Lewd, Loud, and Proud: Dudes Who Slam Poetry
June 30, 2008
Do you yawn at poetry? Does the idea of reading verse and meter make you want to curl up in a little ball and fall fast asleep? Well, you can forget about that nap because I’m about to show you how poetry can get your blood pounding, your fist pumping, and your belly heaving with snickers, giggles, and guffaws.
In recent centuries, we’ve come to view poetry as a written art form. But it wasn’t always so. Poetry is an oral tradition and in the last few decades there’s been an uprising among some very hammy poets who’ve taken to the stage and declared slam the next great literary movement.
They are writers and performers. Artists and visionaries. Comedians, philosophers, and nerds. They give good voice. They are lewd, loud, and proud. These are the men of slam poetry.
Taylor Mali
photo credit: BrodieAdler
Taylor Mali is one of the first slam poets I discovered and I was hooked immediately. He’s a brilliant and relevant writer, and his delivery is impeccable. Some slam poets take the performance aspect way over the top while others just mutter their poems without any flair at all. Taylor’s work is absolute perfection, which is why this man has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary poets.
You don’t read Taylor’s poems and you don’t listen to them either. You experience them. The first time I heard him reading What Teachers Make, he had me hollering “Yeah! Take that!” I had never realized that poetry could get me so riled up.
Taylor often explores teaching and education in his work. Like Lilly Like Wilson is another gem that had me grinning and nodding along. Is it a true story? Fiction? I was so inspired by this poem I actually created a character named Lily Wilson and now I have no idea what to do with her. I don’t even know if she’s legal.
It’s not all about education! See if Taylor doesn’t seduce you just a little bit with Giving Good Voice. This piece is surprising, witty, and may as well be the slam anthem for lovers.
Do yourself a favor and learn more about Taylor and his work at taylormali.com.
Shappy Seasholtz
Remember when I said some of these guys take the performance aspect a little over the top? Uncle Shappy leans that way. Nevertheless, he always makes me laugh. Yes, poetry can be funny. It can also be political. But how often have you heard a poem that was both funny and political? Shappy pulls it off with All American A-hole.
Now, we’re all pretty Internet savvy and I know some of you are big old geeks just like me. If you’re a Star Wars fan, let me hear you say ho-oh! You know you want to say it. I can recite Yoda. Why? Because I Am That Nerd.
Check out uncleshappy.com, where you’ll also find a link to Shappy’s girlfriend, slam poet pioneer Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz. She’s currently battling Taylor Mali for the top spot on my favorite poets list. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll hear more about her from me. But we’re talking about the dudes today.
Mayhem Poets
These guys are going to blow your freaking mind. I would even go so far as to say that if you hate poetry, these guys might change your mind. James Chartrand, I am talking to YOU! You can tell me how you don’t like podcasts and poetry until human beings start morphing into wild animals. But you can’t listen to Femail and tell me you don’t like it. A lot. Check it out and have a laugh. It’s on me.
If poetry is magic, these guys are sort of like the arch wizards. You just know they were first in line when Mother Nature was handing out muses. Martin Luther Queen is another captivating example of their lyrical talent. These guys got skill, straight up.
Get all the dirt on these four fine fellows at mayhempoets.com. And do note that they are easy on the eyes as well as the ears.
I Love Mongo
Mongo is THE MAN! He’s the emcee for IndieFeed Performance Poetry and I LOVE Mongo! If it weren’t for him, I would know next to nothing about slam poetry and I’d have no idea that when I travel to New York (if I ever get the chance), my first order of business will be to visit The Bowery Poetry Club. I am filled with gushing gratitude to Mongo for all the hard work he does so that folks like me can become slam addicts. Mongo, you rock!
Be sure to visit the IndieFeed site, which features a list of all the poets and links to the full audio of each performance that has been featured on the podcast. You can also subscribe via iTunes. I do.
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Link Love Mad Libs for the Writing Community
June 20, 2008
Let’s talk about links.
For some reason, Google thinks links are the cat’s meow. When someone links to your blog, Google says “Hey, people like that blog over there!” And then whoosh — your Google rank goes up while you purr and drool all over your keyboard.
