My writing week has been so good I want to tell you about it
I had a much more serious post planned for this week, about how wrong it feels to be writing when there is so much that is terrible in the world. Honestly I can’t add any more to the excellent articles that are out there, so I thought I’d take the rare step of writing something cheerful.
I’ll begin by saying my writer’s weeks may look very different to many other writer’s weeks. I live with chronic illness, which means my useful hours are pretty low – writing demands a lot of brain and body power and my brain and body can be somewhat capricious.
In my last post I said how full of joy I am that my days are made of writing. I can pretty much write about anything and feel happy (although I did once have a job writing for a sugar daddy dating website; that did not make me happy at all). I love the craft, love the tap of my fingers on the keyboard, the swirl of ink or pencil on the page. Writing is the core of who I am and the thing that I try hardest at, fail hardest at and, crucially, keep working to improve.
What’s this brilliant week looked like?
During the past week I’ve finalised the print design for a bespoke wedding poem, submitted several poems to journals and magazines, worked on a line edit for a friend and spent time reading The Book of Bad Betty’s for the Poetry Pals book club. I’ve also spent time learning and exploring the waxing year as part of a course with The Poetry School, which involves writing, reading and giving feedback to my course mates as well as redrafting the poems that have sprung from the course so far.
Submitting my work
A good portion of time has been spent researching where to submit my work. This is something I don’t really enjoy, mainly because the different rules an conventions for each journal are a bit overwhelming. I’ve developed a crib list of what to check which does make it easier but it’s still something I put off.
The other side to submission work is basic admin – updating and tracking submissions, where work has been accepted and where it has been declined. This another thing I forget to do but it’s a real essential if I want to avoid doubling up on submissions. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years and am intending to write a post dedicated to the ins and outs of submitting to poetry journals in the next couple of weeks.
Other writerly adventures
Away from poetry I’ve written the first draft of a guest blog for English Wedding, detailing what to look for when commissioning a poet. There is a lot of terrible wedding poetry out there and I’m on a one-person mission to change it! There has been time dedicated to Substack, both writing and reading some of the excellent posts that flutter into my inbox each day.
My most thrilling part of the week is making a return to the world of short fiction. I’ve dug out my copy of Short Circuit which is an excellent collection of essays on the craft. My goal is to develop a habit of reading and responding to a chapter each morning. I’ve managed four out of five which is pretty good going. Reading Short Circuit has reinvigorated my enthusiasm for flash fiction, and I’m working on a piece inspired by this month’s prompt in Mslexia which is the word kettle. It’s going in a predictably sideways direction
Why am I telling you about my week?
Partly it’s because it’s nice to have some good things to share. Partly it’s because there’s a lot of mystique about writing and about being a writer. While it is a wonderful way to scrape a living, there’s a lot of grind and a lot of dull bits. Other writers I know, who work much harder than I can, often find they spend very little time actually writing. All the things they need to do to make their writing pay have to take priority. It’s easy for me to feel that every other writer is better, more writerey than I am, for example I spent a long time feeling embarrassed about writing poetry for weddings. It’s a very different kind of writing to the work I produce for myself but I’ve realised that the love and care I pour into them and the way the poems make people feel on such a momentous day makes them as vital and valid as the more serious work I write. Likewise, writing for my website or for Substack involve a genuine love of using language to inspire and delight. My writer’s week may be very different to other people’s but it’s vibrant and really is my life force. Most days I am utterly thrilled that this is how I spend my time, how I earn a meagre living and how I interact with so many interesting people.
Until next time
Kathryn
xx
Hooray for the good weeks!