Poetry Resources

You all know by now what a huge advocate I am for collecting writing resources. When it comes to poetry, there are some special books that will help make you both a better reader and a more well-rounded writer.

Keep in mind that reading and writing poetry require two similar but different skill sets. Some academic types argue that poetry is an intellectual pursuit but that’s hogwash. Poetry is an aesthetic art that uses emotion for paint and language as a canvas. Anyone can appreciate poetry, but studying it on higher levels can help you better appreciate its nuances.

The same is true with poetry writing. Nobody can stop you from sitting down and writing a poem. It will be just as meaningful if it comes straight from your heart as if it comes from years of study. However, observation of poetic technique can bring poetry to unimagined levels. It’s also helpful if your objective is to have your poetry published in print or on any high quality website that features poetry.

I was resistant to reading and studying poetry in school because I wrote it so frequently on my own. But once I gave in and signed up for the courses, my poetry started to blossom in ways I never could have foreseen. Classes, however, aren’t necessary (though they are definitely beneficial if you get a good instructor). A few good books on poetry writing can whittle your skills considerably.

Here are a few of my favorite books on poetry.

Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook is a very simple but comprehensive guide to reading and writing poetry. It’s a perfect introductory text and ideal for folks who have strayed from poetry but feel it’s time to come home. Mary Oliver herself is an acclaimed poet and her tone is friendly and witty and very easy to follow. From the text:

Something that is essential can’t be taught; it can only be given, or earned, or formulated in a manner too mysterious to be picked apart… Whatever can’t be taught, there is a great deal that can, and must, be learned.

The Practice of Poetry is jam packed with some of the best poetry writing exercises ever conceived. In fact, the book is a collection of exercises that were contributed by many different writers and poets. The subtitle reads “Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach.” Some are designed to call forth the muse, others deal with sound and rhythm, and still more focus on revision. This compilation will stretch and flex your writing muscles and open many new doors that you never knew existed! If you want to write poetry but are at a loss how to begin, this book will get your wheels turning.

Perhaps my all time favorite and definitely my most referenced poetry book is Perrine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. This book is a delightful and comprehensive romp through the deeper intricacies of poetry. It’s suitable for beginners but it definitely serves as a bridge into more advanced poetry concepts and it features tons of wonderful poems by some of the best known and loved poets of all time, including Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Andrew Marvell, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Sexton, Shakespeare, and far too many others to list here. Suffice to say, this gem of a book doubles as an anthology of poems.

Speaking of anthologies, I would be remiss if I didn’t close this post by mentioning that anthologies along with literary journals are the best way to start discovering poets and poems that you’ll love. These types of compilations give you a taste for many different styles and genres within poetry. My own favorite is The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English, a textbook from my school days. It’s a bit biased in terms of gender but it has some fantastic works, excerpts, and biographies. Norton publishes a lot of fantastic poetry anthologies, which you can check out here.

Enjoy!

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Tools of the Trade: 10 Items This Writer Can’t Live Without

Every writer is different and we all have our quirks and preferences… a special notebook or a specific pen that we love, a favorite place to go for inspiration, or a dog-eared thesaurus. I started putting together a list of things that a writer cannot live without, but then I realized that it wasn’t a list for all writers — it was my list. I’d like to share it with you anyway. Here are some of my favorite tools of the trade — the ones I can’t live without:

Journals and Notebooks

Over the years, I’ve acquired quite a collection of blank books and while I like them all, the Watson-Guptill Sketchbook has become my favorite. These hardbound books have blank, unlined pages which are great for sketching and brainstorming, writing in circles, or pasting in notes and stickies. They come in a bunch of different colors and sizes. I prefer the 5×8 inch because it fits perfectly in my Oberon Design journal cover. I already have this notebook in red and black, and now I’ve got a purple one on the way.