Google is so smart it actually ups your rank even more if the links to your blog come from a website with a lot of clout. And by clout, I mean a site that already has high standing in Googledom. So a link from someone like Dooce is going to make you purr a lot louder than say, a link from me. For now anyway.
Hopefully I don’t have to explain why you want to be on Google’s good side. What I would like to point out is that everybody wants to be on Google’s good side (not just you). You can probably guess where this is going.
That’s right, everybody wants inbound links. So if you have a blog, then you have the power to fulfill wishes and make dreams come true.
One way to do this is to write a review of something another blogger wrote or mention bloggers who have inspired your own posts. Another way is to create link lists. The point is, you find a way to link to the ones you love and it’s just like you’re blowing pretty little Google kisses their way.
So link lists are good but guess what’s better? Actual sentences and paragraphs. Yes, Google recognizes the difference between links in a list (they get a nod and perhaps a curt handshake) and links that are embedded in the body of a written post (these get a welcome-to-the-family hug). So, when you construct links in this manner, you’re not blowing kisses, you’re French kissing. What I mean is, links in sentences and paragraphs are WAY better than links in lists.
Recently, I’ve noticed a trend around some of the blogs I frequent, which involves the blogger writing a little story and plugging links (the French kiss kind) into the posts. This is a perfect writing exercise for people like us (that would be you and me) because we are writers and bloggers. It’s a lot like doing mad libs because you write a story and then fill in the blanks with blogs you want to make out with.
Here’s how it works:
Living in the Writing Community
My writing journey had been what you might call a sweet unrest until last September when I launched my freelance writing business because I was struck by one of life’s little inspirations. That would be to make a living doing what I love on my own terms.
Within about six weeks, I had launched my career and was happily writing the cyber highway. My blog helped me find great people within the writing community. And while freelancing paid the bills, it was not my life’s greatest ambition. For I had big dreams of writing a novel and having it published, but I harbored fears of the rejecter and publishers who would find flaws in my fiction.
I decided that in addition to peddling my writing as a service, I would embark on a mission to become a better fiction writer. How? Well I started by escaping reality. Later this year, I’ll participate in NaNoWriMo and write a novel in 30 days. Hopefully I’ll finish on time because as you know, punctuality rules.
Now my dreams are starting to manifest in the form of words and pictures. I pray that I succeed so that one day I might be able to buy a cottage of my own. I just hope I don’t end up on any of the Deep Friar’s rant lists.
Now that I’ve made out with all you fine people, try writing a link love mad lib of your own. It’s a great way to show your affection for other bloggers and a wonderful way to connect with the writing community.
In case you want to get all crazy with the Google juice, here are a few final tips for spreading the love:
- Don’t limit yourself to using anchor text that matches the blog’s title. Use whatever makes sense. [Anchor text is the text that contains the link. Usually it's underlined. Often, it's blue.]
- Likewise, you can link to posts on other blogs, not just to the main page.
- Sadly, you probably won’t fit every blog you love into your link love mad lib. I didn’t. (Sorry guys.)
- You have to choose whether to let the links you want to include drive your post or whether you want it to be story driven. I’m a writer before I’m a blogger so I went with the story.
- Be creative and have fun.
Now, let’s play spin the bottle!
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Unleash Your Character
June 17, 2008
photo credit: kaymoshusband
Did you know that a character will take on a life of its own if you let it?
I hadn’t realized. I mean, I heard about this phenomenon, but I hadn’t really experienced it for myself.
No wonder writers often refer to their books and poems as offspring. When you create a character and let her live and breathe on the page (or on the screen, as the case may be), she starts taking over, making decisions and saying and doing things that you never would. You build a nice foundation and give her the tools she needs to exist in the world and then next thing you know she’s all grown up and calling the shots.
But characters don’t come out of nowhere. You have to start with the basics. A name, age, physical description. Now you have someone who you can picture in your mind. This gives your character flesh and blood but your character needs heart and soul. She needs a history.
You begin at the beginning. Birth. Where and when was she born? What were her parents like? Did she have a joyful childhood or a stormy one? What major events shaped her early years? As she got older, what kind of interests did she develop? Who were her friends?
This is the point where your character first starts making her own decisions. Things start popping into your head. Suddenly your good little girl has a cigarette hanging out of her mouth and she’s sleeping with every guy in town. Your mouth drops and you wonder what happened.
