The Writer's Connection, ^SM
a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach ^SM

 

"The Creative Process of Writing is a
Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"
 
www.virtualwritingcoach.com

1. Preview
 
The Writer's Connection ^SM explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions. We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in writing fiction in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.
 
Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript, and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.

2. Publisher's Note
 
April, 2004
 
Dear Writer's Connection ^SM Subscriber,
 
This month features advice about poetry.
 
3. Writing Poetry
 
This month I want to focus on writing poetry. As a mystery and suspense author I found writing poetry much more freeing and inspirational. The most popular is free verse, but rhyming also works. Even though I wrote my first poem 14 years ago, I consider myself a novice and hopeless romantic. I have been writing love poems for the past month with the goal of writing three a week. I hope to have enough poems for a collection by the end of the year. The inspiration for my poetry comes from my love of people in love. If you look closely this spring, you will see lovers holding hands, kissing in the park, playfully kidding each other. What might look like walking the dogs upon closer examination be a couple in love. There are many excellent poets and I learned from the English poets: Yeats, Donne, Dickinson.
 
There are many excellent poets self-published on Authorsden.com and I would commend that URL to you. What makes for a good love poem? First, you must be in love yourself to capture the feeling and tone. Try to focus on all five senses, especially touch and smell. You want your reader to be in love. Write in second person and avoid gender and other discriminating labels. You want your poems to be universal and timeless. Pick subjects that will appeal to all ages, 5-85. You want your reader to experience the joy and heartache that comes with being in love. Good subjects include: falling in love, remembering a past or forgotten love, grief over a broken relationship, love between parent and child, friendship, lovers, tributes to mentors and teachers, spouses, an extended family member. Mitch Albom's tribute to his uncle is the focus of his second best selling novel, "The Five People I Meet in Heaven."
 
I choose to write love poems because of their simplicity and raw emotion. Capturing for the reader that first embrace, kiss, touch, etc. is universal and never forgotten. You want your reader to resonate with the words, especially the emotion behind the words. Pick words that capture the exact thoughtif it's raw emotion you're going after, then a word like "seductive" might do; if it's a forethought then perhaps "embrace" might be more appropriate. I regret that some poets resort to pornographic descriptions to describe their lovemaking. For me, this takes away the sensuality of lovemaking. To make love, you must first be in love. The more one leaves to the reader's imagination, the better. Be vague, rather than specific; be universal, rather than limited; be sensual, rather than erotic. A good love poem will stand the test of time. I want to leave you with one of my poems, which I profess is nothing spectacular, but tries to capture the above elements in writing love poems. I hope you like it, and if you're interested in my other poems please visit my website at authorsden.com. The poem is entitled "Missing You."
 
Missing You
 
Your touch on my lips
Sends chills through me
A caress so warm
Takes me places I've only dreamed
Loving you is simple and complete
For your eyes say everything
 
Missing you cuts so deeply
Into my soul of vulnerability
I can't stand being without you
Because your nearness brings such comfort
To a heart so shaken and dead
If but for a moment of tenderness
 
Your laughter and sigh
That momentary glance
If only you were willing
To take a chance
We would fly away
To parts unknown
 
I feel I've known you all my life
Yet, being without you
Cuts like a knife
A wound so magnificent
It spreads like a cancer
Of loneliness that only lovers understand
 
I know this journey won't be easy
But traveling with you somehow
Eases the pain of separation
No regrets for two who share the same dream
Of being together if only for brief moments
Stolen away from time moving so quickly
 
You've invaded my essence
Without you, I'm nothing
If only I could bottle you up
And spread your gentleness
Throughout my being
I love you, sweetness, forever it seems
 

4. Getting into Action
 
"Getting in to Action" is a monthly feature of The Writer's Connection ^SM. In this section of our Newsletter, we will discuss action steps the writer can take to improved his/her knowledge base in writing novels.
 
This month's recommendations:
 

 

1. Take a poetry class.
2. Write a poem about the love of your life.
3. Read a "how to" book on writing poetry.
 

 

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