I also use a lot of spiral-bound notebooks. I use a large size (8.5 x 11 in.) for keeping notes on my freelancing business, web site, and blog development. I have a half-sized (about 5.5 x 5.5 in.) for blog post ideas and brainstorming, and a few really teeny tiny ones that I keep tucked into my purse, my car, and my nightstand. I love spiral bound notebooks because they can be opened flat, or folded back, and the pages can be removed easily if need be. I usually look for notebooks with a three-hole punch and perforated pages so that I can tear out pages I want to keep and pop them into a binder.

Writing Instruments

Pens, pencils, markers, and more! I love my writing instruments, but when I sit down to write, I like a basic run-of-the-mill BIC (my favorite is the BIC Round Stic Grip Ultra Medium Ball Pen - Black). I also love their 4-Color Ball Pens but I’m out of stock on those right now. In addition, I have tons of pencils, including colored and watercolor pencils for drawing and sketching. I use highlighters whenever possible and especially when I’m reviewing notes, because they help me organize and track information. And I’m never without a decent collection of water based markers. I use these for brainstorming, writing storyboards, mind-mapping, and doodling. Crayola is my favorite brand for these. Simple, yet effective.

The Computer

Where would I be without my computer? It’s decent machine, although I think it hums too loudly and too often. It’s a Dell Dimension 4700 and for the past three years it’s done a great job handling all my writing, web design, graphics, budgeting, music, photos, and more (the My Documents folder is over 60 gigs right now). Its biggest problem is that it doesn’t support a microphone. I have no idea why this is. In fact, I’m surprised that they make sound cards without mic capabilities. Luckily, I have a backup IBM laptop that I purchased used from a company I used to work for, so if I really need to do any recording, I can.

Having said all that, my next computer is probably going to be a Mac. Since I started buying computers, I’ve debated heavily over desktop versus laptop and Mac versus Windows. I’ve consistently gone with desktop PCs, but I’m going to make a huge leap within the next couple of years and get a Mac notebook. I bet it will be quite an adjustment since I’m so thoroughly acquainted with Windows. But I’ve had it with Microsoft and all their products. I used to be a fan but now I’m just frustrated.

Microsoft Office and Especially — Word

Even though I’m super annoyed with Microsoft, I can’t imagine life without Word, or the whole Microsoft Office Professional Suite for that matter. I use Word like a mad woman; almost all my writing projects, professional and otherwise, are in Word, and many years ago, I transcribed most of my creative writing, which dates back to sixth grade, into Word. I use Excel for lists, budgeting, quoting and invoicing, as well as tracking my business income and expenses. After months of struggling between my ISP, web hosting company, and Microsoft to get my e-mail functioning on a decent client, I’m now using Outlook for e-mail. I use PowerPoint on rare occasions too, but I won’t go near Access.

Reference Books

By now, you all know that I’m a huge fan of The Chicago Manual of Style. But I have quite a collection of reference books, although I turn more and more to the Web to do research, fact checking, and any other type of looking up that needs doing. A couple of other oddball reference books I use frequently are A Dictionary of Dream Symbols by Eric Ackroyd, which is extremely useful for coming up with imagery for stories and poems, and A World of Baby Names, which is fantastic for naming just about anything. I have serious problems when it comes to naming anything other than animals. Character names, domain names, and names for magical kingdoms in alternate universes all cause me to go into major wheel-spin, and this book has been extremely helpful, particularly for character naming.

Stickies, Index Cards, and Scratch Paper

Okay, I could probably live without these, but they sure do come in handy. I love to use the smallest Post-it notes to mark places in books, plus I can jot down little notes on them, or use them to create tabs. I used to use Index Cards for my to do lists, but now I use them primarily for constructing fiction plots or character sketches. Scratch paper is great for a number of purposes - doing quick mathematic calculations, scribbling down phone numbers, or making a quick but temporary note to myself.