I’m guessing this is where many writers lose their character. They try too hard to control the outcome, failing to recognize that this character has a mind of her own. If you try to shape the character into some mold that you have in mind, she’s going to come across as contrived. Fake. Made up.
And you need your character to be real.
That means you have to know her. And not just how she looks or what her childhood was like. You have to know what kind of attitude she has, how she interacts with others, what her dreams and fears are. Your character is a person (usually) and people are complex organisms.
I have one word for you. It’s a compound word and it’s what gives your character depth: backstory. I know that not every writer develops a detailed backstory for their characters. So this may not apply to you. But I’ve recently learned that if you’re not some adept master fiction writer and you want your character to pack a real punch, backstory can be the key to unlocking your character’s reality.
So what is backstory? It’s your character’s entire history. It’s all that stuff that happened in childhood and then some. It’s those moments that seem insignificant at the time but stick with you for the rest of your life. Backstory is the things your character wants, what she feels, how she views the world. Her spirituality, education, perception, her values and her secrets. it’s what she knows and what she wants to know.
You can write a backstory. I find it helpful both to shape the character and as a warm-up writing exercise. However, I find that the backstory happens even when I’m not working on it. I’ll be making dinner, driving in the car, or listening to music and all of a sudden a little scene will play out. It’s a scene from my character’s life and it has nothing to do with the story I’m working on but it says something about my character and who she is.
Maybe it was the time her grandmother took her to see Cats at the theater. Or the day she filled out her university application — that moment when she dropped it in the mail. Maybe it wasn’t her first kiss, which was nice, but her third kiss, which was wonderful. Maybe it was just some day, some completely unremarkable day when she realized that she loves the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. These little scenes from my character’s past just appear out of nowhere as if the character fairy tucked them into my head while I was sleeping and set them on some kind of timed release.
What’s truly magical is that all of this information comes together and it creates a real person, someone you get to know and understand. When your character is confronted, you know exactly how she’ll respond and you’re delighted and surprised that her reaction is completely opposite of what your own reaction would have been. At first this is confusing. You think — wait, I would never do that. But then you remember that you are not your character. You are merely a vessel through which your character communicates her thoughts and actions.
She’ll say yes to the things you would say no to. She’ll eat things you can’t stand, things like cheesecake. She’ll make decisions that you’d call irresponsible or frivolous. And she’ll spend money that you would stash in the bank.
Your character can be full of surprises like this. But you have to unleash her.
This is not an easy task. But let me tell you something. Once your character is up and running, you’ll have more fun writing than you ever thought possible.
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What I’ve Learned About Blogging
June 11, 2008
photo credit: Joanna Young
I’ve been blogging on Writing Forward for almost ten months now. Most days, I still feel like a rookie. But ten months is a long time in the blogosphere and in that time I have learned a lot, both about blogging and who I am as a writer.
Write what you know, blog what you love
Some say write what you know. Other say write what you want to know. When it comes to blogging, I say write what you love. A blog is a never ending project. It’s not an article you whip up and send off. It’s not a manuscript that you push through and (hopefully) finish one day. It’s a long term commitment. A marriage. Most bloggers don’t make it past the first three months. Many others don’t pass the one year mark. You’d better have more than a crush on your blog. You have to be madly, hopelessly in love with it. Otherwise you’ll wake up one day and find yourself totally divorced from it.
There is no right or wrong way to blog
Okay, that’s not true. There are many wrong ways to blog but the good news is that means there are also a lot of right ways. Plenty of blog “experts” will tell you that you should blog on a set schedule, that you should blog at least five times a week, or that you need to find a niche that is underpopulated so you can rake in the big bucks. I’ve learned this is all hogwash. Ultimately, you have to find what works for you and your readers. Five times a week might be too much (people have other blogs to read, you know), and the underpopulated niches might bore you (which is why they’re underpopulated). Unless you’re running a strictly business blog, relax and have fun with it. Experiment. Eventually you will find your pace.
