phases in your writing

[butters]

looking back at a body of your work spanning maybe several years or more, do you see obvious phases to the way you wrote? abrupt changes in style, perhaps, or more moderate and subtle shifts but shifts nonetheless?

i can identify at least 3 clear phases to mine, with 'subs' along the way. the reason i'm bringing this up for discussion is a) boredom, and b) an itchiness suggesting i'm on the cusp of a different direction or style.

maybe i'm just getting bored with myself! but i don't know what it'll be ... it's marked by this inability to sit and write anything other than 'live writes' at the moment, something different in itself for me but it feels like an intermediate phase before crossing over into something new. it makes me edgy, but excited, not knowing.

god, i hope it'll be rewarding

does this happen with you? is it sudden or gradual? does it come as a total surprise when it 'arrives' or do you plan it out and go for it?

 

[annaswirls]

your hair is really pretty

 

[EroticOrogeny]

I've returned to poetry for less than a couple of years, and my stuff from 30+ years ago is only vaguely remembered. I don't make any specific plans to write this way or that. Often what I write is different from what I initially had in mind when I started on a poem. And what triggers my writing a particular poem can make a big difference. My amorous love poems for my wife are often fairly spontaneous, while I may quite a bit on others. A lot depends upon what else is going on at the moment.

 

[Angeline]

Interesting question Chip (and I agree with Swirly: you have very pretty hair). I don't see phases so much in my writing although I do have my interests. I doubt I'll ever stop writing about music, for example, and primarily jazz because it just interests me so much. When I met eagleyez and fell in love with him, I wrote lots of love poetry because that's what was happening to me. But those aren't really phases; they're just me expressing what's on my mind and in my heart at the time.

However I do see shifts in my writing. Usually when I come out of a dormant period (and this has happened to me three times already that I can identify), my writing improves. It's not something that I actively think about or something I attempt to do, but I think when I'm in that dormancy things are going on under the surface. Maybe I'm subconsciously processing stuff I'm not aware of consciously. But when I come out of the dormancy and begin writing again, I feel that I've progressed, that there are things I'm doing in my writing that I couldn't conceive of before then. And for me, that's growth.

 

[butters]

your hair is really pretty

lmao

that sounds like a really bad 'oh do shut up, butty' line
but thanks, lolol

 

[bflagsst]

for me different phases usually come from writing about different girls. girls girls girls

 

[butters]

I've returned to poetry for less than a couple of years, and my stuff from 30+ years ago is only vaguely remembered. I don't make any specific plans to write this way or that. Often what I write is different from what I initially had in mind when I started on a poem. And what triggers my writing a particular poem can make a big difference. My amorous love poems for my wife are often fairly spontaneous, while I may quite a bit on others. A lot depends upon what else is going on at the moment.

thanks for your reply, EO. i guess these phases i'm talking about are more noticeable when you have a chunk of writing spanning the years all down in one place. then it kind of jumps out and says BOO! personally, i think it's wonderful that you write for your wife the way you do. i've never had a lover/partner write for me, though a few close friends over the years have written pieces for me.

Interesting question Chip (and I agree with Swirly: you have very pretty hair). I don't see phases so much in my writing although I do have my interests. I doubt I'll ever stop writing about music, for example, and primarily jazz because it just interests me so much. When I met eagleyez and fell in love with him, I wrote lots of love poetry because that's what was happening to me. But those aren't really phases; they're just me expressing what's on my mind and in my heart at the time.

However I do see shifts in my writing. Usually when I come out of a dormant period (and this has happened to me three times already that I can identify), my writing improves. It's not something that I actively think about or something I attempt to do, but I think when I'm in that dormancy things are going on under the surface. Maybe I'm subconsciously processing stuff I'm not aware of consciously. But when I come out of the dormancy and begin writing again, I feel that I've progressed, that there are things I'm doing in my writing that I couldn't conceive of before then. And for me, that's growth.

shut up about the hair, pls thankyou, and stuff, and let's talk about poetry

yes, yes, yes - the dormant period ... it IS stuff happening beneath the surface. for sure! so you do dp the phases thing, albeit in a slightly different fashion. it's cool, though, isn't it, how things improve in leaps and bounds sometimes?