The Internet

Okay, I know that writers got by for centuries without the Internet. But how? It’s almost incomprehensible to me. Here are some sites that I access frequently, and some applications that I use regularly for writing and for business:

• Google - mail, search, RSS reader, Analytics, Adsense
• Reference.com - dictionary and thesaurus
• Amazon - great not only for buying, but also for researching books and music
• Wikipedia - first stop for any research, and sometimes my only stop
• WordPress - I use this platform now exclusively for both blogs and other types of web sites

Some Bonus Necessities

There are a few more things that I can’t write without. One of these are my glasses. I can squint through a bit of text if I have to, but in recent years, I think all the time I’ve spent curled up with a good book and using my computer has taken its toll on my eyesight. I used to sort of ignore my glasses, and rarely wore them after they were first prescribed, but now I really need them. I think they make me look like a librarian.

I think that I would have been a fair writer without my education, but I know that studying English and creative writing at university had a huge impact on my growth and development as a writer. It’s something I’m proud of, because it was not an easy goal to achieve, and it’s also something I treasure, because I appreciate what my education gave me in both life and writing experiences.

Last, and every writer needs these three things: inspiration, imagination, and intellect.

What are some writerly things that you can’t live without?

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Eleven Buzzworthy Online Screenwriting Resources

If you’d like to explore the world of screenwriting without buying a book, take a look at some of these resources. I sought out a good mix of online resources for screenwriters, which can be used for film research, learning the craft of screenwriting, and getting familiar with what it’s like to be a professional screenwriter.

1. Internet Movie Database (IMDB): Your one stop shop for all things film. This is the go-to site for looking up movie titles, actors, directors, and of course, writers. There’s tons of trivia too, plus message boards, and this site comes in handy umpteen million ways for conducting research about the movie industry.
2. Simply Scripts: This is not the easiest site in the world to navigate, but you can find free copies of TV and movie scripts, so it’s a great resource for learning the format, and seeing what a real screenplay actually looks like.
3. Screenwriting for Hollywood: A relatively new blog that provides tips and insight to screenwriting and life in Hollywood when you’re trying to break in as a screenwriter. Also offers various screenwriting services such as coverage and consultations.
4. Wikipedia: You can look up anything on Wikipedia, including movie titles and screenwriters. I find that some articles on movies will address the writing process and include interesting trivia and great links. A lot of the film articles also provide insight about the difference between the original screenplay and the final product (i.e. cut scenes before and after filming).
5. United Hollywood: This blog was launched in order for the WGA writers to address the recent strike in a public forum, and it’s slated to continue addressing screenwriting and screenwriters even though the strike is over. A great place to learn about issues that affect screenwriters and get a sense of the screenwriting community.
6. Wordplayer: Promises screenwriting secrets from working screenwriters and includes a couple of forums for movies and screenwriting. The navigation isn’t that great (screenwriters don’t seem to be web design savvy), but if you check out the site map, you can find some useful screenwriting information and advice.
7. Creative Screenwriting: A magazine targeted toward screenwriters with mostly clips from the print magazine’s articles, but a good place to go to figure out if you’d like to subscribe to a useful screenwriting mag.
8. The Unknown Screenwriter: If you’re into screenwriting and you like blogs, you’ll want to subscribe. Tons of links and resources, insider tips, plus opinions from a writer whose identity remains unknown, but who seems to have considerable experience in the industry.
9. Screenwriting.info: This is more of an online book, which explains the entire process of screenwriting. Sub-titled “How to Write a Screenplay,” this gets more into the nitty gritty of screenwriting and will help familiarize you with some of the jargon that film makers use.
10. Writers Guild of America East and West: Once you become a screenwriter, you’ll be expected to join the guild, so you might want to start learning about it. This union helps writers stay organized and as we’ve recently seen, assists screenwriters in ensuring that they earn fair compensation for their work.
11. Syd Field: He’s the guru of screenwriting and he has his own web site, which includes free articles, online courses, and various products for screenwriters.

Got any links you want to add to this list? If you know of a useful screenwriting resource on the Web, leave a comment and share it with us!

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