, substance abuse, eating disorders, self-harm and suicide. In other words, I don’t sugar coat things. Because sugar coating does not accurately portray authentic, real-life experiences–my own experiences especially. And, unfortunately, I find that, more often than not, people are afraid to talk about such experiences, whether these experiences belong to themselves or someone else. But that is precisely why poetry exists; it permits us to write about the things we are too afraid to say out loud. For this reason, poetry has been the pinnacle of catharsis since ancient times. It is meant to be brutally honest. And that is exactly what the subject matter of writing entails: brutal honesty.
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Details: Last year, one of the biggest challenges I faced as a writer was my inability to elaborate upon and enhance the details within my writing. Flash poetry had conditioned me to keep things short and simple. And yes, there are definitely moments when short and simple has its purpose. But there are also moments when short and simple impedes both depth and breadth, which are two things I really used to struggle with. Most of the time, it was a daunting task to meet a minimum 35o word limit. However, lately, I have found that I often surpass the maximum word limit which is 1000 words, which is proof that I have improved in areas pertaining to both breadth and depth. There is just far too much to be said, too many words that must be written.
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Structure: The structure of my poetry itself really hasn’t changed since I wrote my last creative writing reflection–it is still really quite simplistic. As I have said, I write in free-verse, and this is something that applies to both my spoken words and my flash poetry; that is, neither meter nor rhyme is present within my poetry. Although, while I am not one to use internal or end rhyme, I will occasionally use slant rhyme when my intent is to represent some sort of fallacy or misdemeanour. But I do so rarely.
Another prominent aspect of my writing is that I often utilize the full circle effect–ending my pieces the same way I start them in terms of specific diction, phrases and/or motifs. This form of repetition is what unifies the thematic elements within my poetry; it drives my intended message home and establishes a sense of finality as I conclude a given piece.
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Voice; How would you explain your voice?: My voice is dark in the sense that it is tragic in the same way I am tragic. For this same reason, my voice is brutally honest because I write with the intention of representing my sadness, and, therefore, my truth. This–both the honesty and the tragedy–has been a continuity present within my voice since the eighth grade. Over the course of the last five years or so, however, my voice has become more lyrical and picturesque, as I have sought to incorporate a greater prominence of both symbolism and vivid imagery into my work.
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Style; What is stylistic of you?: This semester, my poetry has undergone a significant stylistic shift, as I have worked to incorporate visual symbols into my work. For instance, if I am using the word “fallen” I might write it as follows:
F
a
l
l
e
n
By formatting it as such, I am able to further reiterate, say, the inevitable downward plummet one experiences when they have “fallen” (figuratively, as is the case with heartbreak, something I write about often).
Then there is my use of colour; since I am one to consistently write about different colours–specifically, red, blue, and purple–I think it is only suiting that I display those colours. Really, I have never excelled in the visual arts (aside from photography, that is). However, with this new style I’ve been trying on, I feel like I am able to combine the written art with aspects of visual art.
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GUMPS: Due to the humiliation I have experienced in the past–when I have published “polished” pieces that really were not polished at all–I have become a meticulous editor. Hell, I literally edited my About Me page 53 times–yes, 53 times–before I officially published it. Perhaps this seems excessive, but that is how I ensure my work is as polished and professional as I can possibly make it.
Also excessive? My use of dashes. Last year, I referred to myself as the Oprah of commas. Well, this year, I have turned into the Oprah of Dashes–“And you get a dash, and you get a dash and you get a dash!”And…I’m sure you get the point. Essentially, I need to learn to write in such a way that enables me to use a variety of punctuation so as not to appear stylistically and grammatically redundant.
As a mentor writer, what advice would you give to future creative writers?
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There is no such thing as a “bad writer.” In fact, you can only be a bad writer if you let yourself be a bad writer. It’s simply a matter of whether or you are willing to practice the craft and to commit to it or not. Like they say, “practice makes perfect.”Now, If someone doesn’t write because they don’t enjoy it, then fine—that’s their choice. But if someone doesn’t write because they are afraid of failure, then that’s when we have a problem; you’ll never be able to realize your full potential as a writer if you aren’t willing to give writing a whole-hearted try first.
Additionally, it is important to accept feedback–both positive and critical–and integrate that feedback into your work. This is because writing is a trial and error process; some things will work for you and some things won’t.
As we’ve learned, a good writer should also be a good reader; we need to read work from people who have been successful in the writing industry. Furthermore, it often proves useful to emulate the work of different writers in order to try on different styles. Again, some styles might resonate with you and some might not. But there is no way of taking advantage of new styles if you don’t first put yourself in a situation where you can discover and learn, And this discovery and learning is often obtained through reading the writing of others as well as taking the time to perfect your own writing.
Future goals and plans regarding writing?
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My poetry anthology is definitely a project I am still working on. However, my vision for the anthology has changed substantially since last year. Instead of “Bruised Knees and Broken Hearts”–its original title– it will be titled “The Girl with the Purple Soul”, which focusses specifically on the extremities I live in (how purple is a byproduct of the coldest blues and the most fiery reds). As of right now, it is to be organized into the following parts:
Part One–The Blue
I) Oceanic
II) The Tundra
Part Two–The Red
I) The Inferno
II) Molten
Part Three–The Purple
I) Matters of the Heart (The Lilac)
II) Matters of the Psyche (The Violet)
II) Where Heart and Psyche Meet (A Reconciliation)
Furthermore, I hope to send my finished manuscript off to Andrews McMeel Publishing, Simon and Schuster, Button Poetry, and Penguin Books. However, Andrews McMeel–the publisher of Rupi Kaur’s, Amanda Lovelace’s, r.h. Sin’s, and a myriad of other poets’ work–and Simon and Schuster are my preferred choices for publishers; they are especial the “big wigs.”–just about everyone has heard of them.
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