You may not get it right the first time
Before Writing Forward, I had a couple of other blogs. In fact, I had a “weblog” back in the mid-nineties but it had no focal topic and I rarely updated it. That was before blog software, so it was manually coded and maintained. What you see here is my third attempt at a blog. If you are really interested in blogging and the first one doesn’t work out, then try again. Maybe you didn’t pick a niche that you could commit to, or maybe you were pushing yourself too hard (or not hard enough) to post regularly. Allow yourself a few failures and know that if you keep trying, you’ll eventually find your way.
Community is everything
This is the juicy cherry on top of the sundae that is blogging. Community. It’s the cheese on the pizza, the wasubi on the sushi. Forget networking. Focus on building a community. In the past ten months I have connected with many talented writers and knowledgeable bloggers. I’ve connected with people who have become clients, friends, and co-writers. This part of the journey is what makes my heart go pitter patter and makes my insides tingle with warm fuzzies. It’s why commenting is critical. Let’s say that again, commenting is critical. Seriously, the comments section of my blog and the blogs I visit is where friendships are born. Incredible.
The technical stuff belongs in another post. Or another blog.
I could, at this point, probably write a manual on both the design and technical aspect of blogging. Plugins, widgets, and ads, oh my! This stuff matters a whole lot because it makes your blog a nice, friendly place to visit. Open your home to the world and they will come in bearing many wondrous gifts. In short: make it pretty so it doesn’t hurt people’s eyes. Offer RSS and email subscriptions in a clear, visible spot near the top of your blog. Open comments and remove hoops like verification forms so commenting is quick and easy for your readers. Respond to comments and pay it forward by commenting on blogs other than your own. Use plugins. Plugins are your friend: Akisment, CommentLuv, ShareThis.
Now it’s your turn
What have you learned as a blog reader or as a blogger? What do you want to learn? Is there any part of this post you’d like me to explore at greater length in a future post? I tried to cover the basics, but I could delve deeper into specifics if you wish. I am at your command.
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Improve Your Writing: Get Feedback
June 4, 2008
In recent weeks, we’ve been looking at five basic ways to improve your writing. Today we’re going to find out why getting feedback from other writers and from readers is one of the most difficult but valuable ways to become a better writer. First, a quick overview of the first four posts in this series:
You can do everything on the list above but your writing will never reach its full potential if you do not embrace feedback.
Writing is often regarded as a solo pursuit. But most of us write for an audience. Once a piece of writing reaches its readers, it’s no longer a solo endeavor. It becomes interactive. It also becomes a prime target for scrutiny. That’s right, all the critics (and a whole bunch of people with big huge opinions) will pull out their scrutinizing rifles and play target practice with your work.
Sure, you can wear a bulletproof vest, develop a thick skin, and let it all roll off your shoulder. However, that’s not going to do anything for book sales, blog subscriptions, or article submissions.
Do you think the Mars company just woke up one day and decided to add a bunch of new colors to the M&Ms bag? Nope. They did tests. They checked with a small pool of consumers to see how the new colors would be received, and to make sure they tasted alright (I still think the blue ones taste funny).
If all you do is write in your journal, this might not apply to you. You can eat your own candy and refuse to share it with the world. But if you want readers, real flesh and blood readers, to embrace your work, then you should get on with the taste tests. Immediately.
Don’t hoard the candy
First, you have to start showing your writing to other human beings. These humans beings should not be your mother (yes, I know there are exceptions to the mother rule). Ideally, these people will be other writers and experienced readers. Don’t know any? Sign up for a creative writing class or join a book club. Find someone who offers critiquing services (like me).
In short, find someone who knows how to give a good critique. If you’re serious about your work, you’ll want to get opinions from people who understand the fine nuances of good writing before you wrap it up and send it off to publishers or agents.
A screenwriter once contacted me because he wanted his screenplay proofread. After going through the entire quoting process, he finally said something like, “Thanks, your prices are reasonable but I’m just not comfortable letting anyone read this screenplay. I think it could be a blockbuster and I don’t want anyone to steal it.” I issued a polite and professional response, but what I was really thinking was, “Well if nobody sees the screenplay, then your screenplay will never see the big screen.” Like I said, don’t hoard the candy and if you’re paranoid about infringement and theft, submit the piece for copyright and get on with your writing life.
These look just like those candies from the movie E.T.