 

[butters]

for me different phases usually come from writing about different girls. girls girls girls

so writing inspired by different muses, but does your writing style change too - dramatically, or otherwise, or not at all, just the content?

 

[bflagsst]

so writing inspired by different muses, but does your writing style change too - dramatically, or otherwise, or not at all, just the content?

The style and way I've approached new content is definitely phase shift. I used to write highly ordered, then I wrote free versey, now I write something in between maybe.

 

[butters]

The style and way I've approached new content is definitely phase shift. I used to write highly ordered, then I wrote free versey, now I write something in between maybe.

hmmmmn ... i wonder where you'll go next

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I've done a kinda circle when I first came here everything rhymed and i got wheedled and nagged into free style then I got into survivor and forms and started to rhyme again!! but this time it was allowed cos forms have names!

 

[bflagsst]

hmmmmn ... i wonder where you'll go next

Bahamas

 

[Angeline]

thanks for your reply, EO. i guess these phases i'm talking about are more noticeable when you have a chunk of writing spanning the years all down in one place. then it kind of jumps out and says BOO! personally, i think it's wonderful that you write for your wife the way you do. i've never had a lover/partner write for me, though a few close friends over the years have written pieces for me.



shut up about the hair, pls thankyou, and stuff, and let's talk about poetry

yes, yes, yes - the dormant period ... it IS stuff happening beneath the surface. for sure! so you do dp the phases thing, albeit in a slightly different fashion. it's cool, though, isn't it, how things improve in leaps and bounds sometimes?

It always amazes me because when I'm in the dormant period I always think I'll never write again, that whatever gift I may have had is gone. And then it comes back and it always comes back better. And I'm fascinated that I notice new ways to approach things that had just never occurred to me before. And of course no matter how many times this happens to me I still go through that not thinking I'll write again. But I've never been good at taking my own advice.

 

[EroticOrogeny]

I'm still writing something when 'dormant', but not as much, and not as well.
I think I'm sort of in one of those phases now.

 

[GuiltyPleasure]

I just went through a dry spell, the challenges will often start me up again. I definitely have at least three uninspiring periods a year, no rhyme or reason.

Like chipbutty I just get bored with myself. Sometimes something I read will spark a poem like legacy which grew from the book I was reading at the time about whaling stations in the early 1900s.

 

[The_Fool]

I just write the shit. I don't read it. I have no idea what I write or why I write. Maybe I should study about it some more.

As for your hair, it is poetry or can inspire poetry. It appears soft and sensual. I would write a poem about. In fact I probably will. Just not tonight.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I can definitely see several phases in my work. I go through dry spell regularly, as those of you who know me can attest, but I never stop reading. Very rarely what I am reading is poetry, but I often absorb whatever concepts, structures or images I read during my hiatus, and it all comes out in my poetry when I start writing again.

 

[butters]

I've done a kinda circle when I first came here everything rhymed and i got wheedled and nagged into free style then I got into survivor and forms and started to rhyme again!! but this time it was allowed cos forms have names!

hehehehe
rhyming, particulary masculine end-rhymes, often sit best in iambic meter, whilst feminine rhymes are often found featuring strongly in the trochaic. and as soon as you get into formalising anything, it usually has a name

Bahamas

oooh, hot, windy, with big insects ... k

 

[butters]

It always amazes me because when I'm in the dormant period I always think I'll never write again, that whatever gift I may have had is gone. And then it comes back and it always comes back better. And I'm fascinated that I notice new ways to approach things that had just never occurred to me before. And of course no matter how many times this happens to me I still go through that not thinking I'll write again. But I've never been good at taking my own advice.

your subconscious is doing your data entry and running programmes picking stuff out that it then delivers to your consciousness as a "tada!" moment
i used to get a bit concerned if i had flat times, but found things always happened after a while. if i chased it, it would run as fast in the opposite direction as it could, but if i ignored it, it'd come tapping on my shoulder *nods*. but while i wasn't writing, i would be reading voraciously or doing other stuff. now i am pretty chilled about it all. what happens, happens. each poem could be my last, so i don't think about it.

