I think a lot of us would agree that writing is an emotional practice, that we lay ourselves bare and confront our feelings and thoughts in our writing. But what about the craft and the skill of it? Poetry is a lot like bleeding, but a lot of times I think it’s also like building something. One of my favorite writers/musicians, Tim Minchin, once said “I don’t see how writing a song is particularly different than doing some really nice plumbing.” He treats writing as a craft, a skill to be honed and learned.
Do you “practice” your writing through exercises? Do you set out to hone particular skills or do you “just write?” If you do practices or exercises, what do you do?
Mainly just write.
Writing poetry is a journey.
I write first and take a break for a length of time.
Then come back and do editing.
This way,will keep my mind fresh and prepare for the publishing journey ahead.
Both if I’m honest mate. I will practice and learn skills in my Spare time, then when it comes to writing I will for the most part just write. Although as my tastes and style changes, more and more often I sit down and ask myself what is it I’m trying to say, and what form etc is best suited for that. After that though, it’s just writing again until the editing phase. 😊 Great thread!
I think over the past year, I've definitely swayed more towards skill rather than emotion. I used to write when I felt something strong or had a powerful experience, I'd scribble in my notebook, type it up and never touch it again. These days, I try to think about imagery, tone, line breaks etc. As for the idea of 'practicing' the skill of writing. I think for me it's like playing an instrument as in: it's repetition. Whether you're prompted to write via emotion or via a prompt, you're writing something new and that's great. The difference is how you approach it. Are you venting your emotions/experiences or are you mindful of the metaphors, the imagery etc.? Both are valid, I hasten to add. Both are poems. I'm just trying to give my opinion of emotion vs. practice. I hope that makes sense.
I love Tim Minchin! For me personally, I usually just read other poets I like and take note of certain techniques and then try to incorporate them into my own writing. I would say it’s pretty 50/50 between just writing my feelings and trying to write skillfully.