M&Ms look a lot like Reese’s Pieces but they are not the same. At all. Likewise, a critique is different from a proofread. The purpose of a proofread is to fix mechanical errors with spelling, grammar, and punctuation. A critique should be designed to address strengths and weaknesses.
Are the characters believable? Is the style consistent? Does the language compel? Is it clear and easy to understand? Does it flow smoothly? Are there holes in the plot? These are the questions that a good critique asks and answers. Sure, you can ask someone who’s giving a critique to keep an eye out for grammar mistakes, but don’t serve up something half-baked.
I’ll tell you why:
Cookie dough is good but it’s not good for you
Raw cookie dough is pretty tasty. I know it puts a smile on my face. But it’s not wise to go around shoving raw material under everyone’s nose when you’re asking for a solid critique that will help you improve your writing. Work hard on your piece and get it as polished as possible before you start asking people to take a bite.
When you’re asking someone to provide you with a critique, they’ll only be distracted if the piece if full of errors and grammatical mistakes. Remember that you’re asking them to take time out of their busy lives to do you a favor, so don’t waste that time by giving them work that is in the early draft stages. This conveys that either you want them to do the work for you, or that you’re too lazy to clean up your piece before asking for feedback. Or, they’ll just assume you’re a crappy writer.
Also, the more errors there are in your piece, the more challenging it becomes to address bigger issues. If a reviewer is caught up on mistakes that you could have fixed yourself, he or she will be more likely to miss other, less noticeable mistakes and problems with your work.
So check and recheck your work, and put the cherry on top before you serve it to anyone (yes, even the taste testers).
Watch out for do-gooders
Keep in mind that some people will only tell you what you want to hear. “Mmm, this is delicious,” is flattering but it’s not the feedback you’re looking for. Especially when they’re spitting out mouthfuls of the stuff behind your back. Look for people who can offer honest and straightforward critiques, who are willing to tell you what works and what doesn’t.
This is why it’s generally not a good idea to ask your mother (or others like her) to be your critic. Mom probably thinks you’re the greatest (I know, I know, not all moms, but work with me here) so it’s unlikely she’ll tell you that your writing is broken. In fact, people like your mom may not even be able to see the flaws in your writing - they are blinded by love. So, find someone who can be objective (and yes, for a few writers out there, that will be Mom).
Give a lick
Always be gracious. I’ve been asked to proofread and offer critiques by countless individuals in my life: family, friends, co-workers, and mere acquaintances. If I give someone honest feedback and they try to argue with me or throw it back in my face because they can’t handle it, I will never, ever give them the courtesy of a critique again. I write, edit, and proofread all day, every day, and as long as I have smiling, paying customers, I do not appreciate people throwing their egos at me after I’ve done them a huge (free) favor.
I always make a point to highlight the strengths and weaknesses from a writing standpoint, and I provide a general response, from a reader’s perspective. This can be tiring and time consuming, and all I want in return is a “thank you.” Sure, I’m more than happy to engage in a discussion, but I’m the one doing the critique. Do not critique the critic people. Take their advice and move on. If you asked for a critique, then it’s your job to suck it up and deal with it.
Instead of lashing out at your critic…
Relax and digest
A lot of people have a knee jerk reaction when they receive a critique. Imagine, you’ve worked hard on a piece, editing and rewriting until you felt it was shiny, sparkling, and ready for the market. Then, someone comes along and says “This needs some work.” You’ve already done the work. You were hoping for a rave review but now this person is telling you that you’ve missed the mark. And this makes you feel like the mark (which you are of course).
After receiving a critique, let the feedback and the piece sit and marinate for a while. Sometimes you just need to let it sit overnight. Other times, it might take a few days before you’re cooled off and ready to revisit the project with a fresh perspective. In any case, take your time and don’t give up.
Don’t ever, ever give up
If writing is your passion, then never give up on it. Write, polish, and ask for feedback. Sit on it for a few days, then sift through the reviews. Decide what advice you want to take and what you want to toss (that is your right as a writer). Edit, revise, repeat. Keep at it. If writing is truly your passion, let it become a lifelong pursuit and enjoy the journey of evolving as a writer. And always strive to be the best writer you can possibly be.
Shine on my fellow writers!
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