I'm still writing something when 'dormant', but not as much, and not as well.
I think I'm sort of in one of those phases now.

do you think our brains are sort of seasonal creatures, needing that dormant phase to build up the goodness needed for growth?

 

[butters]

I just went through a dry spell, the challenges will often start me up again. I definitely have at least three uninspiring periods a year, no rhyme or reason.

Like chipbutty I just get bored with myself. Sometimes something I read will spark a poem like legacy which grew from the book I was reading at the time about whaling stations in the early 1900s.

challenges can be the kickstart we need sometimes, yup.
perhaps, if you were writing ALL the time, in some sort of manic writing phase, you'd find yourself too drained. the underground pool needs replenishing and a "stop!" sign gets hung up over the well head.

i love it when i read something or hear something (maybe on tv) that just goes BANG inside my head and starts me up!

I just write the shit. I don't read it. I have no idea what I write or why I write. Maybe I should study about it some more.

As for your hair, it is poetry or can inspire poetry. It appears soft and sensual. I would write a poem about. In fact I probably will. Just not tonight.

pretty fancy shits you take, there, fool
meh, the thinking about it all's less important than the writing it.

my hair has a mind of its own. and it's a bit schizophrenic.

 

[butters]

I can definitely see several phases in my work. I go through dry spell regularly, as those of you who know me can attest, but I never stop reading. Very rarely what I am reading is poetry, but I often absorb whatever concepts, structures or images I read during my hiatus, and it all comes out in my poetry when I start writing again.

exactly ... absorb absorb absorb, and then, when we're replenished, it brims and spills

 

[annaswirls]

lmao

that sounds like a really bad 'oh do shut up, butty' line
but thanks, lolol

no seriously, I couldn't think about answering your question because I got lost in your hair and how I wanted to play with it, twirl the curls, find my way to the back of your neck and breathe, it must be intoxicating.

 

[GuiltyPleasure]

no seriously, I couldn't think about answering your question because I got lost in your hair and how I wanted to play with it, twirl the curls, find my way to the back of your neck and breathe, it must be intoxicating.

*hand fanning*

 

[annaswirls]

I believe in poetic graduated equilibrium

stretches of little change, of stasis...then a jump.....

but yes, I go through phases that follow my internal dialogue which is affected by courses of study, what I am reading, the phase of the moon and well yes, you know.

what she said


Punctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology which proposes that some sexually reproducing species will experience little evolutionary change for most of their geological history, remaining in an extended state called stasis. When evolution occurs, it is localized in rare, rapid events of branching speciation, called cladogenesis. Cladogenesis is the process by which species split into two distinct species, rather than one species gradually transforming into another. Thus, "punctuated equilibria is a model for discontinuous tempos of change (in) the process of speciation and the deployment of species in geological time."[1]

Punctuated equilibrium is commonly contrasted against the theory of phyletic gradualism, which states that evolution generally occurs uniformly and by the steady and gradual transformation of whole lineages (anagenesis). In this view, evolution is seen as generally smooth and continuous.

 

[EroticOrogeny]

stretches of little change, of stasis...then a jump.....

but yes, I go through phases that follow my internal dialogue which is affected by courses of study, what I am reading, the phase of the moon and well yes, you know.

what she said


Punctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology which proposes that some sexually reproducing species will experience little evolutionary change for most of their geological history, remaining in an extended state called stasis. When evolution occurs, it is localized in rare, rapid events of branching speciation, called cladogenesis. Cladogenesis is the process by which species split into two distinct species, rather than one species gradually transforming into another. Thus, "punctuated equilibria is a model for discontinuous tempos of change (in) the process of speciation and the deployment of species in geological time."[1]

Punctuated equilibrium is commonly contrasted against the theory of phyletic gradualism, which states that evolution generally occurs uniformly and by the steady and gradual transformation of whole lineages (anagenesis). In this view, evolution is seen as generally smooth and continuous.

Interesting viewpoint. To what extend is our development evolutionary and to what extent revolutionary? I see both factors coming about in my life - a few radical changes from time to time, along with long periods with slow change. Some changes are for the better, others not so much. Thinking more of my experiential life, but that is closely coupled with my poetry.