~Why I Love Writing~
From as far back as I can remember I have always had a curiosity and deep love for language. Words on paper, spoken and written, I have appreciated all things having to do with words. As a toddler I had a lisp. I could not say words with an "S" without sticking my tongue out and often my "Th" sounds came out more like "F" sounds so fire truck would be "Fire F#@K" (Yes, funny now but not to my parents then). I remember as a toddler watching peoples' mouths as they would speak. I was taught early to feel the letters in my mouth and to work them so that I could correct my lisp. Even now I find myself watching people's lips as they speak.
I love the sounds of words. Over time I have made many long lists of my favorites. While I may not always care for or feel equally intrigued by their meanings, a word in itself can influence a poem for me. Like the word "innocuous" or "indigenous", words like these are like gifts to me. I love to hear these words as I say them in my head and feel them as my mouth speaks them. ~Each letter, every syllable, has a body of its own that when strung together creates that special word. I listen and feel the words as they move up from my throat and then into my mouth...I am curious to hear whether a word slides, pops or lifts off my tongue; I take notice of my lips to feel if they pull them into a smile when I say them or if I have to purse my lips; is the word formed with a long or short "o", is there more than one way of saying it. I suppose I don't have to mention that I am intrigued too by other languages....I took french in high school. I was mesmerized by the differences and similarities in the 2 languages and also the root of most words being Latin. Now that I am dating a man who speaks fluent Spanish, I am trying to learn the language. I love the feeling of saying a word in another tongue. To think one day I might be able to say an entire conversation in Spanish is very exciting!
Then there is my most favorite part of language--Writing. I wrote my very first poem in elementary school. I am pretty sure my Mother had a lot to do with its structure and rhyme but the ideas and word choices were mine. Even then I remember that I loved everything about writing from the white gleam of the paper on the table in front of me to the feeling of a pen in my hand. The excitement and fulfillment I feel inside as I create a piece of work is unimaginable and indescribable. My favorite place to visit is any store then and now is the paper aisle. I am particular about what paper I use and whether its college or standard ruled. I have favorite kinds of pens and I prefer a spiral notebook for writing. Yet when I've been without any paper or pen for one reason or another I've written on candy wrappers or with crayons. When the mood strikes me and I want to write, anything will do.
When I am creating a poem it usually starts with a message my mind has created on its own. Usually I am not trying to come up with a subject. It will come along on its own. Still very often I have written piles of poems based on one simple word I heard or came across while reading. Sometimes I will go through a book or a dictionary intentionally flipping to random pages and choosing words by closing my eyes and pointing at them. I take the word I blindly chose and create an entire poem based on it.. Still, while the ideas for my poetry are very important, they are not where I spend a lot of my time or energy. It might be a sudden mood that brought me to the paper or an idea that has been floating around for some time in my head. Usually its my mood. When I have that part done I simply pick up a pen and the words come to me as if they were always there...Like my body and hand is simply there to record it.
Often I can write many poems in a matter of hours or minutes. When I've admitted that to some people, some will roll their eyes at my statement. Envious or disbelieving, some people think that my work can't be good if I didn't sweat and struggle with it. While some people need days and weeks to finish their work, others don't...Still that doesn't mean that all my poetry is written that quickly..The more I think about the fact that it "should" take longer the more time I find myself taking. Now, the truth is that if someone or something (like a poetry website) calls for me to write about a particular word or subject my entire process and my ability to do it easily is forsaken. Because something specifically is expected of me and I am no longer writing just to amuse myself, I find it more difficult and challenging. Still, I don't think that it takes away from the outcome simply because I find it easier to write than others. I will admit though that the real work comes after the poem is written. At that point its time to go back to my work and scour it for imperfections-- I take lots of time picking it apart and editing it. Too many words or duplicate meanings will make a good poem less than. I am very careful not to use any cliches like "the grass is always greener" or "crystal clear". Of course those 2 examples are very easy to go without using but very often writers will use a cliche because they don't realize that it IS a cliche because it has quietly become part of their everyday speech. We almost don't recognize them anymore... Too many words in a poem is not a good thing, not when they are bogging it down and over explaining or describing something. I see even now writing this that I will take too much time and too many words to explain something I've already explained enough. Less is more.
Still, while the finished work is what readers will judge, its the entire process that I enjoy. I love spending my time choosing each word, creating a structure and taking steps to ensure that I am not writing prose full of overwrought emotions that the reader can only hear but not see. When someone comments that one of my poems made them think about something in a new way or, on the other side of that, that they felt like I was in their head, I know that I have succeeded. More than anything though, I wish to reach out to my audience with an honest, clear voice. I want to describe what emotions brought me to that empty page and I lay each word out like individual gems that when strung and read together the reader will realize and feel that they are not alone in their feelings or in their life. Isn't that what we all want~To feel like we belong and that our feelings are validated? Or to be challenged and to learn new things about the world and ourselves? If I have written my words the way I intend to, with my heart as well as my mind, my reader will put down my poem feeling like they have seen inside my soul and that I have seen inside of theirs.
