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CREATIVE WRITING IDEAS
With Marie Kane (bio)

"Sometimes there's no one to listen to what you really might like to say at a certain moment. The paper always listens." ~ Naomi Shihab Nye

Welcome! This is the first issue of Creative Writing Ideas for the PoetryWITS website. Nye's quote says what many of us know about writing: we write to be heard, to explain, and to express ourselves. My name is Marie Kane; I was an English teacher in Central Bucks School District for twenty-seven years; I have been wrestling with - and celebrating - the written word for almost all my life. I've been published and given many poetry readings; while that is great, I STILL spend a lot of time simply trying to write, like you.

I hope you will be able to use this website. Perhaps you will gain the confidence to find topics to write about, put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), place the words on the page, and learn how to revise so that your words are true and touch the reader. I hope this website will enable you to write something to be proud of.

American poet Robert Frost had the right idea when he said, "I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering." You are doing just that - discovering; so don't go into this with a preconceived notion of your poem, just yet. You want to discover what you want to say while saying it - so let me give you some poetic starters.

Let me remove fear here; for any first draft you write, the important thing is simply to get the words down in the first place. Just write something, anything, as mundane, as silly, as unoriginal as it may be. Like most poets, my first drafts are much, much less accomplished than the final drafts (is a poem ever finished?), but the important thing is that I started - and that I have created something to work with.

LESSON #1 -- WRITING FROM ABUNDANCE
© Marie R. Kane 2008

Step 1: WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT?

For today, take out a piece of paper, find your favorite pen or pencil (we all have one), or go to the keyboard and bring up a blank document. Then write or type the following words in a list vertically on the page:

Step 2: WRITE ABOUT THE THINGS YOU WROTE DOWN:

So, you have eight words or phrases on your page. Choose one or two of these (or choose them all) and answer the following TEN questions. Answer all of the following questions - even for the items such as a time of day or glass of water that may not have exact answers - be creative.

DON'T WRITE A POEM YET! SIMPLY ANSWER THE QUESTIONS; use a paragraph form. DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING YET. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE POEM'S FORM; SAY A LOT! Tell the story of the object, item, or phrase. WE NEED TO WRITE FROM ABUNDANCE in order to have words to work with.

Here's my quick response to the first three questions regarding the phrase 'cellar stairs':
"My grandmother's cellar stairs are always shaded by dim light; I never descend to the basement unless she asks me to fetch something - usually clothing that has been drying down there or a pail of coal from the coal bin which sits to the left of the bottom of the stairs. The stairs are made of oak and have been there since the house was built in the 1920's. Years ago, my grandfather covered them in cheap black linoleum - you know it's cheap because it flakes off all the time. The stairs are the way down to my grandfather's tools and workbench, the snow shovel, my old bike, the washing machine, the deep double sink, the singer sewing machine with its treadle, and the Christmas wrapping stored under those innocent stairs that I fear. When I clatter down as quickly as possible, the noise is loud - maybe it will scare away anything."
So, write everything about the item(s).

Step 3: NOW, READ YOUR PARAGRAPH OUT LOUD; CIRCLE THE PHRASES THAT YOU LIKE, THAT SPEAK TO YOU, THAT SOUND RIGHT, THAT GRAB YOU.

Step 4: USE THESE CIRCLED PHRASES TO BUILD YOUR POEM.

You could have a number of poems, or simply concentrate on one.

Your poem may not even be ABOUT the word listed - that is fine. Start writing, go back to your paragraph if you need to - or not. Let the poem take you where it wants to go. Let the words out; let the paper listen to what you have to say. Add to your poem, show it to someone, read it repeatedly, let it sit for a few days, and reread it. Make it better, little by little. Later we'll work on specific revision skills.

Step 5: GIVE YOUR POEM A TITLE (there will be a later lesson on this also) AND TYPE a final first draft of YOUR POEM.

A CAUTION ABOUT USING RHYME: I caution newer writers against using rhyme. While rhyme is what makes our ears 'like' a poem, a newer writer often handles rhyme in a contrived way - such as using obvious rhymes ('pool / cool / school', or 'tree / me / be') or using certain words ONLY because they rhyme, but may not be the best words for the meaning of the poem. When that happens, a writer has used rhyme to take precedence over the poem's meaning - something we never want to be accused of. Using rhyme well is difficult and challenging; there will be a later lesson on how to use rhyme well in a poem.

Step 6: If you wish, YOU MAY SEND ME THESE FIRST DRAFTS. I PROMISE TO READ ALL OF THEM, AND WILL POST SOME ON THIS WEB SITE.

In order to be posted, YOU MUST:

Poems will NOT be published without the above information.
Your name, grade, and school will also be published.

I will discuss what the poet achieved with the poem, and how I feel the poem can fulfill its potential - so send the poem if you are willing to hear praise - and honest feedback.

Send to: mkanepoetrywits@gmail.com and put in the subject line: Student Poem PoetryWITS

Till next time-
And remember, "The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth." ~Jean Cocteau
THANKS FOR THE PRIVILEGE ~Marie Kane

No part of this material may be disseminated or reproduced without express written permission. For information, contact Marie Kane at mkanepoetrywits@gmail.com.