Complexities of Communication: Why No One Will Ever Truly Understand Your Writing

Complexities of Communication: Why No One Will Ever Truly Understand Your Writing

Communication, either via words on a page, or spoken, is not perfect. The speaker formulates a concept in their mind (imagery, feelings, sensations, memories, emotions) and condenses all of that down into words and expresses it…

Read More

So You Want To Sell Your Self-Published Poetry…

So You Want To Sell Your Self-Published Poetry…

To sell anything, you need two things: a product people want and the awareness of its existence. To sell your self-published poetry is no different.

Your muse may balk at the suggestion, but your book is a product like everything else. So, if you want people beyond just your close friends and family to purchase it, you need to reconcile that fact.

Success will come when you learn how to move people’s emotions…

Read More

i find myself through poetry

i find myself through poetry

When I write, I lose myself in the present moment. I tap into the muse, put pen to paper, and all else disappears.

Then, some indeterminant time later, it ends. I don’t exactly know what it is: inspiration, flow, creativity, but all of a sudden I wake up to myself, finding the present moment, along with some words on a page expressing a moment in time, or a thought, or beauty.

That, or a palimpsest of healing. Words written by myself, about myself, for myself about finding myself…

Read More

Write What You Know, Not What You Think Will Sell

Write What You Know, Not What You Think Will Sell

Pro tip: write what you know, not what you think will sell.

One of the main problems creatives of all persuasions have, is that they attempt to replicate the current trends. They see what is working and then try to do it themselves, only to get discouraged when they fail to see similar results…

Read More

Not All Poetry Feedback Is Equal: Stop Taking Their Words Personally

Not All Poetry Feedback Is Equal: Stop Taking Their Words Personally

Not all poetry feedback is equal, nor is it equally appreciated. It depends on what you write, who is offering the feedback, and the type of relationship you share.

I write poems about sex, sadness, and spirituality, thus my audience is broad and eclectic. I want to be read wildly by most everyone, except perhaps by my family, colleagues, neighbours, and acquaintances who may (read have) raised a few eyebrows at my work…

Read More

What Is Evocative Poetry?

What Is Evocative Poetry?

Evocative poetry, like all good art moves people. It changes their emotional state – usually from neutral or mellow, towards any extreme. This change isn’t always in the positive direction. Good horror will terrify you, a masterful comedy will have you in hysterics, and any existential thriller worth its salt will leave you questioning the very nature of reality and the people within it…

Read More

Elements Of Poetry

Elements Of Poetry

Poetry is just words on a page.

Anything beyond that definition risks falling into a philosophical or literary debate that would amount to such an abstraction of the beauty of the artform as to render it pointless. There are no rules. No restrictions. No limits to what you can and can’t, or to what you should and shouldn’t do.

A lot of this book will help you to hone that expression, giving you tips, tools, and tricks to make it more evocative. But that is all just make up and window dressing. Expression is the key. Some people gravitate towards rhymes and structure, others to free-flowing verse, others still, to long form paragraphs or books, crafting each line with meticulous care. It is all just writing. It is all just words on a page. It is all just poetry…

Read More