Stacy J Roosa
May 8, 2012
I love the sounds of words. Over time I have made many long lists of my favorites. While I may not always care for or feel equally intrigued by their meanings, a word in itself can influence a poem for me. Like the word "innocuous" or "indigenous", words like these are like gifts to me. I love to hear these words as I say them in my head and feel them as my mouth speaks them. ~Each letter, every syllable, has a body of its own that when strung together creates that special word. I listen and feel the words as they move up from my throat and then into my mouth...I am curious to hear whether a word slides, pops or lifts off my tongue; I take notice of my lips to feel if they pull them into a smile when I say them or if I have to purse my lips; is the word formed with a long or short "o", is there more than one way of saying it. I suppose I don't have to mention that I am intrigued too by other languages....I took french in high school. I was mesmerized by the differences and similarities in the 2 languages and also the root of most words being Latin. Now that I am dating a man who speaks fluent Spanish, I am trying to learn the language. I love the feeling of saying a word in another tongue. To think one day I might be able to say an entire conversation in Spanish is very exciting!
Then there is my most favorite part of language--Writing. I wrote my very first poem in elementary school. I am pretty sure my Mother had a lot to do with its structure and rhyme but the ideas and word choices were mine. Even then I remember that I loved everything about writing from the white gleam of the paper on the table in front of me to the feeling of a pen in my hand. The excitement and fulfillment I feel inside as I create a piece of work is unimaginable and indescribable. My favorite place to visit is any store then and now is the paper aisle. I am particular about what paper I use and whether its college or standard ruled. I have favorite kinds of pens and I prefer a spiral notebook for writing. Yet when I've been without any paper or pen for one reason or another I've written on candy wrappers or with crayons. When the mood strikes me and I want to write, anything will do.
When I am creating a poem it usually starts with a message my mind has created on its own. Usually I am not trying to come up with a subject. It will come along on its own. Still very often I have written piles of poems based on one simple word I heard or came across while reading. Sometimes I will go through a book or a dictionary intentionally flipping to random pages and choosing words by closing my eyes and pointing at them. I take the word I blindly chose and create an entire poem based on it.. Still, while the ideas for my poetry are very important, they are not where I spend a lot of my time or energy. It might be a sudden mood that brought me to the paper or an idea that has been floating around for some time in my head. Usually its my mood. When I have that part done I simply pick up a pen and the words come to me as if they were always there...Like my body and hand is simply there to record it.
Often I can write many poems in a matter of hours or minutes. When I've admitted that to some people, some will roll their eyes at my statement. Envious or disbelieving, some people think that my work can't be good if I didn't sweat and struggle with it. While some people need days and weeks to finish their work, others don't...Still that doesn't mean that all my poetry is written that quickly..The more I think about the fact that it "should" take longer the more time I find myself taking. Now, the truth is that if someone or something (like a poetry website) calls for me to write about a particular word or subject my entire process and my ability to do it easily is forsaken. Because something specifically is expected of me and I am no longer writing just to amuse myself, I find it more difficult and challenging. Still, I don't think that it takes away from the outcome simply because I find it easier to write than others. I will admit though that the real work comes after the poem is written. At that point its time to go back to my work and scour it for imperfections-- I take lots of time picking it apart and editing it. Too many words or duplicate meanings will make a good poem less than. I am very careful not to use any cliches like "the grass is always greener" or "crystal clear". Of course those 2 examples are very easy to go without using but very often writers will use a cliche because they don't realize that it IS a cliche because it has quietly become part of their everyday speech. We almost don't recognize them anymore... Too many words in a poem is not a good thing, not when they are bogging it down and over explaining or describing something. I see even now writing this that I will take too much time and too many words to explain something I've already explained enough. Less is more.
Still, while the finished work is what readers will judge, its the entire process that I enjoy. I love spending my time choosing each word, creating a structure and taking steps to ensure that I am not writing prose full of overwrought emotions that the reader can only hear but not see. When someone comments that one of my poems made them think about something in a new way or, on the other side of that, that they felt like I was in their head, I know that I have succeeded. More than anything though, I wish to reach out to my audience with an honest, clear voice. I want to describe what emotions brought me to that empty page and I lay each word out like individual gems that when strung and read together the reader will realize and feel that they are not alone in their feelings or in their life. Isn't that what we all want~To feel like we belong and that our feelings are validated? Or to be challenged and to learn new things about the world and ourselves? If I have written my words the way I intend to, with my heart as well as my mind, my reader will put down my poem feeling like they have seen inside my soul and that I have seen inside of theirs.
Stacy J Roosa
May 8, 2012
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