#WritersLife: Writing a New Poetry Collection While Editing the Other New Collection

 

Welcome to #WritersLife, where I talk writing in real life. 

I'm deep in the editing trenches for Poetry #3 while I await the return of the professionally edited manuscript from my critique partner. I'm trying to focus on the other areas while I wait, like I mentioned in the previous post, including the metadata, the promos, and ARC set-up, but lately my creative muse has blossomed and is diving head first into Poetry #4.

I debated entering pieces into anthologies, and I probably will still do that to help gain more exposure, but this new collection has me in a choke hold. I think it's a combination of reading Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan and listening to The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology by Taylor Swift that has shoved me into the writing and daydreaming that is making up this new collection. 

I'm focusing much more on poetic styles for this collection, which I'm trying to not let heavily affect the voice for Poetry #3. I love the rawness of #3 and want to maintain that, but for #4, I'm moving into more of my favorite poetic devices, namely alliteration, slant rhymes/true rhymes, and a repetitive structure that's reminiscent of songwriting. 

I grew up on country music, and its storytelling is one I want to emulate in my poetry, whether that's with the attention to detail or repetitive lines. The five senses play an even stronger role in both of these collections whereas my first two collections, The Ones and Missed Arrows, honed in on emotions, relationships, and overall more intangible imagery. I want the readers to taste the scenes in these new manuscripts and feel the zing on their tongues and abhor the pungency in their nostrils. 

I have a working title I love, but it's still early (we're nearly a year from when I would release #4). Poetry #3 changed titles after having a title picked out for 8 months, and I still can't believe it changed because that title was so near and dear to my heart. However, the official title alludes to more of the overarching themes and will be a stronger title for marketing purposes (writing is a craft, but publishing is a business after all). I get goosebumps rereading some of these pieces and they haven't even been edited by me yet, let alone seen by my CP or beta readers. 

I wonder if this is how Taylor feels working on music: she knows her latest writing is her best because she's perfecting her craft, but her listeners are on two albums back and she can't share it with them. I feel that way with my poetry. I want to show off these new poems, but I still have a whole collection that hasn't been released. It's also a strong testament to never work on one project at once. As soon as you send a manuscript off to a CP, editor, or beta reader, start outlining or drafting your next project. 

I can't wait to share #3 with everyone, and we have less than three months until its release! Official title, cover reveal, and blurb is coming in July, so stay tuned here, on Instagram, and on YouTube.

Happy writing!